LibreELEC on Raspberry Pi 4 - dual screen possible?

    Since the Raspberry Pi 3B and 4B have supported two screens for a long time, I developed an HTPC with a 5 "touch display housing.

    I also now have the problem that Kodi doesn't seem to support two screens.

    With a Raspbian OS I can use the 5 "DSI touch display and the HDMI TV. By changing the priority I can start the desktop on the DSI display or the HDMI display.

    As soon as I start Kodi, it is always shown on the DSI display. A change is not possible.

    The same problem with libreELEC. The alpha version of Kodi 19 has not brought any changes so far.

    When will this problem finally be solved?

    • Official Post
    Quote from Multimedia4Linux

    When will this problem finally be solved?

    'Solved' is not the correct term, as it is not a bug or problem. It's a feature that is not (yet?) implemented.

    For starters, there is no timetable at work here. So "when" is an tough question to answer.

    Yes, the RPI4B can do 2 monitors in Raspbian Buster, but there are also some bumps in the road.

    - For Kodi, both screens will need to run the same resolution and frame rate. (clone mode).

    - Kodi does not support separate display output on separate monitors, e.g. movies listings on 1 / movie running on 2. The functionality is simply not there.

    - The 2nd HDMI screen cannot do 4K60 on the RPI4B (should that be your plan)

    Hi, I also wanted to explain my need for a mirroring option in LibreElec Kodi.

    I run a media center in the back of my Defender so the kids won't complain on long trips. I have used several configurations of Raspberry Pies and HDMI Splitters, and then I thought that a Raspberry Pie 4 would allow for a nice low power multi-screen option, without the need for a splitter, but it doesn't work.

    So one other request is that audio can be duplicated through each hdmi output as well. This allows audio to reach each screen independently...(which the kids might plug headphones into)

    I'm having a similar issue. I made the decision to centralize my Raspberry Pi(s) as they are a bit cumbersome at the point of use which is a couple of flat wall mounted TVs in my bedroom, basement, and hot tub. With the bedroom TV I had to kind of "Stuff" the works behind the TV and while the cords popping out occasionally isn't an issue, I don't really like the ethernet LEDs flashing behind the TV when it's pitch dark. I thought it would be better to just distribute the HDMI cables from my network rack and found this great 1U Raspberry Pi 4 rack that even has 90° converters from the micro HDMI to standard HDMI. I just want to be able to access my media library from whatever TV I'm using, and don't care that would be playing the same signal on multiple displays. Bedroom and hot tub have the same Toshiba Amazon Fire TVs and it's not likely that I'm going to watch one thing in the hot tub while my wife is watching something else in the bedroom. If anything it would be great to start a movie in the hot tub and then finish it in the bedroom. The remote even works to control KODI.
    Didn't necessarily want to buy a separate Pi for each TV, but I will if I have to. Also good to note that a great way to re-boot the power supply remotely is to plug it into a smart outlet. That way if you select "Shut down" you're not forced to go find the power cord and physically unplug it and plug it back in which seems to be the only way to re-boot the Pi after you select "Shut down". Any help or advice on the dual monitor outputs would be greatly appreciated.

    Hi everyone.

    I'm hopping this issue is resolved as well! I've been running Hyperion backlighting on a RPi3 for a while, with issues i never sorted out. I've upgraded to RPi4 and got a hdmi capture dongle to solve some headache. if the dual (clone) output worked i wouldn't need a hdmi splitter (which is causing cec problems) to feed the capture dongle!

    hmmm guess I'm shovelling someone elses project problems into your hands :-/

    Either way, thanks for the great work over the years!