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Because Intel released an Android install that you can use with the NUC, so if you really wanted to you could have both :D (or dual boot).
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goujam
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Do the Amlogic boards do HD audio or 24p, I know the NUC does im not sure the Android boxes do
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jjd-uk
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The new Amlogic M8 SoC's can supposedly do HD audio & 24p I believe, however there is no native Android support for HD audio or refresh rate switching so what is possibly is down to what the manufacturer can hack into their firmware, at least that's how I understand it.
If audio & video quality matters more than simplicity, cost & convenience (which is what Android is best at), then proper desktop hardware such as the NUC is still the far better choice.
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Thanks guys.
So it seems the Android platform will be better for the things that JJD has suggested and the Intel for XBMC.
... but I still can’t help thinking that a dedicated media player (like the Armlogic ?), wouldn’t be better developed, at an electronic design level.... for video playback ?
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Its not the chip, its the OS you are using thats the issue. No native support on Android for HD Audio and 24P as he mentioned. So even if you get Intel NUC and put android on it, you will not get those features.
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The thing is if Google unveils a new Android TV platform at IO in a few weeks, it's almost certain to have HD audio support, and usually any Android updates make their way to older devices (thanks to XDA) so lets hope that this situation will be resolved quickly.
A dedicated media player for $100 with remote that has no limitations will be very nice indeed.
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I have several XBMC Units with the Alienware X51 being my favorite but I have to say the new Amlogic M8 box plays XBMC just as smooth. As much as it is convenient having the windows OS and a bluray player built into the Alienware as an HTPC unit I find that 90% of its usage is just streaming from XBMC. If you are looking for a dedicated XBMC player that can do basic functions ( web browsing, email, facebook etc.. ) then I think that the Android Boxes are definitely the way to go for the price.
The M8 plays 1080P flawlessly and has HD Passthru in XBMC. Great picture quality and sound in XBMC is my biggest concern and at $100 the M8 is perfect.
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Did I read your post right? HD audio bitstreaming (TrueHD and DTS-MA)? Which M8 box? And, are you using the XBMC build that comes installed I assume w/the box, or Gotham or the latest nightly? Thanks.
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2014-05-08, 22:28
(This post was last modified: 2014-05-09, 16:51 by Packetcrypt.)
S802 does do HDMI ( Dolby + DTS ) Passthru but it is done via Software and not Hardware. What I mean by this is that the unit will pass the signal on to a HD Receiver ( AVR ) and that all hardware decoding is done in the AVR and not the M8.
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If it's done via software, I'm wondering if it still plays fine, w/o hiccups or dropouts, and also not negatively affecting video playback itself?
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