[WeldSpark]

There is a project to develop open source GPU drivers for the S912 GPU AIUI - and the S912 is a more powerful CPU than the S905X/D AIUI - which is why people are still buying it.

To be honest I wouldn't buy ANY cheap ARM box for a long-term solution though...  (fritsch's rule applies, don't spend more than you need to for future proofing...)   

That's good news about the open source drivers for s912. I'm waiting for something new to take over after s905.

My odroid c2 s905 is what I would consider a cheap box, I have two of them. They have worked very well for several years. I consider it quite future proof, it would just be nice with a little more power. It can decode 4k without a hitch and has for several years been supported as a kodi box with regular updates.    

The Odroid C2 (I have one too...) with an S905 doesn't do HDR10 output (or handle 10-bit output cleanly?) - that's the benefit of the newer models. But there is always something new to come along... Proper HLG support for broadcast HDR, 8K, 100-120fps, Dolby Vision or HDR10+ support etc.

What else is more future proof do you mean? X86, Nvidia shield, or any other recommendations? X86 isn't cost effective and isn't more future proof then my old s905 Odroid c2. What do you buy that's more future proof? 

  
The point I (and Fritsch - who makes the point often and very sensibly) makes is that don't pay more money in order to future-proof. Buy for what you need now, but don't spend a lot on it, and then don't be worried when you have to upgrade more often than you might have expected.  In other words don't spend £1000 on a high end x86 HTPC in the hope that it might do everything you want for the next 5 years, but do be prepared to spend £50-150 every year or two to stay current.  

Ah now I understand what you mean about spending, thanks for the explanation.

I can't say anything about HDR10, don't know . But the 4k 264 & 265 sources I've tried has worked flawlessly.

I want progress, I want new hardware, but the last years s905 has dominated when coming to price/performance ratio.

I'm holding my thumbs for s912. But s912 should be the natural successor, right? If it will be supported in newer kodi releases?