Raspberry 4

1st Official Post

    Hi,

    I use my new Pi4/4GB now since about a week with libreelec 9.2 build for Pi4. So far it works ok. There are still some small glitches to be ironed out, but generally the Pi4 works good and quite stable with libreelec/kodi. It's not as perfect as the Pi 3 builds yet, as it's still a quite new piece of hardware, but the developers at libreelec and kodi do great work. And for just watching movies or listen to music everything works good and is good for daily use.

    I switched form a RPi3 B+ to a RPi4 4 / 4GB. Main improvement over Pi3 for me is the USB 3 and the Gigabit LAN, wich speeds up the data transfer significantly.

    For Pi4 you don't have to buy the license keys, the CPU is by far strong enough to decode mpeg2 in software mode without problems.

    If you decide to buy one, I recommend a good case for Pi4 (best metal with cooling option to avoid heat problems, like the Flirc case or similar) and I recommend explicitly the original power supply from Raspberry Foundation. Many problems and instabillities come from bad or weak power suplpies. As the Pi4 has microHDMI ports I also recommend an microHDMI/HDMI cable. Simple MicroHDMI adapters sometimes make problems. BTW you don't need to buy the 4GB or even the 2 GB version of the pi 4 for libreelec/kodi. But who knows what the future brings and the price difference isn't that big.

    But if you want to save some money and don't need the 4K opportunities (and the Gigabit LAN and the USB 3 ports) , you still can be happy with the Pi 3. It runs rock solid with libreelec/kodi 18.5. For Pi 3I recommend buying the license keys for mpeg2 decoding...

    I just updated from Pi3B to Pi4B 4GB with LibreElec 9.2. The reason I updated because of Gigabit LAN, USB3, and 4K. I have no problem watching 4K. The only thing I noticed is "sometime" screen glitches when scrolling or pressing back to home screen but watching 4K or any movies, no glitches. I did set Kodi GUI to 1080p but still the same as if I were to set to 4K..

    Love the 4K on my Samsung Q60R series. I use Rting site for picture calibration.

    I got my RPI4B 4GB from Micro Center since it's only $50 and RPI power is $8

    Amazon Bundle case (case, fan, heat sink) $9. Fan is super quiet. I use pin 3 (red +3v) and pin 6 (Black)

    Micro HDMI to HDMI $8 plus addition 5% off = $7.60

    I'm thinking of returning RPI power supply and get this one since it has a switch ON/OFF for $9. With 5% off it's $8.55

    • Official Post
    Quote from cat2115

    I'm thinking of returning RPI power supply and get this one since it has a switch ON/OFF for $9.

    Don't use this product to switch off. An instant power-off can result in write errors on your microSD card.

    Always use software shutdown. Keep your PSU and mount a power button at your case (I just love to link to my own posts :saint:).

    LibreElec runs better on the pi 4 than it did on an amlogic s912. It moves through menus faster, scrapes faster, and starts playback faster. The only thing I am still waiting to see if hdr support. My s912 could playback hdr content, it was just slow to find and play media. CoreElec on the s912 frequently gave me errors too. The only major issue with LibreElec is that it does crash occasionally.

    "CPU is by far strong enough to decode mpeg2" it is not true. I cannot play any of my archived MPEG2 videos from my camera. RPI3 is able. The same is if I want see streamed fullhd video. Also not possible, RPI3 is able. So RPI4 has either not enough power to play or wrong decoder is used.