[wrxtasy]

Wait, you've to flip the SPI switch, turn the device on and select which OS to boot from the petitboot menu.....every time

No you only have to Flip the switch if you want to put the N2 into Petitboot Mode and be presented with a bootup - Text user interface to switch between different OS's as seen HERE (click)

I strongly suggest a Plug n Play - USB Mini Dongle RF receiver remote like the WeChip G20S or G30 is used because those type of remotes work straight away no matter which OS you use.

Having said all that I very much prefer the traditional AMLogic - CoreELEC / Android - Dual boot setup with Android OS on internal eMMC and CoreELEC Kodi on a external microSDHC (or USB3). Then you simply Reboot each OS to easily flip / flop between the two OS's.

It's much simpler, more reliable, quicker and easier to use.
About the only thing you should do on such devices is BL301 - Bootloader injection (click).

And it's also the reason I recommend Ugoos hardware if you are going down that set and forget - easy Dual Boot path.

W.

[calibos]

Wait, you've to flip the SPI switch, turn the device on and select which OS to boot from the petitboot menu.....every time

No you only have to Flip the switch if you want to put the N2 into Petitboot Mode and be presented with a bootup - Text user interface to switch between different OS's as seen HERE (click)

I strongly suggest a Plug n Play - USB Mini Dongle RF receiver remote like the WeChip G20S or G30 is used because those type of remotes work straight away no matter which OS you use.

Having said all that I very much prefer the traditional AMLogic - CoreELEC / Android - Dual boot setup with Android OS on internal eMMC and CoreELEC Kodi on a external microSDHC (or USB3). Then you simply Reboot each OS to easily flip / flop between the two OS's.

It's much simpler, more reliable, quicker and easier to use.
About the only thing you should do on such devices is BL301 - Bootloader injection (click).

And it's also the reason I recommend Ugoos hardware if you are going down that set and forget - easy Dual Boot path.

W.

Thanks for all your amazing comprehensive help W

Perhaps I am misunderstanding but have I gotten caught up with the earlier petitboot dualboot conversation in the thread that isn't necessarily relevant to me?

Am I understanding your latest post right. Are you implying that I dont necessarily have to worry about all that petitboot dualboot setup and gotchas and I should simply buy the eMMC card with Android 9.0 and install the Virgin TV Anywhere app on that and then in the SD card slot have the supplied CoreElec SD card that came with the N2’s, and that simply by virtue of the fact that there are two OS’s installed, that when I reboot either from within the respective app, the N2 will automatically reboot into the other storage mediums OS? In effect the N2 will be permanently left on (I know it only uses like 1w at idle). I wouldn't mind that only for the fact that when I left a previous CoreElec N2 turned on for a couple of weeks before I learned how to do the injection thing and get the 360 remote to turn the N2 fully off, well it got stuck in dimmed screensaver mode and other weird behaviours like losing half the TV show library which only a hard reboot buy pulling the plug rectified.

[wrxtasy]

Am I understanding your latest post right. Are you implying that I dont necessarily have to worry about all that petitboot dualboot setup and gotchas and I should simply buy the eMMC card with Android 9.0 and install the Virgin TV Anywhere app on that and then in the SD card slot have the supplied CoreElec SD card that came with the N2’s, and that simply by virtue of the fact that there are two OS’s installed, that when I reboot either from within the respective app, the N2 will automatically reboot into the other storage mediums OS?

No you have it completely wrong.
What you are describing is mostly how all the other regular Android AMLogic Dual Boot setups work, and the one I actually recommend using - like the Gigabit Ugoos devices.

---

First with the N2 you have to get a compatible Android / CoreELEC Petitboot installed, all that info is over on the Petitboot thread on the HK forums.
Then on bootup you have to stuff around with HardKernel Petitboot text screen with the ODROID N2 and configure it initially to default boot to a particular OS.

Then when you do boot you have to remote press up multiple times to select the other OS, then the device boots again for the 2nd time and finally you get to what you want.

And then I encountered HDMI CEC problems with CoreELEC as well. And that has annoyed the heck out of me with TV / AVR - ON / OFF and HDMI audio.
Seriously you really have to want to get right into DIY with this N2 - Petitboot Dual Boot setup, there are all sort of "Gotchas"

Just get a Ugoos X3 Cube or AM6 and a Class 10 U1 microSDHC to flash CoreELEC on to. It will be MUCH easier and Ugoos Android Firmware is top class stuff with a bunch of great tweaks.
That is the Easy, reliable AMLogic dual boot option.

[calibos]

Am I understanding your latest post right. Are you implying that I dont necessarily have to worry about all that petitboot dualboot setup and gotchas and I should simply buy the eMMC card with Android 9.0 and install the Virgin TV Anywhere app on that and then in the SD card slot have the supplied CoreElec SD card that came with the N2’s, and that simply by virtue of the fact that there are two OS’s installed, that when I reboot either from within the respective app, the N2 will automatically reboot into the other storage mediums OS?

No you have it completely wrong.
What you are describing is mostly how all the other regular Android AMLogic Dual Boot setups work, and the one I actually recommend using - like the Gigabit Ugoos devices.

---

First with the N2 you have to get a compatible Android / CoreELEC Petitboot installed, all that info is over on the Petitboot thread on the HK forums.
Then on bootup you have to stuff around with HardKernel Petitboot text screen with the ODROID N2 and configure it initially to default boot to a particular OS.

Then when you do boot you have to remote press up multiple times to select the other OS, then the device boots again for the 2nd time and finally you get to what you want.

And then I encountered HDMI CEC problems with CoreELEC as well. And that has annoyed the heck out of me with TV / AVR - ON / OFF and HDMI audio.
Seriously you really have to want to get right into DIY with this N2 - Petitboot Dual Boot setup, there are all sort of "Gotchas"

Just get a Ugoos X3 Cube or AM6 and a Class 10 U1 microSDHC to flash CoreELEC on to. It will be MUCH easier and Ugoos Android Firmware is top class stuff with a bunch of great tweaks.
That is the Easy, reliable AMLogic dual boot option.

I’ll start researching the Ugoos X3 Cube and also the Wechip G20S/G30 remote after work. Ditto playing around with the current test setup on that Samsung EVI Sd card, to see if any of the gotchas you mentioned like the res and refresh rate switching will actually affect my use cases in my real world usage patterns. Because tbh even on the SD card KODI and the Virgin app seem to be running smoothly and playing back content smoothly which can only get better running off an eMMC card, so I’m still struggling to see why I personally with my particular displays and usecases will even need dual boot in the first place.

Is This WeChip remote a viable alternative to the G20? Its only about €3 more expensive but looks better has rubberise keys and a keyboard on the back......and amazon is out of stock of the g20 anyway.

[wrxtasy]

I’ll start researching the Ugoos X3 Cube and also the Wechip G20S/G30 remote after work. Ditto playing around with the current test setup on that Samsung EVI Sd card, to see if any of the gotchas you mentioned like the res and refresh rate switching will actually affect my use cases in my real world usage patterns.
Because tbh even on the SD card KODI and the Virgin app seem to be running smoothly and playing back content smoothly which can only get better running off an eMMC card, so I’m still struggling to see why I personally with my particular displays and usecases will even need dual boot in the first place.

Yes if you already are happy with the N2 Android setup, stick with what you know. Experiment if you really want to.

This WeChip remote[/url] a viable alternative to the G20? Its only about €3 more expensive but looks better has rubberise keys and a keyboard on the back......and amazon is out of stock of the g20 anyway.

Have a look at the following post where @claskss12 give his thoughts on WeChip (G30) remotes...
https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid...pid2955535

[calibos]

I’ll start researching the Ugoos X3 Cube and also the Wechip G20S/G30 remote after work. Ditto playing around with the current test setup on that Samsung EVI Sd card, to see if any of the gotchas you mentioned like the res and refresh rate switching will actually affect my use cases in my real world usage patterns.
Because tbh even on the SD card KODI and the Virgin app seem to be running smoothly and playing back content smoothly which can only get better running off an eMMC card, so I’m still struggling to see why I personally with my particular displays and usecases will even need dual boot in the first place.

Yes if you already are happy with the N2 Android setup, stick with what you know. Experiment if you really want to.

This WeChip remote[/url] a viable alternative to the G20? Its only about €3 more expensive but looks better has rubberise keys and a keyboard on the back......and amazon is out of stock of the g20 anyway.

Have a look at the following post where @claskss12 give his thoughts on WeChip (G30) remotes...
https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid...pid2955535

Just ordered 3 of the G30's from the video you linked to.

Got the Android VirginTV Anywhere app saved as a Favourite and set as a main menu item in KODI (I use AEON Nox Silvio). Got KODI Starting with Android via an app called 'Launch on Boot'. I only see the Android Home screen for about a second before the KODI splash screen appears. Like I said even running from the SD card, Android KODI is snappy. Clicking the VirginTV main menu item in KODI loads up the VirginTV Android app instantly, ESC out of the Virgin app takes me back to the KODI main menu. Thrilled with this integration of both Media apps (KODI & VirginTV Anywhere) As for the slow bootup with an SD card?? Well put it this way, I have still ordered the 2 eMMC cards with ANdroid 9.0 cause maybe things would slow to a crawl when I add all my sources and scan in my full libraries after testing is complete, but as it stands now, I could happily live with the snappiness and boot time as its really not too bad even with the SD card. 10-15 seconds. if eMMC cut that down to a couple seconds then thats great 'n' all but 10-15 seconds wasn't painful either.

Haven't done much media file testing yet to see if the res and refresh gotchas will affect me but assuming they don't then I definitely don't see myself dual booting especially given the nice integration I've achieved between KODI and VirginTV Anywhere and the Auto Launching.

Just need to wait for those remotes now to finish things off. ie. Set them to Power Down as well as power up the devices and program them whatever way they need to be to work both in KODI and the Virgin TV app. (For example, I plugged a FLIRC from my PC for testing using my Harmony and while the remote worked normally inside KODI, it was only Page UP/Down in the VirginTV Anywhere app. Couldn't highlight the sidebar menu or individual Channel THumbnails. I may never be able to navigate this Virgin app with arrow buttons on the remote as the Virgin App may be only setup for 'Touch' as it thinks its on a phone or tablet. However, given that the mouse and keyboard I connected allowed me to scroll and select what I wanted, thats where the Air Mouse functionality of the G30's you recommended will come into their own. ie. I'd be using the remote buttons for KODI UI navigation but using the Air Mouse function of the remote for VirginTV Anywhere UI Navigation.

EDIT

While I still have the incredibly helpful Wrxtacy’s attention...

Amazon orders are very slow to Ireland during this Pandemic and the G30 remotes I ordered last night will probably take over a week to arrive if not more. I’ve had a potential brainwave here in work this morning though. I remembered I have This Hama MCE Remote in a drawer at home. It has a touchpad mouse function. I know that as an MCE remote it will work within KODI without me having to do anything but I wonder do you think the mouse function will work out of the box with the VirginTV Anywhere app running on my Android 9.0 N2 and if not, how would I go about getting it to work within Android?

EDIT 2

HAMA Remote Mouse function works!

[calibos]

Ordered another CoreElec Odroid N2 last night bringing my total to 6.

4 will stay as CoreElec running off the supplied SD Cards.

2 will have Android KODI installed on 16gb eMMC cards for speed. These two boxes are for the 2 TV's/Rooms that can't/won't have a Virgin TV Set Top Box. They'll have Virgins VirginTV Anywhere Android app installed and started from the Main Menu inside KODI. Tested and working fantastic. 

However, I'm also thrilled to discover Netflix and Amazon VOD Add-ons for KODI both of which various family members have membership for. Already tested the NetflixAdd-on on my N2 Android test machine and it works like a Dream. Amazon VOD Add-on I'm having trouble with as its taking for ever to load into some menu items within it with spinning blue ring. Like its taking forever to cache artowrk or something. Amazon Content plays....when I get into it. Maybe this will be sorted when I move this test machine and the other box onto the eMMC's when they arrive.

One questrion I have is this. I assume that with the Android versions of the Netflix and Amazon VOD Add-on, I'll be limited to 540p (SD) res because there is no L1 Widevine support on Android. Not really an issue, because the two family members getting the android boxes aren't fussy about PQ anyway and will be perfectly happy with 540p on their 720p Plasma TV's. Would I be right in thinking though that the other 4 CoreElec Odroid N2's with KODI running the Netflix and Amazon Add-ons will actually be able to play back 1080p and 4K streams from Netflix and Amazon because CoreElec does support L1 Widevine??

[noggin]

Would I be right in thinking though that the other 4 CoreElec Odroid N2's with KODI running the Netflix and Amazon Add-ons will actually be able to play back 1080p and 4K streams from Netflix and Amazon because CoreElec does support L1 Widevine??

720p definitely, and I think the 1080p streams can be software decoded without frame drops. (The N2 has to software decode DRMed streams because of the way a browser plugin DRM component is used)

I don't think 4K is possible via this route.

[Sholander]

Would I be right in thinking though that the other 4 CoreElec Odroid N2's with KODI running the Netflix and Amazon Add-ons will actually be able to play back 1080p and 4K streams from Netflix and Amazon because CoreElec does support L1 Widevine??

Since on CE all NF streams are software decoded max resolution you'll get on CE is 1080p. And that is not true for all streams, but only for original Netflix material and mainly older movies. New, not NF movies, are restricted to 576p. Don't know the situation with Amazon.

WV L1 is supported on CE, but that is not enough for NF (they have other restrictions), although it's enough to play all HBO-Go 1080p streams with hardware decoding...
EDIT: I stand corrected, WV L1 is in fact NOT supported on CE, but L3 is, and that makes it enough for mentioned HBO-Go 1080 streams to be hardware decoded.

[wrxtasy]

Kodi Leia Netflix Addon - Max. output resolutions....
Devices with NO included WideVine L1 DRM or HDCP:

Android Kodi Leia = 960x540p

Linux based Kodi Leia = 1920x1080p --> original Netflix content only otherwise 540p
Devices CPU package also needs to be powerful enough to S/W decode 1080p

---

Android Devices with whitelisted WideVine L1 DRM and HDCP 1.x/2.2:

Android Kodi Leia = 1920x1080p (HDCP 1.x) eg old MINIX U9 (HDR as well)
Android Kodi Leia = 3840x2160p (HDCP 2.2) eg Shields, Mi Boxes, FireTV’s, MINIX T5, MINIX U22-XJ and the old WeTek Play2

[calibos]

Thanks for the Netflix/Amazon Res info guys.

Like I said, not a big deal tbh. The Netflix add-on and integration with KODI was working so well on my N2 Android Test machine that I was wondering if perhaps, I'd install it on all 6 N2's both Android and CoreElecs. However, the 4 CoreElec N2's will be in rooms with a Virgin Set Top Box anyway that already have an officially sanctioned Netflix 4K app and I hear an Amazon Prime Video app is also in the works too. In effect the choice would be between Netflix/Amazon integration with Virgin TV on the set top boxes at up to 4K or Netflix/Amazon integration with KODI at up to 1080p but mostly 540p. I choose the former rather than the latter in that case. Like I said those 2 Android KODI N2's will be in rooms that can't/won't have a Virgin Set Top Box and so being able to give those rooms KODI with VirginTVAnywhere app integration and Netflix/Amazon Add-on integration is fantastic no matter what res limitations there are.

Thanks again!

[hdmkv]

MINIX U22-XJ supports 4K Netflix? Nice surprise. Is this just via CoreELEC and Kodi, and/or the Android OS?

[lightsout]

MINIX U22-XJ supports 4K Netflix? Nice surprise. Is this just via CoreELEC and Kodi, and/or the Android OS?

Not sure how accurate but Amazon page says this:

--Netflix: It is important to note, NEO U22-XJ does not support Netflix in 4K UHD or Full 1080p HD resolutions. ,
--Amazon Prime: It is important to note, NEO U22-XJ does not support Amazon Prime in 4K UHD or Full 1080p HD resolutions.

[geddyclaus]

The power button on the G20 is programmable, so what I did is I had the IR remote from odroid already, and I programmed my G20 power button to the power button on the odroid IR remote, and it worked perfectly. This way the power button uses IR to turn the N2 on/off, but the other buttons use the USB dongle to control (so it's response is much quicker than IR, and I don't need direct line of sight). 

Here is the IR remote that I used to program the G20 power button:

https://ameridroid.com/products/ir-remote-control

This sounds crazy but I just ordered and received the Ameridroid remote you linked to and confirmed that it powers on and off my N2, so I try to program the G20 power button and I can't get the G20 to power on or off the N2.  I am able to program the G20 power button with my TV remote and it functions as expected.  Is there something I might be missing as to why the ameridroid IR remote code is not being programmed correctly to the G20?

[wrxtasy]

MINIX U22-XJ supports 4K Netflix? Nice surprise. Is this just via CoreELEC and Kodi, and/or the Android OS?

It should in theory. Along with 4K HDR DolbyVision Netflix using the Android only - Kodi Leia Addon.
My old WeTeK Play2 definitely does 4K Netflix with Android Kodi H/W deciding.

Once you have legit WideVine L1 DRM, HDCP2.2 and a proper DV chipset Licence under the hood you can do a bunch of things.