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START HERE - Pick the Right Kodi Box (updated Dec 2020)
(2019-02-17, 18:15)wrxtasy Wrote:
(2019-02-17, 17:56)bizuka Wrote: Hello guys, i have Libreelec installed on Pi 3 plus,  a Mecool m8s pro plus, (s905x) and in a intel laptop (i3 7100 Kaby Lake).
the 905x for me its the worst, he can play everything flawlessly indeed, 1080p/4k remuxes! but the image quality ho boy... the colors are washed. not vivid. not to
Is anyone experience these symptoms with the s905x? is the rockchip s3399 the way to go?
Thank you guys

Washed out colors does not sound right at all.
S905X is virtually the same 1080p picture quality as my RK3399 and Apple TV 4K for me.

Make sure the Kodi GUI is set for 1080p with auto refresh switching turned on. Do not run the Kodi GUI at 4K, let the TV upscale 1080 > 4K
Passthrough audio should be fine as well. For LPCM set Kodi audio to 7.1 channels & best match, not sure exactly what bit depth you will get.

Something is definitely wrong.
I would install the latest CoreELEC Kodi Leia build - it will have auto detect - bit depth and colorspace switching based on AVR and TV's EDID handshake.

If you want to do a quick LE > CE upgrade. Simply rename the SD card to CoreELEC and unpack the latest CE .tar 9.0 release and copy over the SYSTEM & KERNEL (rename to kernel.img) files manually to the SD card. 
 yes its all done correctly, i will install leia on the s905x and give you guys some feedback! Thank you.
(2019-02-17, 13:25)Ajay1234 Wrote: I am an avid movie/kodi fan and have been playing with various TV boxes over the years. In the past years we have come settled on 2 supplies being Geniatech (Manufactures of the MyGica range) and Himedia and would like to share our findings.

Boxes that we have tested;

Himedia Q5/Q10  - HiSilicon Processor

.......

The Himedia Q5/Q10 are brilliant boxes in picture quality and sound quality and is superior than the A5 in both picture and sound. But in terms of stability the A5 using Kodi, and I use the Xconfluence Skin which tends to put more strain on the processor still just surpasses the Q5/Q10.

.......
 Thank you for your report..
Too bad about the Himedia Q10 - i always thought that its chipset would be a great solution and that the "custom" Kodi that its loaded would be consistent to the hardware...
Himedia has been active towards trying to solve the bugs on the Q5 Pro and Q10.

Over the last 6 months they have brought out 3 firmware versions for these boxes. So they seem to be aware of the problems and they trying to get it right but its been more than 3 years mature and new chip sets will be entering the market this year so not sure how much longer they need to get it right.

The last FW update was in Dec 2018 and we still testing with the new firmware. So really hope they got it right this time.

I really like the box picture quality.

If anything this is the only low cost TV box that can standup to the picture quality of the Nvidia Shield.
Has anybody heard of oDroid N2? It will be perfect for a TV box. I already heard that samples were sent to CoreElec, so TV like builds should be available. I have had enough of the Android TV devices, I want to see how a Linux one can behave. I will sell my Q10 Pro if N2 is up to the challenge.
Gadget enthusiast
Kodi player on an oDroid N2 4 GB with latest stable CoreElec
Sony Bravia KD-55XF9005
(2019-02-18, 17:05)tmihai20 Wrote: Has anybody heard of oDroid N2? It will be perfect for a TV box. I already heard that samples were sent to CoreElec, so TV like builds should be available. I have had enough of the Android TV devices, I want to see how a Linux one can behave. I will sell my Q10 Pro if N2 is up to the challenge.

Developer N2 devices are being delivered to the CoreELEC crew this week. They focus specifically on AMLogic devices running Linux Kodi.
It will take a while to get CoreELEC Kodi running on it due the the brand new AML S922X Chipset.

The S922X will be a great chipset for a pretty snappy Kodi device.

You can follow progress in this https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=340809

(2019-02-17, 16:50)wrxtasy Wrote:
(2019-02-17, 13:25)Ajay1234 Wrote: I am an avid movie/kodi fan and have been playing with various TV boxes over the years. In the past years we have come settled on 2 supplies being Geniatech (Manufactures of the MyGica range) and Himedia and would like to share our findings.

Boxes that we have tested;

Himedia Q5/Q10  - HiSilicon Processor

Himedia A5 - Amlogic S912 Processor

MyGica 1960Pro  - Amlogic Processor

The most stable and user friendly box has been the Himedia A5 with Amlogic S912 processor.

The Himedia Q5/Q10 are brilliant boxes in picture quality and sound quality and is superior than the A5 in both picture and sound. But in terms of stability the A5 using Kodi, and I use the Xconfluence Skin which tends to put more strain on the processor still just surpasses the Q5/Q10.

So we thought that MyGica 1960Pro would be superior considering it has 3g Ram compared to the Himedia Q5. But we actually found it crashes in Kodi and they have locked the picture frames, so you not going to get full screen picture. Hence not convinced on the MyGica 1960 Pro thought it does have nice 2.5" internal HDD feature.


Our choice at end of day is the Himedia A5. There are some drawbacks to the A5. It cannot play 4K HDR 10bit H265. For this the Q5/Q10 does well.

Welcome to the Kodi forums.

You have not tapped the potential of a S912 media player yet for Kodi, because you have been living in Android Land.

Unshackle it's potential and you will easily get 4K HDR with up to Atmos audio and autoswitching everything....same goes for that MyGica box of it's an S905X / S912.

Buy a Samsung EVO microSDHC and flash CoreELEC Kodi Leia on to it (click)

This will give you an easy to use dual boot setup with CoreELEC running entirely from the microSDHC.

And for extra points after you have had a play for a while ask about increasing the GPU clock MHz for even more Kodi snappiness Smile

Hint: in the install instructions when it talks about "device trees" look in the device_trees folder on the SD card you flashed and start with:
Himedia A5 = 2GB RAM = gxm_q200_2g.dtb
MyGica 1960 = 3GB RAM = gxm_q200_3g.dtb

All other support over on the CoreELEC forums.
Thank you so much wrxtasy for your help regarding these questions, I switched from LibreELEC to CoreELEC recently and liking it so far, my question is, I want to move on from my S905x to a S912 device, Main focus is HDR and HD audio pass-through. I don't stream content, no gaming, just plug in on of my HDDs and play the content, please recommend me (or DM me) a S912 device that you like (around 60$).
Thank you.
(2019-02-19, 02:45)Nimasha Wrote: Thank you so much wrxtasy for your help regarding these questions, I switched from LibreELEC to CoreELEC recently and liking it so far.

Glad that worked out. Had to recall from memory what i did months ago...

Quote: ...my question is, I want to move on from my S905x to a S912 device, Main focus is HDR and HD audio pass-through. I don't stream content, no gaming, just plug in on of my HDDs and play the content, please recommend me (or DM me) a S912 device that you like (around 60$).
Thank you.

I personally use a S912 - MINIX U9 with it's Kick Ass - A2 Lite - USB Mini dongle Wireless keyboard remote, but that is out of your price range.

Have a look in THIS (click) CoreELEC thread to see what the S912 guys are using.

Next Tip - SSH Login into CoreELEC and issue this to speedup the Kodi user interface. It increases the MHz of the GPU Clock:
(then reboot)

Code:
echo 'echo 2 > /sys/class/mpgpu/scale_mode' >> /storage/.config/autostart.sh

Looking to get something for my parents to get them off old school satellite TV now that their area has fibre internet.

Will mainly be used as a Kodi box, like the "Asian" ones they've seen relatives buy in Asia, and to watch local free TV.

They still have a plasma TV, although I may potentially buy them a 4K for Christmas or if the plasma dies.

Deciding between the Mecool M8S Pro L (~$100), Tanix TX9 Pro (~$95 overseas delivery), Minix U9 (~$185) or Vodafone TV.

The M8S and TX9 look to have more RAM and ROM than the U9, while the TX9 and U9 both have gigabit LAN.

Wondering if the premium on the U9 is worth it – for the better heatsink?

I might also get a second one for myself so that I don't need to connect my PC to my TV to watch movies etc.

Also deciding whether I should get a Xiaomi Mi Box remote or Minix A2 Lite – is the keyboard worth it?
(2019-02-19, 05:13)mudkipz Wrote: Deciding between the Mecool M8S Pro L (~$100), Tanix TX9 Pro (~$95 overseas delivery), Minix U9 (~$185) or Vodafone TV.

Certified Android TV + Netflix Approved + proper DRM + DVB-T tuner + real easy to use Android TV Apps, with one of the best Wireless remote's you can get + 2 years local Aussie warranty = Vodafone TV

Android TV with a nice wireless remote is real easy for non tech types to use.

(Sideloaded) Tablet Android Apps of course always need a wireless Air Mouse type remote.

Quote:The M8S and TX9 look to have more RAM and ROM than the U9, while the TX9 and U9 both have gigabit LAN.

Gigabit LAN needed for high bitrate 4K HDR Bluray Rips otherwise 100Mbit is fine. 2GB minimum RAM needed for Android. 1GB is fine for CoreELEC.

Quote:Wondering if the premium on the U9 is worth it – for the better heatsink?

Depends how much you want to stress and OClock the device, plus the included MINIX A2 lite remote is excellent.
You can easily power on CoreELEC, running on the U9 with the IR part of the A2 remote, HDMI CEC then switches ON / OFF my TV and AVR automatically (individual CEC results may vary)

Quote:Also deciding whether I should get a Xiaomi Mi Box remote or Minix A2 Lite – is the keyboard worth it?

Yes if you need a Air mouse, want to use Kodi Keyboard Shortcuts, and need a Plug n Play wireless remote that will both work in Android and CoreELEC out of the box.
Personally the A2 lite remote is one of my best long term purchases. Get plugged into and used with everything. Really handy simply for the flexibility of the thing.

(2019-02-19, 06:02)wrxtasy Wrote:
(2019-02-19, 05:13)mudkipz Wrote: Deciding between the Mecool M8S Pro L (~$100), Tanix TX9 Pro (~$95 overseas delivery), Minix U9 (~$185) or Vodafone TV.

Certified Android TV + Netflix Approved + proper DRM + DVB-T tuner + real easy to use Android TV Apps, with one of the best Wireless remote's you can get + 2 years local Aussie warranty = Vodafone TV

Android TV with a nice wireless remote is real easy for non tech types to use.

(Sideloaded) Tablet Android Apps of course always need a wireless Air Mouse type remote.

Thanks.

How is Vodafone TV with running Kodi? I have read that Kodi on Android isn't good, and a box running CoreELEC or LibreELEC is much better.
(2019-02-19, 06:22)mudkipz Wrote:
(2019-02-19, 06:02)wrxtasy Wrote:
(2019-02-19, 05:13)mudkipz Wrote: Deciding between the Mecool M8S Pro L (~$100), Tanix TX9 Pro (~$95 overseas delivery), Minix U9 (~$185) or Vodafone TV.

Certified Android TV + Netflix Approved + proper DRM + DVB-T tuner + real easy to use Android TV Apps, with one of the best Wireless remote's you can get + 2 years local Aussie warranty = Vodafone TV

Android TV with a nice wireless remote is real easy for non tech types to use.

(Sideloaded) Tablet Android Apps of course always need a wireless Air Mouse type remote. 

Thanks.

How is Vodafone TV with running Kodi? I have read that Kodi on Android isn't good, and a box running CoreELEC or LibreELEC is much better. 
 And how important is auto refresh rate switching? I read that Vodafone TV doesn't have that.
(2019-02-19, 06:22)mudkipz Wrote: Thanks.

How is Vodafone TV with running Kodi? I have read that Kodi on Android isn't good, and a box running CoreELEC or LibreELEC is much better.

Depends how demanding you are and if you need proper DRM and Android 1080p 4K Netflix Apps support...

If you need smooth video playback for everything with auto refresh / resolution / colorspace switching plus HD audio passthrough & and bunch of other Linux Kodi features added then a S905X or S912 running CoreELEC will be much better than any cheap Android device for running Kodi.
The cheap AML Android devices dual boot anyway.

Be aware if you need Netflix, even the Android Kodi Leia Netflix Addon will refuse to work on all Mecool devices.
It appears their Android L1 Widevine DRM has been blacklisted. A whole bunch of other cheap Asian Android manufacturers are the same. Looks like they copied that specific DRM and got it blacklisted.

CoreELEC Kodi Leia will get you Max. 720p DRM Leia Addon decoding & streaming.

(2019-02-19, 06:37)wrxtasy Wrote:
(2019-02-19, 06:22)mudkipz Wrote: Thanks.

How is Vodafone TV with running Kodi? I have read that Kodi on Android isn't good, and a box running CoreELEC or LibreELEC is much better.

Depends how demanding you are and if you need proper DRM and Android 1080p 4K Netflix Apps support...

If you need smooth video playback for everything with auto refresh / resolution / colorspace switching plus HD audio passthrough & and bunch of other Linux Kodi features added then a S905X or S912 running CoreELEC will be much better than any cheap Android device for running Kodi.
The cheap AML Android devices dual boot anyway.

Be aware if you need Netflix, even the Android Kodi Leia Netflix Addon will refuse to work on all Mecool devices.
It appears their Android L1 Widevine DRM has been blacklisted. A whole bunch of other cheap Asian Android manufacturers are the same. Looks like they copied that specific DRM and got it blacklisted.

CoreELEC Kodi Leia will get you Max. 720p DRM Leia Addon decoding & streaming. 
 Can the Vodafone dual boot CoreELEC with an SD card or is it an Android only machine?
(2019-02-19, 07:20)mudkipz Wrote:  Can the Vodafone dual boot CoreELEC with an SD card or is it an Android only machine?
Android TV only, just like all the other - bootloader locked, AMLogic Android TV certified devices.

Thank you.
I opted for a NUC 7I3BNK with Windows 10.. And so far it works with JRE installed and full bluray menus..
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