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START HERE - Pick the Right Kodi Box (updated Dec 2020)
I'm looking at the MINIX NEO U1. Though I'm a little overwhelmed at the options available.

I have the Sony 850C 4k TV.

I'm mostly concerned with 4k viewing at 60 hz. Is this the box for me? 3-D isn't really important. Just 5.1 Audio...
(2016-04-26, 07:33)JimboJam Wrote: I'm looking at the MINIX NEO U1. Though I'm a little overwhelmed at the options available.

I have the Sony 850C 4k TV.

I'm mostly concerned with 4k viewing at 60 hz. Is this the box for me? 3-D isn't really important. Just 5.1 Audio...

Where are you expecting to source 2160/60p content from ?
(2016-04-26, 09:27)noggin Wrote:
(2016-04-26, 07:33)JimboJam Wrote: I'm looking at the MINIX NEO U1. Though I'm a little overwhelmed at the options available.

I have the Sony 850C 4k TV.

I'm mostly concerned with 4k viewing at 60 hz. Is this the box for me? 3-D isn't really important. Just 5.1 Audio...

Where are you expecting to source 2160/60p content from ?

Hoping to future proof it slightly? Perhaps that is naïve. Either way, 4k streaming from Kodi is the most important aspect for me. HDR would be a plus, if that is even possible too.
(2016-04-26, 10:21)JimboJam Wrote:
(2016-04-26, 09:27)noggin Wrote:
(2016-04-26, 07:33)JimboJam Wrote: I'm looking at the MINIX NEO U1. Though I'm a little overwhelmed at the options available.

I have the Sony 850C 4k TV.

I'm mostly concerned with 4k viewing at 60 hz. Is this the box for me? 3-D isn't really important. Just 5.1 Audio...

Where are you expecting to source 2160/60p content from ?

Hoping to future proof it slightly? Perhaps that is naïve.

No - more a question. 60p is not used for movies and scripted TV shows, which are shot at 24p. The only likely source of 50p and 60p UHD content is likely to be broadcast TV for sport, entertainment etc., or for content you shoot yourself on a DSLR or similar camera.

Personally I'd not chose a main Kodi platform based on future requirements. You pay over the odds for future proofing and have no guarantee that it will deliver quite what you want. One thing to be very aware of is that UHD is likely to also introduce HDR (High Dynamic Range) content, and there are multiple standards for this, none of which have emerged as a leader. (Dolby Vision, HDR-10, HLG etc.)

I'd buy for the present, not the future. Upgrading to the future will be cheaper when it arrives, than trying to second-guess what it is now.

At the moment - the only real sources of mainstream UHD content are streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, with UHD Blu-ray beginning to appear (but there is no current backup/ripping solution for these) There are some broadcast sources too - but they are pretty DRMed (other than test loops).
Thanks for the reply. If I was looking at a 24p Box, what would you recommend then for 4k?
(2016-04-26, 11:23)JimboJam Wrote: Thanks for the reply. If I was looking at a 24p Box, what would you recommend then for 4k?

I wouldn't at the moment - because of the lack of standards and content. However the Wetek Core is a decent box with 2160/24p output (and HEVC 8 bit 2160p decode), and is one of the few boxes with Netflix HD support (not UHD - and for some bizarre reason only stereo audio with Netflix).

The nVidia Shield does UHD and also supports Netflix UHD content, as I think does the 4K Amazon Fire TV 2.

If you're more in to tinkering at the bleading edge then something like an ODroid C2 (which has an S905 SoC which supports HEVC 10 bit and 2160/60p output) is fun to play with - but it is very early days and has lots of rough edges. The forthcoming new Wetek players should be interesting too.

Personally, at the moment, I'd buy a box that played the content I currently have - and for most of that, in my case, a Raspberry Pi 3 and a Chromebox deliver excellent results for me, and they are what I use for day-to-day 1080p and below viewing. All of my current viewing is really H264, VC-1 and MPEG2 1080p and below. I have a Wetek Core and an ODroid C2 which I play with - but the lack of consistent DVD playback support (they don't support interlaced DVD content) means they aren't currently in front-line action.
Hello friends,

I currently have an old ION2 Zbox that I use as HTPC. It is very old and I believe it is time to replace it.

I want a box that supports the following features:
1) I will use Kodi for playback, since I have other Kodi boxes in my home (I use MySQL for sharing the library stored in my NAS).
2) HEVC 10 bits playback.
3) 4k support.
4) 5.1 audio passthrough.
5) Auto frame switch and resolution, etc.

My videos are stored in my NAS, which is connected to my router through Gigabit Ethernet.

I have found NVidia Shield TV very interesting.

Can you confirm that NVidia Shield support all those features?

If yes, which version of Kodi should I use in Nvidia Shield TV?

Thank you in advance.
Hi there.

I'm trying to find a new, cheap toy for kodi/openelec, considering between two devices: RPI 3 and Odroid C1+.
They both cost the same in my country, but i wanna know witch one is faster/snappier in terms of menu navigation speed/lag?
The RPi3 would be the one I would choose (and I did). Just a lot more support for it.
Denon X6500H 7.2.4 -> LG OLED65C9P
Main:
NVIDIA Shield Pro (2019)
Other Devices: Apple TV 4K, FireStick 4K Max (2023), Homatics Box R 4K
Retired devices: Zidoo X9S, Xiaomi Mi Box, All the old RPi’s
I'd go for an RPi 3. It's very snappy, and has better support for the content I play than the C1+. The Pi 3 has multichannel PCM output and plays interlaced DVD content. The Pi 3 also has sustained and continued development - the C1+ is probably now eclipsed by the C2 - and I doubt much more development work will be done for it.
What are interlaced DVD's again ? Wink

If you want a cheap HDMI 2.0, 1080p/4K and 8/10-bit HEVC Hardware decoding in a speedy package running LibreELEC then the C2 is where it is at. You are going to run into a 1080p HEVC software decoding limitations sooner rather than later with a RPi3.
Yes there are a few rough edges, such as no support for old Interlaced DVD, but regular movie DVD Rips work. Audio will only be 5.1 too.

Speed wise I would say this is the order: RPi2 < C1+ < RPi3 < C2.
All running either OpenELEC or LibreELEC.
The C2 is very snappy especially one with a eMMC 5.0 Flash Storage card. Power up to main Kodi screen is ~ 12 seconds.

Yes the RPi3 will have the best support for any Kodi box period. Its a very mature product now, the RPi series of Kodi devices. I just wish it had of been released with 2016 Hardware Tech specs.

The AML S905 SoC, like you see in the C2 will get a whole lot of developer support, both in Android and OpenELEC / LibreELEC going forward as WeTek are about to release their S905 line of products as well. Any minor annoyances now will likely get fixed reasonably soon for this chipset.

Coming down the pipe is the S905 WeTek Hub I'm beta testing now. This product will put the cat in amongst the cheap Kodi pigeons. It will be very popular I predict if it launches around the same price as a complete RPi3 Kit.

(2016-04-27, 03:46)wrxtasy Wrote: What are interlaced DVD's again ? Wink
What are standards again? Wink

I'm still amazed that something which is such a long-standing standard has been a problem for so long across multiple AMLogic platforms and still hasn't been fixed by them. Particularly as they have no issues with MPEG2 interlaced content in other wrappers. If this was a Pi it would have been fixed very quickly, and definitely not been carried over from one SoC to the next.

Quote:If you want a cheap HDMI 2.0, 1080p/4K and 8/10-bit HEVC Hardware decoding in a speedy package running LibreELEC then the C2 is where it is at. You are going to run into a 1080p HEVC software decoding limitations sooner rather than later with a RPi3.

I think that depends how you source your content. HEVC is not used by Blu-ray, DVD or broadcast TV (yet), and you can chose not to use it for re-encodes (or chose not to re-encode in the first place)

If you live in Germany and watch DVB-T then 1080p HEVC could become an issue (as they are migrating some channels from 576/50i to 1080/50p) - otherwise the only sources of HEVC that I can see are probably pirated or illegally distributed stuff. I'm not aware of any other countries currently testing HEVC or planning to deploy it in the short-to-near term. Most countries are SD MPEG2/H264 or HD H264 for TV - with the US still clinging to their ancient HD MPEG2 standard from the late 90s.

If you shoot your own UHD content, or watch the UHD DVB-S2 barker channels then the Pi 3 is not for you! (I have watched a barker channel for 10 minutes and almost went mad) If you master your own HEVC content, then the Pi 3 probably isn't for you/

HEVC could be an issue for you - but equally it might not be an issue for you at all. It isn't for me. Interlaced DVD may not be an issue for you, but it is a big issue for me. I have a large number of interlaced DVDs in my collection. Other people may have none.

If you don't need HEVC and don't need UHD/4K then the Pi 3 delivers now. The C2 doesn't quite. It shows huge promise - but isn't quite delivering on a number of levels, and has major issues with audio still.

My Pi 3 is still my go-to player because it plays pretty much everything. All interlaced content, whether MPEG2 DVD (problem on AMLogic-based C1 or C2) or VC-1 interlaced (problem for Linux x86 platforms like the Chromebox) plays, and I get PCM multichannel audio for DVB-T2 broadcasts here (which are AAC 5.1) as well as HD Audio.

Quote:Yes there are a few rough edges, such as no support for old Interlaced DVD, but regular movie DVD Rips work. Audio will only be 5.1 too.
Really at the moment you are stuck with 2.0 PCM only aren't you - or have the drop-outs been fixed recently? If the drop-outs have been fixed then currently the C2 audio will only be lossy SPDFI-quality 5.1 DD/DTS bitstreams. No PCM multichannel, no HD Audio bit streaming. There is an OE build for the S905 MiniMX with Dolby True HD bit streaming, and Wetek have beta-released a build with claims of True HD and DTS HD-MA for the S812-based Core (but in my tests it didn't work with either on my amp). Wetek have already delivered HD Audio in Android on the S812 Core - so it is possibly going to happen soon.

Quote:Speed wise I would say this is the order: RPi2 < C1+ < RPi3 < C2.
All running either OpenELEC or LibreELEC.
The C2 is very snappy especially one with a eMMC 5.0 Flash Storage card. Power up to main Kodi screen is ~ 12 seconds.
Yes - the C2 is incredibly quick if you run it from eMMC - though the eMMC cards are pretty expensive (an 8GB eMMC costs almost as much as a Pi3...)

Quote:Yes the RPi3 will have the best support for any Kodi box period. Its a very mature product now, the RPi series of Kodi devices. I just wish it had of been released with 2016 Hardware Tech specs.

I guess it depends where you get your content from in 2016. If you don't need UHD - and don't source content from 'unofficial' sources then the Pi 3 ticks all the media playback boxes still (more so than almost any other platform other than Windows) with the exception of HD Audio bit streaming, though the lossless decode of HD Audio is a very good solution for that unless you need Atmos/DTS:x.

And the support is second to none, as there are Kodi developers who actually work at firmware level on the Pi 3, unlike AMLogic who seem to stop development the minute a SoC ships... The Pi developers have also not ignored devices from when they first launched in 2012 - which is almost unheard of for any other ARM developer.

Quote:The AML S905 SoC, like you see in the C2 will get a whole lot of developer support, both in Android and OpenELEC / LibreELEC going forward as WeTek are about to release their S905 line of products as well. Any minor annoyances now will likely get fixed reasonably soon for this chipset.
You say that - and Wetek have been very good - but how long has the interlaced DVD issue (which is a pretty significant bug) been rolling on for? I'd love to recommend the Wetek Core - but when it can't play a standard, commercially released, DVD properly it's pretty difficult to. I get the feeling that Wetek are doing a great job, but are being limited by what AMLogic are doing. That's not an issue with the Pi Foundation and the Pi development of Kodi, because we have core development skill in the Kodi ranks.

Quote:Coming down the pipe is the S905 WeTek Hub I'm beta testing now. This product will put the cat in amongst the cheap Kodi pigeons. It will be very popular I predict if it launches around the same price as a complete RPi3 Kit.

Yes. Fingers crossed we get a more modern kernel on the S905 soon (USB DVB-T tuners released in the last few years will be useable...). It will be amazing if the rough edges get knocked off and development continues in anger for it.

I notice that currently the LibreElec official releases have functionality missing on the AMLogic platform currently (no Docker support) because of the old kernel...
(2016-04-27, 03:46)wrxtasy Wrote: What are interlaced DVD's again ? Wink
(2016-04-27, 09:31)noggin Wrote: What are standards again? Wink

I'm still amazed that something which is such a long-standing standard has been a problem for so long across multiple AMLogic platforms and still hasn't been fixed by them. If this was a Pi it would have been fixed very quickly.
I agree, but I'm surmising there will be more consumers out there wanting a platform supporting 8/10-bit Hardware decoded HEVC than an old Interlaced DVD standards. No matter what the source of video content.

Quote:Yes - the C2 is incredibly quick if you run it from eMMC - though the eMMC cards are pretty expensive (an 8GB eMMC costs almost as much as a Pi3...)
8GB eMMC was $18 last time I checked here, if you want speed it works well:
http://www.hardkernel.com/main/products/...5622510341

Quote:The AML S905 SoC, like you see in the C2 will get a whole lot of developer support, both in Android and OpenELEC / LibreELEC going forward as WeTek are about to release their S905 line of products as well. Any minor annoyances now will likely get fixed reasonably soon for this chipset.
(2016-04-27, 09:31)noggin Wrote: You say that - and Wetek have been very good - but how long has the interlaced DVD issue (which is a pretty significant bug) been rolling on for. I'd love to recommend the Wetek Core - but when it can't play a standard DVD it's pretty difficult to.
A bunch of us simply don't care for old Interlaced DVD, or have an old DVD player if the need ever arises to put the Grandfather slippers on and sip some Whisky, get drunk and laugh out loud whilst watching Blackadder ! Wink

(2016-04-27, 10:40)wrxtasy Wrote:
(2016-04-27, 03:46)wrxtasy Wrote: What are interlaced DVD's again ? Wink
(2016-04-27, 09:31)noggin Wrote: What are standards again? Wink

I'm still amazed that something which is such a long-standing standard has been a problem for so long across multiple AMLogic platforms and still hasn't been fixed by them. If this was a Pi it would have been fixed very quickly.
I agree, but I'm surmising there will be more consumers out there wanting a platform supporting 8/10-bit Hardware decoded HEVC than an old Interlaced DVD standards. No matter what the source of video content.
I guess so - though, I guess, as it HEVC has no relevance to the content I play, other than a couple of 2160/59.94p and 50p test clips for nerd value, it's irrelevant to me for day-to-day media playing.

Quote:
Quote:Yes - the C2 is incredibly quick if you run it from eMMC - though the eMMC cards are pretty expensive (an 8GB eMMC costs almost as much as a Pi3...)
8GB eMMC was $18 last time I checked here, if you want speed it works well:
http://www.hardkernel.com/main/products/...5622510341

If you want that in Europe it is nearer €24-30 once you include VAT from a local stockist like pollin.de or liymo.

http://www.pollin.de/shop/dt/OTA2OTgxOTk...droid.html
http://www.liymo.com/mc-odroid/mc-odroid...&order=ASC

I don't disagree about it being great - just that once you start putting an 8 or 16GB eMMC in a C2 you are moving away from Raspberry Pi 3 + 8GB uSD card price points and closer to x86 territory.
Quote:
Quote:The AML S905 SoC, like you see in the C2 will get a whole lot of developer support, both in Android and OpenELEC / LibreELEC going forward as WeTek are about to release their S905 line of products as well. Any minor annoyances now will likely get fixed reasonably soon for this chipset.
(2016-04-27, 09:31)noggin Wrote: You say that - and Wetek have been very good - but how long has the interlaced DVD issue (which is a pretty significant bug) been rolling on for. I'd love to recommend the Wetek Core - but when it can't play a standard DVD it's pretty difficult to.
A bunch of us simply don't care for old Interlaced DVD, or have an old DVD player if the need ever arises to put the Grandfather slippers on and sip some Whisky, get drunk and laugh out loud whilst watching Blackadder ! Wink

Yeah - but some of us do - and it isn't just old TV series. If you watch music concerts - whether classical, operatic, ballet or pop, rock or country - a large number of them will be shot interlaced, and the DVDs released interlaced. I have quite a lot of music DVDs in my collection - across many genres.

It's not just old 70s and 80s BBC shows like Monty Python or Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy... Though any platform that can't play those is deeply suspect... Wink

I do have a DVD player - but the whole point of Kodi and my unRAID server was convenience. What's the point if you have to have DVDs on the shelf to play them ?


(And isn't the C2 currently PCM 2.0 stereo only in reality - as the DD/DTS is unusable because of the drop outs?)
Thanks guys for all your answers . Ive ordered Rpi 3 mostly because it's cheap (costs 42 euro vs 60 euro for odroid c2) and has a support from *elec teams.
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