[wesk05]

I had it wrong... neither Shield nor HiMedia Q5/Q10 Pro will play 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 HEVC. Now I see why @wesk05 was asking if I was sure HiMedia actually played his 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 HEVC clips. Continuing to find that playback needs to be validated in more ways than one I tell ya...

Neither Shield nor HiMedia can play 4:2:2 MPEG2 either, not w/o serious artifacts. I've only found i3/i5 NUC and Sigma-based media players able to play this. H.264 4:2:2, I don't have samples to test with.

I was just trying to clear things up. It's all good now

If you disable mediacodec (surface) and mediacodec acceleration, Shield will sort of play the 4:2:2 MPEG2 clip. I say sort of because I get no audio and I am not sure why. It will also play the main10 4:4:4 and main12 4:2:2 HEVC clips with some frame drops. 2160p clips have huge frame drops. I think the fps drops to like 5. After a min. or so, it will just choke and die (I have some longer clips that are too large for uploading. It will take ages on my 5Mbps upstream TWC internet connection).

[ez009]

I've recently been having an issue with my AFTV2 and Kodi (Jarvis or Krypton) quitting immediately upon launch. A re-install fixes temporarily only to have the same issue days later.
Is anybody else having the same issue? Is this the new 5.2.1.1 “Not In My House” app blocking at work?

Also, in frustration I'm looking at other dedicated box solutions and the Himedia Q10 PRO looks great although the post about stuttering 23.976 by wrxtasy has me concerned.
Others seem to recommend the Intel NUC D34010WYK or the Shield. The full color discussion is above my needs now, as is 4k but just looking for a solid box that will give me pass through of any AUDIO.

Anyone care to nudge me in the right direction? thx.

EDIT: I think i’ve traced the quitting issue to Kodi being installed on an external SD card. If i eject and re-seat the card, Kodi launches. (so far so good)

[MistReaper]

Hi,

Thank you all so much for the free info you guys provide, very insightful.

I'm looking to buy my first Kodi box and I'm leaning towards the Wetek Core. Based on my needs below should I pull the trigger on the Core, wait for newer Wetek boxes or go for something else entirely?

- Full BD rips playback, or just 10GB & under type 720p/1080p? Full BD rips, VC-1, h.264 Remux, etc
- Need HD audio? Passthru (bitstreaming) a must, or decoded to multichannel PCM fine? At the moment no, but maybe in 1-2 years time I might need something for a dedicated 5.1 set up. (Slim chance I will need this)
- Need full 3D playback? No
- Netflix? SD okay or need HD? Need 4K? HD Netflix is needed, 4k Netflix might be needed in the near future.
- Amazon? SD okay or need HD/4K? I don't stream anything from Amazon.
- Other premium apps? Android gaming? No gaming whatsoever. 100% pure Kodi.
- 4K local media playback? Possibly in the near future, at the moment no.
- DVD/MPEG2 SD playback? I'm not sure, no?
- VC-1 playback a must? Yes
- Any other needs, wants? Not that I can think of. I will be using the device solely for Kodi either running files off a NAS or an external HDD.

[HereIsTom]

Also, in frustration I'm looking at other dedicated box solutions and the Himedia Q10 PRO looks great although the post about stuttering 23.976 by wrxtasy has me concerned.

Stuttering is solved in the last firmware update of the HiMedia Q10 Pro.
I'm more then happy with the Q10 Pro!

[hdmkv]

@MistReaper, WeTek Hub (more so over Core) would fit your needs as you've outlined them. Only thing is VC-1 1080i/29.970 has slight judder in playback; 1080p/23.976 no issues.

[wrxtasy]

Only thing is VC-1 1080i/29.970 has slight judder in playback

This is fixed, at least for LibreELEC. Not sure about Android.

[wrxtasy]

Also, in frustration I'm looking at other dedicated box solutions and the Himedia Q10 PRO looks great although the post about stuttering 23.976 by wrxtasy has me concerned.

Stuttering is solved in the last firmware update of the HiMedia Q10 Pro.
I'm more then happy with the Q10 Pro!

Someone has not being paying attention in Class, you need to be Very specific when saying "Solved"....

HiMedia, with the latest f/w does support 23.976, 24.000 and 29.970 properly.

Watched 2 3D ISO's all the way yesterday and noticed microstutters about half a dozen times in each. While they seem more subtle than w/previous f/w's as some have reported, there's still noticeable even when trying to enjoy the movie & not really keeping at eye out for them.

hdmkv, can you clear up the mixed messages then please. I like everyone else am pretty confused at this point in time ?

Minor microstutters just for 3D at the moment (as it's being output at 24.000). 2D is fine. Sorry, should've clarified this.

[hdmkv]

Yep, I've been doing video tests for years and can still goof, screw up sometimes. Check and double-check for sure.

Only thing is VC-1 1080i/29.970 has slight judder in playback

This is fixed, at least for LibreELEC. Not sure about Android.

Nice to hear this play smoothly in LibreELEC now.

[MistReaper]

@MistReaper, WeTek Hub (more so over Core) would fit your needs as you've outlined them. Only thing is VC-1 1080i/29.970 has slight judder in playback; 1080p/23.976 no issues.

Is the Hub stronger than the Core?

Do you have experience with the IR remote and can confirm it's as bad as wrxtasy outlined?

[hdmkv]

Hub"s playback overall is better than Core's, just my opinion.

Hub's IR remote is poor, but as I use Harmony Ultimate, matters not.

[KoopaTroopa]

@MistReaper

Hub can decode more formats than Core can. It is more future-proof as you just know it can hardware-decode more file formats and more bitrates than the Core can. Whether that affects you right now would be negligible, though

More people than just wrxstasy have complained about the IR remote being shit, I don't have a Hub but I would think that if there are already multiple complaints then it must be worse than the Core when it comes to the remote.

[wrxtasy]

If you use regular Playstore Android Apps with the Hub that require 360 degrees of movement of an Air mouse on screen then the Hub's IR remote is useless, pulling teeth would be a better experience !
Its a D-Pad Air mouse meaning it only goes Up / Down / Left / Right.

This is the same problem for all regular Android devices that bundle similar D-Pad IR remote controls and use the vanilla (non Android TV) Playstore Android Apps.
Conclusion, you need to use either compatible or modded Android TV (leanback) - D-Pad friendly Apps on the Hub or purchase a proper RF (wireless) Air Mouse remote control.

Kodi using a D-Pad remote control is fine, no Air Mouse functionality needed then to navigate around.

[wesk05]

H.264 4:2:2, I don't have samples to test with.

Here you go: NASA YouTube Promo It is sourced from the original 4K 20-bit ProRes 4:2:2. I have downscaled it to 1080p and transcoded it to H.264 (8-bit High 4:2:2@L5. Audio was converted from PCM to Dolby Digital Stereo).

On the Shield (Kodi 17 beta) it sometimes plays automatically with software decoding. If you disable all hardware acceleration, it will always play. It plays on other devices also when you disable hardware acceleration.
Amazon FireTV 2 (Mr.MC, SPMC) - audio issues
Google Nexus Player (Android N, Kodi 17 beta) - playback not smooth
Minix U1 (XBMC for Minix) - artifacts, pauses in playback
Odroid C2 (LibreELEC 7.1.0) - artifacts, pauses in playback
Amlogic S905X (Kodi 17 beta) - artifacts, pauses in playback

And the surprise: Apple TV 4 (Mr. MC) - smooth playback. I haven't checked whether this is software or hardware decoding.

[wrxtasy]

@ Video clips testing guys - would it not be a better idea to take all these posts over into hdmkv's Video testing clips thread where video testing discussion is better suited ?

Over here:

Comprehensive Kodi Media Player A/V Test Clips Suite

[wesk05]

@ Video clips testing guys - would it not be a better idea to take all these posts over into hdmkv's Video testing clips thread where video testing discussion is better suited ?

Over here:

Comprehensive Kodi Media Player A/V Test Clips Suite

Sure! (But I think the conversation is going to end here. There is nothing to discuss )