[HomerJau]

Wow !
I did not expect 5.1 AAC and FLAC to passthrough as full Multichannel LPCM 5.1 and 7.1.
That is a first for LibreELEC on any AML platform !
I'm thinking the updated v3.14 AML Kernel in LibreELEC has done the trick.

Also hdmkv, did you test 10bit Dolbyvision with LE ?
As the LG test clip I used played back fine, which the older Rev. B S905 really struggled with.

As well 720/1080p<<--->>2160p refresh switches and resolution scales properly in LibreELEC on the Hub / C2 vs being buggy in Android.

@ WeTeK,please,please going forward, just tell users all you need to do is HOLD the power button down until either the LibreELEC / OpenELEC or Android Logo appears. I've NEVER found multiple power button presses effective for dual boot even on the Core.

Trivia point: LibreELEC is noticeably quicker when run from eMMC vs slower microSDHC cards.

Great news! Can't wait to get my order in and start using the Hub!

Agree on the power button (on the Core - not tried Hub yet)

[KoopaTroopa]

Hub sounding better and better!

I'm just waiting for them to email me to tell me my pre-order has been activated!

[Draghmar]

Great news indeed.

Two question though:
1. If LibreELEC (and I'm assuming OpenELEC) works better on eMMC then is it possible to install them on internal eMMC and switch Android to microSD?
2. When will we get Play2 version?

[hdmkv]

Wow !
I did not expect 5.1 AAC and FLAC to passthrough as full Multichannel, plus LPCM 5.1 and 7.1.
EAC3 / DD+ is also working !
That is a first for LibreELEC on any AML platform !
I'm thinking the updated v3.14 AML Kernel in LibreELEC has done the trick.
Or I've finally hit the right combo of AML Kodi Audio and Kernel patches.

hdmkv, Post #2 review updated , but look at this pls....did you test 10bit DolbyVision with LE ?
As the LG Demo DolbyVision Comparison.mkv clip I used played back fine on the Hub, which the older Rev. B S905 really struggled with. This includes all other S905 devices on the market.

As well 720/1080p<<--->>2160p refresh switches and resolution scales properly in LibreELEC on the Hub / C2 vs being buggy in Android.

This little guy probably already deserves an A- , in terms of all that we're getting for the price. As I noted, Hub just needs some functional stability... factory reset not being needed to fix HD audio issues, resolving occasional lock-ups, improving dual-boot mechanism, and fixing 1080p <> 2160p synch issues under Android. Another odd issue I've noticed with audio is that the front-left channel output is low to non-existent sometimes. Reboot and issue goes away.

Re: 10-bit DolbyVision, let me re-try the two clips I have, as well as the 1080p <> 2160p switching. Both these under LibreELEC. Great work on your build BTW!

If LibreELEC (and I'm assuming OpenELEC) works better on eMMC then is it possible to install them on internal eMMC and switch Android to microSD?

You can install LE/OE on eMMC, but don't believe you can have Android installed on mSD... to get back to Android, you'd need to flash the Hub I believe and install Android back on the eMMC. @droidelec or @CT can fill us in on this.

[wrxtasy]

Yes hdmkv, excellent bang for the buck, this Hub !
I'm not sure I would be buying a RPi3, unless you needed comprehensive attached Hardware support plus 1080p 3D in a Kodi media player box.

Another odd issue I've noticed with audio is that the front-left channel output is low to non-existent sometimes. Reboot and issue goes away.

Now you mention it the volume sounded a bit low when I was testing with Android last week, even over DD 5.1 to the TV. I thought I was dreaming.

2. When will we get Play2 version?

As soon as WeTek send me a DVB-T/T2 equipped Play2 beta test box, hopefully with a couple of decent RF keyboard remotes !

[Martijn]

Now all amlogic also needs to do is follow Android MediaCodec in their Marshmallow release or add the Android N IEC passthrough code as backport.

[BORIStheBLADE]

Im looking forward to this box.
I'm just hoping there is no long wait after launch like the Wetek Core had for the second batch..

[hdmkv]

@wrxtasy, you're right about your LibreELEC build... my goof there:
- DolbyVision videos play well; so, I expect they could be made to work under Android by WeTek
- 2160 <> 1080p switching is a non-issue, as it's sometimes an issue under Android

Hub isn't even out yet, but I continue to get progressively more impressed, again given the performance-to-price ratio. Also, kudos to your LibreELEC build!

Once you have the mSD card loaded with LibreELEC on it, on subsequent reboots and power-on's, Hub now asks you if you want to load from internal NAND. If you do nothing, it boots into LE. With Core, I recall having to press 'power' to boot from OE upon each boot. This behavior seems different, but I think better. Basically, just pop the mSD card out if you want Android, or leave it in if you want to continue using LE. Review on p.5 updated again.

[wrxtasy]

Cheers !
Yes development progress is swift and going well now.
Updated the review again

Virtually all of the "heavy lifting" LE Kernel and bootloader wise is done by Codesnake, I would call Alex the very valuable AMLogic insider. If I remember correctly he used to work for AMLogic !
I had some handy patches that went into Kodi & the Hub's S905 Kernel for HD Audio, from ODROID C2 LE development.

The Power Button / Dual Boot behavior is the same for the Core and the Hub. Just hold that Power button down on bootup - Only if you want to flip / flop between OS's. The micro SDHC card can happily be left in there 24/7, even when running Android.

[jrcub1970]

hello, i hope this post is in the proper thread. I've been doing a bunch or research looking to replace\augment (Pi, ODROID, Shield, Android Boxes etc.) my 2 Nexus Players, if only i knew how awesome a deal of $50 each for them at the time i would've just bought a 3rd. After all that, this Wetek Hub looks rather tempting. I mainly use the Nexus Player for KODI, Netflix, and Hulu (pretty much in that order) and the Nexus Player works really well for that for me, but i am very, very much missing a wired network connection and the limited storage space on the NP, i've already run into storage space issues with KODI filling up the internal storage 2 times on both the the NPs. So, this Wetek Hub seems very very attractive.

But onto the, i hope, relevant questions.
1. Is there a reason why this new/not yet released device is using Android Lollipop instead of say, at least marshmallow, as even my discontinued NP now uses and even has a beta of Android N available? After all my looking, it looks like Lollipop is what almost every Android box seems to use, except NP and Shield TV, for some reason i've yet to read.

2. Is there any likelihood that Android N, which is to be released later this year will ever make its way to the Wetek Hub?

3. And, is there a reason why the Wetek Hub doesn't use Android TV instead of plain Android, as this box is intended for TV it seemingly makes more sense to use ATV instead of plain Android and this and my 1st question would, on the surface, fix some of the usability issues with plain Android apps.

well, thank you, i've very much found this thread informational and educational and i am very much looking forward to the release of the "Hub".

[noggin]

3. And, is there a reason why the Wetek Hub doesn't use Android TV instead of plain Android, as this box is intended for TV it seemingly makes more sense to use ATV instead of plain Android and this and my 1st question would, on the surface, fix some of the usability issues with plain Android apps.

AIUI you have to be specifically approved by Google to run Android TV - and I'm not sure many smaller third parties have been successful in this. Apart from Google, with their Nexus Player, It currently seems limited to TV manufacturers like Sony, and big companies like nVidia.

A few smaller companies have released boxes with Android TV - but I think those have been slightly dodgy implementations and unapproved...

[Draghmar]

AIUI you have to be specifically approved by Google to run Android TV - and I'm not sure many smaller third parties have been successful in this. Apart from Google, with their Nexus Player, It currently seems limited to TV manufacturers like Sony, and big companies like nVidia.

A few smaller companies have released boxes with Android TV - but I think those have been slightly dodgy implementations and unapproved...

And when you see things like some approval needed there's a great chance that you'll have to pay in order to get one.

[Tó Madeira]

Yes you have to be approved or something by google to have it working, dunno if approved is the right word for it.

Most of the Android TV boxes of similar, that are not "approved", like you would think the chinese are not, just copy/fake/imitate.

I remember reading about it here on the xtreamer whizz post: http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=...pid2299007

[JoNoJo]

Hi. I've only just started learning about Kodi hardware, so apologies if I make any basic mistakes.

I was about to buy an OpenElec Kodi box (which I understand is a Wetek Play without a tuner) which currently costs £79 in the UK, but it seems that the Wetek Hub is released this month, costs the same (or slightly less) and is markedly more powerful.

The main function I need is a Kodi front end to a USB-powered external hard drive full of HD video content. Streaming is a nice bonus. This is for my elderly father, who lives a long way from me, so it needs to be work out of the box and not require tweaking to function reliably. I can help him set it up over Skype, but I don't want to spend an hour troubleshooting every weekend.

My questions are:
(1) Am I right that the Hub is better than the OpenElec box for the same price?
(2) I understand that it's not guaranteed that a USB-powered HDD will work with this sort of Android device. However, is the Hub more likely to have problems powering this sort of USB device than the OpenElec box?
(3) If I can't run the external HDD off the Hub, will a powered USB hub solve this problem easily?
(4) Am I missing anything else - is there any reason the Hub might not be right for me or is there a better option I am unaware of?

[hdmkv]

1. Not necessarily better. Hub can do Android or OpenELEC or LibreELEC. It is versatile
2. Don't see why you'd have any issue with USB HDD's under Android or OpenELEC/LibreELEC
3. Powered can help; depends on type of external HDD. Some work just fine with power via media player's USB
4. Honestly, depends how old and tech saavy you dad is (not saying he needs to be, but every bit helps). My dad is 80, and he has trouble with anything that doesn't involve a simple channel up/down type functionality. I set-up a non-Kodi WD TV box for him with movies on an attached USB HDD, and that turned out fine. Used movie posters view for navigation. That's it. With Hub, if your dad is okay using remote to open WeTek Media Player and navigating to 'Movies' you set-up for him, that would work