[hdmkv]

Last updated April 25, 2024
Discussion on state of the best Kodi-capable media players presently available. Primarily for local media streaming (via a NAS or similar network share), with the added benefit of online streaming apps (free & premium). Trying to find the 'best' media player than does everything, and does so well, is likely never going to happen (unless all your uses case fit within what one of these can do).

Requirements:

• Proper 23.976 & other common framerates (29.97, 59.94, etc.)
  
• 4K HDR, HLG, HDR10+ & Dolby Vision playback
  • Proper TV-led DV Profile 7 FEL playback a big plus (UHD discs use DV P7)
    
• Full HD/object-based audio passthrough (TrueHD, ATMOS, DTS-HD, DTS:X)
  
• Gigabit LAN, solid WiFi 6/6E, or solid performance using gigabit USB-to-ethernet dongle
  • Ability to stream 4K UHD rips from a NAS (or any server) with bitrates (or peaks) of 80-90+ Mbps
    
• Snappy & powerful-enough box (that doesn't feel sluggish navigating large libraries or overall)
  
• Most wanted (for some of us): 3D MVC support
  
• Preferred: YouTube, Prime Video, Netflix, etc. in 4K & all HDR formats supported
  

Here are media players I personally use in my home theater.

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Fire TV Cube 3 (Kodi forum; AVS forum)
$140, but has been $110 on sale
This is my favorite and overall top recommended Android-based box
+ Meets almost all requirements, with Kodi v21 sideloaded (an advancedsettings.xml fix is needed to address audio synch issue in Fire TV's firmware)
+ Reasonably-priced for all it does
+ Alexa voice-control with equipment management built-in allows for turning on/off display, AVR, etc., & remote controls AVR volume
+ AV1 support
- Cluttered UI w/ads; Amazon has restricted using custom launchers
- No 3D MVC playback
- VC-1 playback is problematic

Note: For Fire TV devices with Wi-Fi 6/6E, consider using HTTP for local streaming (vs. SMB/NFS) for better performance

==================================================
Fire TV Stick 4K or 4K Max (both 2nd gen, 2023)
Max is $60, but has been $40 on sale
+ Similar to above, and cheap for all it does
- Noticeably less snappy performance compared to Cube 3


==================================================
nVidia Shield TV Pro
$200, but has been $170 on sale
+ Still a decent option for an all-in-one box
+ Custom launcher possible
+ Still snappy performance, but Cube 3 is noticeably better (remains snappy if using 4K GUI)
- No HDR10+ or HLG playback
- No 3D MVC playback
- Hardware starting to feel a bit outdated; unknown how long it'll be supported (and no signs nVidia is planning a new box)


==================================================
Homatics/Dune Box R 4K Plus (or Dune Premier 4K Pro), RockTek G2 or Nokia 8010
$150 for all, except Dune Premier Pro $200
+ Meets almost all requirements
+ Reasonably-priced for all these do
+ Fairly snappy performance, but noticeably slower compared to Fire TV Cube 3 or Shield TV Pro
+ Can use CoreELEC along with Android TV, with DV intact
+ AV1 support
> DTS-HD HRA, MA & X passthrough in Android only supported in Android 12 firmware
- No 3D MVC playback
- VC-1 playback is problematic


==================================================
Dune HD Pro One 8K Plus
$399
+ Powerful new AmLogic S928X-K/J SoC with 8K/60 HDR output
+ Android TV UI option
+ "Experimental" support for 4K@120
+ Dolby VS10 engine
+ AV1 support
+ YouTube 8K HDR
- Overpriced
- No 3D MVC playback
- Not for Netflix, Prime Video & other premium streaming use
- Recently released, so some early firmware/PQ issues reported at AVSForum

A very thorough review in Russian (use Google Translate)

==================================================
Ugoos AM6B+ (CoreELEC w/DV detailed install guide here)
$160 approx
This is my favorite and overall top recommended pure Kodi (CoreELEC) box
> Minix U22X-J & Max are also options, but they've been discontinued & are near impossible to find
> A rooted Fire TV Cube 2 is another option, but performance is limited by its USB 2.0 port
+ Best with CoreELEC 20.5 or 21
+ First & only media players to support proper TV-led Dolby Vision Profile 7 & FEL playback
+ Supports all HDR formats
+ Snappy performance
- Uses somewhat older AmLogic S922X-J SoC from 2021
- AV1 playback stutters
- No 3D MVC playback
- Not for Netflix, Prime Video & other premium streaming use


==================================================
Dune Real Vision 4K Plus
$300, or more for Dune HD Pro Vision 4K Solo, Duo, etc. with Realtek 1619DR SoC
This is my favorite and overall top recommended 3D, upscaling & Dolby VS10 Android box
+ Solid choice for local streaming requirements only
+ Android TV UI option
+ Fairly snappy performance
+ 3D MVC playback
+ Dolby VS10 engine
- Overpriced by about $50
- Flaky HDR10+ support (officially supported, but fails HDR10+ dynamic metadata test)
- Realtek 1619DR SoC is starting to feel a bit outdated
- Not for Netflix, Prime Video & other premium streaming use


==================================================
Zidoo Z9X Pro
$249
+ Almost as solid choice for local streaming requirements only
+ Fairly snappy performance, but Dune is snappier
+ 3D MVC playback
+ Dolby VS10 engine
+ AV1 support
- Still buggy & will need several more firmware updates (latest on this here & here)
- Not for Netflix, Prime Video & other premium streaming use


==================================================
Vero V (Kodi forum; OSMC forum)
$191
+ Meets only local streaming requirements, using OSMC
+ 3D MVC playback, but still plagued by AmLogic's MVC decoder bug
+ Fairly snappy performance
+ AV1 support
+ Solid support & user forum
- No Dolby Vision playback, but Profile 5 conversion is supported*
- Not for Netflix, Prime Video & other premium streaming use, but Sam has promised this is coming "soon"

* For DV Profile 5 (which has no HDR fallback), founder/owner Sam@OSMC & team have implemented a tonemapping solution to output it as HDR or SDR

==================================================
Generic AmLogic S905X4 Box
$40-$55 approx
+ Meets only local streaming requirements, using CoreELEC
+ Fairly snappy performance
+ AV1 support
+ Cheap
- No Dolby Vision playback
- No 3D MVC playback
- Not for Netflix, Prime Video & other premium streaming use


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Intel N100 UHD-based MiniPC (specs) (review of an example box)
$140 approx & up
+ Solid choice for local streaming needs using LibreELEC
+ Snappy performance
+ HD/object-based audio passthrough
+ HDR10 & HLG supported
- No HDR10+ or DV
- No 3D MVC playback
- 720p-1080p resolution with Netflix, Prime Video, etc.


==================================================
Raspberry Pi 5
$140 approx & up for a complete kit (board, case, mSD card, power) (4GB RAM is enough for Kodi use)
+ Solid choice for local streaming needs using LibreELEC
+ HD/object-based audio passthrough
+ HDR10 & HLG supported
- (May not be a negative) VC-1, MPEG2 & H.264 software-decoded (vs. hardware in previous Pi's)
- 3D no longer supported (RPi 3B+ was last Pi to have MVC 3D)
- Not for Netflix, Prime Video & other premium streaming use



Did I miss any requirements? Any other solid boxes or lesser-known gems in the wild? Please reply in this thread or PM me, thanks.

Resources:

• Kodi A/V Samples Wiki (with lots of useful A/V test files, demos & samples)
  
• Media player PQ tests & technical analyses (AVSForum thread)
  
• Media players section at AVSForum
  

[selfcontained]

I've been following the videos and (minimal for now) analysis of media players here https://www.avsforum.com/threads/picture...y_top_post I've distilled it (I think accurately) as such

for DV HDR profile 8.1 & profile 5: Amazon's 3rd-gen Fire TV Cube (CM4.0 support; but set to LLDV as TV-Led would result in double RPU processing)
for just HDR10 & SDR then Shield TV Pro followed by Amazon's: 3rd-gen Fire TV Cube or 2nd-gen Fire TV Stick Max

the video poster hasn't completed his full analysis and some of my conclusions (assuming I've intepreted correctly) may change.

It's too bad the Amazon products make it nearly impossible to use without an Amazon & Google account but that's a rant for a different thread.

[izprtxqkft]

additional

Zidoo Z9X Pro
(firmware v1.0.75 beta)

Kodi 20240110 8fe22bc3 master
- Refresh Rate Switching
(does not have any whitelist/cannot whitelist)
+ Audio Passthrough

ZDMC 20.2 (no external player enabled)
+ Refresh Rate Switching
+ Audio Passthrough (retested, TrueHD Atmos, DTS:X working)

(Played from internally mounted NFS, no media server involvement)

[clarkss12]

Excellent, thank you.

[hdmkv]

Hey @clarkss12, you've probably tried every type of box imaginable . Anything of note from CoreELEC, FreakTab forums?

@selfcontained, thanks, added link to the AVS thread.

@izprtxqkft, with Zidoo, for Kodi use, their ZDMC fork is always best to use. Are you saying that at present audio passthrough isn't working w/ZDMC 20.2? Which would mean it's really broken in the native Realtek player app.

[izprtxqkft]

Are you saying that at present audio passthrough isn't working w/ZDMC 20.2?

trying to keep it related to Kodi i turned off the external player (settings -> player -> videos -> play with external)
i just retested with it enabled and it just kicks me out of playback so it is completely non-functional with external player
and retested again and after a restart it seems to be doing TrueHD Atmos and DTS:X passthrough on internal kodi player, being the highest end of those codecs expect the rest are working fine
*updated report

[hdmkv]

Bought Z9X Pro as soon as it came out last year, but returned it as it was too buggy. Sounds like it's still buggy. Went with Dune Real Vision 4K Plus instead. Only thing it doesn't do well is HDR10+, even though it's the same SoC as Z9X, which play 10+ fine.

[izprtxqkft]

Sounds like it's still buggy.

i won't disagree with you but with the addition "when used with Kodi", when used with HT4 it's the best device i've bought in years
just wanted to leave a little extra note since you mentioned it though, when using the official Kodi it's not perfect so nobody should expect it to be

[clarkss12]

This thread reminds me of Warxtasy and his thread..... https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=252916. 
The old timers on here. remember him....  He just faded away.   
“Win just one for the Gipper” 
Thank you for that good information.......

[hdmkv]

I miss @wrxtasy as well. @noggin had last been touch w/him if I'm recalling correctly. What happened?

[clarkss12]

I miss @wrxtasy as well. @noggin had last been touch w/him if I'm recalling correctly. What happened?

For those that did not know him, he was a true master. He was the man to see about these Android boxes and what they were capable of and how to get the most of them.

He was a true master of these boxes for several years, and is sorely missed.

He saved me a lot of money, by not buying junk.

[ashlar]

First of all, thank you for creating this. As other mentioned, @wrxtasy work has been sorely missed on these forums.

On to the subject, what's the limitation of Cube 3? I mean... so far there's always been something limiting the attractiveness of this boxes to me. Is performance better than on Shield, as I understand from what you write?
Is it capable of handling Dolby Vision in UHD remuxes? Or is that something still impossible to achieve anywhere?
Pardon my ignorance, as I am mainly a Windows Kodi user. I have always tried to remain up to date with this kind of boxes because you never know (ended up buying a Vero last year for the living room, for instance).

[izprtxqkft]

Dolby Vision in UHD remuxes

4K UHD Remux should be baseline, perhaps @hdmkv can update the first post to include 4K Video 80+Mbps
except for the Vero, Dune Real Vision 4K Plus and FireTV "Stick" i can confirm the rest of the devices listed meet this

Dolby Vision where noted, independent of video bitrate
Cube Gen3 certainly capable of Dolby Vision

[calev]

intel n100 boxes are cheaper and perform better than some of these boxes on almost everything. I feel like it should be mentioned. It does hdr just not dolby vision. And because it's amd_64 can do netflix and other streaming services fine. Unless this is a arm only list.

[izprtxqkft]

And because it's amd_64 can do netflix and other streaming services fine.

you missed the end part of the requirement "in 4K & all HDR formats supported" meaning L1 widevine
but yes i agree it should be added to the list with the deficit that streaming formats will be limited to ~720p (1080 on netflix)