[shad]

For a long time I've been looking for an All-in-One box to watch TV (i.e. built-in tuners), to play back my media from an USB-HDD or my NAS and to use streaming apps (Netflix, DAZN). All this in combination with my Logitech Z906 surround system, which would be connected via the SPDIF port.

Because the only promising candidate, the long awaited Wetek Air, was dead before it even was released on the market, I gave up on this idea.

I've bought an Amazon FireTV Stick 4k for streaming. That works.
Also sideloaded Kodi on it. While it works in general, I feel it's not optimal:
- Couldn't play a few titles from my NAS (most were OK)
- Keep reading that CoreELEC or OSMC have many useful tweaks
- No SPDIF port
An HDMI audio extractor (was suggested some time ago) could help with the last point, but all in one it doesn't feel optimal somehow.

So I've been thinking about a dedicated media player running Kodi. Had considered AppleTV 4k in between, but skipped it.

I've been following some of the threads here and from all the boxes Vero 4k+ emerged as my no. 1 candidate at some point. Then ODROID N2 seemed to be taking the lead and becoming very popular. At the end of this thread also Ugoos AM6 was praised. This was a bit surprising as I've never heard anything about Ugoos, but well, looked like another candidate.

Then I saw this post https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?pid...pid2870298 about the AML S905X3 shipset, which was expected to be the mass market AML chipset for years to come about one year ago. Also the S905X4 with potential AV1 video hardware decoding has been mentioned, but that's probably too far away still, so that I thought considering S905X3 makes more sense at the moment.

So in the end I have those 4 devices on my list and can't decide which one to choose:

Vero 4k+

• Oldest chipset of these four, so least future proof
  
• Weakest chipset of these four, so not an option for potential requirement to software decode something
  
• Is said to be a bit slow when navigating through GUI
  
• Amazing support
  
• SPDIF bilt in
  

ORDROID N2 CE Edition

• Not the newest chipset, but also not that oldest
  
• Powerful enough to software decode something, if needed (1080p at least)
  
• Good software support through CE team
  
• Poor hardware terms from HK, may be better when buying elsewhere. Saw a link to pollin.de here on the forum, but it's sold out there, it seems: marked as "no longer available"
  
• SPDIF not built in, but possible through some hardware DIY - hopefully easy enough (bookmarked some posts regarding this)
  

Ugoos AM6

• Not the newest chipset, but also not that oldest
  
• Powerful enough to software decode something, if needed (1080p at least)
  
• Good software support through CE team
  
• Quality hardware
  
• SPDIF bilt in
  
• Android in theory as a backup for my AFTV Stick 4k possible, but without DRM stuff
  

ORDROID C4

• The newest shipset with Gigabit LAN (1000M) and USB3 out of the box, but a few less features than S922X (which are probably irrelevant)
  
• Slightly cheaper than N2
  
• Performance between Vero 4k+ and N2 / Ugoos AM6
  
• Good software support through CE team
  
• Poor hardware terms from HK, may be better when buying elsewhere
  
• SPDIF not built in, but possible through some hardware DIY?
  

Any important differences (features, cooling, ...)?

My requirements aren't that special, I think:

• 4k / HDR still not a thing, because of my old HD Ready TV, but for the future of course relevant
  
• 3D is irrelevant for me
  
• Most of my media are h.264 / h.265 with DTS or AC3 sound
  
• Local network is currently a mix of 100Mbit and 1000Mbit components. AFTV Stick is being used via WLAN so far. Should be fine for now, because I don't have any 4k material so far, but this will surely change sooner or later.
  
• Logitech Z906 surround system via the SPDIF
  
• Budget: not sure. In current times better less than more, but in general I would say it's about a fair price-performance ratio.
  

What would your advice be?