Is it worth upgrading my s812 to something else?

1st Official Post

    tl;dr;

    is it really worth upgrading from a stable s812 box the is perfectly capable of streaming 1080p videos, and upgrade to a S922x based boxes?

    use case: stream up to 1080p. No need for 4k, HDR, emulation, etc

    __________

    Hey all,

    So been using my S812 based box (2GB ram/8gb Rom) for a really long time, been keeping it updated as well, until 8.2.3 (Kodi 17.6)

    Is rock solid, and does what I tell it to do.

    I have Librelec 8.2.3 on nand, and mess around with different builds on sd card to see if I can find a solid Kodi 18 build (best success has been with Alexelec)

    But this got me thinking, maybe its time to upgrade.

    Been leaning towards Odroid-N2, VIM3 or Beelink GT King

    But...I don't have a fancy setup, just a simple 1080p LG TV, nothing else beside Libreelec/kodi box

    I have been seeing often times I have issue with streaming high quality 1080p files.

    90% of the time my use case is to use it to stream 720/1080p videos. I have RD, and sort files with max resolution of 1080p and less then 3gb.

    10% of the time is using Stalker client for IPTV.

    I also have 1gig fiber connection, and kodi box is hard wired.

    And more than content with 720p...dont care much for 4k or HDR for my use case.

    Most of the wait time is scraping of sources. my normal setup is just 2-3 addons.

    On my SD card, have have played with aura mod with widgets, still not terribly laggy.

    I think I have had this box for 4 years, and for similar longevity and community support, I am considering at least Odroid-N2 or better.

    But is it worth it, I have been doing a lot of research, and been waiting for the last 6 months. I can wait more I suppose, but seeing some good deals on N2 recently :/

    Especially because s812 upgrade path is essentially a dead end. I love to tinker, and great at following instructions. But the writing is on the wall for this box :cool:


    Thank you for your patience/shrug

    Edited 2 times, last by baalho: typo (September 10, 2019 at 7:51 PM).

    • Official Post

    I know the feeling. I'm still running S905x on LE8 with no real need to upgrade.

    If you have no need to upgrade, then don't.

    There are *many* options for an upgrade if you want to but you'll need to do the research.

    Considering the RPi is LE's most used H/W, the RPi4 is probably the best starting point.

    That is true, Iridium.

    RPi4 is definitely very appealing...

    Biggest thing I have for me is that I have the luxury of waiting. That is why I asked the question, just to make sure I if there was anything obvious I was missing.

    Thanks

    Even if AlexElec is working out for you at the moment, that will probably be about as far as you can go with the S812. Alex himself doesn't seem to be updating it, at least not as often as he does the 905/912/whatever other hardware he's building it for. I've actually managed to make it run on the now ancient S802 Matricom G-box Q, which is apparently identical to the S812 version, except for not playing H265 video (which I don't anyway) or possibly the wifi chip, which is not an issue as I use the ethernet port.

    I'm planning on holding out myself for the next two months or so, and then see if anybody's got some ridiculous "Black Friday"/"Cyber Monday" deals on new hardware. Definitely looking at the RPi 4 rather than another Android box.

    It seems that your box is arriving at end of life and hasn't got the chops to do anything but the basics. Its time to upgrade.

    Forget about the S912 because even though its a good piece of hardware its not well supported by Linux and has been dropped by AMLogic for future support.
    The latest S905D3 looks to be a good bet at a reasonable cost. Khadas have released a nice board which will do all you could need for the next few years at a very good price.

    Khadas VIM3L | Amlogic S905D3 HTPC (SBC)

    They have released a media pack version with case and installed CE.

    If you want better performance and a longer useful life then one of the S922 boards such as the VIM3 or N2 is the best thats available at the moment. Any of the Android boxes are tricky in terms of getting them to run anything but Android so are best avoided. The Beelink gt-king has definitely had hardware issues with its LAN port killing its transfer speeds. This will probably get resolved in later iterations but each board upgrade has the potential to break software support.

    Shoog

    Shoog, actually so ready to pull the trigger on N2...

    quick question...the IR remote on ameridroid is pretty cheap like $5.

    But I figured, either I can reconfigure my existing remote (android tv IR remote that came with my box, that currently works with LibreElec)

    or use my TV remote with CEC (with works with my current S812 android tv box).

    Wondering that was why they did not include a IR remote with the N2 package deal.

    while i also use Wako/Kore/Yatse on my android phone when i need to type in long text....I like the convenience of having a physical IR remote.

    So my first question, should i get the IR keyboard

    Second question, 16gb emmc, is it worth it over SD card? I would put libreelec/coreelec on the emmc. from my research, installtoemmc should work.

    Last question, and I know i will be rocking N2 for few years, i am thinking 4gb ram just to be relatively future proof. But for just libreelec, people are saying its an over kill. what do you think?

    :Psecond to the last question: VIM3L, does not seem as future proof as N2...but has WIFI/BT/eMMC...what say you..

    CNX coupon should help offset the shipping cost :)

    thank a bunch!

    Edited once, last by baalho: so tempted to by the N2 (September 14, 2019 at 1:54 AM).

    emmc is a nice speed increase and one of the main reasons for choosing a SBC over an Android box.

    You can use your existing remote if you can find a configuration file for it, otherwise you can create one yourself just so long as you can work out the code standard, the process is well documented and there is a good database as well. CEC is nice as a backup but on mine it hasn't got the context menu mapped which makes a lot of operations painfully limited.
    I find that the on screen keyboard is adequate for all my needs - if been a little painful to use. I wouldn't bother with a remote keyboard, just wouldn't use it enough to make it worthwhile.

    2g of memory is fine and always will be for Kodi/LE. The only reason to go for 4g is if you intend to run ubuntu or Armbien.

    The VIM3L will be a huge step up from your current box and you will probably see only marginal benefit going for an N2 over it. Still the pricing is close so i would still go for the N2.

    Shoog