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We release today a LibreELEC update to primarily fix Widevine, its that piece of software that allows playback of Netflix, Amazon Prime and other paid video services.
The new version of widevine (4.10.2252.0 or newer) is mandatory to keep it working after May 31, 2021.
With that new version (that is taken from ChromeOS) all ARM devices need additional libraries to make it work again.
Sadly its not that simple and some not too nice workarounds came in place to keep it working due changes at ChromeOS.The Generic (PC / Intel / AMD / Nvidia) images need no changes.
Raspberry Pi 2, 3 and 4
For Raspberry Pi 2/3 and 4 we made the LE 9.2.7 images that work out of the box. Just update to it and it should work.
We will not provide auto update to that version – you will need to manually update if you need widevine.
No additional changes needed (check InputStream Helper add-on for widevine update 4.10.2252.0 or newer).LibreELEC 10
Those changes are highly experimental and might causes problems. For LE10 we added the needed changes in a different way – if you don’t need widevine don’t do anything.
At least LibreELEC 10Beta4 or a more recent image is required. If you are using 9.2 for Rockchip devices please update to LE10, there are no 9.2 images with that fix included.You need to create a kodi.conf manually and add a parameter to make it work. Currently there are no plans to implement it differently to make these manually changes unnecessary due the missing overall testing.
How to make it work:
Edit the kodi.conf and add these change with the terminal
Codeecho "LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libtcmalloc_minimal.so" > /storage/.config/[email protected]@@[email protected]@@rebootEdit the kodi.conf with the editor from Windows
Go to the network share of your device and create the kodi.conf at the Configfiles folder with following content.
Afterwards restart your device.
If you are interested in details Latest Widevine 4.10.2252.0 fails to load · Issue #678 · xbmc/inputstream.adaptive · GitHub and [ARM] Add suport for libwidevine.so >= 4.10.2252.0 by kszaq · Pull Request #5376 · LibreELEC/LibreELEC.tv · GitHub.
SUPPORT
Project staff are available in the forum to answer questions and provide advice. Please remember this is a beta. We are expecting some minor bugs/issues to be found. If you have a problem, technical issues are best accompanied by system and Kodi debug logs – help us to help you.
Enjoy! 🙂
Posts by LibreELEC
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The #libreelec IRC support channel on freenode has been moved to Libera Chat. The last month has seen a series of management issues on freenode that have precipitated a mass exodus of FOSS projects to alernative IRC services; mostly Libera Chat or OFTC. Our original intention was to simply open another #libreelec channel on alternative servers. Our project staff are not big IRC users and channel traffic is low, so presence on several servers wouldn’t be a big deal. However:
This morning the “new management” on freenode executed a hostile takeover of hundreds of IRC channels including projects and groups we have interests in. Channel operators were removed, devoiced, and where channels had been closed (after relocating to another IRC service) the channels were reopened to disguise their decision to move. Why? .. simply because they mentioned Libera Chat in the channel topic.
So far our own channel on freenode has not been impacted, but in the backstory to LibreELEC’s existence there are events where one person decided we were ‘his’ hobby not ‘our’ project, staff were banned or had rights removed from project infrastructure, and a series of unilateral decisions were taken against the clearly expressed wishes of the entire team. The authoritarian activities seen on freenode feel familiar.
Libera Chat is a non-profit organisation newly-created by the former freenode admin team with a governance structure designed to prevent anything similar happening again. That also feels familiar, so we are moving. See you there 🙂
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LibreELEC 10.0 BETA 3 is released! bringing Kodi (Matrix) v19.1 to LibreELEC users.
Changes from LibreELEC 10.0 BETA 2 are listed here. As discussed in the recent Upcoming Changes blog post it, the 10.0 release is a disruptive and limited hardware release. If you have not read the blog post – please do – because we are not releasing images for all hardware. In summary: this is a stable release for Generic (x86_64 PCs). Stable-Beta for Allwinner and Rockchip. Stable “Alpha” for Raspberry Pi 4 as the code is still very new. RPi 2/3 are still in development targetting an LE10.2 release. RPi 0/1 are discontinued. All others hardware is still in development and not in a state for formal releases.** DO NOT UPGRADE! **
Yes, we mean that. The team are super keen for you to run the latest LibreELEC release but we recommend you clean install not upgrade an existing installation – unless you are upgrading from a recent nightly image, i.e. you are already using Kodi 19.
The two simple (but complex) reasons for this advice are:
a) Python3 changes in Kodi v19 mean 99.99% of add-ons stop working. Most official Kodi add-ons now have Matrix compatible versions in the Kodi repo, but the transtion to them is not always smooth. Incompatible Python2 add-ons are disabled automatically on upgrade and users need to find/update add-ons to Python3 versions before re-enabling them. Banned/piracy add-ons are heavily impacted by the Python3 change, and while we don’t care about them breaking, we do care about the abuse that’s often hurled at staff when we refuse sympathy or support to that subset of users.
b) Kernel changes for RPi4 users combined with no release for RPi2/3 users and discontinued support for RPi0/1 users means signifant changes in the user experience (Raspberry Pi users are a combined 80% of our active installed base). We are pretty confident RPi4 users will like the update since it brings HBR audio and initial HDR video support, but it’s still a big change. Generic (where there is a lower level of change) and Allwinner/Rockchip (which already run on modern kernels) are less impacted.
SPARE CARDS AND BACKUPS
Using a spare SD card or USB stick to clean install onto makes “rolling back” in the event of problems simple. If you will reuse the same boot media, make a backup first and move it off-box so you can clean install an earlier release then restore from the backup. Kodi does not support in-place downgrades and it ever worked for you in the past it was luck not design (and Python3 guarantees problems this time). Your failure to make a backup is not our problem!
So unless you are already running an image with Kodi 19 inside, a clean install is preferred. We apologise for the inconvenience but we expect a much higher than normal support effort with in-place upgrades so it’s sensible advice.
CHANGES
You can read the official Team Kodi release announcement for Matrix/v19.0 here and (again) the recent Upcoming Changes blog post for more info on Kodi changes and the transition to GBM/V4L2. You probably (and hopefully) won’t notice, but every package that goes into the LibreELEC OS has been updated to a latest or recent release. It’s been two years since Kodi 18 was released so the changeset is too large to list. GitHub has the full history.
SUPPORT
Project staff are available in the forum to answer questions and provide advice. Please remember this is a beta. We are expecting some minor bugs/issues to be found and there will probably be a BETA2 release before we reach 10.0. If you have a problem, technical issues are best accompanied by system and Kodi debug logs – help us to help you.
Enjoy! 🙂
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LibreELEC 10.0 BETA 2 is released! bringing Kodi (Matrix) v19.0 (including additional fixes) to LibreELEC users.
Changes from LibreELEC 10.0 BETA 1 are listed here. As discussed in the recent Upcoming Changes blog post it, the 10.0 release is a disruptive and limited hardware release. If you have not read the blog post – please do – because we are not releasing images for all hardware. In summary: this is a stable release for Generic (x86_64 PCs). Stable-Beta for Allwinner and Rockchip. Stable “Alpha” for Raspberry Pi 4 as the code is still very new. RPi 2/3 are still in development targetting an LE10.2 release. RPi 0/1 are discontinued. All others hardware is still in development and not in a state for formal releases.** DO NOT UPGRADE! **
Yes, we mean that. The team are super keen for you to run the latest LibreELEC release but we recommend you clean install not upgrade an existing installation – unless you are upgrading from a recent nightly image, i.e. you are already using Kodi 19.
The two simple (but complex) reasons for this advice are:
a) Python3 changes in Kodi v19 mean 99.99% of add-ons stop working. Most official Kodi add-ons now have Matrix compatible versions in the Kodi repo, but the transtion to them is not always smooth. Incompatible Python2 add-ons are disabled automatically on upgrade and users need to find/update add-ons to Python3 versions before re-enabling them. Banned/piracy add-ons are heavily impacted by the Python3 change, and while we don’t care about them breaking, we do care about the abuse that’s often hurled at staff when we refuse sympathy or support to that subset of users.
b) Kernel changes for RPi4 users combined with no release for RPi2/3 users and discontinued support for RPi0/1 users means signifant changes in the user experience (Raspberry Pi users are a combined 80% of our active installed base). We are pretty confident RPi4 users will like the update since it brings HBR audio and initial HDR video support, but it’s still a big change. Generic (where there is a lower level of change) and Allwinner/Rockchip (which already run on modern kernels) are less impacted.
SPARE CARDS AND BACKUPS
Using a spare SD card or USB stick to clean install onto makes “rolling back” in the event of problems simple. If you will reuse the same boot media, make a backup first and move it off-box so you can clean install an earlier release then restore from the backup. Kodi does not support in-place downgrades and it ever worked for you in the past it was luck not design (and Python3 guarantees problems this time). Your failure to make a backup is not our problem!
So unless you are already running an image with Kodi 19 inside, a clean install is preferred. We apologise for the inconvenience but we expect a much higher than normal support effort with in-place upgrades so it’s sensible advice.
CHANGES
You can read the official Team Kodi release announcement for Matrix/v19.0 here and (again) the recent Upcoming Changes blog post for more info on Kodi changes and the transition to GBM/V4L2. You probably (and hopefully) won’t notice, but every package that goes into the LibreELEC OS has been updated to a latest or recent release. It’s been two years since Kodi 18 was released so the changeset is too large to list. GitHub has the full history.
SUPPORT
Project staff are available in the forum to answer questions and provide advice. Please remember this is a beta. We are expecting some minor bugs/issues to be found and there will probably be a BETA2 release before we reach 10.0. If you have a problem, technical issues are best accompanied by system and Kodi debug logs – help us to help you.
Enjoy! 🙂
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LibreELEC 10.0 BETA 1 is released! bringing Kodi (Matrix) v19.0 to LibreELEC users. As discussed in the recent Upcoming Changes blog post it, the 10.0 release is a disruptive and limited hardware release. If you have not read the blog post – please do – because we are not releasing images for all hardware. In summary: this is a stable release for Generic (x86_64 PCs). Stable-Beta for Allwinner and Rockchip. Stable “Alpha” for Raspberry Pi 4 as the code is still very new. RPi 2/3 are still in development targetting an LE10.2 release. RPi 0/1 are discontinued. All others hardware is still in development and not in a state for formal releases.
** DO NOT UPGRADE! **
Yes, we mean that. The team are super keen for you to run the latest LibreELEC release but we recommend you clean install not upgrade an existing installation – unless you are upgrading from a recent nightly image, i.e. you are already using Kodi 19.
The two simple (but complex) reasons for this advice are:
a) Python3 changes in Kodi v19 mean 99.99% of add-ons stop working. Most official Kodi add-ons now have Matrix compatible versions in the Kodi repo, but the transtion to them is not always smooth. Incompatible Python2 add-ons are disabled automatically on upgrade and users need to find/update add-ons to Python3 versions before re-enabling them. Banned/piracy add-ons are heavily impacted by the Python3 change, and while we don’t care about them breaking, we do care about the abuse that’s often hurled at staff when we refuse sympathy or support to that subset of users.
b) Kernel changes for RPi4 users combined with no release for RPi2/3 users and discontinued support for RPi0/1 users means signifant changes in the user experience (Raspberry Pi users are a combined 80% of our active installed base). We are pretty confident RPi4 users will like the update since it brings HBR audio and initial HDR video support, but it’s still a big change. Generic (where there is a lower level of change) and Allwinner/Rockchip (which already run on modern kernels) are less impacted.
SPARE CARDS AND BACKUPS
Using a spare SD card or USB stick to clean install onto makes “rolling back” in the event of problems simple. If you will reuse the same boot media, make a backup first and move it off-box so you can clean install an earlier release then restore from the backup. Kodi does not support in-place downgrades and it ever worked for you in the past it was luck not design (and Python3 guarantees problems this time). Your failure to make a backup is not our problem!
So unless you are already running an image with Kodi 19 inside, a clean install is preferred. We apologise for the inconvenience but we expect a much higher than normal support effort with in-place upgrades so it’s sensible advice.
CHANGES
You can read the official Team Kodi release announcement for Matrix/v19.0 here and (again) the recent Upcoming Changes blog post for more info on Kodi changes and the transition to GBM/V4L2. You probably (and hopefully) won’t notice, but every package that goes into the LibreELEC OS has been updated to a latest or recent release. It’s been two years since Kodi 18 was released so the changeset is too large to list. GitHub has the full history.
SUPPORT
Project staff are available in the forums to answer questions and provide advice. Please remember this is a beta. We are expecting some minor bugs/issues to be found and there will probably be a BETA2 release before we reach 10.0. If you have a problem, technical issues are best accompanied by system and Kodi debug logs – help us to help you.
Enjoy! 🙂
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The release of Kodi 19 is just around the corner and with it comes big changes that affects all media center hardware vendors.
One of the most obvious changes, is the switch to Python3 (the programming language that is used by the Kodi add-ons) which is incompatible with the Python2 that was previously used.
All add-ons have had to be updated to be compatible with Python3 so that they also work with Kodi 19, that has been completed successfully for many addons, but there are also many other add-ons that have not yet been updated, and therefore do not yet work with Kodi 19.The second big change concerns the methods of playing videos done by each of the hardware vendors.
In the past there was no cross-platform standard under Linux, so many adjustments and different approaches were necessary, for example “Raspberry Pi” so that it could be used with Kodi.With the release of Kodi 19 – the standard video playback for Linux is used and the legacy techniques have been removed.
This has required that the drivers support the standard on all of the hardware vendors that are supported by LibreELEC.This is where it gets difficult.
It is not a change that can or has been able to be made quickly. The current status is that some hardware vendors are further progressed than the others.
As a consequence – we will continue to support LE9.2 instead of just the latest version (LE10) as before. As soon there are serious improvements with a hardware vendors platform, we will also improve LE at this point and ship a new major release.Raspberry Pi
The Raspberry Pi 4 works well but is not yet fully tested to consider it stable.
Raspberry Pi 2 and 3 are currently not that far along – as the focus has been on the Raspberry Pi 4. RPi 2 and 3 will follow after Raspberry Pi 4.
Unfortunately RPi 0 and 1 will be omitted, the hardware simply no longer has the power to function properly under LE10.Generic (PC)
The old X11 standard is still used here, which means there is no HDR support yet and everything works like it did before.Allwinner
We will officially support Alwinner for the first time, there is good support across all devices.Rockchip
The version based on the Linux video standard is equal to the LE9.2 version.Amlogic
Unfortunately the development in the areas that are important for Kodi has not yet advanced to a state that we can recommend it to the broader audience. Development in Linux, LibreELEC and Kodi continues daily with this hardware.In summary
We will see a stable LE10 version for Generic (PC), Allwinner and Rockchip.The Raspberry Pi 4 remains as an alpha release because it is currently still work in progress.
RPi 2 and 3 will be shipped in a future version of LibreELEC (e.g. LE10.2.)
For Amlogic – development continues and once the required components of Linux are made available, a release of LibreELEC will be made for this hardware.Source: Upcoming changes – LibreELEC
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LibreELEC 9.2.6 (Leia) has arrived based upon Kodi v18.9.
Changes since 9.2.4:
- Kodi 18.9
Kodi 19 Matrix:
We have currently no plans yet to create an official Alpha release of LE10 with the Alpha version of Kodi 19. Due the drawn out release cycle of Kodi and the experiences from the past few years we are waiting a bit longer to avoid major problems. Nightly builds could be downloaded like usual, that includes the latest unstable development snapshot of LE10/Kodi19.
Change for Raspberry 4:
With LE 9.2 and later you need to add “hdmi_enable_4kp60=1“ to your config.txt if you want to use 4k output at the RPi4. Before you needed “hdmi_enable_4k=1“ that is now deprecated.
If you experience problems, please open an thread at our forum. You can also open an ticket at our Github issue tracker.
Upgrading
On first boot the Kodi media database will be upgraded. Depending on your hardware and media collection size this could take several minutes. Please be patient.
Downloads
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LibreELEC 9.2.5 (Leia) has arrived based upon Kodi v18.8 only for RPi4. This release only contains a fix for RPi4.
There is no 9.2.5 for every other platform.Changes since 9.2.4:
- firmware fix for RPi4 (blank screen at start)
Kodi 19 Matrix:
We have currently no plans yet to create an official Alpha release of LE10 with the Alpha version of Kodi 19. Due the drawn out release cycle of Kodi and the experiences from the past few years we are waiting a bit longer to avoid major problems. Nightly builds could be downloaded like usual, that includes the latest unstable development snapshot of LE10/Kodi19.
Change for Raspberry 4:
With LE 9.2 and later you need to add “hdmi_enable_4kp60=1“ to your config.txt if you want to use 4k output at the RPi4. Before you needed “hdmi_enable_4k=1“ that is now deprecated.
If you experience problems, please open an thread at our forum. You can also open an ticket at our Github issue tracker.
Upgrading
On first boot the Kodi media database will be upgraded. Depending on your hardware and media collection size this could take several minutes. Please be patient.
Downloads
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LibreELEC 9.2.4 (Leia) has arrived based upon Kodi v18.8.
Changes since 9.2.3:
- firmware fixes for RPi (fixes booting issues)
- Kodi 18.8
Kodi 19 Matrix:
We have currently no plans yet to create an official Alpha release of LE10 with the Alpha version of Kodi 19. Due the drawn out release cycle of Kodi and the experiences from the past few years we are waiting a bit longer to avoid major problems. Nightly builds could be downloaded like usual, that includes the latest unstable development snapshot of LE10/Kodi19.
Change for Raspberry 4:
With LE 9.2 and later you need to add “hdmi_enable_4kp60=1“ to your config.txt if you want to use 4k output at the RPi4. Before you needed “hdmi_enable_4k=1“ that is now deprecated.
If you experience problems, please open an thread at our forum. You can also open an ticket at our Github issue tracker.
Upgrading
On first boot the Kodi media database will be upgraded. Depending on your hardware and media collection size this could take several minutes. Please be patient.
Downloads
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LibreELEC 9.2.3 (Leia) the final version has arrived based upon Kodi v18.7.1.
Changes since 9.2.1/9.2.2:
- improvements for the RPi
- several minor updates
- Kodi 17.8.1
Change for Raspberry 4:
With LE 9.2 and later you need to add “hdmi_enable_4kp60=1“ to your config.txt if you want to use 4k output at the RPi4. Before you needed “hdmi_enable_4k=1“ that is now deprecated.
Raspberry 4:
It would be nice to have the 4B running the latest mainline kernel as other devices in LibreELEC 9.2, but adding support for an all-newSoC chipset is a huge effort and the Pi Foundation needed to align initial 4B software with the current Raspbian release to maximise compatibility with existing software and to keep the workload sensible. Generic x86/64 devices are running Linux 5.1, while Raspberry Pi devices (0/1/2/3/4) are using Linux 4.19 with some new/extra code.
In this initial release 1080p playback behaviour and performance on the 4B are broadly on-par with the previous 3B/3B+ model, except for HEVC media which is now hardware decoded and massively improved. New 4K video capabilities still have plenty of rough edges to be smoothed out, but the Pi Foundation developers have been pushing fixes to the test team at a phenomenal rate over the last month and that will continue as the userbase expands.
The 4B now uses SPI flash for the bootloader. Current firmware supports SD card boot only – Network and USB booting are still on the Pi Foundation to-do list. Also on the list is HBR audio (current audio capabilities are the same as the 3B) and 3D video. The 4B hardware is HDR capable, but software support has a dependency on the new Linux kernel frameworks merged by Intel developers (with help from Team LibreELEC/Kodi) in Linux 5.2 and a kernel bump will be needed to use them. Once the initial excitement and activity from the 4B launch calms down, serious work on HDR and transitioning Raspberry Pi over to the new GBM/V4L2 video pipeline can start.
Rockchip:
Our Rockchip releases remain in an state with limited support. The Kodi version is updated but there are no significant video/audio improvements to the Rockchip 4.4 kernel codebase – and none planned. Our work on Rockchip support has refocussed onto the Linux 5.x kernel to use the modern kernel frameworks needed for the next-generation Kodi video pipeline. This work is progressing nicely, but it means the 4.4 codebase “is what it is” until a future kernel bump.
Amlogic
Our original goal was to announce Allwinner and Amlogic images alongside Rockchip as part of the LibreELEC 9.2 release, but while overall readiness has greatly improved in recent months – each has specific technical challenges to overcome before they meet our basic critera for a public release. On the human side of the project several maintainers also have reduced availability for support due to work and family commitments. Combining these factors together, the team felt it was better to be patient and not rush releases.
So instead of releasing LibreELEC 9.2 stable images, we are announcing the start of official nightly images from our master development branch.If you experience problems, please open an thread at our forum. You can also open an ticket at our issue tracker.
Upgrading
On first boot the Kodi media database will be upgraded. Depending on your hardware and media collection size this could take several minutes. Please be patient.
Downloads
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LibreELEC 9.2.2 (Leia) is a Hotfix release just for the x86_64 Generic (PC, AMD, Intel, NVIDIA …) image.
It includes a fix for the missing sound at Intel based systems (mainly NUC) due an Linux Kernel bug.
This is just for the Generic image as the fix only targeting this platform.Upgrading
On first boot the Kodi media database will be upgraded. Depending on your hardware and media collection size this could take several minutes. Please be patient.
Downloads
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LibreELEC 9.2.1 (Leia) the final version has arrived based upon Kodi v18.6, the 9.2.1 release contains many changes and refinements to user experience and a complete overhaul of the underlying OS core to improve stability and extend hardware support compared to the LE 9.0 release.
Changes since 9.2.0:
- WireGuard support added to settings
- improvements for the RPi4
- serveral minor updates
Change for Raspberry 4:
With LE 9.1.002 and later you need to add “hdmi_enable_4kp60=1“ to your config.txt if you want to use 4k output at the RPi4. Before you needed “hdmi_enable_4k=1“ that is now deprecated.
Raspberry 4:
It would be nice to have the 4B running the latest mainline kernel as other devices in LibreELEC 9.2, but adding support for an all-newSoC chipset is a huge effort and the Pi Foundation needed to align initial 4B software with the current Raspbian release to maximise compatibility with existing software and to keep the workload sensible. Generic x86/64 devices are running Linux 5.1, while Raspberry Pi devices (0/1/2/3/4) are using Linux 4.19 with some new/extra code.
In this initial release 1080p playback behaviour and performance on the 4B are broadly on-par with the previous 3B/3B+ model, except for HEVC media which is now hardware decoded and massively improved. New 4K video capabilities still have plenty of rough edges to be smoothed out, but the Pi Foundation developers have been pushing fixes to the test team at a phenomenal rate over the last month and that will continue as the userbase expands.
The 4B now uses SPI flash for the bootloader. Current firmware supports SD card boot only – Network and USB booting are still on the Pi Foundation to-do list. Also on the list is HBR audio (current audio capabilities are the same as the 3B) and 3D video. The 4B hardware is HDR capable, but software support has a dependency on the new Linux kernel frameworks merged by Intel developers (with help from Team LibreELEC/Kodi) in Linux 5.2 and a kernel bump will be needed to use them. Once the initial excitement and activity from the 4B launch calms down, serious work on HDR and transitioning Raspberry Pi over to the new GBM/V4L2 video pipeline can start.
Rockchip:
Our Rockchip releases remain in an state with limited support. The Kodi version is updated but there are no significant video/audio improvements to the Rockchip 4.4 kernel codebase – and none planned. Our work on Rockchip support has refocussed onto the Linux 5.x kernel to use the modern kernel frameworks needed for the next-generation Kodi video pipeline. This work is progressing nicely, but it means the 4.4 codebase “is what it is” until a future kernel bump.
Amlogic
Our original goal was to announce Allwinner and Amlogic images alongside Rockchip as part of the LibreELEC 9.2 release, but while overall readiness has greatly improved in recent months – each has specific technical challenges to overcome before they meet our basic critera for a public release. On the human side of the project several maintainers also have reduced availability for support due to work and family commitments. Combining these factors together, the team felt it was better to be patient and not rush releases.
So instead of releasing LibreELEC 9.2 stable images, we are announcing the start of official nightly images from our master development branch.If you experience problems, please open an thread at our forum. You can also open an ticket at our issue tracker.
Upgrading
On first boot the Kodi media database will be upgraded. Depending on your hardware and media collection size this could take several minutes. Please be patient.
Downloads
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Display More
LibreELEC 9.2.0 (Leia) the final version has arrived based upon Kodi v18.5, the 9.2 release contains many changes and refinements to user experience and a complete overhaul of the underlying OS core to improve stability and extend hardware support compared to the LE 9.0 release.
Changes since last Beta:
- driver support for Webcams
- improvements for the RPi4
- added firmware updater for RPi4
Change for Raspberry 4:
With LE 9.1.002 and later you need to add “hdmi_enable_4kp60=1“ to your config.txt if you want to use 4k output at the RPi4. Before you needed “hdmi_enable_4k=1“ that is now deprecated.
Raspberry 4:
It would be nice to have the 4B running the latest mainline kernel as other devices in LibreELEC 9.2, but adding support for an all-newSoC chipset is a huge effort and the Pi Foundation needed to align initial 4B software with the current Raspbian release to maximise compatibility with existing software and to keep the workload sensible. Generic x86/64 devices are running Linux 5.1, while Raspberry Pi devices (0/1/2/3/4) are using Linux 4.19 with some new/extra code.
In this initial release 1080p playback behaviour and performance on the 4B are broadly on-par with the previous 3B/3B+ model, except for HEVC media which is now hardware decoded and massively improved. New 4K video capabilities still have plenty of rough edges to be smoothed out, but the Pi Foundation developers have been pushing fixes to the test team at a phenomenal rate over the last month and that will continue as the userbase expands.
The 4B now uses SPI flash for the bootloader. Current firmware supports SD card boot only – Network and USB booting are still on the Pi Foundation to-do list. Also on the list is HBR audio (current audio capabilities are the same as the 3B) and 3D video. The 4B hardware is HDR capable, but software support has a dependency on the new Linux kernel frameworks merged by Intel developers (with help from Team LibreELEC/Kodi) in Linux 5.2 and a kernel bump will be needed to use them. Once the initial excitement and activity from the 4B launch calms down, serious work on HDR and transitioning Raspberry Pi over to the new GBM/V4L2 video pipeline can start.
Rockchip:
Our Rockchip releases remain in an state with limited support. The Kodi version is updated but there are no significant video/audio improvements to the Rockchip 4.4 kernel codebase – and none planned. Our work on Rockchip support has refocussed onto the Linux 5.x kernel to use the modern kernel frameworks needed for the next-generation Kodi video pipeline. This work is progressing nicely, but it means the 4.4 codebase “is what it is” until a future kernel bump.
Amlogic
Our original goal was to announce Allwinner and Amlogic images alongside Rockchip as part of the LibreELEC 9.2 release, but while overall readiness has greatly improved in recent months – each has specific technical challenges to overcome before they meet our basic critera for a public release. On the human side of the project several maintainers also have reduced availability for support due to work and family commitments. Combining these factors together, the team felt it was better to be patient and not rush releases.
So instead of releasing LibreELEC 9.2 alpha images we are announcing the start of official nightly images from our master development branch.If you experience problems, please open an thread at our forum. You can also open an ticket at our issue tracker.
Upgrading
On first boot the Kodi media database will be upgraded. Depending on your hardware and media collection size this could take several minutes. Please be patient.
Downloads
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Display More
LibreELEC 9.2 Beta 2 (Leia) has arrived based upon Kodi v18.4, the 9.2 Beta 2 release contains many changes and refinements to user experience and a complete overhaul of the underlying OS core to improve stability and extend hardware support.
If no serious bugs appear that the final version of LibreELEC 9.2 should be available with the release of Kodi 18.5 in approximately 2 weeks.Changes since LibreELEC Beta 1:
- several Bugfixes
- improvements for the RPi4
- added firmware updater for RPi4
Update the firmware at the Raspberry 4:
easily update your RPi4 firmware
Change for Raspberry 4:
With LE 9.1.002 and later you need to add “hdmi_enable_4kp60=1“ to your config.txt if you want to use 4k output at the RPi4. Before you needed “hdmi_enable_4k=1“ that is now deprecated.
Beta Notes:
LibreELEC 9.2 for Generic x86/64 and Raspberry Pi 0/1/2/3 devices is a solid beta quality release. Raspberry Pi 4B images are more “late stage Alpha” and are not feature complete or perfect. Normal LibreELEC testing rules apply; if you do not want to experiment on your family’s primary entertainment system – please stick with your current version and wait for the final/stable release. If you do want to experiment – please be prepared to submit log files and work with developers to hunt down problems and test solutions.
Raspberry 4:
It would be nice to have the 4B running the latest mainline kernel as other devices in LibreELEC 9.2, but adding support for an all-newSoC chipset is a huge effort and the Pi Foundation needed to align initial 4B software with the current Raspbian release to maximise compatibility with existing software and to keep the workload sensible. Generic x86/64 devices are running Linux 5.1, while Raspberry Pi devices (0/1/2/3/4) are using Linux 4.19 with some new/extra code.
In this initial release 1080p playback behaviour and performance on the 4B are broadly on-par with the previous 3B/3B+ model, except for HEVC media which is now hardware decoded and massively improved. New 4K video capabilities still have plenty of rough edges to be smoothed out, but the Pi Foundation developers have been pushing fixes to the test team at a phenomenal rate over the last month and that will continue as the userbase expands.
The 4B now uses SPI flash for the bootloader. Current firmware supports SD card boot only – Network and USB booting are still on the Pi Foundation to-do list. Also on the list is HBR audio (current audio capabilities are the same as the 3B) and 3D video. The 4B hardware is HDR capable, but software support has a dependency on the new Linux kernel frameworks merged by Intel developers (with help from Team LibreELEC/Kodi) in Linux 5.2 and a kernel bump will be needed to use them. Once the initial excitement and activity from the 4B launch calms down, serious work on HDR and transitioning Raspberry Pi over to the new GBM/V4L2 video pipeline can start.
Rockchip:
Our Rockchip releases remain in an Alpha state with limited support. The Kodi version is updated but there are no significant video/audio improvements to the Rockchip 4.4 kernel codebase – and none planned. Our work on Rockchip support has refocussed onto the Linux 5.x kernel to use the modern kernel frameworks needed for the next-generation Kodi video pipeline. This work is progressing nicely, but it means the 4.4 codebase “is what it is” until a future kernel bump.
Amlogic
Our original goal was to announce Allwinner and Amlogic images alongside Rockchip as part of the LibreELEC 9.2 release, but while overall readiness has greatly improved in recent months – each has specific technical challenges to overcome before they meet our basic critera for a public release. On the human side of the project several maintainers also have reduced availability for support due to work and family commitments. Combining these factors together, the team felt it was better to be patient and not rush releases.
So instead of releasing LibreELEC 9.2 alpha images we are announcing the start of official nightly images from our master development branch. At the moment the master branch uses Linux 5.2 and Kodi v18 so nightlies mirror LibreELEC 9.2, but in the near future we will start moving master towards Linux 5.4 and Kodi v19.If you experience problems, please open an thread at our forum. You can also open an ticket at our issue tracker.
Upgrading
On first boot the Kodi media database will be upgraded. Depending on your hardware and media collection size this could take several minutes. Please be patient.
Downloads
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Display More
LibreELEC 9.2 Beta1 (Leia) has arrived based upon Kodi v18.4, the 9.2 Beta1 release contains many changes and refinements to user experience and a complete overhaul of the underlying OS core to improve stability and extend hardware support.
Changes since LibreELEC 9.1.002:
- updated to Kodi 18.4
- improvements for the RPi4
- bigger fonts at the update screen for 4k screens
- several Bugfixes
Change for Raspberry 4:
With LE 9.1.002 and later you need to add “hdmi_enable_4kp60=1“ to your config.txt if you want to use 4k output at the RPi4. Before you needed “hdmi_enable_4k=1“ that is now deprecated.
Beta Notes:
LibreELEC 9.2 for Generic x86/64 and Raspberry Pi 0/1/2/3 devices is a solid beta quality release. Raspberry Pi 4B images are more “late stage Alpha” and are not feature complete or perfect. Normal LibreELEC testing rules apply; if you do not want to experiment on your family’s primary entertainment system – please stick with your current version and wait for the final/stable release. If you do want to experiment – please be prepared to submit log files and work with developers to hunt down problems and test solutions.
Raspberry 4:
It would be nice to have the 4B running the latest mainline kernel as other devices in LibreELEC 9.2, but adding support for an all-newSoC chipset is a huge effort and the Pi Foundation needed to align initial 4B software with the current Raspbian release to maximise compatibility with existing softwar and to keep the workload sensible. Generic x86/64 devices are running Linux 5.1, while Raspberry Pi devices (0/1/2/3/4) are using Linux 4.19 with some new/extra code.
In this initial release 1080p playback behaviour and performance on the 4B are broadly on-par with the previous 3B/3B+ model, except for HEVC media which is now hardware decoded and massively improved. New 4K video capabilities still have plenty of rough edges to be smoothed out, but the Pi Foundation developers have been pushing fixes to the Alpha test team at a phenomenal rate over the last month and that will continue as the userbase expands.
The 4B now uses SPI flash for the bootloader. Current firmware supports SD card boot only – Network and USB booting are still on the Pi Foundation to-do list. Also on the list is HBR audio (current audio capabilities are the same as the 3B) and 3D video. The 4B hardware is HDR capable, but software support has a dependency on the new Linux kernel frameworks merged by Intel developers (with help from Team LibreELEC/Kodi) in Linux 5.2 and a kernel bump will be needed to use them. Once the initial excitement and activity from the 4B launch calms down, serious work on HDR and transitioning Raspberry Pi over to the new GBM/V4L2 video pipeline can start.
Rockchip:
Our Rockchip releases remain in an Alpha state with limited support. The Kodi version is updated but there are no significant video/audio improvements to the Rockchip 4.4 kernel codebase – and none planned. Our work on Rockchip support has refocussed onto the Linux 5.x kernel to use the modern kernel frameworks needed for the next-generation Kodi video pipeline. This work is progressing nicely, but it means the 4.4 codebase “is what it is” until a future kernel bump.
Amlogic
Our original goal was to announce Allwinner and Amlogic images alongside Rockchip as part of the LibreELEC 9.2 release, but while overall readiness has greatly improved in recent months – each has specific technical challenges to overcome before they meet our basic critera for a public release. On the human side of the project several maintainers also have reduced availability for support due to work and family commitments, and the summer vacation season is about to start. Combining these factors together, the team felt it was better to be patient and not rush releases.
So instead of releasing LibreELEC 9.2 alpha images we are announcing the start of official nightly images from our master development branch. At the moment the master branch uses Linux 5.2 and Kodi v18 so nightlies mirror LibreELEC 9.2, but in the near future we will start moving master towards Linux 5.3 and Kodi v19.If you experience problems, please open an thread at our forum. You can also open an ticket at our issue tracker.
Upgrading
On first boot the Kodi media database will be upgraded. Depending on your hardware and media collection size this could take several minutes. Please be patient.
Downloads
-
Display More
LibreELEC 9.1.002 (Leia) has arrived based upon Kodi v18.3, the 9.1.002 release contains many changes and refinements to user experience and a complete overhaul of the underlying OS core to improve stability and extend hardware support.
Changes since LibreELEC 9.1.001:
- mainly improvements for the RPi4
Change for Raspberry 4:
With LE 9.1.002 and later you need to add “hdmi_enable_4kp60=1“ to your config.txt if you want to use 4k output at the RPi4. Before you needed “hdmi_enable_4k=1“ that is now deprecated.
Beta Notes:
LibreELEC 9.2 for Generic x86/64 and Raspberry Pi 0/1/2/3 devices is a solid beta quality release. Raspberry Pi 4B images are more “late stage Alpha” and are not feature complete or perfect. Normal LibreELEC testing rules apply; if you do not want to experiment on your family’s primary entertainment system – please stick with your current version and wait for the final/stable release. If you do want to experiment – please be prepared to submit log files and work with developers to hunt down problems and test solutions.
Raspberry 4:
It would be nice to have the 4B running the latest mainline kernel as other devices in LibreELEC 9.2, but adding support for an all-newSoC chipset is a huge effort and the Pi Foundation needed to align initial 4B software with the current Raspbian release to maximise compatibility with existing softwar and to keep the workload sensible. Generic x86/64 devices are running Linux 5.1, while Raspberry Pi devices (0/1/2/3/4) are using Linux 4.19 with some new/extra code.
In this initial release 1080p playback behaviour and performance on the 4B are broadly on-par with the previous 3B/3B+ model, except for HEVC media which is now hardware decoded and massively improved. New 4K video capabilities still have plenty of rough edges to be smoothed out, but the Pi Foundation developers have been pushing fixes to the Alpha test team at a phenomenal rate over the last month and that will continue as the userbase expands.
The 4B now uses SPI flash for the bootloader. Current firmware supports SD card boot only – Network and USB booting are still on the Pi Foundation to-do list. Also on the list is HBR audio (current audio capabilities are the same as the 3B) and 3D video. The 4B hardware is HDR capable, but software support has a dependency on the new Linux kernel frameworks merged by Intel developers (with help from Team LibreELEC/Kodi) in Linux 5.2 and a kernel bump will be needed to use them. Once the initial excitement and activity from the 4B launch calms down, serious work on HDR and transitioning Raspberry Pi over to the new GBM/V4L2 video pipeline can start.
Rockchip:
Our Rockchip releases remain in an Alpha state with limited support. The Kodi version is updated but there are no significant video/audio improvements to the Rockchip 4.4 kernel codebase – and none planned. Our work on Rockchip support has refocussed onto the Linux 5.x kernel to use the modern kernel frameworks needed for the next-generation Kodi video pipeline. This work is progressing nicely, but it means the 4.4 codebase “is what it is” until a future kernel bump.
Amlogic
Our original goal was to announce Allwinner and Amlogic images alongside Rockchip as part of the LibreELEC 9.2 release, but while overall readiness has greatly improved in recent months – each has specific technical challenges to overcome before they meet our basic critera for a public release. On the human side of the project several maintainers also have reduced availability for support due to work and family commitments, and the summer vacation season is about to start. Combining these factors together, the team felt it was better to be patient and not rush releases.
So instead of releasing LibreELEC 9.2 alpha images we are announcing the start of official nightly images from our master development branch. At the moment the master branch uses Linux 5.1 and Kodi v18 so nightlies mirror LibreELEC 9.2, but in the near future we will start moving master towards Linux 5.3 and Kodi v19.If you experience problems, please open an thread at our forum. You can also open an ticket at our issue tracker.
Upgrading
On first boot the Kodi media database will be upgraded. Depending on your hardware and media collection size this could take several minutes. Please be patient.
Downloads
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Display More
4B is not a typo! For the last six months a small group of LibreELEC developers have been collaborating with Pi Foundation staff and fellow ‘Alpha team’ members on initial software support for the new board. The 4B has faster memory, faster CPUs, faster Ethernet, faster USB, and more native codecs than previous generations. It’s a comprehensive hardware refresh that will please many users seeking a 4K capable device for LibreELEC and Kodi – here’s the new specification:
- 1.5GHz Quad A72 (BCM2711) with 1MB L2 cache, 32KB L1
- 3200-LPDDR4 (1GB, 2GB or 4GB)
- HEVC decode to [email protected] (with HDR)
- H.264 decode to [email protected]
- 2x 4K micro-HDMI (LE/Kodi outputs to 1x screen)
- HBR audio (TrueHD/DTS-HD)
- 2x USB 3.0 ports
- 2x USB 2.0 ports
- Analogue 2.0 audio and Composite video port
- Gigabit Ethernet (not over USB!)
- 2.4GHz/5.0GHz 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0
- 5V/3A USB-C power input
- Micro-SD card slot
Initial demand for the Raspberry Pi 4 is going to be massive and it will be a couple of days before get their hands on boards. To answer some of your questions we posted a short video review to our YouTube channel that explains some of the new capabilities and shows the new LibreELEC 9.2 ALPHA release running on the board:
HARDWARE
The 0.1Hz CPU bump to 1.5GHz appears modest (3B+ is 1.4GHz) but switching from quad A53 to an A72 chip results in a large gain in overall processing power and multimedia performance. Gigabit Ethernet that runs at full speed and USB 3.0 ports boosts bandwidth and playback from a NAS or USB 3.0 storage device is noticeably quicker. WiFi and Bluetooth performance is essentially the same as the previous model – only a minor change from Bluetooth 4.2 to 5.0.
The 4B continues to boot from a micro SD card to save $$ and maintain the famous $35 price-point for the 1GB RAM board, and new 2GB ($45) and 4GB ($55) board options have been added. Extra RAM boosts the number of use-cases for the 4B and makes Raspbian a usable Desktop OS. That’s not particularly relevant to our use-case with Kodi, but we can see the 4B playing a wider role in schools in the future, which will be great for the Pi Foundation.
SOFTWARE
It would be nice to have the 4B running the same kernel as other devices in LibreELEC 9.2, but adding support for an entirely new SoC chipset is a huge effort and the Pi Foundation needed to align initial 4B software support with the current Raspbian release to keep the workload sensible and maximise compatibility with existing software. So while Raspberry Pi 0/1/2/3 devices (and Intel x86/64) in LibreELEC 9.2 are running Linux 5.1, the 4B is using Linux 4.19 with lots of new/extra code. LibreELEC 9.2 also bumps Kodi to v18.3 which was timed for release ahead of the launch (thanks @spiff). In the next 24h all the sources for our new “RPi4” image will be made available via our GitHub repository.
In this initial release 1080p playback behaviour and performance on the 4B are broadly on-par with the previous 3B/3B+ model – with the exception of HEVC media which is now hardware decoded and massively improved. New 4K video capabilities still have plenty of rough edges to be smoothed out, but the Pi Foundation developers have been pushing fixes to the Alpha test team at a phenomenal rate over the last month and that will continue as the userbase expands.
The 4B now uses SPI flash for the bootloader. Current firmware supports SD card boot only – Network and USB booting are still on the Pi Foundation to-do list. Also on the list is HBR audio (current audio capabilities are the same as the 3B) and 3D video. The 4B hardware is HDR capable but software support has a dependency on the new Linux kernel frameworks merged by Intel developers (with help from Team LibreELEC/Kodi) in Linux 5.2 os a kernel bump is needed to use them. Once the initial excitement and activity from the 4B launch calms down some serious work on HDR and transitioning Raspberry Pi over to the new GBM/V4L2 video pipeline can start.
ACCESSORIES
Raspberry Pi 4B needs a 5V/3A power supply with a USB-C connector. If you are using USB devices with more than 500mA power draw the 5V/3A spec is a firm requirement. If you are using simple peripherals you should be able to reuse an existing 5V/2.5A PSU with a small micro-USB to USB-C adaptor. Users with 5V/2A or lower spec PSU’s should invest in a higher rated 5V/3A PSU.
Everyone will need a new case – the board layout is different to previous models. The 4B has two micro-HDMI sockets instead of one full-size HDMI socket, and the USB ports and Ethernet swap positions. On launch day the official Pi Foundation case is available, but Kodi fans might prefer an updated version of the Flirc “Kodi Edition” case which is available for pre-order at USD $11.20 (normal price $15.95) until the cases come into stock, making it an absolute steal. The Kodi Foundation receives a royalty on each case sold to help fund the project, and percentage goes towards Cancer research at the USC Norris . The updated cases will ship in late July.
ROCKCHIP
LibreELEC 9.2 is not all about Rasberry Pi. Rockchip releases will continue in long-term ‘Alpha’ state with some minor nip/tuck changes to the kernel and to add more support for HDR infoframe data. We are still using the Linux 4.4 kernel in these images. In the near future we will make a longer ‘development update’ blog post to outline the plan to move Rockchip images to mainline kernels.
ALLWINNER / AMLOGIC
Our original goal was to announce Allwinner and Amlogic images alongside Rockchip and the 4B as part of the LibreELEC 9.2 release, but while overall readiness has greatly improved in recent months – each has specific technical challenges to overcome before they meet our basic critera for a public release. On the human side of the project several maintainers also have reduced availability for support due to work and family commitments, and the summer vacation season is about to start. Combining these factors together, the team felt it was better to be patient and not rush releases.
So instead of releasing LibreELEC 9.2 alpha images we are announcing the start of official nightly images from our master development branch. At the moment the master branch uses Linux 5.1 and Kodi v18 so nightlies mirror LibreELEC 9.2, but in the near future we will start moving master towards Linux 5.3 and Kodi v19. NB: Users of the new Amlogic A311D based Khadas VIM3 board (which also lauches today) will be able to use the master-branch nightly images – we have a device-tree prepared.
BETA NOTES
LibreELEC 9.2 for Generic x86/64 and Raspberry Pi 0/1/2/3 devices is a solid beta quality release. Raspberry Pi 4B images are more “late stage Alpha” and are not feature complete or perfect. Normal LibreELEC testing rules apply; if you do not want to experiment on your family’s primary entertainment system – please stick with your current version and wait for the final/stable release. If you do want to experiment – please be prepared to submit log files and work with developers to hunt down problems and test solutions.
Enjoy 🙂
Source: LibreELEC (Leia) 9.2 ALPHA1 with Raspberry Pi 4B Support – LibreELEC
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LibreELEC 9.0.2 (Leia) has arrived based upon Kodi v18.2, the 9.0.2 release contains many changes and refinements to user experience and a complete overhaul of the underlying OS core to improve stability and extend hardware support. Kodi v18 also brings new features like Kodi Retroplayer and DRM support that (equipped with an appropriate add-on) allows Kodi to unofficially stream content from services like Netflix and Amazon.
Changes since LibreELEC 9.0.1:
- updated Kodi to 18.2
- updated Kernel to 4.19.36
- fixed TBS 5520SE tuning
- fixed Zotac remotes
- fixed pvr.hts (Tvheadend) timeshift (partly)
Settings Add-on:
- Changeable SSH passwords!
- Default firewall (iptables) with simple configurations for Home/Public networks
- Updates are moved to their own menu, other options are cleaned up a little
- Safe Mode boot when Kodi experiences startup problems
Changeable SSH passwords and a default firewall configuration have been added to combat the increasing number of HTPC installs that can be found on the public internet. The increase is partly due to simple maths; our userbase has grown so the number of users inappropriately exposing their HTPC to the internet has also grown. The static password for libreelec is present on most/all password dictionary lists so it’s important we start encouraging users to change it (the first-run wizard will prompt when SSH is enabled).
More people are using VPN services for privacy without realising this exposes SSH/SMB/Web services. To combat this problem we have added simple firewall configurations for Home/Public networks; the Home configuration blocks inbound connections from non-private networks, e.g. traffic from the Internet to the public IP address used with the VPN connection.
As the Kodi piracy scene continues to decline we have seen an increase in users with outdated add-ons that cause problems during upgrades so “Safe Mode” counts Kodi startup crashes. After five startup failures it intervenes with a default (clean) configuration and prominent warning so users know there is a problem – but still have a working GUI to troubleshoot from.Retroplayer:
Kodi v18 brings initial support for retro gaming and the ability to play hundreds of retro games directly from within Kodi. We provide a large number of emulator cores from our add-on repo, but no games (bring your own) although there are a couple of open source test game add-ons (2048 etc.) in our repo. In this first iteration of Kodi retro gaming support the user interface can be a little confusing and we still need to write-up some HOWTO guides for the wiki. Kodi developers are working on a game database (for Kodi v19) which will make the process of managing and using game ROMs easier in the future.
DVB Drivers:
We now offer a larger range of DVB drivers (depending on your platform) to choose from. The “DVB drivers from the latest kernel” option also includes the majority of Hauppage drivers which have been recently upstreamed into the kernel, which is great to see!
Rockchip:
Despite the 8.95.15 release number our Rockchip releases remain in an Alpha state with limited support. The Kodi version is updated but there are no significant video/audio improvements to the Rockchip 4.4 kernel codebase – and none planned. Our work on Rockchip support has refocussed onto the Linux 4.20 kernel to use the modern kernel frameworks needed for the next-generation Kodi video pipeline. This work is progressing nicely, but it means the 4.4 codebase “is what it is” until a future kernel bump.
New Devices:
Amlogic
- Khadas VIM(1) – requires a clean install if using current community images
- Libre Computer LePotato
Rockchip
- 96rocks ROCK960
- ASUS Tinker Board
- Firefly ROC-RK3328-CC
- Khadas Edge
- PINE64 ROCK64
- PINE64 RockPro64
- Popcorn Hour RockBox
- Popcorn Hour Transformer
- Radxa ROCK Pi 4
- Rockchip Sapphire Board
- Mqmaker MiQi
If you experience problems, please open an thread at our forum. You can also open an ticket at our issue tracker.
Upgrading
On first boot the Kodi media database will be upgraded. Depending on your hardware and media collection size this could take several minutes. Please be patient.
Downloads
