Choosing a S905 / S905X / S905D / S905W / S912 box guide

  • Is s912 more powerful even using libhybris? Is Libreelec stable enough? If in the future I convert the box in a server which SoC would be better?

    If I want to watch Netflix HD on it I need that the box supports some special technologies (L1 and HDCP 1.x). Are these technologies available throught Libreelec or I need to use Android?

    Any sugestions for a cheap box with all these characteristics and Gigabit Ethernet? I have seen some MeeCool boxes but people say they are inconsistent with the hardware used (lack of reset button, different network card without Libreelec support, ...)

    S912's with good quality, fast eMMC flash storage and RAM will be snappier than s905X's. However they run hotter due to more processor cores in the SoC. Decent cooling is important in hot climates, and the best for that is the MINIX U9-H

    L1 DRM and HDCP for Android TV 1080p Netflix are included in the MECOOL M8S Pro L and MINIX U9

    The MINIX U9 has Gigabit Ethernet. The M8S Pro L has 100M Ethernet. If you want Gigabit add a Ugreen USB3 > Gigabit Ethernet adapter.

    Yes S912's are stable when using @kszaq's LibreELEC

    The MECOOL's are fine to setup LE, you simply use the 'Reboot LibreELEC' Playstore App to initially install LE because of the missing Reset button.

    The S912 M8S Pro L has had NO eMMC flash issues .

    The S905X M8S Pro+ has had issues and really should be avoided !

    You just do not know what is going to get shipped.

  • Hi,

    please help the newbie here. I'm looking for a 4K LE box.

    • NVidia Shield with remote: seems really nice but has a fan!!! I'm not a fan of fan.
    • ODROID-C2: highly acclaimed but seems very long in the tooth! which device is the heir of the C2?
    • Meecool M8S Pro L: nice device but no GigE.
    • Minix U9-H: is there an easy way to install LE directly on the internal emmc? I.e. make it a LE only box?

    Priorities:

    1. noiseless with Kodi
    2. Kodi (latest and greatest) with HEVC and 4K
    3. HDMI-CEC
    4. Frame switching
    5. GigE
    6. usb or full size SD Card slot.
    7. snappy Kodi interface
    8. Stability and future Kodi support
    9. Can handle mpeg2 streams from HDHomerun
    10. DTS/DD51 passthrough and downsampling.

    Nice to have:

    1. Android TV
    2. HW Mpeg2 (for streams from HDHomerun)
    3. HDR
    4. Netflix HD
    5. Youtube 4K
  • 4K YouTube is useless without HDR. In fact most 4K is nothing but marketing smoke and mirrors from TV manufacturers duping consumers into thinking they can distinguish between an upscaled 1080p high bitrate video stream and a 4K one from a normal lounge to 4K TV viewing distance.

    4K HDR YouTube seems to be limited by Google intentionally to their own Chromecast Ultra and a few select TV manufacturers.

    The best 4K SDR / HDR OS implementation for Apps like Netflix and Amazon Video combined with a Kodi Jarvis Fork called MrMC exists on the Apple TV 4K. Picture quality is quite superb, with nice 1080p > 4K upscaling. Deinterlacing using YADIF2X when using MrMC and the PVR Addons is excellent too.

    The ATV4K tvOS icing on the cake is frame rate matching/switching for virtually all Apps, not just Kodi. Makes for nice smooth video playback no matter what your video streaming source is.

    Android TV from Google and its Apps seems like a WIP by comparison with many bugs, especially on the so called SDR / HDR10 capable NVIDIA Shield. Which also has inferior 1080i deinterlaced picture quality and upscaling hardware. We better not mention broken auto colorspace switching either.

    Having said all that if you want a full blown version of Kodi Krypton you still need LibreELEC.

    If you want Gigabit on MECOOL's you add a Ugreen USB3 > Gigabit adapter.

    LE can be installed internally on the U9 too, but a better more flexible option with virtually all the faster eMMC flash storage benefits is to do this on a U9:

    [HOWTO] Boot from SD card, use internal memory for data

    And install an unofficial Android TV ROM on the device first before doing so.

    Works quite nicely indeed !

    The U9 and M8S Pro L can do 4K YouTube with their unofficial Android TV ROM's. 1080p Netflix as well.

    PS, the 'ancient' non HDR ODROID C2 when Overclocked and using eMMC flash and a Xiaomi Mi Box BT remote is still the fastest AMLogic LE pony getting about. Makes for a nice stable companion to a HDR10 / DolbyVision capable Apple TV 4K. 8o

  • In fact most 4K is nothing but marketing smoke and mirrors from TV manufacturers duping consumers into thinking they can distinguish between an upscaled 1080p high bitrate video stream and a 4K one from a normal lounge to 4K TV viewing distance.

    I posted these facts a long time ago and got hammered by members.

    Glad you brought it up again.:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

    I sit over 4.5 metres away from my 1080p TV and at that distance 4K would be totally useless in my situation.

  • I posted these facts a long time ago and got hammered by members.

    Glad you brought it up again.:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

    I sit over 4.5 metres away from my 1080p TV and at that distance 4K would be totally useless in my situation.

    It is just a question of screen size and viewing distance. We watch a 60" tv from 2m and even my wife can tell the difference between 4k and fullhd.

  • The chart below shows that a 4k won’t be noticeable if you are sitting more than (2.32m) away and have a 60” TV. Your eyes won't be able to tell the difference. So in your case it will be noticeable. You are correct in your quote. Very few people are aware of their eye's limitations.

    It is just a question of screen size and viewing distance. We watch a 60" tv from 2m and even my wife can tell the difference between 4k and fullhd.

    Ultra HD only makes sense if you want a really big screen and plan on sitting closer to it playing 4K content.

    In my case where I sit 4.5m from the 70” screen, it would be a waste of time upgrading unless i want to sit closer and under 2.72m from the screen.

  • In fact most 4K is nothing but marketing smoke and mirrors from TV manufacturers .

    Yes, I agree.

    But ...

    If You want a really good TV, You have to buy an expensive 4k TV(not a cheap one)

    And ...

    If You want cinema feeling - use UHD bluray and AVR

    If You watch this forum, most people want to look IPTV, Youtube, netflix or amazon stream, connect old analog TV at amlogic box etc.....

    with hope to get a perfect working multimedia box for the price of a McDonalds menue

    Just my 2 cents

  • I just got me a M8S Pro L (S912), installed LE 8.2.2.2 and tested it briefly yesterday. I noticed that there's small stuttering every now and then with HEVC sources and hardware decoding enabled. With HW decoding disabled, everything runs smoothly. Is this perfectly normal - i.e. should I actually get me an S905X box to replace my Chromebox?

    EDIT: the issue is most likely due to the "subtitle stutter" discussed elsewhere. However, I'm unable to gather whether the issue can be fixed for S912 or not.

    Edited once, last by Boulder08 (December 31, 2017 at 12:32 PM).

  • I have M8S Pro L (s912) 3/32. Internal: Nexus Stock TV Rom, On SD: LE 8.9.11a with use of internal storage. It works perfekt, no stutter at all.

    used codes for internal storage via putty:

    Code
    e2label /dev/mmcblk1p2 "SD_SPEICHER"
    e2label /dev/data "STORAGE"
    reboot

    keyboard.xml

    Code
    <keymap>
      <FullscreenVideo>
        <keyboard>
         <a>AudioNextLanguage</a>
        </keyboard>
      </FullscreenVideo>
    </keymap>

    advancedsettings.xml

    Code
    <advancedsettings>
        <cache>
            <buffermode>1</buffermode>
            <memorysize>139460608</memorysize>
            <readfactor>10</readfactor>
        </cache>
    </advancedsettings>

    remote.conf

    For a Friend I setup M8S Pro Plus with 905x the same way (but with original android rom and LibreElec 8.2.2.xxx something), works perfectly too. It is cheap and there is no need for flashing, so you can use that Player too. Internal storage has another name, see @ guide

    Edited once, last by flyingernst (December 31, 2017 at 12:49 PM).

  • I have M8S Pro L (s912) 3/32. Internal: Nexus Stock TV Rom, On SD: LE 8.9.11a with use of internal storage. It works perfekt, no stutter at all.

    used codes for internal storage via putty:

    Code
    e2label /dev/mmcblk1p2 "SD_SPEICHER"
    e2label /dev/data "STORAGE"
    reboot

    Hi

    Do you have to "root" the box first before you can ssh/putty to it? what's the password (for root?) to login via ssh?

    Does CEC work? i.e. can the volume buttons on the remote change the TV volume?

  • Hi,

    More newbie question:

    What are the pros and cons of running LE on the M8S Pro L vs the Odroid-C2 (other than GigE)?

    Which one is better with HEVC? subtitles? Mpeg2 (OTA TV) streams? DTS (passthrough and downsampling)?

    Which one is more compatible with the Minix A2?

    Which one has Harmony support?

    Background:

    I currently run (an old version of) LE on a PI3 and it's pissing me off. PVR Client for HDHomerun is so buggy! CEC is not working with my TV (Vizio P). Jumping back and forth in the video is slow (video files are on NFS.) Looking for a (future proof) upgrade...

  • In my case where I sit 4.5m from the 70” screen, it would be a waste of time upgrading unless i want to sit closer and under 2.72m from the screen.

    That table must be from someone with really bad eyesight. I watched "Pacific Rims" the other day and when the stream switched from 1080p to 4K, everybody noticed even if we sat 3m from the TV.

    Over xmas, I was at my sister's place. We watched some netfix-hd 3m from her 70" TV. Man, it was disgustingly ugly! 3 metres from that 70" Sharp, only 4k stuffs look good.

    I'd say the distances in that table are the absolute worse cases and not the "optimum" distances. So with a 65" TV, if you watched 1080p further than 2.5m, the lack of details would not be significantly enough to stop you from enjoying the movie. OTOH, if you sat closer than 2.5m, the picture would be so grotesque that it could ruin the experience. Of course, it all depends on the video/movie.

    Edited once, last by bogolisk (December 31, 2017 at 2:14 PM).

  • Hello everyone, I ve been busting my head for a whole month trying to find a suitable box to replace my RPi 2 that can't handle x265.

    I need a box that:

    1. Can handle 1080p x265 without stuttering
    2. Can be turned off and on with the remote without having to unplug and replug the power cable like the RPi(Already own a wireless remote like the Rii ones)
    3. Can handle libreelec
    4. An ethernet port
    5. I love the idea of the fancy digital clock but I guess its pretty rare in good boxes like MECOOL ones?
    6. L1 Widevine. I guess from all amlogic boxes only Mecool one's have this. Currently not watching netflix but might in the future.
    7. Not looking to spent a fortune here but also want something that will last
    8. Something M8S Pro+, BB2 Pro, Pro L? Vorke Z6 plus, Tanix TX9 PRO? Sunveil T95Z?
    9. Whats the difference between the BB2 Pro and the Pro L?

    Thanks a lot.