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

    The RPi3 was old hardware when it was released. It been pushed impressively as far as it will go, push it too far an it will overheat.

    It needs a pretty specific 5.1V 2.5A power supply, is slower, does not support hardware decoding of 1080p / 4K HEVC, does not have proper Hardware deinterlacing and cannot do 4K or HD audio passthrough.

    It cannot Hardware decode everything you throw at it like the AML S905's can do.

    There is also no fast eMMC flash storage & it shares its Ethernet with a USB2 bus. No onboard IR receiver as well, so you cannot just unpack it out of the box and use with an IR remote.

    Unless you are connecting all sorts of external Hardware peripherals that need a modern Linux kernel and modern driver support a $35 AMLogic S905(x) box really is superior for LibreELEC.

    Quote from marck120

    Thank you so much, I need a good android device compatible with libreelec, unfortunately the X9s and the X10 are not compatible, the only ZIDOO compatible with libreelec seems to me to be just the A5S.

    I just read today about Zidoo A5s and this looks to be really decent device. So if if fully supported by libre, go for it.

    Quote from wrxtasy

    Current best DIY Bang for the Buck Box: (dual boot / NO WiFi)

    $35 S905X MECOOL M8S Pro+ due to including a decent IR learning remote & Worldwide Plug compatible Power supplies.

    Also included is Android DRM Widevine L1 / HDCP 1.x support for 1080p 5.1 DD+ audio - Netflix, and other ATV DRM streaming Apps, when used with a nice unofficial Android TV (Nougat) ROM.

    Index of /MECOOL/

    Is the Android TV Experience comparable with that of Android TV on WeTek Play 2 using the [ROM] [Play 2] [Marshmallow] Android TV v2.3 by ricardopvz?

    I'm also using the Libreelec (community build) LibreELEC Krypton/Leia/Agile Play2 64bit kernel, 32bit libs from Raybuntu, on a high speed Lexar SD-Card.

    I love the way the WeTek boxes work with native dual-boot.

    Would I be better buying another WeTek or is the Mecool close enough to be imperceptible, at half the price?

    Edited once, last by BensWompRat (September 8, 2017 at 7:45 AM).

    Quote from wrxtasy

    so you cannot just unpack it out of the box and use with an IR remote.

    I agree with your post mostly but this. The CEC was flawless on RPi so you can use it with the remote of the tv out of the box.

    With amlogic boxes I haven't figured out yet why sometimes the CEC doesn't work.

    Quote from mike

    thanks for info!whats ur experience wirh rpi3?i see you include it at your signature.most reliable than a chinese tv box like m8s II or beelink ?

    I have a couple of raspberries and a couple of s905 boxes. In practical terms the only difference I notice is that the raspberry won't play some files (x265 1080p) and the s905s are possibly subjectively a bit snappier. It's not at the point I'd replace the pi's, but today I'd buy an amlogic in preference.

    Edit: that's ignoring the fact you can also run android on the amlogics - as I can't remember the last time I did.

    My Pi3 runs fine on a 1A power supply btw - the 2.5A is needed if you're powering stuff from it, otherwise consistent voltage is what matters.

    Hi! I have a S905 box with Libreelec 8.16 and I'm very satisfied, In the past the S905 boxes had better PQ (much more smooth) than the S905X (I had one but I returned). In the Libreelec 8.16 is the same or the PQ still remain better in the S905 boxes?

    Thanks for all.

    Quote from Pelican

    I agree with your post mostly but this. The CEC was flawless on RPi so you can use it with the remote of the tv out of the box.

    With amlogic boxes I haven't figured out yet why sometimes the CEC doesn't work.

    The only comparable HDMI-CEC control is on the S905 ODROID C2 because the LE developers have had access to the u-boot source code to bug bust and also received custom code tweaks from Hardkernel themselves.

    All other AMLogic boxes run their own pre compiled seller supplier u-boot binaries that does not get bug busted and tested properly. No access to such source code from the cheap AMLogic boxes sellers either.

    Quote from BensWompRat

    Is the Android TV Experience (on MECOOL M8S Pro+) comparable with that of Android TV on WeTek Play 2 using the [ROM] [Play 2] [Marshmallow] Android TV v2.3 by ricardopvz?

    The ATV v2.3 ROM on the Play2 is superior.

    It is more stable and for some reason snappier - I suspect because WeTek use faster, higher quality RAM and eMMC storage in the Play2.

    Kodi Krypton Refresh switching works in ATV ROM on the Play2, broken on the M8S Pro+

    Deinterlacing quality using Live Channels is superior on Play2.

    u-boot is also better on the Play2. There are some u-boot Firmware quirks with the M8S Pro+

    Only addition I would make to the Play2 ATV ROM is the GUI App drawer icon and TWRP recovery - that the M8S Pro+ ROM has.

    As i have seen beelink mxiii ii is one of the most popular devices here that run LE.Does beelink mxiii ii has dual band WiFi ( 2.4GHz + 5.8GHz )?At official site(and gearbest) it says that it has and i saw at banggood that it supports only 2.4ghz and no dualband.I guess its wrong?

    Quote from alexeiyo

    I just read today about Zidoo A5s and this looks to be really decent device. So if if fully supported by libre, go for it.

    Hi, sorry for the delay, I found little information about the Zidoo A5s and compatibility with libreelec. The main devices, however, remain: wetek play2, minix neo u1, mini M8S II, MECOOL KI PRO TV, MECOOL M8S Pro +, Beelink MXIII II. From what I've read now on the forum the android box that runs best with libreelec is wetek play2.

    Quote from marck120

    Hi, sorry for the delay, I found little information about the Zidoo A5s and compatibility with libreelec. The main devices, however, remain: wetek play2, minix neo u1, mini M8S II, MECOOL KI PRO TV, MECOOL M8S Pro +, Beelink MXIII II. From what I've read now on the forum the android box that runs best with libreelec is wetek play2.

    If you don't need a DVB-T or DVB-S integrated in the device the bests options are Minix U1 or Wetek Hub.

    Would you recommend a S905 instead of the S905x? If so which one would you buy? There are almost 1000 different manufacture with the S905 Chipset :(.... Belink ... Wingogo.... I have no clue which one to choose :(

    Hi I've been looking around for a reasonably priced tv box and spotted the Zedo Mini M8S Pro T95N Google Android 6.0 TV BOX 2GB 8GB 4K Amlogic S905 Quad Core. Anyone know if it's compatible with Libreelec and which version please? Thanks

    Quote from EduiT

    If you don't need a DVB-T or DVB-S integrated in the device the bests options are Minix U1 or Wetek Hub.

    Thanks for the advice, no tuner DVB-T or DVB-S is not necessary, I agree with you, with the s905 cpu the best boxes are the Minix U1 and the Wetek play2. With the s905x cpu in your opinion what is the best box ?

    Quote from marck120

    With the s905x cpu in your opinion what is the best box ?

    It´s impossible to answer.

    Most 905x boxes using same hardware - some manufacturer using cheap wifi/bluetooth chipset.

    I own 2 beelink boxes(see signature) - everything is working oob - no problem to install LE via toothpick.

    Wired network is only fast ethernet - I use a GBit USB dongle.

    Actually that is not even true.

    All S905, S905X boxes are not created equal - its not just WiFi/Bluetooth, but heatsinks, faster and higher quality RAM and Samsung eMMC flash storage.

    Properly tested u-boot code. High quality wireless, integrated remotes.

    Have a read over on the cnx-software.com & Freaktab websites where they pull these boxes apart and you can soon see the difference in internal hardware used.

    Depends on how much you want to spend in the end and how important reliability and something that just "works" is to each individual.