[wrxtasy]

I'm looking to finally upgrade from old Apple TV 1 (still kicking!) w/CrystalHD which has been running various flavours of Kodi over the years (ATV OS, OpenELEC, Crystalbuntu and currently OSMC). My biggest driver to upgrade is ability to play HEVC content as well as more consistent 1080p content.

Always willing to help on 'ol ATV1 users out.

Titbit of Info - I first started learning to compile XBMC using an ATV1, running Crystalbuntu, with very limited RAM and a Hard Drive Swap File - many moons ago. It took ages and the ATV1 aluminium heatsink case got so Hot you could barely touch it. But I never had a Hardware failure and the ATV1 still works to this day, its nearly 10 years old !

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What'd I'd like to gain:
- HEVC as well as future proof support for 4K content when I upgrade my TV/AVR in a year or so
- Netflix

Normally I would recommend a cheap Android TV box like the Mi Box because it has very reliable 1080p/2160p(4K) Netflix streaming due to running Android Marshmallow. Netflix is reliable when using the regular touchscreen Google Play App on the Hub/Play2 with Android Lollipop.

But all AMLogic Marshmallow Firmware has 720/1080p 10bit HEVC playback issues with Kodi when amcodec Video decoding is not used. And there are other issues that may affect serious Kodi users.
This 10bit problem can be worked around using an external player like MX Player within Kodi, but then you can only playback 10bit HEVC from directly connected USB storage devices, not over a Home Network. Its pretty annoying.

Also be aware that all 1GB AMLogic boxes running LibreELEC Kodi suffer from a memory leak issue that will crash the device eventually unless you reboot them once a day. I've been told by WeTek this serious LibreELEC bug has been tracked down and will be fixed soon which is good news for the Hub. Android Kodi has no problems.

I've also been asking WeTek to sell the 2GB WeTek Play2 without a DVB Tuner for those that want a well supported 2GB AML S905 box with working Optical out. I might try hassling them again.

The Hub does have test Marshmallow Firmware with reliable 1080/2160p(4K) Netflix playback using the remote friendly Android TV OS Netflix App. A modded SPMC (Kodi Jarvis) for MM on the Hub now works pretty well. Including Hardware deinterlacing. Dual boot is missing in action at the moment.

If you want 4K Netflix with HDR support on a Android Kodi box its going to have to be either a nVIDIA Shield or a Xiaomi Mi Box. I believe HDR support on the Mi Box for Netflix has to come with an Android 7.0 Nougat OS update. Then there is the new HDR Chromecast Ultra.

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Lots of options and maybe too much info !!!

So... really three (working) choices for your needs on a Budget:

• WeTek Hub, dual boot with that HDMI > Optical Audio extractor setup
  
• WeTek Play2, dual boot setup - Android is a bit faster on this 2GB device.
  
• A HDMI Chromecast or 2016 FireTV stick for Netflix and Apps streaming duties & then hunt down a 2GB AML S905 box with working optical out and a DIY install of LibreELEC. Does your TV have Optical output ?

At least with the WeTek devices you can install Ricardo's unofficial Android TV OS ROM for a more remote friendly Android TV OS setup and still retain dual boot. This works pretty well.

Ultimately the nVIDIA Shield does virtually everything. I believe a Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Micro II USB Analog & Digital Audio Adapter works with the Shield. A HDMI > Optical Audio extractor looks a lot cheaper and far more versatile tho.