[Utilitaire]

I'm considering Fire TV Cube because I assume It would be more stable over the years then the awful Android boxes (bought 5 of those). 

My needs are :

1. watch files, and that's it. No streaming, no Netflix.
   
2. no lagging (Android boxes overheat)
   
3. no reboot issues (Android Boxes)
   
4. Possibility to plug an USB drive
   
5. watch any file/encoding whatsoever (this is why I go with Kodi)
   

Downsides with Fire TV Cube

1. Price : seems a little bit high 
   
2. ads : contains 
   

I still surprises me that in 2023 it's still that hard to get a piece of hardware that is reliable to run Kodi, without having to pay like 200 bucks !

[jepsizofye]

no lagging (Android boxes overheat)

this is inaccurate of android, very common for the rockchip - non-android specific

no reboot issues (Android Boxes)

again not android - probably the overheating rockchip, see above

Downsides with Fire TV Cube - Price : seems a little bit high

this is probably how you ended up with a $40 rockchip android overheating device that reboots all the time


the rest of that, well probably something like a dedicated linux box running libreelec will do fine for you but will almost surely run up to your yikes price of $200 - if you want decent

in my experience you dont get to pick BOTH good and cheap, its either or

[Utilitaire]

this is inaccurate of android, very common for the rockchip - non-android specific

You are probably correct, not android specific. However, I don't know whether or not all my boxes were rockchip, but anyway I'm posting here all of them:

Raxxio H96 Max X3 Android TV Box 9.0 4GB RAM 64GB ROM Amlogic S905X3 64-bit Quad core A55 CPU G31 GPU Support 2.4G/5G Dual Wifi/1000LAN/BT 4.0/USB 3.0
Android 9.0 TV Box HK1 Max's with Dual-WiFi 2.4GHz/5GHz 【4GB RAM 64GB ROM】 RK3318 Quad-core Support 4K Full HD BT 4.1 USB 3.0 H.265 Digi
Android 9.0 TV Box,EASYTONE Q Plus Android Boxes with 4GB RAM 64GB ROM Quad-core H6 Support 6K Full HD Wi-Fi 2.4Ghz USB 3.0 H.265 Decoding Smart TV Bo
2021 Newest Android TV Box, Android Box 4GB ROM 128GB RAM , Android TV Box 10.0 Allwinner H616 Quad-Core 64bit with Dual WiFi 2.4G/5.8G 3D 4K/6K USB 3
EASYTONE Android 9.0 TV Box, EASYTONE Q Plus Android Boxes with 4GB RAM 64GB ROM Quad-core H6 Support 6K Full HD Wi-Fi 2.4Ghz USB 3.0 H.265 Decoding S
Android 9.0 TV Box with 4GB RAM 64GB ROM RK3328 Bluetooth 4.1 Quad-Core Cortex-A53 64 Bits, Support Dual-WiFi 2.4GHz/5GHz, 4K 3D Ultra HD HDMI H.265,U
2017 Newest Model GooBang Doo ABOX A1 Android 6.0 Marshmallow TV Box 1GB/8GB, Amlogic S905X 64 Bits Quad Core and Supporting 4K (60Hz) Full HD /H.265
 

well probably something like a dedicated linux box running libreelec

I like the proposition. But what hardware do you propose, and does it come with a remote ?

if you want decent

in my experience you dont get to pick BOTH good and cheap, its either or

Still amazing that that chromecast does the job for like $40. The only reason I'm not using it is that I don't have a remote, and also I don't want to rely only on wifi.

[jepsizofye]

there they are, see those specs that are "RK" followed by a number, thats the rockchip

the amlogic isnt usually an issue however the top one on that list is from Q4 2019 and a GPU from Q1 2018 so not surprising its not perfect 5 years later and any manufacturer still using them probably didnt spend much time on the operating system either
https://gadgetversus.com/processor/amlogic-s905x3-specs

as far as libreelec remotes, yes, being linux based it is quite versatile at using just about everything, heres some further info - https://wiki.libreelec.tv/configuration/ir-remotes (but a search on google will probably yield something better)

hardware youll have to source based on your needs and budget, anything i recommend is surely too expensive - for example i love hp elite mini https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/vwa/mini-d.../form=Mini but once you see the price youll cringe


i went the linux/libreelec because your requirement to play anything and ability to use a usb drive, no usb im aware of on android will actually work reliably and some not at all, there are also downsides to playing various things on both fire and shield (they are in development but still an issue in the release versions)

[Utilitaire]

there they are, see those specs that are "RK" followed by a number, thats the rockchip

the amlogic isnt usually an issue however the top one on that list is from Q4 2019 and a GPU from Q1 2018 so not surprising its not perfect 5 years later and any manufacturer still using them probably didnt spend much time on the operating system either
https://gadgetversus.com/processor/amlogic-s905x3-specs

Thanks for the info.

 

hardware youll have to source based on your needs and budget, anything i recommend is surely too expensive - for example i love hp elite mini https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/vwa/mini-d.../form=Mini but once you see the price youll cringe

I'm puzzle why you would pay that price ($500 to $1000 ?), instead of paying for example for a Fire TV Cube. Is it because you need it for other things than Kodi ? To be clear, I don't really have any limit on my budget -- I'd pay $10 000 without thinking about it If I had the logic that says it's what I need to run any movie file for the next 10 years without any problem. But its seems to me I can achieve that with $200 top with the Fire TV Cube.

[jepsizofye]

because i like overkill? i dont have any explanation for my reasoning. (i also bought it brand new so i paid > $1900 then added 2 512GB NVME so price was not retail msrp anyway)

i run an hp elite mini as my home server for kodi but in its initial purpose and use it was a libreelec box connected directly to the tv and it did everything you mentioned you need.

alongside it was my firetv cube gen1 which sort of ran kodi but not as well as the mini (this was 2019 and kodi for android was still newish at least to me), the gen1 was entirely too slow for my tastes

when i got gen2 it was a lot better at kodi and media in general plus already having used the gen1 since release i had become accustom to my streaming services so the mini got reduced to a server only

i run the gen3 cube now and its a really great device but the aforementioned "still in development" things that dont play on kodi on the gen3 i cannot recommend it as an all inclusive player

fritsch has just now put together a custom "hacked" (his words) package for the gen3 for some audio issues as well has also worked out some other audio codec issues - see here https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=371883

but what hes not working on (as i understand because its really not his field or goal) is the lack of dolby vision, whenever i try dv it outputs as standard hevc so again not an all inclusive player

i have taken other measures to fulfill my requirements but i still have to use several different things where i believe libre could actually do everything (given the right hardware) for playback

but then libre it has downsides for streaming services that you dont care about, but i do, so it would mean for me reverting to previous configuration - mini for kodi and local media, firetv gen3 for streaming

[Utilitaire]

Great explanation , thanks !

[Roby77]

asap a firmware with afr will be released homatics pro 4k plus will be my first choice

Secondo choice that is based on homatics is dune hd https://www.dune-hd.com/products/homatics-box-r-4k-plus

still seems like a steep price for a mali g31-mp2 thats 5 years old, compared to the cube gen3's mali g52 and reduction in price (as low as $100 on sale, $125 otherwise)

even the gen2 has a amlogic 922 with a g52 - https://developer.amazon.com/docs/fire-t...tvcubegen2

i might be curious about the L1 widevine difference, cube gen3 specifically states "L1 v11" and its about the only time ive ever seen the v noted, not even sure what it means

homatics s905-x4 - https://gadgetversus.com/processor/amlogic-s905x4-specs

cube gen 3 specs - https://developer.amazon.com/docs/fire-t...-cube.html

heres a nice data set - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mali_(processor)

You are right about cpu horse power

But s905x4 can manage 4k and AV1

Maybe Sei robotics / Homatics firmware isn't yet mature in comparison with shield tv but it supports many audio codecs
It works also with coreelec

Firetv (I own btw also a firestick 4k max) has only 2gb of memory and 100 mb lan and this for me is a no go
Also for what I remember audio passthrough doesn't works with kodi

Unlucky no news for a new shield tv and no news for a box with s928x

[jepsizofye]

You are right about cpu horse power

But s905x4 can manage 4k and AV1

Maybe Sei robotics / Homatics firmware isn't yet mature in comparison with shield tv but it supports many audio codecs
It works also with coreelec

Firetv (I own btw also a firestick 4k max) has only 2gb of memory and 100 mb lan and this for me is a no go
Also for what I remember audio passthrough doesn't works with kodi

Unlucky no news for a new shield tv and no news for a box with s928x

unfortunately 4k isnt just 4k anymore, how about hdr10,10+? dolby vision?
seeing the issues with audio on gen3 as well as reading about them on the shield make me curious how many other android boxes suffer from this

from a cost perspective it doesnt make sense to me to buy older for more money but if it does indeed have 1 or 2 features that you cannot get with something else maybe it is worth it - this would come down to individual use

ive never used coreelec and admittedly dont know anything about what it can or cant do

[noggin]

You are right about cpu horse power

But s905x4 can manage 4k and AV1

Maybe Sei robotics / Homatics firmware isn't yet mature in comparison with shield tv but it supports many audio codecs
It works also with coreelec

Firetv (I own btw also a firestick 4k max) has only 2gb of memory and 100 mb lan and this for me is a no go
Also for what I remember audio passthrough doesn't works with kodi

Unlucky no news for a new shield tv and no news for a box with s928x

unfortunately 4k isnt just 4k anymore, how about hdr10,10+? dolby vision?
seeing the issues with audio on gen3 as well as reading about them on the shield make me curious how many other android boxes suffer from this

from a cost perspective it doesnt make sense to me to buy older for more money but if it does indeed have 1 or 2 features that you cannot get with something else maybe it is worth it - this would come down to individual use

ive never used coreelec and admittedly dont know anything about what it can or cant do

S905X4 running CoreElec can handle UHD HDR using HDR10 with no problems.  It may handle HDR10+ - I don't know, I don't have an HDR10+ capable TV.  S905X4 with CoreElec also has full HD Audio bitstream support so Dolby True HD, DTS HD Master Audio are fine (as are the Atmos extensions and DTS:x I believe).  h264/AVC 8-bit, h265/HEVC (inc 10-bit), and AV-1 support is there, alongside MPEG2, and you have hardware deinterlacing. (Not sure about VC-1 status these days)

Dolby Vision Support is really limited to Android native platforms like the nVidia Shield TV I think - you don't get that in CoreElec on AMLogic. 

What is nuts is that you can get an S905X4 box with Gigabit Ethernet (though it takes a bit of searching) that runs CoreElec for less than £50.

[ontap]

Am on the case for one if these , good post 👍😀

[noggin]

Am on the case for one if these , good post 👍😀

If you are referring to my post - then beware the WiFi and Ethernet chipset issues. A lot of S905X4 boxes seem to ship with seemingly random combinations of the two - and the 100Mbs vs Gigabit Ethernet thing seems inconsistent.

I bought two S905X4 boxes (Tanix and Tronsmart) that the sellers claimed had Gigabit - but only had 100Mbs functionality (there were empty spaces where the external Gigabit stuff would have been...).  The third attempt - a Vontar - has good Gigabit Ethernet with CoreElec's 'ne' images - though I've not tested WiFi or Bluetooth.  I haven't spent any time getting the 4 LED 7 segment display to show anything, and I'm currently using an RF USB remote rather than IR - but I have managed to get IR remotes working on mine via the normal CoreElec route.

[Roby77]

Am on the case for one if these , good post 👍😀

Take care that cheap android box doesn't have widevine l1

[jepsizofye]

right on thanks for that @noggin

imo cheap s905x android boxes arent that good with the manufacturer installed android but it sounds like coreelec could actually make them very usable

and on VC-1 i dont think anyone really knows the status on any device, for me its always try to play it and decide - did it work? neat. it didnt work? oh well, typical ...

[ontap]

Internet speed where I live is 65mbps max so gigabit lan maybe isn’t a game changer ? Same with Widevine . I don’t use any external streaming services . But appreciate the heads up/s.