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Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015)
I saw a chromebox on Amazon selling new for $119, so I went ahead and just bought that. I guess I'll see how it goes.
If you have a converter for the old TV already, then it certainly won't hurt to get a Chromebox. Even if it is overkill, it's still really cheap for a set-top-box/PC. I get the impression that a new box will inspire you to upgrade the TV soon :)
Very possibly. Now I just need to figure out what remote to get.
Then again the pi will drive the old TV without the converter as it has composite out.
If I have helped you or increased your knowledge, click the 'thumbs up' button to give thanks :) (People with less than 20 posts won't see the "thumbs up" button.)
That's true. I strongly considered the pi, but then I'd have to look at getting a box, heatsink, wifi, power supply, sd card...and I've seen a lot of people talking about needing to overclock it...it sounded like getting that would be more of a hassle than I wanted to deal with. And if the chromebox is better, it seemed like grabbing it at $119 was the smart move (granted, I do have to figure out the remote thing, so there will be an additional expense). If I don't like it, I can just return it and try again with the pi.
Yeah the chromebox will be better for everything except 3D (and you clearly don't have a 3D TV).

Remotes can be as little as $15.00. This one is great, I have 10 of them. I bought extra in case they crap out or we get a ridiculous number of TVs.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Windows-XP-7-8-L...0858194750
If I have helped you or increased your knowledge, click the 'thumbs up' button to give thanks :) (People with less than 20 posts won't see the "thumbs up" button.)
(2015-05-20, 21:42)wrxtasy Wrote: Alert !
Some people including Noggin and myself are having serious issues with HDMI sync and HDMI Audio glitches, especially with a refresh rate of 50Hz or greater on the ODROID-C1. Support to fix this issue is severely lacking on ODROID's part. Sad
I would only buy one for perfectly synced 24p HD Netflix and HEVC decoding to play content that an RPI2 cannot. And even then run only with a refresh rate of 24Hz and no AVR.

I also disagree with Wintersdark about Android and bulletproof in regards to reliable HEVC decoding when using Kodi, which is far more reliable running Ubuntu 14.04 & Kodi Isengard on this device.

De-interlacing on the OC1 / S805 is very good. It does Advanced motion adaptive edge-enhancing de-interlacing, producing nice results. Pity the 50Hz Audio glitch ruins viewing tho.

I retract my statement about poor support from ODROID/Hardkernel...

For those looking for a cheap $35 1080p HEVC media decoder. Hardkernel have released a test Kernel/Firmware update for this device that seems to have fixed all the HDMI Audio issues I had. Very good quality deinterlacing of 1080i / mpeg2 TV and a speedy AMlogic S805 that has a really good VPU/GPU plug all the holes and play content my RPi2 cannot.

Ubuntu/ Kodi / Android / SPMC / HD Netflix run really well on this device now Smile

(2015-05-23, 07:06)nickr Wrote: Yeah the chromebox will be better for everything except 3D (and you clearly don't have a 3D TV).

Remotes can be as little as $15.00. This one is great, I have 10 of them. I bought extra in case they crap out or we get a ridiculous number of TVs.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Windows-XP-7-8-L...0858194750


That gave me an idea. I have an old laptop that came with a remote. Unfortunately, I don't have an IR receiver for it. I also have an MCE remote from an old Dlink box that died. But, of course, I have no IR receiver for that either since it was built in, same as the laptop. If I could get my hands on a receiver, I could use either of those remotes. Or I could splurge a little and get a FLIRC receiver and try out all the junky, old remotes I have lying around.
The beauty of Flirc is once programmed its very easily transferrable to any other Kodi or Android device without further re-programming.
If you map the full keyboard controls of Kodi to Flirc, you can even navigate around an Android desktop easily with just a remote control.

Best bit of versatile hardware I have ever bought. Excellent IR receiver sensitivity as well. Recommended Smile

(2015-05-23, 07:26)wrxtasy Wrote:
(2015-05-20, 21:42)wrxtasy Wrote: Alert !
Some people including Noggin and myself are having serious issues with HDMI sync and HDMI Audio glitches, especially with a refresh rate of 50Hz or greater on the ODROID-C1. Support to fix this issue is severely lacking on ODROID's part. Sad
I would only buy one for perfectly synced 24p HD Netflix and HEVC decoding to play content that an RPI2 cannot. And even then run only with a refresh rate of 24Hz and no AVR.

I also disagree with Wintersdark about Android and bulletproof in regards to reliable HEVC decoding when using Kodi, which is far more reliable running Ubuntu 14.04 & Kodi Isengard on this device.

De-interlacing on the OC1 / S805 is very good. It does Advanced motion adaptive edge-enhancing de-interlacing, producing nice results. Pity the 50Hz Audio glitch ruins viewing tho.

I retract my statement about poor support from ODROID/Hardkernel...

For those looking for a cheap $35 1080p HEVC media decoder. Hardkernel have released a test Kernel/Firmware update for this device that seems to have fixed all the HDMI Audio issues I had. Very good quality deinterlacing of 1080i / mpeg2 TV and a speedy AMlogic S805 that has a really good VPU/GPU plug all the holes and play content my RPi2 cannot.

Ubuntu/ Kodi / Android / SPMC / HD Netflix run really well on this device now Smile

Any link to discussion about this? Very tempted to buy myself another kodi box Smile

Seconded above about flirc too - makes everything so much easier, especially if you use live TV, you can program single keys to launch EPG and recordings
ODROID - HDMI Video Fix discussion:
http://forum.odroid.com/viewtopic.php?f=117&t=12827

HDMI Audio Fix discussion
http://forum.odroid.com/viewtopic.php?f=117&t=9134

I'm very happy now these HDMI issues have been fixed. The Gigabit Ethernet makes a difference streaming from my TVHeadend server too.
Plays everything I throw at at without the need for extra purchased licences.
You need to get a cheap RTC backup battery for preliminary CEC support, although the IR receiver works well anyway.

See the link below for an early review before HDMI issues were fixed:
!!
V

Has anyone used a Dell Inspiron Micro? http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-3050-micro-desktop/pd
(2015-05-24, 20:06)megamawax Wrote: Has anyone used a Dell Inspiron Micro? http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-3050-micro-desktop/pd

it's an overpriced BayTrail box, not particularly interesting from a Kodi POV.
OK, thanks. Is there anything that runs Windows that can compete with the Chromebox on both price and capability as far as running Kodi? The only mentions of Windows devices that I recall seeing are the NUCs, which are quite a bit more expensive. Do you think Windows 10 on the Chromebox will be a good option down the line?
Windows 8.1/10 run buttery fine, but hdmi sound doesn't work. I can also confirm that server 2012r2 is no go when it comes to hdmi sound.
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