[MikePontes]

Hey guys, sorry for bother you, but i have a question.

Im a bit noob and new to this fantastic thing of Android TV boxes and i would like to buy one to basically see movies in Kodi, probably in 1080 ou 720. I will not use an external sound system, only the one provided by the TV i have.

Can you advise me if it´s better for me to choose the Minix U1 or the new Minix Neo U9-H?

Thanks all

[wrxtasy]

Hey guys, sorry for bother you, but i have a question.

Im a bit noob and new to this fantastic thing of Android TV boxes and i would like to buy one to basically see movies in Kodi, probably in 1080 or 720. I will not use an external sound system, only the one provided by the TV i have.

Can you advise me if it´s better for me to choose the Minix U1 or the new Minix Neo U9-H?

Thanks all

Easy answer for you - if all you need is Kodi - then LibreELEC Kodi Krypton is one of the best Kodi releases going around. It will handle a lot more content seamlessly compared to Android Kodi. There is now an Army of AMLogic S905(x) devices that can run LibreELEC Kodi.

Personally I would not even mess with Android if its only Kodi you want. The NEO U9 - does not have a Stable version of LibreELEC Kodi available for it.

The S905 MINIX NEO U1 does. You just flash LibreELEC Kodi to a Samsung EVO or Sandisk UHS-1 Class 10 micro SDHC, plug that in. Hold down the power button on the U1 box itself, count to 5 and it boots straight into Kodi. Pop the SD card out and reboot and you are running Android.

I recommend a Wireless Keyboard remote.

[MikePontes]

Thanks a lot for your fast answer wrxtasy ! I will then follow your advice!!

[insync44]

But, then again, why buy the more expensive Minix U1?There are literally dozens(?) of cheap Chinese Boxes that could be flashed. Would the Minix U1 run Kodi better than the U9? Minix have a reputation of not upgrading the OS. The U1, a perfectly good machine, had Lollipop ever since its inception.

[wrxtasy]

What I'm a fan of is MINIX's tight integration of a quality Wireless Air Mouse keyboard remote on their devices. I have the A2 Lite and it works with every test device I plug it into.

Plus if you want the best MIMO AC WiFi on AMLogic - MINIX know what they are doing.

Then there is Gigabit Ethernet...

I will say again the best implementation of AMLogic Kodi Krypton is found with LibreELEC. Because a whole bunch of features just work seamlessly vs any Android Kodi device. For example - PVR's and deinterlacing are broken on all Android Kodi Krypton implementations.

There are colorspace issues on all S912's at the moment, the U9 included. (And even Experimental LE S912 versions)

I don't own a S905 U1 but know very well what a LibreELEC S905 AML device is capable with good Firmware and Software from passionate developers.
In the end it depends on what Kodi features are real important to you and how much DIY users want to do.

[steelgtr]

What I'm a fan of is MINIX's tight integration of a quality Wireless Air Mouse keyboard remote on their devices. I have the A2 Lite and it works with every test device I plug it into.

Plus if you want the best MIMO AC WiFi on AMLogic - MINIX know what they are doing.

Then there is Gigabit Ethernet...

I will say again the best implementation of AMLogic Kodi Krypton is found with LibreELEC. Because a whole bunch of features just work seamlessly vs any Android Kodi device. For example - PVR's and deinterlacing are broken on all Android Kodi Krypton implementations.

There are colorspace issues on all S912's at the moment, the U9 included. (And even Experimental LE S912 versions)

I don't own a S905 U1 but know very well what a LibreELEC S905 AML device is capable with good Firmware and Software from passionate developers.
In the end it depends on what Kodi features are real important to you and how much DIY users want to do.

The colorspace issue work around on my Beelink GT-1 is simple; I play a short 4K file and the dark issue is gone for that session. Will that work on any S912 device? I really like the Beelink.

thx

bob

[gmaxim]

To Sideload Apps very easily on these Android TV boxes - just login into the PlayStore with a Browser on a PC / Mac / Tablet and hit the Install Button to wirelessly install touchscreen (non Android TV) Apps. These will not Autoupdate.

Sorry to hijack but this method does not work for sideloading regular apps on the Shield. Any non-TV apps, the Shield TV box is greyed out in the pop up menu and lists it as incompatible with that regular app. Is there a bypass for this? I've been sideloading via downloaded APKs, but direct from the store would be much better.

[wrxtasy]

Thx. I had better Edit the Post then - that type of touchscreen App Sideloading works for the Android TV - Xiaomi Mi Box.
I can easily install Google Chrome for example.
I would have thought all Android TV devices were the same. But this appears to not be the case.

Shield owners are justified in their limited Apps selection complaints then.

I see why some regular Android users want the Full Monty touchscreen Apps Playstore now if the nVIDIA Shield has such tight App install restrictions.

[steelgtr]

Anyone know why I can't create an account at the MINIX forum website? Been that way for days.

bob

[fentanyl]

Refresh rate switching can also be set in “Playback” settings via “HDMI self-adaption” Level 2. It is recommended that you enable only one of them. Except for some minor issues, playback was OK for most audio and video codecs. The tables below detail the audio and video codecs tested.

Hi wesk05! I just want to clarify so if u want to enable refresh rate switching, just enable Adjust Display Refresh Rate in Kodi and switch off "HDMI self-adaption” in Playback setting or vice versa?
That sholud do?

[wesk05]

Hi wesk05! I just want to clarify so if u want to enable refresh rate switching, just enable Adjust Display Refresh Rate in Kodi and switch off "HDMI self-adaption” in Playback setting or vice versa?
That sholud do?

I actually don't have a clear idea of how "HDMI self-adaption" works in the U9-H. Based on my testing, it doesn't look like level 2 works with MediaCodec (Surface). It seems to work only with amcodec which Kodi 17.x doesn't use. I have also not seen any app switch refresh rate even when level 2 self-adaption is enabled.

@wrxtasy says that level 1 self-adaption works better with Kodi 17.

On Minix U1, it was better to have only one type of refresh rate switching enabled: either in Kodi itself or via HDMI self-adaption level 2 system wide.

[wrxtasy]

Yes I use Level 1 - self adaptation - and then also setup Kodi as well to do refresh switching - Start/Stop.

Same setup I've used on WeTek devices as well for quite a while now with Kodi and all video playback has been smooth.

I don't even play around with the Hardware acceleration options. Leave them as default.

In the end its whatever works - and gives your eyeballs and brain less grief

[akg4y]

This might be a bit of heresy here but can anyone confirm for me if the Xfinity Stream app works on this box and actually streams video without giving an error? A lot of the Android boxes end up with an error when actually trying to stream and this is a requirement for 'Happy wife happy life' on my end.

Thanks

[fentanyl]

Thanks @wesk05 & @wrxtasy !

[Monk4300]

Hi Guys

First post on this site as my google search for reviews on the U9 lead me here

I currently have an Nvidia shield which I watch alot of Movie content through and IPTV 3rd party streaming through Kodi 17 Krypton, the movies including 1080 play excellently, great colours/details. However live IPTV I have struggled with from the off, especially 1080 sources, when the camera view is static the picture is excellent, as soon as the camera angle changes it pixelates briefly before focusing, and on panning shots it pixelates also i.e following a golf ball through the sky the blue background is very blocky, the ball lands and it all goes blocky then it focuses.

I am running my Shield through a Sony Bravia 4K TV, I have tried via wifi/ethernet, Kodi/SPMC, I have fiddled with every setting on the shield/TV/Kodi and nothing fixes this issue for me.

However a friend has the U9 and he does not have this issue, which i belive having read through your posts in here is a de-interlacing issue?

So essentially my question is would a U9 fix this issue for me, or is there a list of settings on my shield/TV that I can change to fix it as everyone here seems to have about 10000% more idea on this stuff than me!

Many thanks in advance for any help

@wesk05 / @wrxstasy