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

    Setup the Tanix T92 box this weekend and was able to get full 4k HDR working in LE without issues. Picture looks great and I also used this HDMI Splitter to get True-HD and DTS-MA to my older 1080p receiver and everything works as intended. Thanks for the help.

    Quote from kszabo

    Amlogic s905x or s912x theoretically support 4K HDR, but not on LibreElec (see here, "4K support is experimental. 3D and HDR are not supported, i.e. they might work but I don't provide support."). I guess you could by any TV Box with these chipsets, just be careful with the WiFi chip and gigabit Ethernet (if important). My Tanix Tx7 works good (I have no HDR or 4K TV to test though).

    I have a MINIX NEO U9-H and everything works just fine including HDR. Works with Harmony (Elite/Hub) out of the box. Very happy with it so far.

    I've read through all posts but still have not found "my" box. I'm looking for something that...

    ... supports 4K HDR 10bit

    ... supports Netflix

    ... has gigabit LAN

    ... is reasonably priced (<= $66 to avoid import taxes & processing fees that are almost as high as the device price itself)

    the VORKE Z6/TX92 looked promising but does not seem to support Netflix according to some Freaktab posts. any recommendations?

    my current box is a Mecool S8S Pro Plus which with its 905X and libreelec 8.90.5 happily plays 4k HDR and 720p Netflix, but lacks of the gigabit LAN which causes some problems with high bitrate content.

    Quote from heldchen

    my current box is a Mecool S8S Pro Plus which with its 905X and libreelec 8.90.5 happily plays 4k HDR and 720p Netflix, but lacks of the gigabit LAN which causes some problems with high bitrate content.

    Dont´t buy a new box - try USB Gb adapter and high bitrate 4k playback will be smooth

    I also own the Vorke Z6 - working fine - I don´t use Netflix or live Tv via box - my TV plays Netflix

    Quote from Tim_Taylor

    Dont´t buy a new box - try USB Gb adapter and high bitrate 4k playback will be smooth

    I also own the Vorke Z6 - working fine - I don´t use Netflix or live Tv via box - my TV plays Netflix

    unfortunately, Gigabit USB adapters require USB 3.0, the MECOOL has only 2.0.

    Quote from Tim_Taylor

    No - You get about 350MBit using Gb adaptor @S905X

    USB network adaptor could be used @USB 2.0 or USB 3.0

    ah darn, the one I had lying around seems to have an unsupported chipset so I got only 100mbit out of it. ordered one with the AX88179 chipset. thanks!

    Sorry for yet another "what should I buy" questions, but damn, this is confusing. Thanks for this great thread, forum, and LibreElec in general. Thanks.

    What I want:

    • Kodi with LE. I don't need Android, dual boot, or another else.
    • GB ethernet
    • no netflix or other streaming. Just Kodi (reading files from my Linux server)
    • 4K/HDR remix streaming
    • Dolby Atmos support
    • can boot directly into Kodi

    What I have:

    • Apple TV. Can run Plex. Can do 4K/HDR. Cannot do Atmos (go figure)
    • 2016 LG OLED TV. Can run Plex. Can do 4K/HDR. Cannot do Atmos.
    • Odroid C2. Can run Kodi. Can do Atmos. Can do 4K. Cannot to HDR
    • Yamaha RX-A2050 receiver and 5.1.4 speakers set up. The 2050 can pass through 4K/HDR

    From what I've read, The TX92 and the MINIX U9 are the top contenders.

    Question 1: Anything better that would meet my needs? New Odroid?

    Question 2: Does it matter which brand TX92? Do I need 3GB of RAM, or is 2 OK?

    The Vero 4K looks good, but a little pricey, but not much more than the U9

    TIA

    Check this out MECOOL KI PRO
    S912 devices (TX92,MINIX U9 ) doesn't have proper GPU driver (for now) in linux and it may plays videos choppy with subtitles, Vero 4K has its own OS called OSMC not the LE.
    MECOOL KI PRO has a Gigabit Ethernet, dual band 802.11 b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, support for HDR10 and HLG, Video Codecs: 10-bit H.265, and VP9 Profile 2 up to 4K60, H.264 up to 4K30.
    keep in mind all S9xx device which has HDR capability produce fake HDR 8 bit and not true 10bit colores.

    Edited once, last by Aroosha (March 10, 2018 at 10:29 PM).

    Quote from Aroosha

    Check this out MECOOL KI PRO
    S912 devices (TX92,MINIX U9 ) doesn't have proper GPU driver (for now) in linux and it may plays videos choppy with subtitles, Vero 4K has its own OS called OSMC not the LE.
    MECOOL KI PRO has a Gigabit Ethernet, dual band 802.11 b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, support for HDR10 and HLG, Video Codecs: 10-bit H.265, and VP9 Profile 2 up to 4K60, H.264 up to 4K30.
    keep in mind all S9xx device which has HDR capability produce fake HDR 8 bit and not true 10bit colores.

    Thanks! I'm willing to spend a little more money to get better quality. What's the next step up from an S9xx device that meets my needs?

    Quote from AllanMarcus

    Thanks! I'm willing to spend a little more money to get better quality. What's the next step up from an S9xx device that meets my needs?

    The problem is not how much money you can spend, there isn't fully perfect device available right now. the most expensive device for LE is intel NUC which has its own problem like drivers, audio passthrough, Dp to hdmi converter, HDR support, wake up and suspend and so on. another option is to buy ARM devices, for now only Amlogic's S9xx devices is worth buying. S9xx family included S905x which doesn't have Gigabit Ethernet, S905D which has Gigabit Ethernet and DVB interface and more powerful S912 devices which doesn't have proper GPU driver as i mentioned above and you should avoid it. you have army of best of best tv boxes in your arsenal like apple tv 4k and odroid c2 the only thing i can recommend to you is MECOOL KI PRO but i'm not sure that it can support dolby atmos passthrough.

    Quote from Aroosha

    Keep in mind all S9xx device which has HDR capability produce fake HDR 8 bit and not true 10bit colores.

    Actually last I heard only the AMLogic S912's have a true 10bit tunnel from source video to output. Not sure about the S905X.

    This info was from Baylibre, the guys that are mainlining the AMLogic S9xx Linux Kernel.

    Quote from wrxtasy

    Actually last I heard only the AMLogic S912's have a true 10bit tunnel from source video to output. Not sure about the S905X.

    This info was from Baylibre, the guys that are mainlining the AMLogic S9xx Linux Kernel.

    For sure you have the best knowledge about it. but i read it from one of chewitt post.

    Found the relevant quote from @narmstrong at Baylibre:

    Quote

    S912 has a 10bit pipeline, s905x has only a 8bit to 10bit converter right before the hdmi controller

    I need to find out more info about what happens with 10bit video content with the S905X's.

    I think you should wait for the new 2018 nucs i3 and up.... :angel: