START HERE - Pick the Right Kodi Box (updated Dec 2020)
(2016-03-30, 10:44)9800pro Wrote: Hey wrxtasy, thx for answering me.
I have a Panasonic plasma TV 3 years old now and im not planning to get a new one (this one still has better picture then most of new lcd-s).
That said i don't really care for 10bit and 4K at 60Hz. Maybe things change in a year or two but i seriously doubt that.
U1 with Air mouse is some 170€ but frankly i don't use keyboard or apps much within Kodi or Android.
So two most important things are PQ on 1080p screen and HD audio all from local storage, i don't plan on using Netflix or similar stuff.
I see also Wetek has a new device coming up, Hub which should replace Core model.
If what they say about only 1 GB of ram is enough for everyday use of Kodi it might be the best option.
Just when is it coming out is everyone's guess i guess Smile

Options I'd suggest you consider are :

1. Chromebox or similar x86 box with a Haswell or Broadwell Celeron. Will make mincemeat of H264, MPEG2 and VC-1 (but not interlaced VC-1), deliver high quality video, excellent deinterlacing (if you watch interlaced content), and will bitstream HD. Will not hardware decode H265/HEVC - but recent updates mean software decoding of 720p and some 1080p is possibly with software decode. Some very simple and well documented hacking required to make it work.

2. Wetek Core. Similar to Chromebox, but with added HEVC/H265 8-bit hardware decode. There are some caveats. VOB (i.e. DVD ISO or VIDEO_TS folders) content will not hardware decode and deinterlace properly, meaning some DVD content will not play well. Personally I favour the Chromebox over the Core - but I don't watch HEVC/H265 content. HD Audio bitstreaming is new to the platform, but seems pretty robust. I would say that the Chromebox is probably more mature as a platform, and has more development grunt as it is a standard Intel box in most respects. Works out of the box with Android, and very simple to get OpenElec dual-boot working on it.

3. Raspberry Pi 2/3. No HD Audio bitstreaming BUT you can get lossless HD audio playback for all but 5.1/7.1 192kHz tracks, by using decoding to PCM 5.1/7.1 (48/96kHz) or PCM 4.0 (192kHz). Unless you need Atmos or DTS:x then the HD Audio lossless decoded to PCM that the Pi 2/3 offers is close to identical (actually identical in many situations). If you can cope with the lights on your amp not saying DTS HD Master Audio and Dolby True HD, and accept that lossless decode is audibly identical, this should be good enough. You get H264, VC-1 and MPEG2 - both interlaced and progressive in all cases (the irony that the Pi 2/3 out performs both the Core and the Chromebox in the basics is quite funny - as both the others have issues with some interlaced content) with a very good quality deinterlace (pretty close to identical to the Core though I think the Chromebox edges it). HEVC/H265 is limited to CPU decode and so 720p and some 1080p on a Pi3 (but you can't expect all 1080p to work). If you play HEVC on a Pi3 you probably want to fit a heatsink. You need to find a case and a PSU and source and flash your own uSD card. Very well documented. The Pi series have higher levels of support than the Wetek Core.

Not relevant to the OP but the Chromebox and Core will do 2160/30p and below 4K output, the Pi is limited to 1080p. The Pi 3 will do 3D MVC decode with 24p Frame Packed Full HD 3D output, the Chromebox is SBS only, the Core has experimental 3D MVC decode, but this is output at half-resolution as the AMLogic chips don't currently support Frame Packed Full HD 3D output.

If you want to do 'other' stuff then the Chromebox and Pi are more tinkering platforms than the Core. The Chromebox and Core have GigE (not relevant for core media playback duties with Blu-ray quality content and below) but relevant if you also want to transfer files from your Kodi box to a server over GigE. Pi 2 doesn't have WiFi or Bluetooth, Pi 3 does.

Pis have best in class CEC (allowing you to control Kodi from your TV remote, and allowing Kodi to control your amp volume remotely). Core has some CEC (think you get TV remote control but not remote Amp volume). Chromebox has no CEC (can be added with external USB HDMI passthrough device from Pulse8)


Messages In This Thread
The right box for me - by tyem - 2016-01-13, 15:29
Jesus Box - by kellyvb - 2016-03-04, 20:18
RE: Pick the Right Kodi Box (updated March 2016) - by noggin - 2016-03-30, 11:59
Thanks for the Help! - by jmc15john - 2016-11-09, 16:44
Jarvis crashes and wipes - by gotthis2000 - 2017-01-10, 22:14
RE: Jarvis crashes and wipes - by nickr - 2017-01-10, 22:58
T95Z Plus Android TV Box - by gooner1971 - 2017-03-17, 13:04
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