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START HERE - Pick the Right Kodi Box (updated Dec 2020)
(2017-08-24, 11:34)wrxtasy Wrote: 4K HDR frankly is a bunch of marketing fluffy and technobabble bullshit if you cannot get properly encoded 4K HDR content in the first place.
Doing HDR right means using 4K HDR Netflix & Amazon Video DRM streaming platforms like the NVIDIA Shield / HDR Smart TV's or a UHD player.

4K HDR itself is stonkingly good when you see it done properly. It is a far more important development, IMHO, than 3D, and eventually will almost certainly - like HD and UHD - become 'the norm' for a lot of content.

However at the moment it is limited - really - to UHD Bluray and OTT online streaming platforms (plus a few experimental broadcasts not designed for mainstream consumption)

One area that IS interesting to consider is shooting HDR content yourself though. Increasingly modern mid-range production cameras are shooting HDR (Sony have released firmware upgrades to add HLG alongside their existing Log stuff that supports HDR) so it is entirely feasible that people will want to play content they have shot and edited themselves within Kodi.

Finding mastering workflows that let you do this cost effectively is still - I suspect - a major challenge - and I suspect HLG will be easier to support at the lower-end than the PQ-based stuff like HDR10 and DolbyVision. This will be a niche requirement...
Right now, I have a few Chromeboxes running LibreELEC+the official Plex ad-on. I like this combo because it direct plays everything from my Plex server (no transcoding).

I was thinking about getting another Chromebox but to save some money, would a Xiaomi Mi Box work? I think it's between a Vero 4K, Xiaomi or another Chromebox.

I like the Xiaomi because I can miracast my Android phone to it and it's cheap. Does it have enough hardware power to direct play from Plex if I use Kodi+Plex ad-on?

I like the Vero 4K because it appears to have a bit more power behind it but I believe it lacks miracast. But, since it runs OSMC, I've read a post or two where people were complaining about problems with the Plex ad-on not working 100%. (Seems to resolve around skin issues.)

My TV is 1080p and I don't see myself getting a 4K one for a LONG time. I have a receiver on the TV I'm going to hook this to, any issues pass-through with either of these boxes?


So with all that, which one should I get? (Hard requirement: I want to direct play media using Kodi+Plex ad-on. Soft requirement: Having the ability to miracast.)
The Plex add-on will work on Estuary I believe.

I think there was a problem with the OSMC skin in Jarvis, but we haven't had recent reports with Krypton since
we updated the skin.

So you will be able to at least use the add-on with Estuary.

The Plex add-on requires a Plex Pass subscription.
(2017-08-24, 16:29)Sam.Nazarko Wrote: The Plex add-on will work on Estuary I believe.

I think there was a problem with the OSMC skin in Jarvis, but we haven't had recent reports with Krypton since
we updated the skin.

So you will be able to at least use the add-on with Estuary.

The Plex add-on requires a Plex Pass subscription.

Plex for Kodi addon doesn't use the Estuary skin it gives you the Plex UI while using Kodi as it's player, you are better off using https://github.com/croneter/PlexKodiConnect as development on the Plex for Kodi addon has all but stopped
(2017-08-24, 16:19)gene0915 Wrote: I like the Xiaomi because I can miracast my Android phone to it and it's cheap. Does it have enough hardware power to direct play from Plex if I use Kodi+Plex ad-on?
The question that may be overlooked is do you value smooth Fractional (23.976, 29.97, 59.94fps) video playback like LE gives you on the Chromebox ?

Because the Mi Box has no Kodi / Plex dynamic refresh switching. Do not even attempt to throw interlaced video content at it either or VC-1. You will be really unhappy then. I call it a "Kodi light" box - good for non demanding first timers.

If those Gotchas will affect you should probably look at the at a NVIDIA Shield if you want a Android TV device.

(2017-08-24, 16:29)Sam.Nazarko Wrote: The Plex add-on will work on Estuary I believe.

I think there was a problem with the OSMC skin in Jarvis, but we haven't had recent reports with Krypton since
we updated the skin.

So you will be able to at least use the add-on with Estuary.

The Plex add-on requires a Plex Pass subscription.

Yup, I got a Plex Pass.

Any thoughts on which box I should go with?
(2017-08-24, 16:45)komplex Wrote: Plex for Kodi addon doesn't use the Estuary skin it gives you the Plex UI while using Kodi as it's player, you are better off using https://github.com/croneter/PlexKodiConnect as development on the Plex for Kodi addon has all but stopped

Do you have a link that goes into detail as to why Plex stopped development on the Kodi addon? I've been using it for a while now and love it. If the official addon is dead, that's a bit disappointing. I tried the Emby addon and that turned out to be a nightmare.

I'll look into the PlexKodiConnect one.
(2017-08-24, 17:02)gene0915 Wrote:
(2017-08-24, 16:45)komplex Wrote: Plex for Kodi addon doesn't use the Estuary skin it gives you the Plex UI while using Kodi as it's player, you are better off using https://github.com/croneter/PlexKodiConnect as development on the Plex for Kodi addon has all but stopped

Do you have a link that goes into detail as to why Plex stopped development on the Kodi addon? I've been using it for a while now and love it. If the official addon is dead, that's a bit disappointing. I tried the Emby addon and that turned out to be a nightmare.

I'll look into the PlexKodiConnect one.

https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/commen...nt_1477255 not fully dead it's just the devs are off working on different things
(2017-08-24, 16:52)wrxtasy Wrote:
(2017-08-24, 16:19)gene0915 Wrote: I like the Xiaomi because I can miracast my Android phone to it and it's cheap. Does it have enough hardware power to direct play from Plex if I use Kodi+Plex ad-on?
The question that may be overlooked is do you value smooth Fractional (23.976, 29.97, 59.94fps) video playback like LE gives you on the Chromebox ?

Because the Mi Box has no Kodi / Plex dynamic refresh switching. Do not even attempt to throw interlaced video content at it either or VC-1. You will be really unhappy then. I call it a "Kodi light" box - good for non demanding first timers.

If those Gotchas will affect you should probably look at the at a NVIDIA Shield if you want a Android TV device.

The whole frame switching argument never made sense to me. I have read a LOT of posts on all sorts of forums about why this is needed and why some people discount it and state modern TVs (via pull down) make this a non-issue. I have over 1,000 movies (small by some standards) and while I haven't watched them all on all the TVs in my house, I've watched hundreds of movies in different rooms on different boxes, different apps and not once did I run into a problem where a movie was repeating frames or had a weird playback issue that I could trace back to any sort of refresh setting. Maybe I just don't understand the problem enough to talk intelligently about it or maybe all my TVs can cope with it or my Apple TVs, Roku, Fire TV and Shield (when I had them) hid the problem from me?! But in the end, I never had any sort of playback problems.

As for the Shield recommendation. I had one for about a year then sold it. The slim remote wouldn't last a week before the battery was dead. Another major problem......stability issues. I can't tell you how many times the Kodi, Plex or RT app would just get weird and crash back to the desktop or have audio/sync problems or the Plex app complain about 'network not fast enough' despite being hardwired with CAT5E. I've used just about every streaming box out there and for me, the Shield was hands down the absolute worse. I thought, maybe I got a bad box? So a friend of mine let me borrow the newer (2017?) model for a few weeks and all the same. exact. problems. returned. I despise the Shield boxes and will never use another one. Wasted way too much time troubleshooting it. I know they work for millions of people but for me, non-stop problems.
Does the cheap Android boxes mentioned in previously posts allow dual-boot between Android and LibreElec (this one installed in a sdcard)?
Is a AML S905x box (like Beelink MINI MXIII II) better then AML S905-H (Wetek Play 2)?
Both of those boxes run Marshmallow.

One big disadvantage of Mecool M8S Pro+, from my point of view, is that Bluetooth is unsupported.
(2017-08-25, 04:38)jonascotch Wrote: Does the cheap Android boxes mentioned in previously posts allow dual-boot between Android and LibreElec (this one installed in a sdcard)?
Yes.
Except the Xiaomi Mi Box cannot dual boot because that device is secured with SELinux.

Quote:Is a AML S905x box (like Beelink MINI MXIII II) better then AML S905-H (Wetek Play 2)?

Define "better" in as how it applies to how you would use the box. What features are important ?

Quote:One big disadvantage of Mecool M8S Pro+, from my point of view, is that Bluetooth is unsupported.

Not really an issue to add a Wireless remote control or Keyboard because the good ones come with their own mini USB receiver dongles.
BT Audio and adding a BT Mouse and Keyboard yes it will be a disadvantage.

But a bunch of people would rather have proper DRM than Bluetooth.

Everyone's needs are different.

(2017-08-24, 20:56)gene0915 Wrote: The whole frame switching argument never made sense to me. I have read a LOT of posts on all sorts of forums about why this is needed and why some people discount it and state modern TVs (via pull down) make this a non-issue. I have over 1,000 movies (small by some standards) and while I haven't watched them all on all the TVs in my house, I've watched hundreds of movies in different rooms on different boxes, different apps and not once did I run into a problem where a movie was repeating frames or had a weird playback issue that I could trace back to any sort of refresh setting. Maybe I just don't understand the problem enough to talk intelligently about it or maybe all my TVs can cope with it or my Apple TVs, Roku, Fire TV and Shield (when I had them) hid the problem from me?! But in the end, I never had any sort of playback problems.

Believe me it makes a HUGE difference to many of us who can see it.

I suspect if you have grown up in a 60Hz region - North America, Japan, Korea, Brazil etc. - where you have watched 3:2 24p content at 60Hz (i.e. with 3:2 judder) on TV your entire life, you are probably far less sensitive to it than those of us who have grown up in 50Hz territories - Europe, Aus, NZ, much of Asia and parts of South America - where 24p content has always been 2:2 (i.e. no judder) with 4% speed-up. For many of us, the first time we saw 3:2 was when we bought a Region 1 DVD or our first Blu-ray movie and it played at 60Hz.

Our first HDTV couldn't handle 24p natively, we replaced it within 3 months of buying our first Blu-ray, as no-one could handle the 3:2 in our household. It was just too unpleasant.

I'm probably attuned to incorrect frame rate handling more than most (I can't watch 50Hz content at 60Hz for any length of time, or 24Hz at 60Hz either, and 24Hz at 50Hz un-sped-up looks terrible) as part of my job is critical analysis of broadcast picture quality, but I know many other people who, once they've seen proper frame rate handling, realise they can't cope.

However if you're in the US, have a library of 24p content, are happy with 3:2 and playing it at 60Hz, and don't have to worry about 50Hz Live/Recorded TV (like those of us in Europe) then it won't be an issue for you. This side of the pond I have 24p movies (*), 25p catch-up TV, 50i/p Live/Recorded TV, 60Hz(*) Blu-ray concerts etc. Frame rate handling is vital for me. It's the first thing I look for in a platform after codec support, and before HD Audio...

(*) 23.976 vs 24.000 and 29.97/59.94 vs 30.00/60.00 is also an issue. I can just about put up with the fractional stuff if I have to - but I know family members find the judder every 40" or so annoying.
(2017-08-24, 12:39)noggin Wrote: One area that IS interesting to consider is shooting HDR content yourself though. Increasingly modern mid-range production cameras are shooting HDR (Sony have released firmware upgrades to add HLG alongside their existing Log stuff that supports HDR) so it is entirely feasible that people will want to play content they have shot and edited themselves within Kodi.

My wife's Panasonic HC-WXF991K camera has a HDR button and recently I have seen marketing videos showing the improvement over non HDR video, however, we do not have 4K HDR playback capabilities so we never gave it much thought. If possible, we hope to eventually have a Kodi setup to take full advantage of 4K HDR.

However, even without HDR or a 4K capable TV, I was impressed with our old LibreElec Chromebox on a 1080P plasma playing her home made 4k videos and they look better than videos from any of her previous cameras. I know, it's not the same, but just playing the videos was a concern for me as I did not see anything written about LibreElec and the Panasonic HC-WXF991K camera compatibilities. Similar results using the Wetek Play 2 running LibreElec, but did not try them with the RPi2.

I could not resist ordering one of the budget MeCool devices mentioned in this thread, and hope to run LibreElec on it as well, but doubt it will replace our Chromebox as our daily player. We still prefer using the Chromebox/HDHomeRun Extend to using the the Wetek Play 2 (LibreElec), the WeTek tuner does work OK and provides a backup, but if I had to do it over I would not have purchased it..
Quote:
(2017-08-25, 06:01)wrxtasy Wrote: Does the cheap Android boxes mentioned in previously posts allow dual-boot between Android and LibreElec (this one installed in a sdcard)?
Yes.
Except the Xiaomi Mi Box cannot dual boot because that device is secured with SELinux.

But how easy is dual boot controlled? Is so simple as with Wetek boxes?

Quote:
Quote:Is a AML S905x box (like Beelink MINI MXIII II) better then AML S905-H (Wetek Play 2)?

Define "better" in as how it applies to how you would use the box. What features are important ?

You are absolutely right. I was not specific.
In my case I need an Android Box with bluetooth capability for connection of BT gamepads for my young kids to play with Android games.
Also, If possible to install LibreElec and enjoy a nice platform for my movie database, while taking advantage of all Libreelec potential.
I thought on buying 1 box AML S912 for my kids, and an Odroid for LibreElec. But, I couldn't reach a conclusion on what to buy. I made a list comprising Odroid C2 (or other if better), eMMc Android and controller, a power adapter and a case. An airmouse I would buy a Minix Neo A3 (or A2, depending on final budget). But, I'm not sure If this is sufficient.
Since, and unfortunately, I don't have a lot of spare time nowadays... to embrasse such project, I thought buying a "all-in-one" box that could not be "the best of the best" but at least would allow me to have android to play around with my familly, and at the same time, have the possibility of doing a dual boot to LE.
In relation to Wetek Play 2, I don't understand why is so expensive, since Wifi is poor, Android is MM and it is AML S905.
I give a big importance to a good equipment to run libreElec, that's why I considered buying Odroid, but I also could't figure out the best online shop in Europe to safely buy.

Quote:
Quote:One big disadvantage of Mecool M8S Pro+, from my point of view, is that Bluetooth is unsupported.

Not really an issue to add a Wireless remote control or Keyboard because the good ones come with their own mini USB receiver dongles.
BT Audio and adding a BT Mouse and Keyboard yes it will be a disadvantage.

But a bunch of people would rather have proper DRM than Bluetooth.

I need BT for connecting gamepads... to take advantage of android games on TV.
A quick question, for compatibility with libreelec is better khadas vim or odroid c2 ? http://khadas.com/vim/
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