The BEST KODI box at the moment? (4K, HDR, HD Audio, TV Upscale)
#1
Hey guys,

I read through the choose KODI Box thread, that @wrxtasy did a great job on. However I just could not comprehend all the information. I am sorry for this, and hope you guys can help me get it straight. I already bought a ton of different hardware by now I feel like, and I still haven't had anything reliable going for me yet. I own: NVIDIA Shield (Old version 16 GB), Intel NUC (NUC7i5BNH - Kaby Lake), Raspberry Pi 3, Amazon Fire TV Stick Gen 2. Also I own a Synology DS216play NAS.

I want to get my setup straight, and I am ready to replace anything that is not perfect. I had so much trouble, especially with the resolution switching on my NVIDIA Shield that I decided to ditch it and get an Intel NUC, that I thought would solve everything. However, the NUC is just not playing nice with me, and the HDMI issues are seemingly never going to end.

I need:
-Auto switching resolution between 720p, 1080p and 2160p, to let my UHD TV do any and all upscaling
-Auto refresh rate changing - 60 Hz GUI and 23,976(I believe is the correct number?) for videos
-Bitstream all kinds of audio, including object based (Atmos, DTS:X)
-HDR
-Optimal picture quality in all aspects
-Something capable of being buttery smooth in the GUI with the more graphical themes
-Be controlled with my Logitech Harmony Elite remote

I don't need online streaming channels like Netflix, Amazon etc. - I got those on my TV, which is fine with me! I only need my KODI box to handle "local"(from my NAS) content perfectly.

Hit me with your best shot!
Reply
#2
Forget about Android if you want Auto Resolution switching on anything but a Amazon FireTV2. But it's 24p video Sync is now broken with a recent Firmware update and no HDR or HD Audio.

LibreELEC will not give you HDR on any platform, you need to use Android. Or Windows may have it working, not sure on that tho.

Dual Boot - Android / LibreELEC AMLogic S905X will come close, but you will not get a buttery smooth GUI with really demanding Skins vs Intel. For the money tho they perform very well, especially running from eMMC Flash.

Buttery smooth = Intel NUC which always rates well for picture output quality and if the HDMI issues are sorted out will eventually give you what you want, especially Kaby Lake. You just have to be patient. And I suspect you will need to use Kodi & Windows for a while.

Everything really is a compromise. You are not going to get perfection, just Hardware that does not annoy you too much for day to day use, and does most Kodi things automatically.

Work out what is most important at this present point in time, and I bet it's not HDR, due to very little properly encoded content around anyway.
UHD HDR Bluray file sizes would be massive anyways (around 100GB+) if you could ever self Rip your own content.

Easiest would be to get a HDR Smart TV to do HDR 4K streaming from Netflix and Amazon etc. services. Let the TV handle all the 1080p to 4K upscaling for those types of services. Then connect up a decent LibreELEC or Windows Kodi box for everything else.

Reply
#3
(2017-05-20, 20:20)wrxtasy Wrote: Forget about Android if you want Auto Resolution switching on anything but a Amazon FireTV2. But it's 24p video Sync is now broken with a recent Firmware update and no HDR or HD Audio.

LibreELEC will not give you HDR on any platform, you need to use Android. Or Windows may have it working, not sure on that tho.

Dual Boot - Android / LibreELEC AMLogic S905X will come close, but you will not get a buttery smooth GUI with really demanding Skins vs Intel. For the money tho they perform very well, especially running from eMMC Flash.

Buttery smooth = Intel NUC which always rates well for picture output quality and if the HDMI issues are sorted out will eventually give you what you want, especially Kaby Lake. You just have to be patient. And I suspect you will need to use Kodi & Windows for a while.

Everything really is a compromise. Work out what is most important, at this present point in time and I bet it's not HDR, due to very little properly encoded content around anyway.
UHD HDR Bluray file sizes would be massive anyways (around 100GB+) if you could ever self Rip your own content.

Easiest would be to get a HDR Smart TV to do HDR 4K streaming from Netflix and Amazon etc. services. Let the TV handle all the 1080p to 4K upscaling for those types of services. Then connect up a decent LibreELEC or Windows Kodi box for everything else.

Thank you for your reply. Kudos for being very thorough and precise in your answer!

I agree that at this present time, HDR is not the biggest concern. The thing is I just want a capable setup going, that I don't have to touch for a good period of time. So it would be nice to just have all the goodness I mentioned above going, and don't have to worry about it till new formats etc. surface.

It seems like my NUC would be my best bet to becoming my KODI box. But the HDR issues seem to be going to take forever. Intel actually just finally replied to it: https://communities.intel.com/thread/113594
So yeah. Maybe second half of this year, maybe not.

I use Emby to manage my content atm. However the Emby Theater client is all kinds of broken, which is one of the reasons I use KODI(obviously also because KODI is just awesome). However would you by chance know if the Plex players could be better for the HDR content? Then I could switch between the PLEX player and KODI whenever I need HDR.
Reply
#4
(2017-05-20, 20:20)wrxtasy Wrote: Forget about Android if you want Auto Resolution switching on anything but a Amazon FireTV2. But it's 24p video Sync is now broken with a recent Firmware update and no HDR or HD Audio.

LibreELEC will not give you HDR on any platform, you need to use Android. Or Windows may have it working, not sure on that tho.

Dual Boot - Android / LibreELEC AMLogic S905X will come close, but you will not get a buttery smooth GUI with really demanding Skins vs Intel. For the money tho they perform very well, especially running from eMMC Flash.

Buttery smooth = Intel NUC which always rates well for picture output quality and if the HDMI issues are sorted out will eventually give you what you want, especially Kaby Lake. You just have to be patient. And I suspect you will need to use Kodi & Windows for a while.

Everything really is a compromise. You are not going to get perfection, just Hardware that does not annoy you too much for day to day use, and does most Kodi things automatically.

Work out what is most important at this present point in time, and I bet it's not HDR, due to very little properly encoded content around anyway.
UHD HDR Bluray file sizes would be massive anyways (around 100GB+) if you could ever self Rip your own content.

Easiest would be to get a HDR Smart TV to do HDR 4K streaming from Netflix and Amazon etc. services. Let the TV handle all the 1080p to 4K upscaling for those types of services. Then connect up a decent LibreELEC or Windows Kodi box for everything else.

From your thread however. I kind of gather that the MINIX U9 could be a good choice for me? But I found some negative reviews of that as well. Can you comment on that in relation to my needs?
Reply
#5
Apart from the nVIDIA Shield - the MINIX U9 would have best Kodi Krypton compatible Android Firmware out of all the Android Kodi boxes.

The most bug free AMLogic Marshmallow Firmware as well. Its a pretty nippy box for touchscreen Android. It has a slightly better GPU than the cheaper AMLogic S905(x) boxes - CPU wise performance is about the same.

However its Android and as I've already mentioned comes with the usual Android limitations of No Auto Resolution Switching.
If you are a Hi-Res Audio nut, there is no Multichannel PCM Audio output on the U9 either.
All Android boxes cannot do bit perfect LPCM Audio output. (OS limitation)

HDR has not been comprehensively tested by users on the U9, the device has been out less than 3 months.
@wesk05 may know more about HDR outputs on the U9.
I know nothing about Plex or Emby.

Android Kodi Krypton is simply is not as good as LibreELEC Kodi Krypton or very likely the more mature Windows Kodi either if you want to use all of Kodi's features. Android Kodi (relatively) has some bugs and there is some stuff badly broken.

ALL AMLogic S912's have issues with LibreELEC Kodi too due to a lack of Linux GPU drivers available. I don't believe this will be fixed in a hurry either.



You already have Top Spec Intel Hardware that will give you lots of speed and flexibility when driver bugs are sorted out.
As I said before Just be patient !

Why not run a dual boot LibreELEC / Windows setup on the Kaby Lake NUC you already have ?

A lot of people are simply going out and buying relatively cheap HD Audio / 4K capable AMLogic S905 / S905X box and running (non HDR) LibreELEC Kodi on them until most of the bugs on other platforms and proper HDR support comes to the other (non Android) OS's for Kodi. Windows will likely get such Kodi HDR support first.
The Vero 4K would be a really decent (non HDR) HD Audio / 4K capable option as well. Plug n Play.

Personally I would stop chasing new Hardware for this Kodi HDR support at this point in time if you want everything to work on the one device. There really is not much point due to lack of HDR content.
You are going to compromise too much with other wanted, usable features if you stick with a One media player box setup.

If you really really must need 4K HDR at this point in time - use a seperate HDR capable, Google IEC Audio supported (for HD Audio) Android Kodi box ...
AND leave it at a 4K resolution - Permanently - and only use it for 4K HDR Android Kodi ONLY !

Such HDR capable, Google IEC Audio supported boxes would be the nVIDIA Shield and the MINIX U9, BUT even then there appears to be Kodi, SPMC 10/12bit color output mapping issues (see the nVIDIA Shield thread).

See how immature all this Kodi HDR support is !

Reply
#6
why not amlogic s905x with dualboot libreelec (beelink mini mxiii ii or mini m8sii)i didnt see U9 is diferent vs other s912 ,amlogic s912 libreelec vs amlogic s905-x no diferents in video reproduction only small problem with gui interface becouse no drivers for 820 gpu(s912).On android you can watch 10bit hdr and you can use libreelec for all video you have (no 3d iso mvc and hdr 10bit support in libreelec )
wrxtasy@nvidia vs amlogic diferents in video quality ???i will bay shield (shield vs minix u9), but in same time i will bay cheap amlogic s905x vs nvidia ;) price diferents.sry on my bad eng
Reply
#7
I agree the S905X dual boot option is fine if you want to experiment with HDR Android and run a nice version of LibreELEC Kodi.
Dirt cheap too. Smile

(2017-05-21, 10:30)Bajann Wrote: I didn't see U9 is different vs other s912..
What you get shipped out of the box...

U9 has backported IEC Audio code for Kodi 5.1 DTS & HD audio passthrough support - I have not seen other S912's with that.
U9 has fixed the colorspace problems which results in Dark 1080p video output on ALL other S912's - I have not seen other S912's fix that.
U9 has working Kodi dynamic refresh rate switching for ultra smooth Kodi video playback - I have not seen other S912's fix that.
More I've forgotten...

Quote:Amlogic s912 libreelec vs amlogic s905-x no difference in video reproduction only small problem with GUI interface because no drivers for 820 gpu(s912)
There will be serious problems as we move forward into Kodi v18 Leia and start using Kodi DRM streaming Addons with S912 LibreELEC, because ffmpeg H264 Software decoding has to be used. Those hacky S912 Linux/LibreELEC video drivers are rubbish when you start software decoding. (I've already been testing)

No idea on HDR10 video output quality with Android Kodi on a nVIDIA Shield vs say an Android Kodi on AMLogic S905X / S912.

Chasing Kodi HDR bug free Hardware support is really a waste of time and money IMHO at the moment.
All Pirate - screen captured supposed HDR content will not be properly HDR re-encoded anyway.

You need to shoot your own HDR content if you are going to do Kodi HDR properly or use HDR 4K Netflix / Amazon etc. Otherwise you are just fooling yourself chasing working HDR Kodi Hardware to justify buying your shiny new HDR10 4K TV.

Reply
#8
Wrxtasy@

U9 has backported IEC Audio code for Kodi 5.1 DTS & HD audio passthrough support - I have not seen other S912's with that.
U9 has fixed the colorspace problems which results in Dark 1080p video output on ALL other S912's - I have not seen other S912's fix that.
U9 has working Kodi dynamic refresh rate switching for ultra smooth Kodi video playback - I have not seen other S912's fix that.


Ok minix have good sw support , but you have good custom rom by superceleron....
colorspace problem is fixed many mounts ago -no more dark video
refresh rate switching works with kodi 16.1 (spmc ,ftmc)for kodi 17.1 you have addon for that..(i think hd audio works too but im not sure is it all formats have support - experimental libreelec is opton -maybe they will realise drivers soon for full support)Minix is expensive without reason....

Wrxtasy@
Chasing Kodi HDR bug free Hardware support is really a waste of time and money IMHO at the moment.
All Pirate - screen captured supposed HDR content will not be properly HDR re-encoded anyway.

I Agree we will see what is coming in next few mounts

www.pcmag.com/news/353483/first-pirate-ultra-hd-blu-ray-movie-appears-for-download
Reply
#9
(2017-05-21, 12:22)Bajann Wrote: Ok minix have good sw support , but you have good custom rom by superceleron....
colorspace problem is fixed many mounts ago -no more dark video
refresh rate switching works with kodi 16.1 (spmc ,ftmc)for kodi 17.1 you have addon for that..(i think hd audio works too but im not sure is it all formats have support - experimental libreelec is option - maybe they will realise drivers soon for full support) Minix is expensive without reason....
Notice I said - Out of the box - that does not included having to implement workarounds and plug in additional addons just to get standard Kodi type features working, that's HiMedia Q5/10 territory.
Or go hunting and flashing custom Firmware with user unfriendly tools. This is the stuff mainstream users simply do not want to do at all.

Outside of the microcosm of these Kodi forums people just want Plug n Play, regardless of price. Cheapest do not always win. Devices have to actually work properly first and have seller after sales support.

What is extremely disappointing (and not surprising actually) is that guys like Beelink have had AML S912's out in the market for over 8 months now and still have not fixed well known problems. Those guys simply don't care and would rather customers buy a new buggy Upgraded Android OS box and repeat the process all over again.

It's why I have been giving Ship and Forget - AML S912 boxes with unsupported Marshmallow Firmware a really big Whack - they well and truely deserve it.

I seriously doubt we will see proper Linux video drivers for LibreELEC Kodi on any S912's anytime soon. There are disagreements over licensing between ARM and AMLogic over those Linux drivers that have not been resolved since S912's release, 1 year ago.

Reply
#10
(2017-05-21, 12:22)Bajann Wrote: colorspace problem is fixed many mounts ago -no more dark video
refresh rate switching works with kodi 16.1 (spmc ,ftmc)for kodi 17.1 you have addon for that..(i think hd audio works too but im not sure is it all formats have support - experimental libreelec is opton -maybe they will realise drivers soon for full support)Minix is expensive without reason....
I am assuming that you were referring to the Android TV custom rom from superceleron. I tried that on my Mini M8SII for about 30 min. There are some positives, but also an equal number of negatives.

Positives:
1) Android TV look and feel.
2) Color space issue is resolved.
3) Refresh rate switching and HDMI self-adpation for fractional rates working in FTMC, SPMC.

Negatives:
1) No HD Audio (including Dolby Digital Plus) passthrough in FTMC/SPMC/Kodi.
2) FTMC and SPMC has issues when deep color mode is turned on for 4K. FTMC goes into 1/4 screen while SPMC displays a blank screen. HDR clips do work in Kodi 17.1, but I couldn't get refresh rate switching to work. The switcher addon requires root privileges.
3) FTMC uses the same signature as Kodi and so you won't be able to install any other version of Kodi without first uninstalling FTMC <--- I am not sure whether this is allowed.

There may be other issues, but I gave up after 30 min.

I do have to say that the color space issue has to be fixed by Amlogic. What we are seeing now are workarounds (playing a 4K video during boot (almost all custom ROMs) or switching the video layer as done by Minix on U9-H).
Reply
#11
(2017-05-22, 01:40)wesk05 Wrote: I do have to say that the color space issue has to be fixed by Amlogic. What we are seeing now are workarounds (playing a 4K video during boot (almost all custom ROMs) or switching the video layer as done by Minix on U9-H).
Agreed.
We used to see these same colorspace issues with LibreELEC experimental versions on the S912 too running a Marshmallow Kernel. Updated parts of the Kernel to AML Nougat and they are visually, we no longer present.

There are be a bunch of AML bug fixes coming in Nougat. BUT That is not going to help those that bought unsupported Marshmallow Firmware S912 devices tho, especially those that are unable to do some DIY.

Reply
#12
(2017-05-22, 01:40)wesk05 Wrote:
(2017-05-21, 12:22)Bajann Wrote: colorspace problem is fixed many mounts ago -no more dark video
refresh rate switching works with kodi 16.1 (spmc ,ftmc)for kodi 17.1 you have addon for that..(i think hd audio works too but im not sure is it all formats have support - experimental libreelec is opton -maybe they will realise drivers soon for full support)Minix is expensive without reason....
I am assuming that you were referring to the Android TV custom rom from superceleron. I tried that on my Mini M8SII for about 30 min. There are some positives, but also an equal number of negatives.

Positives:
1) Android TV look and feel.
2) Color space issue is resolved.
3) Refresh rate switching and HDMI self-adpation for fractional rates working in FTMC, SPMC.

Negatives:
1) No HD Audio (including Dolby Digital Plus) passthrough in FTMC/SPMC/Kodi.
2) FTMC and SPMC has issues when deep color mode is turned on for 4K. FTMC goes into 1/4 screen while SPMC displays a blank screen. HDR clips do work in Kodi 17.1, but I couldn't get refresh rate switching to work. The switcher addon requires root privileges.
3) FTMC uses the same signature as Kodi and so you won't be able to install any other version of Kodi without first uninstalling FTMC <--- I am not sure whether this is allowed.

There may be other issues, but I gave up after 30 min.

I do have to say that the color space issue has to be fixed by Amlogic. What we are seeing now are workarounds (playing a 4K video during boot (almost all custom ROMs) or switching the video layer as done by Minix on U9-H).
No i dont like android tv os i was talking about amlogic s912 no s905x.For mini m8sii you have xtmod is rly good
Reply
#13
Is there any box/solution that supports resolution switching for kodi at all? Didn't come across such an option.

Starter of this thread has indeed a good point that many of the more decent display devices now also have good scalers built-in that you would like to use by feeding materials native resolution.

Sent from my HTC One_M8
Reply
#14
Yes simply choose 4K Kodi capable hardware that does NOT run the Android OS.

The exception with Android is the 4K FireTV2 only, that supports Auto resolution Switching via this solution:
https://developer.amazon.com/public/solu...on-fire-tv

BUT there are currently problems with 24p video playback with recent FireTV2 Firmware unless that has been fixed.

Last time I tested 4K Netflix on my smart TV it Auto Resolution switched as well from 1080p Smile

Reply
#15
Hmm dont expect miracles on aml droid 7, yes the color space bug is fixed and mediacodec is a lot better but still lots of problems, refresh rate etc.. etc.. and runs hot on many of the boxes on stock firmware!
But that is "normal"... lol

(2017-05-22, 01:40)wesk05 Wrote: Negatives:
1) No HD Audio (including Dolby Digital Plus) passthrough in FTMC/SPMC/Kodi.
2) FTMC and SPMC has issues when deep color mode is turned on for 4K. FTMC goes into 1/4 screen while SPMC displays a blank screen. HDR clips do work in Kodi 17.1, but I couldn't get refresh rate switching to work. The switcher addon requires root privileges.
3) FTMC uses the same signature as Kodi and so you won't be able to install any other version of Kodi without first uninstalling FTMC <--- I am not sure whether this is allowed.

1º yes, not fixable... should be fixed in 7... but dont have a way of testing!
2º Yup also another sdk bug, refresh rate on 17 you can enable/disable root in the settings...
3º old version... from version 26 ftmc have its own path and package name.

Smile
Reply

Logout Mark Read Team Forum Stats Members Help
The BEST KODI box at the moment? (4K, HDR, HD Audio, TV Upscale)0