[Newbie_from_NJ]

Last night, I played a Dolby TrueHD video file. My AVR played it with no issues and it sounded great! AVR also showed on its display the red, Dolby D+ icon. However, when changing the volume (up or down) the audio drops for a second and then resumes.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I've been doing some reading and I believe I may have found why this is happening. The C9 is eARC, but my AVR isn't. The file I played was TrueHD, yet it played as Dolby D+. Could this be the reason of this sound dropout when changing volume? My C9's eARC (HDMI#2) is connected to my AVR's MAIN OUT (not eARC). Considering that I'm not using the AVR to process any video, am I better off connecting the C9's eARC HDMI cable to any of my AVR's HDMI inputs instead of the MAIN OUT? This way, the full HD audio is passed.

[noggin]

Last night, I played a Dolby TrueHD video file. My AVR played it with no issues and it sounded great! AVR also showed on its display the red, Dolby D+ icon. However, when changing the volume (up or down) the audio drops for a second and then resumes.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I've been doing some reading and I believe I may have found why this is happening. The C9 is eARC, but my AVR isn't. The file I played was TrueHD, yet it played as Dolby D+. Could this be the reason of this sound dropout when changing volume? My C9's eARC (HDMI#2) is connected to my AVR's MAIN OUT (not eARC). Considering that I'm not using the AVR to process any video, am I better off connecting the C9's eARC HDMI cable to any of my AVR's HDMI inputs instead of the MAIN OUT? This way, the full HD audio is passed.   

That's not how ARC and eARC work. They don't send the audio in the same way as HDMI sources do, so connecting the eARC input from your TV into an HDMI input on your AVR (rather than an ARC-capable HDMI output) won't work.  (You are connecting two inputs together)  

HDMI sources send the audio within the video stream, on the video data pins - using the spaces in horizontal and vertical blanking around the video to carry audio packets. ARC and eARC use separate pins to carry audio in the reverse direction.  ARC and eARC inputs on TVs are 'special' as they send TV audio back down the cable 'the wrong way' using a separate audio standard and channel specifically for reverse audio carriage (i.e. they are HDMI inputs BUT TV Audio outputs).  eARC and ARC outputs on AVRs are similarly 'special' as they are HDMI Video (and in some cases Audio) outputs BUT ARC/eARC audio inputs as well to accept ARC/eARC audio from the TV.

The only way you'll get HD Audio from your N2 is :

1. Connect it to an HDMI input on your AVR and watch the N2 via the AVR. (However if your AVR doesn't support HDMI 2.0 you'll be limited to HDMI 1.4 video - so no 2160p50/60, no HDR I think etc.)
2. Replace your AVR with one that supports eARC (or just HDMI 2.0 to support the above, if your current one doesn't)
3. Invest in an HD Audio extractor (these are non-trivial and not as cheap as SPDIF audio extractors) which will have an HDMI 2.0 input for your N2, and an HDMI 2.0 output for your TV and and HDMI 1.4 output that carries video (black or downscaled HD) and HD Audio to feed your AVR. (HD Fury make one, but there are cheaper ones I suspect)

[mombasa123]

3. Invest in an HD Audio extractor (these are non-trivial and not as cheap as SPDIF audio extractors) which will have an HDMI 2.0 input for your N2, and an HDMI 2.0 output for your TV and and HDMI 1.4 output that carries video (black or downscaled HD) and HD Audio to feed your AVR. (HD Fury make one, but there are cheaper ones I suspect) 

Aye, I have an EGreat H1 which is relatively cheap and works v well. Audio goes to the AVR and Video to TV which means I can choose whether i want full surround for watching Movies or TV sound for TV Shows.

Just got myself an HDFury Vertex 2 which does the same with more stuff. Not cheap though.

[lifeork0di]

Hello,

Love kodi! I'm thinking about getting the odroid N2. Before I buy just wanted to ask some questions:

1. Can the n2 do 4K HDR10 Dolby Atmos/DTS Audio passthrough?
2. Can it do 4k Dolby Dolby Atmos/DTS Audio passthrough?
3. My soundbar is the samsung soundbar q70r - the output port is ARC and the input port doesnt say anything? Would it still passthrough the audio to the soundbar and video to the TV?
4. Is there something that I should be aware of, any gotchas?

Thank you

[wrxtasy]

Yes to Questions 1 & 2

For Q3, just looked at Q70R Tech Specs and it supports 4K HDR video passthrough as well so you would have no problems getting such video from the N2 to the 4K HDR TV. Audio will not be an issue.

Q4. Currently the AMLogic modded (Android) Linux Kernel, that is used by CoreELEC Kodi does not support HDR10+ and forces such content to plays back as HDR10 only.
I suspect that might get fixed now Google have announced HDR10+ support for upcoming Google Play Movies - so AMLogic being one of their Android TV partners will likely bug fix such support.

Anything I've forgotten will be in this https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=332180

eMMC storage is faster vs using microSDHC. 16GB is all you need.

[thenry]

4. Is there something that I should be aware of, any gotchas?

Be sure to only buy it from a retailer you can get a proper warranty from. e.g in EU where you have automatic 2 years warranty or ameridroid where you can add a warranty for an extra fee.
The standard warranty otherwise is only 4 weeks.

[grizzledyoungman]

Yes to Questions 1 & 2

For Q3, just looked at Q70R Tech Specs and it supports 4K HDR video passthrough as well so you would have no problems getting such video from the N2 to the 4K HDR TV. Audio will not be an issue.

Q4. Currently the AMLogic modded (Android) Linux Kernel, that is used by CoreELEC Kodi does not support HDR10+ and forces such content to plays back as HDR10 only.
I suspect that might get fixed now Google have announced HDR10+ support for upcoming Google Play Movies - so AMLogic being one of their Android TV partners will likely bug fix such support.

Anything I've forgotten will be in this https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=332180

eMMC storage is faster vs using microSDHC. 16GB is all you need.

On the subject of "all you need," is 2GB RAM sufficient?  I would guess yes, given how efficient CoreElec is.   But want to confirm.  Currently Ameridroid only has 2GB units, but if there is any real world performance advantage to the 4GB unit I can wait.

[Boulder]

For Yes to Questions 1 & 2

For Q3, just looked at Q70R Tech Specs and it supports 4K HDR video passthrough as well so you would have no problems getting such video from the N2 to the 4K HDR TV. Audio will not be an issue.

Q4. Currently the AMLogic modded (Android) Linux Kernel, that is used by CoreELEC Kodi does not support HDR10+ and forces such content to plays back as HDR10 only.
I suspect that might get fixed now Google have announced HDR10+ support for upcoming Google Play Movies - so AMLogic being one of their Android TV partners will likely bug fix such support.

Anything I've forgotten will be in this https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=332180

eMMC storage is faster vs using microSDHC. 16GB is all you need.

On the subject of "all you need," is 2GB RAM sufficient?  I would guess yes, given how efficient CoreElec is.   But want to confirm.  Currently Ameridroid only has 2GB units, but if there is any real world performance advantage to the 4GB unit I can wait. 

For CoreELEC usage, 2GB is enough. The OS itself uses very little and then some for caching.

[Newbie_from_NJ]

That's not how ARC and eARC work. They don't send the audio in the same way as HDMI sources do, so connecting the eARC input from your TV into an HDMI input on your AVR (rather than an ARC-capable HDMI output) won't work. (You are connecting two inputs together)

HDMI sources send the audio within the video stream, on the video data pins - using the spaces in horizontal and vertical blanking around the video to carry audio packets. ARC and eARC use separate pins to carry audio in the reverse direction. ARC and eARC inputs on TVs are 'special' as they send TV audio back down the cable 'the wrong way' using a separate audio standard and channel specifically for reverse audio carriage (i.e. they are HDMI inputs BUT TV Audio outputs). eARC and ARC outputs on AVRs are similarly 'special' as they are HDMI Video (and in some cases Audio) outputs BUT ARC/eARC audio inputs as well to accept ARC/eARC audio from the TV.

Prior to reading your response, I went home that day and tried it. Yup, exactly as you said... that's not how eARC and ARC work, thus I receive no audio at all.
 

The only way you'll get HD Audio from your N2 is :

1. Connect it to an HDMI input on your AVR and watch the N2 via the AVR. (However if your AVR doesn't support HDMI 2.0 you'll be limited to HDMI 1.4 video - so no 2160p50/60, no HDR I think etc.)

My AVR is HDMI 2.0 (4K), however, it's not HDMI 2.0a/b (HDR)... so if I go this route, I can’t play any HDR content. When I tried, I got a blue screen. Although, the AVR did play the audio and it showed the correct, ‘red Dobly TrueHD’ icon. That's why I connected the N2 directly to my TV instead of an AVR input. This way, I can play HDR content and only take a bit of a hit on the audio. Still sounds great, but HD Audio plays as Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC3). Not sure why. I assume it’s a limitation of ARC on the AVR, as my TV is eARC (HDMI 2.1).

2. Replace your AVR with one that supports eARC

That’s my plan. I believe eARC is HDMI 2.1 and there are no AVRs with HDMI 2.1, yet. AVSForum anticipates something this year. No sense upgrading my AVR now when this technology is right around the corner. Might as well hold out until it’s released. Hopefully, HDMI 2.1 AVRs won’t cost and arm and a leg!

3. Invest in an HD Audio extractor (these are non-trivial and not as cheap as SPDIF audio extractors) which will have an HDMI 2.0 input for your N2, and an HDMI 2.0 output for your TV and and HDMI 1.4 output that carries video (black or downscaled HD) and HD Audio to feed your AVR. (HD Fury make one, but there are cheaper ones I suspect)

I’m still a bit confused on how this will help me. My AVR is already HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2. I guess I need clarification on the physical connections to understand the big picture of how it works. I still don’t see how I can get HDR and HD audio to work if my AVR is not HDMI 2.0a/b.

[noggin]

That's not how ARC and eARC work. They don't send the audio in the same way as HDMI sources do, so connecting the eARC input from your TV into an HDMI input on your AVR (rather than an ARC-capable HDMI output) won't work. (You are connecting two inputs together)

HDMI sources send the audio within the video stream, on the video data pins - using the spaces in horizontal and vertical blanking around the video to carry audio packets. ARC and eARC use separate pins to carry audio in the reverse direction. ARC and eARC inputs on TVs are 'special' as they send TV audio back down the cable 'the wrong way' using a separate audio standard and channel specifically for reverse audio carriage (i.e. they are HDMI inputs BUT TV Audio outputs). eARC and ARC outputs on AVRs are similarly 'special' as they are HDMI Video (and in some cases Audio) outputs BUT ARC/eARC audio inputs as well to accept ARC/eARC audio from the TV.

Prior to reading your response, I went home that day and tried it. Yup, exactly as you said... that's not how eARC and ARC work, thus I receive no audio at all.
 

The only way you'll get HD Audio from your N2 is :

1. Connect it to an HDMI input on your AVR and watch the N2 via the AVR. (However if your AVR doesn't support HDMI 2.0 you'll be limited to HDMI 1.4 video - so no 2160p50/60, no HDR I think etc.)

My AVR is HDMI 2.0 (4K), however, it's not HDMI 2.0a/b (HDR)... so if I go this route, I can’t play any HDR content. When I tried, I got a blue screen. Although, the AVR did play the audio and it showed the correct, ‘red Dobly TrueHD’ icon. That's why I connected the N2 directly to my TV instead of an AVR input. This way, I can play HDR content and only take a bit of a hit on the audio. Still sounds great, but HD Audio plays as Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC3). Not sure why. I assume it’s a limitation of ARC on the AVR, as my TV is eARC (HDMI 2.1).

2. Replace your AVR with one that supports eARC

That’s my plan. I believe eARC is HDMI 2.1 and there are no AVRs with HDMI 2.1, yet. AVSForum anticipates something this year. No sense upgrading my AVR now when this technology is right around the corner. Might as well hold out until it’s released. Hopefully, HDMI 2.1 AVRs won’t cost and arm and a leg! 

Beware of thinking that you have to have an AVR with full HDMI 2.1 compatibility to have compatibility with functionality added in HDMI 2.1's spec. (Some HDMI functionality gets back ported to older receivers. HLG was a good example of that. It was added to the HDMI 2.0b spec, but lots of HDMI 2.0a AVRs and TVs had it back ported to them via a firmware upgrade) There are plenty of eARC AVRs out there already, some of which were sold with eARC hardware but ARC firmware, and had eARC functionality added via a firmware upgrade.

If you really need something core to HDMI 2.1 (such as the newer 8K and 4K120 resolutions and HDMI video carriage formats, such as variable frame rate, compressed video etc.) then it's worth waiting for a full HDMI 2.1 AVR I guess. Personally I specify for what I'm reasonably going to need now and in the next 2-3 years. When I bought my AVR a year or two ago I ensured it had HLG and Dolby Vision Support (or was promised to have them) - and I use both of those now.

3. Invest in an HD Audio extractor (these are non-trivial and not as cheap as SPDIF audio extractors) which will have an HDMI 2.0 input for your N2, and an HDMI 2.0 output for your TV and and HDMI 1.4 output that carries video (black or downscaled HD) and HD Audio to feed your AVR. (HD Fury make one, but there are cheaper ones I suspect)

I’m still a bit confused on how this will help me. My AVR is already HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2. I guess I need clarification on the physical connections to understand the big picture of how it works. I still don’t see how I can get HDR and HD audio to work if my AVR is not HDMI 2.0a/b.  

I had assumed your AVR was HDMI 1.4b (as I wasn't aware of any HDMI 2.0 AVRs that didn't support HDR10)

A suitable AVR HD Audio extractor will take an HDMI 2.0b signal and split it into an HDMI 2.0b HDR signal to feed directly to your TV's HDMI input, and an HDMI 1.4b signal carrying HD Audio but no video, to feed into your AVR. As a result you get full UHD HDR video - as that is fed directly to your TV, and full HD Audio as that is fed to your AVR in an HDMI 1.4b-friendly format.  This is a similar approach to that used by some dual-output UHD Blu-ray players (my Sony X800 for instance) that have two HDMI outputs - one is full HDMI 2.0b for connection to a display (and/or an HDMI 2.0b-friendly AVR), the other is an HDMI 1.4b audio-only output to feed to a legacy HDMI 1.4b (and so fine for an SDR-only HDMI 2.0) AVR.  The splitter allows devices with a single HDMI 2.0b output to work with HDMI 2.0b displays AND legacy AVRs.

[grizzledyoungman]

Just set up my Odroid N2.  Man, this thing flies!  Responsiveness with Aeon Silvo is better than any Kodi device I've ever had, and the image quality is superb.  The fact that this little beast can play out anything - including high bitrate Hi10 video with multichannel FLAC - is incredible.

On that note, question for all: are there any recommended performance and/or image quality tweaks?  Is the CPU/GPU tweak effective?

In particular tweaks for 480p/24 content (I have a nice collection of early 90s TV that I revisit when life is hard)?  I know the chipset has some advanced video processing features but can't tell if they're enabled by default.  I also notice that 480p/24 is one of the few formats that can't be whitelisted, so I assume some processing and scaling is going on and would love some insight into how to experiment with settings/features there.

[noggin]

In particular tweaks for 480p/24 content (I have a nice collection of early 90s TV that I revisit when life is hard)?  I know the chipset has some advanced video processing features but can't tell if they're enabled by default.  I also notice that 480p/24 is one of the few formats that can't be whitelisted, so I assume some processing and scaling is going on and would love some insight into how to experiment with settings/features there.

I'm pretty certain that HDMI spec doesn't support 480p24 native output (hence it not being offered for whitelisting) - so you will need to scale to either 720p24 or 1080p24 to get 480p content output at 24Hz. (*). Alternatively you could output at 60Hz (*) and let your TV detect and remove 3:2 - but not all do that (and it's less neat than a 24Hz output mode)

(*) or the 23.976/59.94 equivalents.

[otic]

what input devices you are using with Odroid N2? I've hooked two different wireless keyboards (with nano-receivers) and always get laging/ hanging input response... Maybe if I go with bluetooth connection, I get better? I heard that USB ports work like a hub- maybe that is why the connecion prolblem occour?

[Sholander]

what input devices you are using with Odroid N2? I've hooked two different wireless keyboards (with nano-receivers) and always get laging/ hanging input response... Maybe if I go with bluetooth connection, I get better? I heard that USB ports work like a hub- maybe that is why the connecion prolblem occour?

I have USB3.0 HD, WiFi (Logitech) mouse, WiFi (Rii mini i8+) keyboard, and WiFi (Gamesit-G3s) game controller; all connected with WiFi nano receivers, at the same time and none of them lag.
Tried on 4 different Android (TV) versions and on CoreElec which is my daily driver. On CE I also connect an BT Game controller to the front micro USB port for dual game play. Everything works fine form me, no lag whatsoever...

[otic]

well, I/ve just found possible answer for my problem:

https://forum.odroid.com/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=34945

so, when I get some micro USB OTG adapter, I tell if it works. Thanks for quick reply Sholander