[stfn]

Hi. I've been looking for a dedicated Kodi box for a while now. As the title states, my choice boiled down to Minix Neo U9-H or Zidoo X9S. In other words, S912 vs Realtek RTD1295 I guess.
My priorities are (in no particular order, all important)
- HDR (will be used with a LG OLED B65)
- Dolby Vision
- high bit-rate UHD rips including up to 4k 60fps 10bit
- picture quality
- miltichannel audio pass-through
- ease of use, flexibility and futureproof
- proper resolution switching (I prefer the box to output native video resolution and to leave my TV to do the up-scaling)
- proper frame-rate switching (smooth playback)
- gigabit LAN

What's not important for me is 3D (my TV is not 3D), wifi (as I don't use it at my house), also Netflix, Youtube and other apps (again, the TV handles them with no issues)

The Minix Neo U9-H looks interesting because it offers option to dual boot Android and Libreelec, also Android TV development. I  think it will be better supported due to using a more popular chip (is that a correct assumption?). Also, I can by it from Amazon with couple of days of delivery and possibility of returns.

On the other hand, the Zidoo X9S offers features like HDMI in, additional OpenWRT OS, AV output, external SATA port, and so forth. It seems it's more popular on this forum. It's also a little cheaper, but longer delivery off Ebay.

So, I'm on the fence. Is there a big difference between the two devices that I am missing that will tip the scales in one direction or the other? I guess again it will come down to future potential, that stems from the two different chips used. What are the expectations here?

[wrxtasy]

I believe the X9S cannot do these vs U9

- On Android only platforms, the Android OS itself will resample Multichannel PCM 24bit Audio if you are a Multichannel FLAC Audio Nerd

- No Auto Resolution Switching from 1080p to 4K, important to allow a 4K TV to be able to do it's own high quality 1080p > 4K picture upscaling. Enjoy fiddling with Android settings on Android only platforms when you manually 1080 / 4K resolution switch to get optimal picture quality outputs all the time.
(LibreELEC Kodi can do proper Auto Resolution switching and correct auto colorspace switching on the U9)

- No DRM or HDCP if you want to run an Android TV ROM and stream copy protected content.

- cannot run Kodi natively on the X9S. ie. Installing direct from the Playstore. You are now reliant on a custom Fork of Kodi on the X9S

- Lack of flexibility, no dual boot Android/Android TV ROM to LibreELEC

- No LibreELEC Kodi Krypton, and to be honest LE (or OSMC) now on HDR capable hardware like the U9 is THE superior way to run 1080p / 4K HDR Kodi period.
You just throw Audio and Video content at LE and it "works" with hands off Auto everything.

- X9S has no Mini Keyboard Air Mouse Wireless remote. Essential IMHO if you want media player responsiveness and usability. IR only remotes are old tech.

LibreELEC Kodi has a hell of a lot more developers behind it now than any other version of Kodi going forward and this shows, because as I keep saying it just "works" with minimal bugs. LE device Firmware to run Kodi on is far more optimised as well. The Android OS and its limitations frankly just gets in the way if all you want to run is Kodi.

All that other ancillary stuff on the X9S is not needed on a media player. You are not running a PC, you will very likely find SATA will not even be the full speed variety like you would find on a PC anyway when used on ARM chipset platforms.  

Personally if you do not need 1080p 3D, you do not need a X9S.

[stfn]

OK, you convinced me, and mostly with the "ibreELEC Kodi has a hell of a lot more developers behind it now than any other version of Kodi going forward" part. But also the 24bit audio resampling, I had forgotten about that.
Thanks a lot!

[wrxtasy]

And I have not even started talking about AMLogic deinterlacing DVD and reliable high quality Kodi PVR deinterlacing of TV yet which I believe the X9S has bunch of problems with from a brief look at their forums.
A LOT of bug busting and testing for trouble free video playback happened late last year thanks mainly to the developer @peak3d with AMLogic's help.

[T3Sm0]

Hi,
you have basically convinced me too to get a S912 over an S905X for HDR 4K playback.
Or will an S905X device with Libreelec support HDR nowadays?

One thing I am still confused about is, what's the difference between the U9 and for example the H96 Pro? Build quality, OS support? Looking at Amazon prices the H96 is about 50% cheaper than the U9.

EDIT:
Forget the question about the S905X, lack of Gigabit LAN and AC WiFi makes it pretty much useless for high bitrate 4K files.

[wrxtasy]

MINIX you are paying for properly engineered quality Hardware and ongoing Android Firmware support. Their AMLogic Android tablet OS Firmware support especially for 4K HDR leads their market segment.

Internal RAM and eMMC flash will also be top quality, not just the cheapest that can stuffed into a given box at the time of manufacturing for that particular month.

The Heatsinks in the U1 or U9 are the best I've seen on any AMLogic box, they run cooler as a consequence and will likely be more reliable long term. U9 also has class leading MIMO AC WiFi with dual antennas. Then you get quality integrated MINIX wireless Air Mouse Mini Keyboard remotes, plus an internal Real Time Clock.

In the end everyone's budget is different and people have different priorities.

MINIX Heatsinks: (with dual antennas)



Generic AMLogic Heatsinks (with generic single - internal antenna)

[libratiger]

Will the USB 2.0 be a limiting factor for high bit-rate UHD rips including up to 4k 60fps 10bit on the minix?

[wrxtasy]

No USB 2.0 is 480Mbps theoretical, minus the transfer overheads you are probably looking somewhere in the region of 200-250Mbps (25MBps) which easily covers the Max. ~120 Mbps UHD Blurays are using. USB 3.0 is not needed for high bitrate 4K HDR video playback.

[mirror88]

I believe the X9S cannot do these vs U9

- On Android only platforms, the Android OS itself will resample Multichannel PCM 24bit Audio if you are a Multichannel FLAC Audio Nerd

- No Auto Resolution Switching from 1080p to 4K, important to allow a 4K TV to be able to do it's own high quality 1080p > 4K picture upscaling. Enjoy fiddling with Android settings on Android only platforms when you manually 1080 / 4K resolution switch to get optimal picture quality outputs all the time.
(LibreELEC Kodi can do proper Auto Resolution switching and correct auto colorspace switching on the U9)

- No DRM or HDCP if you want to run an Android TV ROM and stream copy protected content.

- cannot run Kodi natively on the X9S. ie. Installing direct from the Playstore. You are now reliant on a custom Fork of Kodi on the X9S

- Lack of flexibility, no dual boot Android/Android TV ROM to LibreELEC

- No LibreELEC Kodi Krypton, and to be honest LE (or OSMC) now on HDR capable hardware like the U9 is THE superior way to run 1080p / 4K HDR Kodi period.
You just throw Audio and Video content at LE and it "works" with hands off Auto everything.

- X9S has no Mini Keyboard Air Mouse Wireless remote. Essential IMHO if you want media player responsiveness and usability. IR only remotes are old tech.

LibreELEC Kodi has a hell of a lot more developers behind it now than any other version of Kodi going forward and this shows, because as I keep saying it just "works" with minimal bugs. LE device Firmware to run Kodi on is far more optimised as well. The Android OS and its limitations frankly just gets in the way if all you want to run is Kodi.

All that other ancillary stuff on the X9S is not needed on a media player. You are not running a PC, you will very likely find SATA will not even be the full speed variety like you would find on a PC anyway when used on ARM chipset platforms.  

Personally if you do not need 1080p 3D, you do not need a X9S.

I'm sure you've never used X9S.
X9S supports 24bit/192khz audio via native player.It's not limited by the Android SRC mechanism. It's the only Android box that supports this feature.
And the picture quality is much better than AML chips.
What about this? https://www.zidoo.tv/Product/index/model...3D%3D.html

[dexx]

For me, wifi and the ability to boot Android (as opposed to just Kodi) is not a requirement. Are there any other similar quality hardware solutions which dont have these things?

[libratiger]

Thanks. I asked the question as I had problems playing 1080p DTS via MiBox (USB2.0) and no problems playing the same file via USB3.0 on my LG Oled B6. In any case, is it right to assume that as long as Kodi is used (be it Android or LibreElec), we will have problems with dolby digital files or the limitations is only on Android platform Kodi?

[noggin]

Thanks.  I asked the question as I had problems playing 1080p DTS via MiBox (USB2.0) and no problems playing the same file via USB3.0 on my LG Oled B6.  In any case, is it right to assume that as long as Kodi is used (be it Android or LibreElec), we will have problems with dolby digital files or the limitations is only on Android platform Kodi?

Kodi itself has no problems playing Dolby or DTS content - either bit streamed or decoded to multichannel (or stereo) PCM.  There are hardware limitations on some platforms that limit this - but that's not a Kodi issue.

One of the cheapest platforms that can run Kodi - the US$5 Raspberry Pi Zero - will bitstream DD and DTS over HDMI with no problem for example.

[wrxtasy]

I'm sure you've never used X9S.
X9S supports 24bit/192khz audio via native player.It's not limited by the Android SRC mechanism. It's the only Android box that supports this feature.

Are you sure its the only Android that does 24bit/192Khz ?

What about the NVIDIA Shield then, is that not Stereo 24bit / 192Khz?

http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/d...ield-tv%3F

I was talking actually talking about Multichannel (ie 6 channel) 24bit PCM Audio in the posts above.

What about this? https://www.zidoo.tv/Product/index/model...3D%3D.html

Looks pretty nice actually.
Plug N Play I take it with that USB dongle ?

[libratiger]

I believe the X9S cannot do these vs U9

- On Android only platforms, the Android OS itself will resample Multichannel PCM 24bit Audio if you are a Multichannel FLAC Audio Nerd

- No Auto Resolution Switching from 1080p to 4K, important to allow a 4K TV to be able to do it's own high quality 1080p > 4K picture upscaling. Enjoy fiddling with Android settings on Android only platforms when you manually 1080 / 4K resolution switch to get optimal picture quality outputs all the time.
(LibreELEC Kodi can do proper Auto Resolution switching and correct auto colorspace switching on the U9)

- No DRM or HDCP if you want to run an Android TV ROM and stream copy protected content.

- cannot run Kodi natively on the X9S. ie. Installing direct from the Playstore. You are now reliant on a custom Fork of Kodi on the X9S

- Lack of flexibility, no dual boot Android/Android TV ROM to LibreELEC

- No LibreELEC Kodi Krypton, and to be honest LE (or OSMC) now on HDR capable hardware like the U9 is THE superior way to run 1080p / 4K HDR Kodi period.
You just throw Audio and Video content at LE and it "works" with hands off Auto everything.

- X9S has no Mini Keyboard Air Mouse Wireless remote. Essential IMHO if you want media player responsiveness and usability. IR only remotes are old tech.

LibreELEC Kodi has a hell of a lot more developers behind it now than any other version of Kodi going forward and this shows, because as I keep saying it just "works" with minimal bugs. LE device Firmware to run Kodi on is far more optimised as well. The Android OS and its limitations frankly just gets in the way if all you want to run is Kodi.

All that other ancillary stuff on the X9S is not needed on a media player. You are not running a PC, you will very likely find SATA will not even be the full speed variety like you would find on a PC anyway when used on ARM chipset platforms.  

Personally if you do not need 1080p 3D, you do not need a X9S.

Would like to understand more on how to install LE on U9-H since I think it comes installed only with Android? Did a search on kszaq but only found limited info. Thanks.

[joe_sun]

This link for instructions, it's really quite easy

https://forum.libreelec.tv/thread/5556-h...12-device/

This link for the specific files you'll need for the U9-H
https://forum.libreelec.tv/thread/5848-8.../?pageNo=1

Recently there are a couple of us that were unable to get a micro SD card to work on a U9 but a USB drive worked fine.