What are people using for a streaming media player on the home network?

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lchiu7

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#242415 27-Oct-2018 15:18

I have many of my movies on my server which I watch with a Raspberry Pi3 with Plex.

Many of my movies have TrueHD audio tracks which the Pi can't play but it converts to PCM which is fine.

But I have now upgraded to Atmos and converting to PCM doesn't work since it loses the height information. So time to look for a new media player.

The Nvidia Shield is recommended but somewhat pricey so I am loathe to get that. On some boards people recommend the Odroid C2 with OpenPHT which looks reasonable. Before I pull the trigger just wondering what other users are doing.

I don't need Netflix or Amazon since they are on my UHD player as native apps and I don't watch any NZ streaming sites like Lightbox or any TV On Deman.

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#2115072 27-Oct-2018 17:05

i'm using an oppo 103 stand alone bd player

plays everything except 4k.

passes all audio formats including atmos, dts-x etc.

driller2000

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#2115082 27-Oct-2018 17:35

Mi Box (international) is a cheap @ $90-$100 NZD landed via the likes of Gbest - and will meet your needs re HD audio via Kodi or SPMC.

Will also play 4K rips.

The update to Oreo also makes it highly customisible in terms of the GUI.

Note: It doesn't have ethernet - but Wifi works for most people (as long as your wifi is decent) - but I have ethernet via a usb ugreen dongle which works well.

PS: I also have Shield - which is superior to the Mi - but I would start with the Mi first and see if it meets your needs - which I believe it will.

PPS: I would recommend utilising Netflix on the Mi (and Amazon can be sideloaded) as having all of your streaming via one device is well handy.

SirHumphreyAppleby

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#2115109 27-Oct-2018 18:55

OSMC Vero4k+. I have the older Vero4k which doesn't have gigabit Ethernet. Not the cheapest, but it just works, and plays HDR UHD content. I am unable to confirm the audio capabilities as I don't have an external audio processor.

I am using one with a Synology NAS for storage and tvheadend for live TV. I plan to replace my Raspberry Pi OSMC boxes with the Vero4k+ in the near future.

lchiu7

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#2115225 27-Oct-2018 21:52

Thanks to all. I tried my Oppo BDP-80 and while it found the content the playback was very pixelated. This is on wired ethernet.

The Pi plays the content but transcodees TrueHD to PCM so Atmos content is lost.

I then tried my Popcorn Hour A200 which I had put away. And surprisingly it plays Atmos content fine. I had forgotten it can bitstream TrueHD and DTS MA so the Atmos metadata is not lost. But it can't play 4K so I might look at an update and the options mentioned.

I do like Plex so it would be good to have a Plex client (I run the official Kodi Plex client on the Pi)

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Scott3

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#2115246 27-Oct-2018 23:00

I have have a Nvida shield in the lounge ruining kodi (ethernet) - this replaced a first gen amazon fire tv (the box one), also running kodi, primary to gain .265 playback. (Ethernet).

I have a 1st gen amazon fire stick in the bedroom. Also running kodi. It's a bit slow in general but plays 1080p .264 video fine. (skip etc gets a bit flaky if bit rate is super high). No .265 playback on that one. Ethernet available, but stick is wifi only.

And I have a NAS wedged into the bottom of the data cabinet in the garage.

Sheild works good, but i miss the extra buttons the fire TV had on the remote.

Lethal29

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#2115993 29-Oct-2018 11:33

driller2000:

Mi Box (international) is a cheap @ $90-$100 NZD landed via the likes of Gbest - and will meet your needs re HD audio via Kodi or SPMC.

Will also play 4K rips.

The update to Oreo also makes it highly customisible in terms of the GUI.

Note: It doesn't have ethernet - but Wifi works for most people (as long as your wifi is decent) - but I have ethernet via a usb ugreen dongle which works well.

PS: I also have Shield - which is superior to the Mi - but I would start with the Mi first and see if it meets your needs - which I believe it will.

PPS: I would recommend utilising Netflix on the Mi (and Amazon can be sideloaded) as having all of your streaming via one device is well handy.

I also have a Mi Box 3 (international), which I picked up simply because it was cheap and looked like it did everything I needed it to. So far, it does.

I was trying to play 4K straight from my WD My Cloud onto my Samsung TV and having a lot of problems with some audio not playing (Dolby something iirc), but running through the Mi Box it plays absolutely anything at all.

The only issue I have with it is it constantly losing connection to the bluetooth keyboard when it turns off, and having to un-pair and re-pair it each time, then a restart (actually only the trackpad seems to stop working).

Would definitely recommend it for playing your local content.

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robfish

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#2115997 29-Oct-2018 11:42

My family has the following:-

LibreELEC on an old computer in the garage - pretty good but limited to Kodi

LibreELEC on an NUC in the living room - pretty good but limited to Kodi

MiBoxes in Living room and Lounge - good and has ability to have apps for other streaming services

FireTV's - good but still fighting with Google over YouTube

A cheap no name android box for the spa pool - OK but struggles a bit with FF & RW

nVidia Shield in my bedroom - brilliant. My best performer.

Rob

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#2115999 29-Oct-2018 11:43

In regards to the MiBox, its running android so long as the streams you want have an app its all good... but what about those that dont have apps - does the Android browser (Chrome ?) handle these ok ? Really need something at home in the spare room as the laptop we currently use there is rather loud (fans) and bit overkill :)

XPD / Gavin

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robfish

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#2116002 29-Oct-2018 11:46

Being Android you can run apps like Kodi, Netflix, YouTube, EMBY, Plex.

For NZ TV on demand there are add-ons for Kodi

Rob

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#2116010 29-Oct-2018 11:51

Replaced my ageing and dying WDTV with Apple TV 4K and run plex on my iMac to stream local stuff to it.

Plus Netflix, Amazon video etc.

Works perfectly

gcorgnet

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#2116014 29-Oct-2018 11:53

do yourself a favour and get the Shield mate.

Great piece of kit and amazing WAF cause it just works!

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dryburn

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#2116015 29-Oct-2018 11:54

Scott3:

Sheild works good, but i miss the extra buttons the fire TV had on the remote.

You can link the old fire tv remote with the Shield TV. They both use bluetooth.

Lethal29

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#2116018 29-Oct-2018 11:56

xpd:

In regards to the MiBox, its running android so long as the streams you want have an app its all good... but what about those that dont have apps - does the Android browser (Chrome ?) handle these ok ? Really need something at home in the spare room as the laptop we currently use there is rather loud (fans) and bit overkill :)

Chrome doesn't work at all well on the Mi Box, in my experience. Have to sideload it anyway, and I never found a way to really make it usable, even with a bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

lchiu7

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#2117611 31-Oct-2018 21:55

Well I got an Odroid C2 first since it was cheap and I need more than one media player. Arrived pretty quickly but they sent me a European power adapter instead of US (no ANZ option). So I can't use it (I have US adapters). I would try another 5V PSU but this one seems to be rated at 2A and most of mine are not.

Plan to install Kodi from here

https://libreelec.tv/

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

michaelmurfy

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#2117623 31-Oct-2018 22:18

The Odroid C2 can be powered from USB also with a 2a or greater USB power supply.

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