[Sholander]

Thinking of getting ODROID-N2+ 4GB CoreELEC Edition with 64GB eMMC. 

​​​​​Is this a good move? Was considering the 128 GB eMMC but think this might be overkill?

Mine runs CoreElec on 16 GB eMMC

[perspicacia]

Thanks for the input on the eMMC. What about the whole thing - changing the minix for the n2+ CoreELEC - is this a good move?

[calev]

Thanks for the input on the eMMC. What about the whole thing - changing the minix for the n2+ CoreELEC - is this a good move?

It will be more performant for sure. It really depends on how much you will pay and what you want it to do. If you buy from Hard Kernel you have to pay like 50$ of shipping. And you still need to buy the powersupply, emmc, case. 

If you are just going to put coreelec on it the Beelink King pro is supported by coreelec and is 129 on ali express. It comes with 64gb emmc, remote, case, power suupply and is the same thing except it's emmc is soldered to the board. 

Even cheaper yet you can buy s950x4 boards like Vontar for even cheaper and will be very close in performance with even more playback formats supported like av1. You just have to make sure you pick the right one and those boxes are not as aesthetically pleasing imo. Still I've bought the vontar s905x4 and slapped coreelec on it and it performs great. I gave it away as a gift. I had to buy a mce remote seperatly but it was still way cheaper than my n2+.

If you want to use android n2+ won't have netflix support so it's not the best choice there unless you just want to play some games. It does emulation really well. 

So it's really up to what you want.

If you just want a coreelec box imo there are cheaper options that will perform as good in most things and even better in others.

[Sholander]

If you want to use android n2+ won't have netflix support so it's not the best choice there unless you just want to play some games. It does emulation really well. 

Hmm, Netflix (addon) works in HD (1080p) on my Odroid N2_CoreElec 20.1, isn't that "support"?

[calev]

I didn't know there was a coreelec netflix addon. Does it launch a web browser or something? I imagine that would be limited to 720P and no hardware acceleration.

[perspicacia]

Thanks for the input on the eMMC. What about the whole thing - changing the minix for the n2+ CoreELEC - is this a good move?

It will be more performant for sure. It really depends on how much you will pay and what you want it to do. If you buy from Hard Kernel you have to pay like 50$ of shipping. And you still need to buy the powersupply, emmc, case. 

If you are just going to put coreelec on it the Beelink King pro is supported by coreelec and is 129 on ali express. It comes with 64gb emmc, remote, case, power suupply and is the same thing except it's emmc is soldered to the board. 

Even cheaper yet you can buy s950x4 boards like Vontar for even cheaper and will be very close in performance with even more playback formats supported like av1. You just have to make sure you pick the right one and those boxes are not as aesthetically pleasing imo. Still I've bought the vontar s905x4 and slapped coreelec on it and it performs great. I gave it away as a gift. I had to buy a mce remote seperatly but it was still way cheaper than my n2+.

If you want to use android n2+ won't have netflix support so it's not the best choice there unless you just want to play some games. It does emulation really well. 

So it's really up to what you want.

If you just want a coreelec box imo there are cheaper options that will perform as good in most things and even better in others.

Appreciate the feedback. 
Primary concern is performance for Kodi. Not interested in Netflix. All content is on 4TB HDD

Was under the impression the n2+ was the best for performance? 

If I went for the Beelink would it be best to leave as Android box or change it to CoreELEC (is this easy)?

Edit: have just been offered a Minix u22 XJ Max at a similar price to the Beelink
​​​​​
Which to choose?

[Sholander]

I didn't know there was a coreelec netflix addon. Does it launch a web browser or something? I imagine that would be limited to 720P and no hardware acceleration.

CoreElec IS Kodi, so it's a Kodi addon, and it does Netflix with software decoding at 1080p without any effort.

[calev]

Primary concern is performance for Kodi. Not interested in Netflix. All content is on 4TB HDD

Was under the impression the n2+ was the best for performance? 

If I went for the Beelink would it be best to leave as Android box or change it to CoreELEC (is this easy)?

Edit: have just been offered a Minix u22 XJ Max at a similar price to the Beelink
​​​​​
Which to choose?

It is pretty easy to delete the android OS and install coreelec to the emmc. You first boot coreelec from sd card and then run ceemmc (one command) from a ssh session. So you'll need to be able to ssh into the box. 

Flashing the n2+ isn't that much easier is comparison.

imo I would go with the cheaper beelink because it has the same processor and ram. Maybe clocked slightly lower to reduce heat. But if you happen to come across a n2+ with emmc, case, powersupply, remote that came out to be less than 130$ then I would get the n2+ instead just because more people here have one.  

But the Beelink will look a lot nicer in the living room. n2+ is kinda hacky looking with it's huge heat sink hanging out.

[calev]

Edit: have just been offered a Minix u22 XJ Max at a similar price to the Beelink
​​​​​
Which to choose?

I don't think the minix supports librelec or coreelec. I like having the option of a minimal distro personally. Android doesn't seem to have a straight forward way to share your files to other computers. I also run docker to do other server duties on my coreelec boxes so that's nice.

[perspicacia]

Thanks for the input on the eMMC. What about the whole thing - changing the minix for the n2+ CoreELEC - is this a good move?

... 

If you are just going to put coreelec on it the Beelink King pro is supported by coreelec and is 129 on ali express. It comes with 64gb emmc, remote, case, power suupply and is the same thing except it's emmc is soldered to the board. 

.... 

Can't find the Beelink at the price you quote. Can only find one that is in stock and is 223$

[calev]

Can't find the Beelink at the price you quote. Can only find one that is in stock and is 223$

Where are you looking? Are you in the states? I'm comparing prices. Ameridroid seems to have the cheapest n2 plus after shipping.

---

Doesn't come with a remote but a 8$ remote from walmart has a microsoft mce code so add 8$.

The beelink comes with twice the storage I configured (no 64 gig available on ameridroid) for 20$ less on Ali express.



Honestly I think both are ok choices. I just think the Beelink is a little sexier. 28$ difference isn't huge.

[perspicacia]

That's the GT King not GT King Pro 

[calev]

That's the GT King not GT King Pro 

You're right. That's a good catch. Ali express using a bait and switch trick I guess. n2+ can do everything the bee link king pro can do so which ever one is cheaper would be the one to get.

[perspicacia]

That's the GT King not GT King Pro 

You're right. That's a good catch. Ali express using a bait and switch trick I guess. n2+ can do everything the bee link king pro can do so which ever one is cheaper would be the one to get.

Thanks for all your help. I have gone with the Beelink GT-King-Pro (found online here in Spain still cheaper than the n2+)

[Sholander]

Sorry to be late, but @perspicacia  and @calev
you both forgot to mention one very important difference between N2+ and GT-King; the former is an SBC and latter is a Box. Meaning, you can never brick N2+ and it's pretty easy to brick any Android box. Apart from that, on N2+ you can install any Android version from Pie (Android 9) to latest and future versions, and 18 other third party OSes !