[Roen]

Very much appreciated!

I would've thought the ATV 4K's CPU is more powerful than the Shield's and thus, if the Shield would be able to SW decode anime, the ATV 4K should be able to as well using MrMC / Infuse as the player.

[wrxtasy]

Please re read what I have already stated, I do no know how to make it any clearer !

10bit h264 aka Anime is a non standard video compression method.
You need a decent CPU package to CPU software decode it like an Apple TV 4K or modern Intel Hardware.

Those two combos are guaranteed to not have any decoding or playback issues, at ALL bitrates.
Anything else and you are a gambling man.

PS: the ATV 4K uses an ARM based chipset (A10X Fusion), the most powerful one in the media player market.

[wrxtasy]

1080p Anime = No, same as all other S905W, S905X, S905D AMLogic devices.

[noggin]

Please re read what I have already stated, I do no know how to make it any clearer !

10bit h264 aka Anime is a non standard video compression method.
You need a decent CPU package to CPU software decode it like an Apple TV 4K or modern Intel Hardware.

Those two combos are guaranteed to not have any decoding or playback issues, at ALL bitrates.
Anything else and you are a gambling man.

PS: the ATV 4K uses an ARM based chipset (A10X Fusion), the most powerful one in the media player market.  

 Given the amazing work that has been done on the Pi CPU+GPU+VPU(?) decode of 1080p HEVC (Pi 3B+ is now apparently coping with 1080p50 DVB-T2 HEVC in Germany?) - I wonder if anyone will try optimising H264 Hi10 decode on the Pi in a similar manner?  It is amazing the work that the Pi guys are doing to eek every last drop out of the platform.  (AIUI 10 bit HEVC is decoding on the Pi 3B+)

[madmax2]

Please re read what I have already stated, I do no know how to make it any clearer !

10bit h264 aka Anime is a non standard video compression method.
You need a decent CPU package to CPU software decode it like an Apple TV 4K or modern Intel Hardware.

Those two combos are guaranteed to not have any decoding or playback issues, at ALL bitrates.
Anything else and you are a gambling man.

PS: the ATV 4K uses an ARM based chipset (A10X Fusion), the most powerful one in the media player market.   

 Given the amazing work that has been done on the Pi CPU+GPU+VPU(?) decode of 1080p HEVC (Pi 3B+ is now apparently coping with 1080p50 DVB-T2 HEVC in Germany?) - I wonder if anyone will try optimising H264 Hi10 decode on the Pi in a similar manner?  It is amazing the work that the Pi guys are doing to eek every last drop out of the platform.  (AIUI 10 bit HEVC is decoding on the Pi 3B+) 

the pi 3b+ is too weak to do 10 bit hevc, even at 720p.

When I tested it, there is very bad graphics glitches

I wish the pi got updated so it was more powerful,
then it would be a great portable media player that uses little power

Right now it can only manage h264 1080p/720p
but anything more than that will just result in graphic glitches or nothing displaying at all

[madmax2]

Please re read what I have already stated, I do no know how to make it any clearer !

10bit h264 aka Anime is a non standard video compression method.
You need a decent CPU package to CPU software decode it like an Apple TV 4K or modern Intel Hardware.

Those two combos are guaranteed to not have any decoding or playback issues, at ALL bitrates.
Anything else and you are a gambling man.

PS: the ATV 4K uses an ARM based chipset (A10X Fusion), the most powerful one in the media player market. 

does ATV 4K let us install kodi though?
Also how does it compare to nvidia shield in being able to play 4k and 1080p h256 files>

[wrxtasy]

does ATV 4K let us install kodi though?

No, not unless you have a paid for (USD$100 per year) developer account and a Mac. or use some sort of "Shared" Apple developer account.
Most users run MrMC (heavily modded Kodi Jarvis) or the Infuse App.

Also how does it compare to nvidia shield in being able to play 4k and 1080p h256 files>

Plays anything you throw at it using the above Apps.
Anything not hardware decoded is Software decoded due to the most powerful ARM Chipset in any media player on the market. It's more like an Intel NUC in that regard.

Just read the ATV 4K / MrMC review:
https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=335219

---

Specific Rockchip devices running LibreELEC can Hardware decode Hi10P Anime, see this post onwards:

https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid...pid2842092

[madmax2]

does ATV 4K let us install kodi though?

No, not unless you have a paid for (USD$100 per year) developer account and a Mac. or use some sort of "Shared" Apple developer account.
Most users run MrMC (heavily modded Kodi Jarvis) or the Infuse App.

Also how does it compare to nvidia shield in being able to play 4k and 1080p h256 files>

Plays anything you throw at it using the above Apps.
Anything not hardware decoded is Software decoded due to the most powerful ARM Chipset in any media player on the market. It's more like an Intel NUC in that regard.

Just read the ATV 4K / MrMC review:
https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=335219

---

Specific Rockchip devices running LibreELEC can Hardware decode Hi10P Anime, see this post onwards:

https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid...pid2842092  

The developer account subscription does sound all that appealing.

The problem with MrMc is that is not kodi, and will never be update to date with kodi
and also it does support third party addons etc..

In regards to my other question..

Is there any android boxes (e.g. nvidia shield, mibox 3 etc) that can play these files?

Would the intel NUC play these file smoothly
cos that might be another option for me.

Also I am not interested in anime
Just general video files that are encoded in h265 10bit 720p/1080p/4k

[wrxtasy]

Also I am not interested in anime
Just general video files that are encoded in h265 10bit 720p/1080p/4k

Any media player that is capable of 4K HDR can Hardware decode up to 10bit h265.
Take your pick...

The Best Of - categorised - media players on the market (click)

Even the modern, cheap 4K SDR only devices can do 10bit h265 hardware decoding.

[madmax2]

Also I am not interested in anime
Just general video files that are encoded in h265 10bit 720p/1080p/4k

Any media player that is capable of 4K HDR can Hardware decode up to 10bit h265.
Take your pick...

The Best Of - categorised - media players on the market (click)

Even the modern, cheap 4K SDR only devices can do 10bit h265 hardware decoding.   

I had a look at the link you gave under 4K HDR10 section
however it didn't list  anything in regards to the following and whether it can play 4K HDR and 10 bit HEVC 1080p/4k etc
-intel NUC 

-intel and amd htpc build with external or internal GPU
So what is the minimum spec intel cpu and amd cpu that can play 4k HDR etc using internal GPU (iGPU)
And what about minimum external gpu card that can be pared with a cpu that can do the same thing?

It would be good if you can include these or offer your opinion to give us a fuller idea of what we can buy or build etc..
that can do 4K HDR/10 bit HEVC 1080p/4k etc in terms of intel NUC or building a HTPC etc..
as alternative to buying a purpose built media player box..

[noggin]

I had a look at the link you gave under 4K HDR10 section
however it didn't list  anything in regards to the following and whether it can play 4K HDR and 10 bit HEVC 1080p/4k etc
-intel NUC 

-intel and amd htpc build with external or internal GPU
So what is the minimum spec intel cpu and amd cpu that can play 4k HDR etc using internal GPU (iGPU)
And what about minimum external gpu card that can be pared with a cpu that can do the same thing?

It would be good if you can include these or offer your opinion to give us a fuller idea of what we can buy or build etc..
that can do 4K HDR/10 bit HEVC 1080p/4k etc in terms of intel NUC or building a HTPC etc..
as alternative to buying a purpose built media player box.. 

AIUI Intel GPUs are still lagging behind in driver terms, and Intel have taken a 'premium brand' approach to HDR.

As a result you only get HDR support with a Core-i branded CPU (i.e. HDR is not supported on the cheaper Celeron or Pentium SoCs), and you have to use Windows to achieve this. (Annoyingly, 10-bit SDR HEVC decode+output is, I believe, possible on cheaper Celeron and Pentiums (just not HDR output))

Also AIUI 10-bit HEVC (in HDR and SDR) is still currently limited to Window, as the Linux drivers are lagging behind, and limited to 8-bit content/output (though hopefully they will catch up soon)

Also - because Intel CPUs didn't have native 'on-CPU' HDMI 2.0 support for a number of generations, even though they had UHD HEVC HDR decode support, LSPCon adapter chips had to be used to convert a UHD HDR Displayport output to HDMI 2.0 on a motherboard (or in an external cable converter) These have had issues with HD Audio passthrough, 3D support etc., and often themselves need firmware updates for full support.

As a result NUCs and Intel CPU+GPU combo solutions in general have lost a bit of their lustre for many HTPC fans. When a cheap ARM SoC has full 10-bit UHD HDR + HD Audio support for <$150 - a much more expensive Core i3 NUC, forcing you to run Windows and with sometimes patchy HD Audio support seems to be less desirable.

If you go down the HTPC route with a separate AMD or Intel CPU + AMD or nVidia GPU graphics card, then things are a bit different. AIUI nVidia GPUs are not recommended for long term Linux support at the moment (due to VDPAU being deprecated and Linux support for its replacement lacking?), so only worth considering if you're definitely going with Windows.

[wrxtasy]

It would be good if you can include these or offer your opinion to give us a fuller idea of what we can buy or build etc..
that can do 4K HDR/10 bit HEVC 1080p/4k etc in terms of intel NUC or building a HTPC etc..
as alternative to buying a purpose built media player box..

There are simply too variables and variations, as @noggin has outlined above, plus traps even for those that have done thorough research.

Plus add into the Mix external media software like madVR or custom Windiws Kodi releases and it all quickly turns into a bit of a nightmare for the new users. I'm certainly not buying expensive Intel hardware to experiment with. On top of that you have to deal with Windows updates and ongoing maintenance.

ARM based platforms that have working HDR10, reliable HDMI 2.0 plus stable HD audio passthrough provide much more certainty. Some are so comparitevely cheap you can upgrade on a yearly basis.

As an example the USD$63 ODROID N2 with a shiny new AMLogic S922X chipset now has more tech potential, for use as a fast, reasonably powerful, simply to use, Linux based Flash n Play, HDR10 Kodi Leia media player. VS anything Intel has on the market.

That is how quickly modern ARM tech has improved, especially when a passionate group of developers get onboard.
CoreELEC Kodi Leia on the N2 is already reasonably stable, even using test images. And the devs. have not even had that device in their hands for 2 months.

All the Intel problems may turn around when it gets stable Linux HDR support for running the next version of a stable HDR10 capable Linux Kodi v19 "M" which would likely be out in about 1+ years from now.