[wesk05]

Every device has its problems, yes including the nVIDIA Shield - such as it's recently discovered 10/12-bit output problems by @wesk05.

Shield is here with its buddy Minix U9-H

[wrxtasy]

It almost makes me want to just buy a decent Smart TV and run 4K HDR video Streaming Apps and bypass all the "Man in the Middle" Media Players all together - with their questionable video outputs.

We should rename you the Media Player "Ball Breaker" - crushing all hope for those with demanding streaming needs. Ha Ha !

[wesk05]

We should rename you the Media Player "Ball Breaker" - crushing all hope for those with demanding streaming needs. Ha Ha !

Oh No! What have I done?

[kaki05]

Has anyone tried using a 4tb external harddrive plugged into u9h? Is it working okay?

[darther]

Just bought a U9-H earlier this week as X8-H Plus couldn't play 10bit 4k. What a nightmare it's been. 
My current showstopping issue is that while 4K playback looks awesome, 1080p videos have many problems.
I have tried all combinations of settings both in Kodi 17.6 and Android - nothing helps.
Playback is jerky. Same videos on the X8-H plus are silky smooth. This is most noticeable on panning. It jumps like crazy on the U9-H whereas it was really smooth on X8-H Plus.

Now i'm contemplating swapping the devices depending on what i want to use - 4k video, connect the U9, anything else connect the X8 (I've run out of HDMI ports on the TV).
To make this simpler i'd need to move the media off an external USB drive and on to a NAS (and spend more money to get the NAS!)
Why is this so difficult? It seems to me that MINIX are pushing this hardware out without ensuring that there is a reliable software solution for playing media on it.

I really wish i could unsee 4K and sell the TV. When 1080p was the limit, everything was perfect and simple.

[wrxtasy]

Its very likely just a settings issue - as the majority of users see no such issues:

Try... (make sure Kodi is selected to "Expert" - bottom Left)

Android Settings > Playback Settings > HDMI Self Adaptation > Level 1
Kodi Settings > Player Settings > Videos > Adjust Display Refresh Rate > Start/Stop
Kodi Settings > Player Settings > Videos > Sync Playback to Display > OFF

Kodi Settings > System Settings > Audio > Reset Above Settings to Default

Then only select the Audio passthrough Settings you require. Do NOT mess with the number of Audio channels.

Note: VC-1 Bluray Rips never play properly with AMLogic Android - you have to use LibreELEC Kodi Krypton.
Interlaced content will not play properly on AMLogic Android Kodi Krypton either - you have to use LibreELEC Kodi Krypton.

Personally you are better keeping your Android system Screen Resolution at 1080p and let your 4K TV do the 1080p > 4K upscaling.
Only switch to a 2160p Android Screen Resolution when you want to view 4K content.

If you use LibreELEC Kodi Krypton - all that stuff is handled automatically.

[darther]

Its very likely just a settings issue - as the majority of users see no such issues:

Try... (make sure Kodi is selected to "Expert" - bottom Left)

Android Settings > Playback Settings > HDMI Self Adaptation > Level 1
Kodi Settings > Player Settings > Videos > Adjust Display Refresh Rate > Start/Stop
Kodi Settings > Player Settings > Videos > Sync Playback to Display > OFF

Kodi Settings > System Settings > Audio > Reset Above Settings to Default

Then only select the Audio passthrough Settings you require. Do NOT mess with the number of Audio channels.

Note: VC-1 Bluray Rips never play properly with AMLogic Android - you have to use LibreELEC Kodi Krypton.
Interlaced content will not play properly on AMLogic Android Kodi Krypton either - you have to use LibreELEC Kodi Krypton.

Personally you are better keeping your Android system Screen Resolution at 1080p and let your 4K TV do the 1080p > 4K upscaling.
Only switch to a 2160p Android Screen Resolution when you want to view 4K content.

If you use LibreELEC Kodi Krypton - all that stuff is handled automatically.

Many thanks for the detailed reply. I know I have some of these settings already set but perhaps not the exact same setup. My audio is going to the TV so i assume i should use PCM? I haven't changed any of the audio settings.

I am eager to go home so i can try it out.

I thought LibreElec and U9-H still had some issues to be resolved (which kinda turns me off going down that path).

[wrxtasy]

LE is working fine on the U9 - users were not using the correct Linux Nougat Kernel compatible modified U9 device tree file (dtb.img) that I had previously "massaged"

https://forum.libreelec.tv/thread/10362-...elec-disk/

[cdvreede]

LE is working fine on the U9 - users were not using the correct Linux Nougat Kernel compatible modified U9 device tree file (dtb.img) that I had previously "massaged"

https://forum.libreelec.tv/thread/10362-...elec-disk/

just put LE on my 9-H - USB install - and must say initial impression is quite good. Looks like PQ is better than the AndroidTV rom with Kodi 17.6 - is that at all possible?? Given that there doesn't seem to be one box to-rule-them-all I'm wondering if the LE/9-H combo is maybe the best one around - not only in Android but even beating Windows??

thnx

[darther]

Its very likely just a settings issue - as the majority of users see no such issues:

Try... (make sure Kodi is selected to "Expert" - bottom Left)

Android Settings > Playback Settings > HDMI Self Adaptation > Level 1
Kodi Settings > Player Settings > Videos > Adjust Display Refresh Rate > Start/Stop
Kodi Settings > Player Settings > Videos > Sync Playback to Display > OFF

Kodi Settings > System Settings > Audio > Reset Above Settings to Default

Then only select the Audio passthrough Settings you require. Do NOT mess with the number of Audio channels.

Note: VC-1 Bluray Rips never play properly with AMLogic Android - you have to use LibreELEC Kodi Krypton.
Interlaced content will not play properly on AMLogic Android Kodi Krypton either - you have to use LibreELEC Kodi Krypton.

Personally you are better keeping your Android system Screen Resolution at 1080p and let your 4K TV do the 1080p > 4K upscaling.
Only switch to a 2160p Android Screen Resolution when you want to view 4K content.

If you use LibreELEC Kodi Krypton - all that stuff is handled automatically.

Did all of this, exactly the same result. Tried different refresh rates for 1080p display resolution in Android. Nothing made any difference.
Tried MX Player and Movie Player as well, same result. They are all jumpy.

I reckon the hardware decoders are the issue. It looks so smooth on the X8. I am contemplating using both players one for 1080p and one for 4k. 
Hopefully in the coming months some update will be released and this issue will just go away.

Edit: Minix tech support have given me a link to XBMC Minix Edition, I will install that and see how it goes.

[wrxtasy]

I strongly suspect your TV settings Motion Smoothing or Interpolation may be messing with smooth video playback.

There is something very particular to your setup causing issues.

MINIX FW007A and Android Kodi Krypton 17.6 playback is smooth when using h.264, HEVC etc for myself and the majority of U9 users.
I use an Android System Settings > Screen Resolution of 1080p60Hz

If you want to still use Amcodec Hardware acceleration, install SPMC 16.7.2 (click)

Then there is also SPMC 17.6a2 (click)

I would NOT use Amcodec Hardware acceleration with SPMC 17.6 - it does not sync properly last time I tested.

All those Apps can be concurrently installed together.

[darther]

I strongly suspect your TV settings Motion Smoothing or Interpolation may be messing with smooth video playback.

There is something very particular to your setup causing issues.

I am using the same TV to compare the performance of the 2 Minix players - the only difference is they are on different inputs and different HDMI cables.
I will do further testing on the same input and same cable and see whether there's any difference.

But i will also try the SPMC versions you posted and see how they fare. 
Many thanks... again

[doug]

@darther
You can eliminate the TV, inputs, and HDMI cables as contributing to the issue by swapping just the boxes to the other inputs. If the jerkiness moves to the new input, then the problem is with the box/software. If the problem exists on the same input with a different box, the problem is with the TV, input, or cable. Rinse and repeat by swapping only the cables.

[darther]

The U9 on the X8 HDMI / TV Input had the same jerky playback issue.
Installed XBMC for Minix 16.3 and the problem resolved, as i suspected.
So it's the decoders. 
The only issue is not sure how stable XBMC is and I'm yet to test 4K playback.

Edit: SPMC has the same jerky playback and XBMC refuses to play 4K in anything other than 1080p (I changed my Android Display settings before trying).

One other thing with Kodi, there are moments during the playback when the screen goes black for 3 seconds or so.
This doesn't happen in XBMC.

So it looks like i'll have to jump between Kodi and XBMC depending on what I want to watch.
Not exactly optimal.

Edit 2: XBMC 16.3 is not stable at all. Crashes frequently.

[gadom]

Hi all,
I have general question (also for that box).
I have old LCD Tv with only ac3 and dts. Also have receiver with new audio codec like dts hd, true and others. My question is how I can connect that box to my staff. I need send picture to tv and audio to receiver. I will play file from nas server. Box need send a dts hd for exampe to receiver and video to tv. With one hdmi in box that is possible? Optical SPDIF cable is good only for ac3 and dts audio, not for hd audio?
If my thinking is good I need box with two hdmi? What You recomend (Zidoo X8 for example)

thank You for any answer