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

    I’m planning on getting a Odroid C2. Can I use both a sd card and emmc flash storage, Ed card for the Libreelec software and emmc to download media too or is it the othe way around. I’m kind of new too all of this. Just wondering what’s the best setup?

    Quote from CaptainLeezee

    I don't know if the Tanix would be much slower than the Pro L, I think for vanilla LE the 905X is good to go, I only got the 912 so I could mess around with the Android TV firmwares.

    In term of speed and connectivity the MINIX U9 rules them all.

    Far better passive chipset cooing vs all others and high quality Samsung DDR RAM and eMMC as well.

    Plus some U9 (& U1) packages include that excellent wireless MINIX A2 Lite remote - that works properly for OFF / ON.

    Next you need Gigabit Ethernet if home network streaming high bitrate 4K HDR Bluray Rips.

    S905 devices generally come with Gigabit Ethernet. Some S912 and S905D devices as well. Others will be slower 100Mbit only

    In addition anything with a Wireless USB dongle Mini remote will be more responsive vs the rubbish Infra Red only ones cheap AML boxes comes with, a cheap wireless remote suggestion is found >> START HERE - Pick the Right Kodi Box (updated Oct. 2018)

    RAM speed is generally better if using DDR4 boxes vs DDR3.

    The Branded devices MINIX, WeTek, ODROID, Vero usually include high quality, faster RAM and eMMC internal storage.

    Some devices have weak 2.4GHz only WiFi...others 2.4 / 5GHz AC WiFi

    In Terms of AMLogic SoC speeds, these are the rankings, fastest on top:

    S912 (HDR)

    S905 (NO HDR)

    S905D (HDR)

    S905X (HDR)

    S905W (HDR)

    Pick which are the most important features and how much you want to pay.

    Cheap S905W devices are fine for LibreELEC, especially if you can get one with an included Wireless remote like the Nexbox A95X Pro

    Quote from wrxtasy

    [...] Plus some U9 (& U1) packages include that excellent wireless MINIX A2 Lite remote - that works properly for OFF / ON. [...]

    [...] Cheap S905W devices are fine for LibreELEC, especially if you can get one with an included Wireless remote like the Nexbox A95X Pro [...]

    In fact my Minix U1 has an infrared remote and cannot shut down properly. It goes in suspension when I push the on/off button. Could you please consider to fix it in future?

    Another issue with 8.2.4.2test2 version is that after 30-40 days of daily use it stops working and I have to reflash the SD card (the Samsung recomended).

    About the S905W devices I agree especially if you have just a 1080 tv. With a 4k you are bound to 30fps max

    Quote from kostaman

    Tried and Tested by many members over a long period.

    Tanix TX5 Pro

    Amlogic S905X 2GB/16GB

    802.11AC WIFI LAN

    About $47 USD

    Can this box play 10bit files? I take it LE can be installed/flashed to internal memory?

    Good to see that LE is still running haven't been around for a long time as my old MXQ's have been running fine.

    Good works guys, and thank you.

    Quote from algdu83

    hi possible to have a libreelec img for kIi pro S905D i want install it in internal flash

    i want a img for amlogic usb tools

    thnks

    The latest stable builds are [8.2.3.1] LibreELEC 8.2 for S905/S905X

    These are krypton, if you want beta Leia builds you need to look at coreelec

    You need to search this forum on instructions how to install an image, these builds do not use the burning tool.

    Basically, you need a device tree for your box, this is based on the LAN speed & RAM

    Then if it doesn't boot, try a different device tree.

    The remote might not work, so use a usb cabled keyboard for the initial setup, then if the remote doesn't work, you need to search the forum for how to get the remote working.

    Hello,

    I have Beelink GT1 Ultimate (S912) 3g (real) memory and 1gbit network.

    I install LibreELEC on memory card:

    LibreELEC-S912.arm-8.2-8.2.2.3.img.gz

    gxm_q200_3g.dtb (renamed to dtb.img and replaced to memory card)

    LibreELEC is starting successfully, KODI also work, i scan my video files, but none of them can't start playing, only will "blank" black screen and change the Hz of my tv for the moment and will back on kodi again.

    I try also with this version:

    LibreELEC-S912.arm-8.2.4.1.force.444.10bit.img.gz

    gxm_q200_3g.dtb (renamed to dtb.img and replaced to memory card)

    But when I play video file, kodi freeze for 1 minute and restart.

    I try also CoreELEC, but the same problem...

    I try with gxm_q200_2g.dtb but not booting. Only black screen...

    Any suggestion?

    Thx

    Edited once, last by ace_peovski (November 25, 2018 at 10:39 PM).

    Hello, i started thinking about to replace my S912 Box (M8S Pro L with Voice Remote) with a S905X Box (Tanix 5 Pro).

    I primarily use Kodi with the Box booted from a sdcard. Sometimes i use Netflix under Android.

    Which really annoys me, is that i cant use the original remote under Kodi with the S812 box, only IR is available, which kinda works...but smooth is something different! So i use a Xiaomi BT Remote, which works well, but only i need to reboot...which not happens often, but is still annoying.

    Another thing is that i often read that the S912 has worse support from the gpu, because there is only a workaround available for this. So S905X has better/native(?) driver support.

    The questions are: Works the remote from the Tanix TX 5 Pro out-of-the-box under Kodi, or does there only works the IR part of the remote as well? Does the remote works well?

    The box i am looking for needs to have a AV Port, because i cant use HDMI or SPDIF for audio, i need the audio jack! And i need 2 USB ports as well. So the Tanix TX 5 Pro looks good. And here are some users who are saying that the box is working well.

    I recently bought a Mecool M8S Pro, it came with a voice remote, but I found that it didn't have a mouse, which is needed for some android apps.

    So I purchased a voice remote, which also had a keyboard on the back, a mouse, & 4 programmable IR buttons. It was about $10, I am not sure if I can post a direct link, but if you PM me, I can send you a liink

    Hello,

    First post on the forums. I have been reading a lot of reviews and forum posts but confused and lost! Would you please recommend me several alternatives for my needs:

    Setup: source (searching) > denon s730h receiver (hdcp 2.2 and atmos capable) > 4k projector and 5.1.2 atmos speakers


    What I need / am looking for:

    a. Netflix 4k HDR + atmos + if possible auto frame rate switching.

    b. Able to play 4k HDR + passthrough atmos (lossless) via hard disk (file sizes will be big so NTFS is required) and/or using Kodi.

    c. Able to use/play IPTV.

    d. ethernet connection.

    e. cost: as low as possible


    I thought of :

    - Apple TV 4k and firestick tv 4k but they are lacking (b),

    - using my pc (ryzen 2200g) but AMD haven't released playready drivers for Raven Ridge APU's and I found investing in a RX550 or higher polaris cards or gtx 1050 cards to be expensive and they could very well be cumbersome (drivers, windows issues, etc.),

    - not sure about S905D or S912 based android boxes (I have a mecool ms8 pro + and netflix is down once again - twice this year - due to licensing issues) but I am open for a reliable one.

    So, can you please recommend something suitable for me or share your thoughts.

    Best,

    So what are the recommended cheap-ish 905D boxes for 4K HDR + audio bitstreaming w/ gigabit Ethernet that are fully supported by LE? I also would like to be able to control the box with an IR MCE compatible remote.

    The only device that almost hits those at the moment is the nVidia Shield TV. (It handles 4K, HDR, Netflix 4K, bit streamed HD audio etc.)

    The nVidia Shield TV doesn't have automatic frame rate switching in Netflix yet (Kodi on the Shield TV DOES automatically frame rate switch), and colour gamut output is fixed at either Rec 2020 or Rec 709 (set in the Android settings menu), though gamut and frame rate switching was announced as a change in the new firmware but was then postponed.

    The current nVidia Shield TV SDR Rec 709 to SDR Rec 2020 conversion (their alternative to gamut switching) is well implemented - but some TVs don't handle SDR Rec 2020 in the way the nVidia Shield TV mapping expects them too...

    If you remove the Netflix 4K requirement (and use a Roku Streaming Stick Plus - which has frame rate and colour gamut switching - or similar for Netflix 4K) then a lot more options become available for Kodi, such as S905X/D (X=100Mbs Ethernet, D=Gigabit Ethernet usually) boxes running OSMC (Vero 4K+) or LibreElec. The Minix U9H (S912 based) also handles LE well - but the GPU in the S912 isn't officially supported in Linux and may not continue to work in Kodi 19 (unless the open source drivers deliver in time) So far I'm not sure how well the AMLogic drivers handle correct HDR10 metadata pass-through for Max/Average light levels (which is needed for some displays to tone-map out-of-range HDR content correctly)

    I recently bought MXQ Pro 4k with Android 7.1 in hope to get cheap box that fully supports Libreelec. Amlogic S905 promised, but I got f***ing Rockchip instead.

    It seems some parts are on Amlogic and some others on Rockchip. And they both look the same. Any way to determine before buy? Some details, label or so?

    Or anybody could rocommend some other box with similar price as mxq, that is sure to be on Amlogic and fully supported.

    Any thoughts?

    Quote from chewitt

    Dial one number higher for Rockchip releases .. although whether LE can run depends on the specific RK chipset in the box.

    Sir I have searched and found only your post mentioning s905 y2. Is there any chance it will be supported? I am thinking of buying a A95x plus with s905 y2 but haven't found any support threads for it anywhere (4 threads on freaktab though). I have opened a thread on kodi forums also, and have got some replies too specially from the gentleman who started this thread but since you are the only one who ever mentioned this specific chip, I thought I should ask you if it will be picked up for development (Can I expect something in the month it takes to deliver)? Otherwise I will just pick a S905 x or x2.

    4k not needed (my tv max resolution is 1080p).
    HDR never used. Couldn't care less I am only starting so these fine things are not main requirements at all.

    Netflix 720p or 1080p will be fine for me.

    wireless remote and/or mouse and/or voice control remote. Never used any so I could use some suggestions on these too. Anything will be fine as long as it works smooth since a novice doesn't have any experience to compare stuff.

    Thanks