What’s the defacto box right now?

by ReflexReact

Hello all

I have a Sony TV and quite frankly I’m fed up with it. It decodes x265 but I’m constantly having issues with it passing 5.1 audio back to my amp via HDMI and Kodi (most of the time Kodi/Android OS only pass 2.0).

What I want is a simple solution which will:

  • run Kodi
  • decode x265 and HD audio
  • decode 4K content happily
  • pass back HD audio to my amp
  • support gigabit Ethernet (my content is on a Synology NAS and the bigger UHD rips just struggle with 10/100 Ethernet

A year or so ago I looked into this and the Nvidja Shield was one of the only boxes which ticked all boxes. It was (and still is) pretty damn pricey.

What should I be looking at buying?

danielwray

An Nvidia shield

aybesea

Shield. Nuff said.

BiggussDikkuss

You should avoid all android TV devices for Kodi and buy a specifically optimised device exclusively built from the ground up to run 1080p / 4K HDR Kodi:

https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=252916

The NVIDIA Shield has well known color output problems if you are a demanding SDR and 4K HDR Kodi user. Very few people in this Subreddit will tell you the truth about that. See the Kodi forum.

Beware I believe the new Jetstream cannot do HD passthrough audio.

A OSMC / LibreELEC or CoreELEC Kodi capable device is what you should be looking at.

livingaudio

Saw some black Fridays deals around, worth shopping around for a shield. I think cheapest I saw was 169. Well worth it.

raptor75mlt

If the shield is too expensive for you, take a look at the ematic jetstream

mrmikedude100

Amazon and Best Buy both have it on sale for $140 right now. 16 GB model and the remote.