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Linux ODROID N2+ - AMLogic S922X board from Hardkernel
I have read through a few pages, but could not get a definitive answer to a question I have...

I use a C2 with LibreElec (official build) on eMMC 16gb, playing movies with Atmos passthrough to an AV receiver. Works flawlessly.

I want to go 4k, looks like the best option is CoreElec on N2 as my C2 will not cut it on HDR.

Has CoreElec on N2 already reached a stable point with the official build that means I can just watch movies without problems and have Atmos/HDR and have a similar experience to what I see in LE?
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(2019-11-28, 01:35)ex_directory Wrote: as CoreElec on N2 already reached a stable point with the official build that means I can just watch movies without problems and have Atmos/HDR and have a similar experience to what I see in LE?
yes. latest stable is 9.2.0. It works flawlessly on my N2
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(2019-11-28, 02:11)ragico Wrote:
(2019-11-28, 01:35)ex_directory Wrote: as CoreElec on N2 already reached a stable point with the official build that means I can just watch movies without problems and have Atmos/HDR and have a similar experience to what I see in LE?
yes. latest stable is 9.2.0. It works flawlessly on my N2   

AIUI 9.2.0 stable doesn't support multichannel PCM HDMI audio - you need to go for a nightly for that. 

This is important if you have any 5.1/7.1 PCM, FLAC or AAC content.  In the UK 5.1 AAC (which needs to be output as 5.1 PCM) is used for surround audio on DVB-T2 Live HDTV broadcasts, so if you use Kodi for Live TV/PVR and want 5.1 - you'll need to use a nightly I think?
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IIRC the bugfix for hdr10+ to play as hdr10 is in the nightly as well.
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Bought on Odroid N2 to replace an old dying Arctic MC001 Atom based box.

So far so good. If this worked well I planned to replace the other 4x MC001 boxes in the house with Odroid N2's. However, this first 'Dipping my Toes in' N2 purchase is only connected to a 720p plasma using the TV audio. A few posts back someone mentioned the Stable software version not supporting PCM over HDMI, only supported in the nightlies. I wonder would this apply to my? 2 of the future N2 purchases would be connected to the displays via HDMI 5.1 Receivers. Is PCM support something I need to get Dolby TrueHD DD 5.1 and the DTS equivalents to the receivers via HDMI or am I good with the Stable Releases?

Another question I have is IR Remotes. My old xbox 360 remote worked with the Odroid N2 straight out of the box....except it won't power the Odroid N2 back on after its been shut down. Is there some setting I need to make the 360 IR remote capable of powering the Odroid N2 back on?
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(2019-11-29, 02:19)calibos Wrote: I wonder would this apply to my? 2 of the future N2 purchases would be connected to the displays via HDMI 5.1 Receivers. Is PCM support something I need to get Dolby TrueHD DD 5.1 and the DTS equivalents to the receivers via HDMI or am I good with the Stable Releases?

Yes you will need the nightly release for a 5.1 only older audio receiver if all you want is 5.1 PCM, see the following https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid...pid2822046

Quote:Another question I have is IR Remotes. My old xbox 360 remote worked with the Odroid N2 straight out of the box....except it won't power the Odroid N2 back on after its been shut down. Is there some setting I need to make the 360 IR remote capable of powering the Odroid N2 back on?

You need to put an Infra Red Wakeup Code in the config.ini file (remember to remove the - # - comment):
https://discourse.coreelec.org/t/how-to-...-code/5282

CTRL O to save CTRL X to exit when editing in Nano.

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(2019-11-29, 02:19)calibos Wrote: A few posts back someone mentioned the Stable software version not supporting PCM over HDMI, only supported in the nightlies. I wonder would this apply to my? 2 of the future N2 purchases would be connected to the displays via HDMI 5.1 Receivers. Is PCM support something I need to get Dolby TrueHD DD 5.1 and the DTS equivalents to the receivers via HDMI or am I good with the Stable Releases?

If you only have DD, DTS, DD+, Dolby True HD and DTS HD MA/HRA content (with or without Atmos and/or DTS:x) then a stable release will do as you don't need PCM multichannel output, as all these formats can be bit streamed to your amp (using passthrough).

If any of your content is in a 5.1/7.1 format that can't be easily bitstreamed, like FLAC or AAC, that will instead need to be decoded to PCM 5.1/7.1, or is already in PCM 5.1/7.1 then you will need a nightly to enable PCM 5.1/7.1 output.
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(2019-11-28, 09:45)noggin Wrote: This is important if you have any 5.1/7.1 PCM, FLAC or AAC content.  In the UK 5.1 AAC (which needs to be output as 5.1 PCM) is used for surround audio on DVB-T2 Live HDTV broadcasts, so if you use Kodi for Live TV/PVR and want 5.1 - you'll need to use a nightly I think?

To be honest I actually disable AC3/DD passthrough and have ALL 5.1 AC3 audio decoded to PCM.
Because then when changing TV channels between those using AC3 and PCM, the volume output levels are much more consistent.

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(2019-11-29, 03:09)wrxtasy Wrote:
(2019-11-28, 09:45)noggin Wrote: This is important if you have any 5.1/7.1 PCM, FLAC or AAC content.  In the UK 5.1 AAC (which needs to be output as 5.1 PCM) is used for surround audio on DVB-T2 Live HDTV broadcasts, so if you use Kodi for Live TV/PVR and want 5.1 - you'll need to use a nightly I think?

To be honest I actually disable AC3/DD passthrough and have ALL 5.1 AC3 audio decoded to PCM.
Because then when changing TV channels between those using AC3 and PCM, the volume output levels are much more consistent.  

Ah - has Australia not moved to R128 Loudness monitoring for TV shows?  The UK broadcasters (and many others in Europe) have moved to this new metering system (instead of old fashioned level-based PPMs or VU meters), and mandated quite a tight delivery standard of -23LUFs +/- 0.5LUFs with an aim to remove loudness inconsistencies (whilst still allowing a reasonably dynamic range) as you change channels, or as you watch multiple programmes back-to-back (too many people were complaining about having to grab the remote)

https://tech.ebu.ch/loudness  

Netflix, Amazon and YouTube are also using LUFs I believe (or the identical US system called LKFS) but with different levels, and movies do much more what they like. (The BBC take acquired shows and movies into a sound suite to get them to be R128 compliant for broadcast)

However there are still receiver some issues between STBs and TVs in how they handle Dolby - with at least one platform operator in the UK reducing the level of their MP2 decoded 2.0 content consistently.
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My current setup is ZIDOO x20 pro,LG 65c8p and Swan X6 active 2.0 monitor.
The new s922x/z or A311 are really powerful, but i have not seen any review talking about the video playback picture quality(stream/local).
And with coreelec running, is usb dac supported?
Can anyone shed some light on these topics?
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wrxtasy, am I mistaken in thinking this hardware is some sort of "holy grail" for Kodi boxes, save for the inability to access video streaming services (Netflix, Prime Video, etc.)?
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first (usually it's enough to follow instructions in the second post).
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(2019-12-02, 11:35)ashlar Wrote: wrxtasy, am I mistaken in thinking this hardware is some sort of "holy grail" for Kodi boxes, save for the inability to access video streaming services (Netflix, Prime Video, etc.)?

Well the Linux LibreELEC devs. will tell you a ODROID N2 running a CoreELEC OS that is based on a "hacked" v4.9 AMLogic Linux Kernel is no good because it's not running a "Pure" mainline v5.x Linux Kernel.
And anything that is not doing that is to be considered as dancing with the devil ! Wink

The Shield guys will tell you it cannot do mainstream copy protected video Apps 4K streaming so it must be crap. Plus it's not Nvidia hardware.

The Intel i series guys will be doubtful because it does not seem expensive enough and include a CPU package capable of running deep learning A.I. algos.

But really none of that matters when you can use an relatively cheap - ODROID N2 to run a snappy Kodi Leia, with complex Skins and support Multichannel 24bit/192kHz LPCM, with HD audio passthrough, inc. Atmos & DTS:X, plus reliable 4K HDR, with correct MaxCLL/FALL Metadata output, auto refresh, resolution and colorspace switching. Smile

You also get a highly configurable HDMI CEC support, with real easy Kodi and OS backup capabilities plus auto OS and Firmware updates.

HDR10+ support is still yet to be realised - but in reality that sort of content availability is miniscule.

Purists will yell "but what about DolbyVision" and Kodi ?

For DolbyVision streaming, personally I would rather use convenient, subscription Apps on an Apple TV 4K or recent 2019 4K HDR DV Smart TV - one that has no limitations with A.I. picture upscaling.

So yes we are getting pretty close to the "holy grail" of Plug n Play, Set and Forget, Kodi Leia devices, with few limitations or issues - and importantly great support from the ratbag, ragtag CoreELEC crew Wink

W.

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(2019-11-29, 03:00)noggin Wrote:
(2019-11-29, 02:19)calibos Wrote:  

If any of your content is in a 5.1/7.1 format that can't be easily bitstreamed, like FLAC or AAC, that will instead need to be decoded to PCM 5.1/7.1, or is already in PCM 5.1/7.1 then you will need a nightly to enable PCM 5.1/7.1 output. 
Is this advice still pertinent given the official update to version 9.2.1 over the weekend?
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9.2.1 already includes all the important fixes so you are good to go with that.
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Hello!  I'm thinking of picking up a 4GB Odroid N2 from Hardkernel once it's back in stock.  While I love my Vero 4K+, it doesn't play out Hi10 content or pass HDR metadata.  Those are valuable features for me.

As is my habit, I'd like to verify my plans with other people's experiences before pulling the trigger.  My goal is a device that can playout basically any content type/format, including Hi10 SDR, 4K HDR with metadata, multichannel AAC, FLAC or PCM, and passthrough all the major audio formats up to the lossless Dolby Digital and DTS variants - all with a very fast, smooth interface.  I typically run medium to light weight skins like OSMC or Aeon Nox (if possible).

Questions below:
  1. I'm planning on disabling Kodi Dirty Regions, is that a good idea still?  Will it improve performance for the Odroid N2?
  2. I'm using a Synology DS1019+ NAS for storage.  What is the best performing mounting method/network protocol?  NFS? Fstab?  Something else I don't know about?
  3. I use a Harmony hub as a remote.  My plan is to add this bluetooth module, connect the device to the hub via bluetooth as a kodi windows PC and then perhaps add an A2 IR receiver for on/off functionality.
  4. If I correctly implement the above, can I expect Aeon Nox to perform smoothly?
  5. Any other optimizations I should consider?
Thanks all!
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ODROID N2+ - AMLogic S922X board from Hardkernel4