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

How is netflix sw decoding on s912?

Is 1080p netflix sw decoding possible on mecool m8s pro L?

Heh, dream on.

Nope.

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

Quote from wrxtasy

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.

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

Quote from kostaman

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

Glad you brought it up again.

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.

Quote from Pelican

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.

Quote from wrxtasy

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

Quote from Pelican

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.

I want a wife like that! Where can i get one??

Are there any devices with a good Kodi integrated Netflix/Amazon experience, that don't require switching to Android?

Quote from dewa

Are there any devices with a good Kodi integrated Netflix/Amazon experience, that don't require switching to Android?

No, it´s not possible without android.

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.

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:

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

keyboard.xml

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

advancedsettings.xml

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

remote.conf

#**********************************************************************************************
#
#    this file is configuration for each factory remote device
#
#    factory_code      each device has it's unique factory code.
#                      pattern: custom_code(16bit) + index_code(16bit)
#                      examble: 0xff000001 = 0xff00(custom_code) + 0001(index_code)
#
#    work_mode         0 :software mode  1 :hardware mode
#    repeat_enable     0 :disable repeat 1 :enable repeat
#
#    release_delay     unit: ms
#                      release will report from kernel to user layer after this period
#                      of time from press or repeat triggered.
#
#    debug_enable      0 :debug disable  1 :debug enable
#
# SW MODE:
#    bit_count         how many bits in each frame
#    tw_leader_act     time window for leader active
#    tw_bit0           time window for bit0 time.
#    tw_bit1           time window for bit1 time
#    tw_repeat_leader  time window for repeat leader
# REG:
#    reg_base_gen      set value for PREG_IR_DEC_BASE_GEN
#    reg_control       set value for PREG_IR_DEC_CONTROL
#    reg_leader_act    set value for PREG_IR_DEC_LEADER_ACTIVE
#    reg_leader_idle   set value for PREG_IR_DEC_LEADER_IDLE
#    reg_repeat_leader set value for PREG_IR_DEC_REPEAT_IDLE
#    reg_bit0_time     set value for PREG_IR_DEC_BIT0_TIME
#**********************************************************************************************

#Videostrong - Blue Grey MECOOL M8S Pro remote. Custom mapping for LibreELEC Krypton by WRXTASY

#**********************************************************************************************

factory_code  = 0xff000001
work_mode     = 0
repeat_enable = 1
repeat_delay  = 40
repeat_peroid = 39
release_delay = 121
debug_enable  = 0

#fn_key_scancode = 0x12
#cursor_left_scancode = 0x5a
#cursor_right_scancode = 0x1b
#cursor_up_scancode = 0x06
#cursor_down_scancode = 0x16
#cursor_ok_scancode = 0x1a


key_begin
        0x59  116    # power
        0x19  113    # mute
        0x0d  15     # home but I want here "FullScreen"

        0x45  46     # C = Context menu
        0x51  24     # O = Kodi codec info
        0x05  158    # exit/back

        0x06  103    # up
        0x5a  105    # left
        0x1a  28     # enter/OK Long Press = Pause
        0x1b  106    # right
        0x16  108    # down

        0x08  104    # page+
        0x0b  109    # page-
 
        0x52  2         # 1
        0x50  3      # 2
        0x10  4      # 3
        0x56  5      # 4
        0x54  6      # 5
        0x14  7      # 6
        0x4e  8      # 7
        0x4c  9      # 8
        0x0c  10     # 9
        0x0f  11     # 0
   
        0x22  23     # info
        0x12  30     # I want here "AudioNextLanguage"

        0x13  115    # vol+
        0x17  114    # vol- 
        0x18  38     # L subtitle
        0xf3  28     # Pause
        0xf4  128    # stop

key_end

repeat_key_begin

                0x13  115    # vol+
                0x17  114    # vol-
                #0x1a  28     # enter/OK Long Press = Pause
                #0x05  158    # exit/back Long Press = Stop

repeat_key_end

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

Quote from flyingernst

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...

Quote from kostaman

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.

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.