START HERE - Pick the Right Kodi Box (updated Dec 2020)
(2016-05-03, 05:51)wrxtasy Wrote: What would be interesting is Noggin's thoughts on a Chromebox vs a S905 ODROID C2, particularly in a bang for your bucks($) shootout now a bunch of issues have been fixed on the C2, as detailed over HERE

OK. Chromebox feels a bit snappier to navigate, and a bit more 'robust'. C2 is very much a work-in-progress, whereas the Chromebox is based on Intel stuff which is a lot more established, and appears to be a more established platform. The C2 still does 'random' stuff quite regularly (freezing, rebooting etc. more regularly than the Chromebox.) You may not see this much in day-to-day use - I probably see more of it as I push things a bit.

In terms of picture quality - both are great for the content they play. I haven't had time to properly compare the deinterlacing performance - but both are good for real-world content.

The C2 has a big advantage in supporting HEVC and HDMI 2.0.

The Chromebox is really a good solution for Live/Recorded TV, DVD and Blu-ray un-recompressed rips (VC-1 interlaced content excepted), and will play UHD H264 content at up to 30p output. This covers all my main viewing requirements (but not my 'experimental' stuff) It also - and this is important to a lot of people - has both HD Audio bit streaming and PCM 5.1/7.1 (for lossless output of FLAC and PCM multichannel content, as well as the highest quality output of AAC 5.1 stuff avoiding transcoding to Dolby Digital)

The C2 adds HEVC decode up to at least 2160/60p and UHD 50/60Hz output. (Which is my 'experimental' stuff!) However the C2 has only support for Dolby True HD bit streaming at the moment, with no DTS-HD MA/HRA, E-AC3 or PCM 5.1/7.1. This means that you get a lossy core stream for DTS-HD MA/HRA (good enough for many) and have to transcode lossless PCM and FLAC multichannel to lossy Dolby (not quite so good for many) and transcode lossy AAC 5.1 to lossy Dolby (not ideal). The C2's biggest limitations (apart from robustness) are currently in Audio handling IMO.

The Chromebox comes with built in WiFi and Bluetooth (a PS3 Blu-ray remote is an ideal controller), the C2 comes with CEC (which the Chromebox doesn't have) so you get remote control via your TV remote, and the C2 will remotely control your TV and AVR inputs and volume.

Personally my Chromebox is still currently my main go-to box for Kodi viewing of SD and HD content in my main location, with my Pi 3s in secondary locations, but the C2 sits next to the Chromebox and I am happy to use it, until I'm not.

In terms of Bang for Buck - it depends how much you have to spend for each platform, and whether things like the Full HD Audio and PCM 5.1/7.1 WiFi and Bluetooth or CEC, HEVC and UHD, that are unique to one or other box have value for you. (The C2 should, in theory, support DTS-HD MA/HRA and PCM 5.1/7.1 - as the hardware is capable. There currently seem to be driver/kernel issues that prevent the hardware being fully exploited?)


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 April 2016) - by noggin - 2016-05-03, 10:21
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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