[noggin]

What are interlaced DVD's again ?

What are standards again?

I'm still amazed that something which is such a long-standing standard has been a problem for so long across multiple AMLogic platforms and still hasn't been fixed by them. Particularly as they have no issues with MPEG2 interlaced content in other wrappers. If this was a Pi it would have been fixed very quickly, and definitely not been carried over from one SoC to the next.

If you want a cheap HDMI 2.0, 1080p/4K and 8/10-bit HEVC Hardware decoding in a speedy package running LibreELEC then the C2 is where it is at. You are going to run into a 1080p HEVC software decoding limitations sooner rather than later with a RPi3.

I think that depends how you source your content. HEVC is not used by Blu-ray, DVD or broadcast TV (yet), and you can chose not to use it for re-encodes (or chose not to re-encode in the first place)

If you live in Germany and watch DVB-T then 1080p HEVC could become an issue (as they are migrating some channels from 576/50i to 1080/50p) - otherwise the only sources of HEVC that I can see are probably pirated or illegally distributed stuff. I'm not aware of any other countries currently testing HEVC or planning to deploy it in the short-to-near term. Most countries are SD MPEG2/H264 or HD H264 for TV - with the US still clinging to their ancient HD MPEG2 standard from the late 90s.

If you shoot your own UHD content, or watch the UHD DVB-S2 barker channels then the Pi 3 is not for you! (I have watched a barker channel for 10 minutes and almost went mad) If you master your own HEVC content, then the Pi 3 probably isn't for you/

HEVC could be an issue for you - but equally it might not be an issue for you at all. It isn't for me. Interlaced DVD may not be an issue for you, but it is a big issue for me. I have a large number of interlaced DVDs in my collection. Other people may have none.

If you don't need HEVC and don't need UHD/4K then the Pi 3 delivers now. The C2 doesn't quite. It shows huge promise - but isn't quite delivering on a number of levels, and has major issues with audio still.

My Pi 3 is still my go-to player because it plays pretty much everything. All interlaced content, whether MPEG2 DVD (problem on AMLogic-based C1 or C2) or VC-1 interlaced (problem for Linux x86 platforms like the Chromebox) plays, and I get PCM multichannel audio for DVB-T2 broadcasts here (which are AAC 5.1) as well as HD Audio.

Yes there are a few rough edges, such as no support for old Interlaced DVD, but regular movie DVD Rips work. Audio will only be 5.1 too.

Really at the moment you are stuck with 2.0 PCM only aren't you - or have the drop-outs been fixed recently? If the drop-outs have been fixed then currently the C2 audio will only be lossy SPDFI-quality 5.1 DD/DTS bitstreams. No PCM multichannel, no HD Audio bit streaming. There is an OE build for the S905 MiniMX with Dolby True HD bit streaming, and Wetek have beta-released a build with claims of True HD and DTS HD-MA for the S812-based Core (but in my tests it didn't work with either on my amp). Wetek have already delivered HD Audio in Android on the S812 Core - so it is possibly going to happen soon.

Speed wise I would say this is the order: RPi2 < C1+ < RPi3 < C2.
All running either OpenELEC or LibreELEC.
The C2 is very snappy especially one with a eMMC 5.0 Flash Storage card. Power up to main Kodi screen is ~ 12 seconds.

Yes - the C2 is incredibly quick if you run it from eMMC - though the eMMC cards are pretty expensive (an 8GB eMMC costs almost as much as a Pi3...)

Yes the RPi3 will have the best support for any Kodi box period. Its a very mature product now, the RPi series of Kodi devices. I just wish it had of been released with 2016 Hardware Tech specs.

I guess it depends where you get your content from in 2016. If you don't need UHD - and don't source content from 'unofficial' sources then the Pi 3 ticks all the media playback boxes still (more so than almost any other platform other than Windows) with the exception of HD Audio bit streaming, though the lossless decode of HD Audio is a very good solution for that unless you need Atmos/DTS:x.

And the support is second to none, as there are Kodi developers who actually work at firmware level on the Pi 3, unlike AMLogic who seem to stop development the minute a SoC ships... The Pi developers have also not ignored devices from when they first launched in 2012 - which is almost unheard of for any other ARM developer.

The AML S905 SoC, like you see in the C2 will get a whole lot of developer support, both in Android and OpenELEC / LibreELEC going forward as WeTek are about to release their S905 line of products as well. Any minor annoyances now will likely get fixed reasonably soon for this chipset.

You say that - and Wetek have been very good - but how long has the interlaced DVD issue (which is a pretty significant bug) been rolling on for? I'd love to recommend the Wetek Core - but when it can't play a standard, commercially released, DVD properly it's pretty difficult to. I get the feeling that Wetek are doing a great job, but are being limited by what AMLogic are doing. That's not an issue with the Pi Foundation and the Pi development of Kodi, because we have core development skill in the Kodi ranks.

Coming down the pipe is the S905 WeTek Hub I'm beta testing now. This product will put the cat in amongst the cheap Kodi pigeons. It will be very popular I predict if it launches around the same price as a complete RPi3 Kit.

Yes. Fingers crossed we get a more modern kernel on the S905 soon (USB DVB-T tuners released in the last few years will be useable...). It will be amazing if the rough edges get knocked off and development continues in anger for it.

I notice that currently the LibreElec official releases have functionality missing on the AMLogic platform currently (no Docker support) because of the old kernel...