Android box that can do it all (for me at least)

[abudabi]

I need it to have/do the following:

Have widewine L1 and netflix certification for 4k/atmos netflix playback
Run kodi
Passthrough HD audio formats when playing local files to my soundbar
Read NTFS formatted drives from within kodi

I currently have an amazon firestick 4k which works perfectly except for the passthrough and NTFS bits

Digging around; an AML S905x3 based device (if the bootloader isn't locked) running coreleec SHOULD do the trick, but as you know there's a myriad of these devices in the market so you never really know what you're gonna get.

Anyone have a local link for a box that can do all this?

 

[Sinbad]

Just get a Shield.

 

[Gudnews]

Just get a Shield.

Pretty much this. You need HD surround passthrough from HDD and certified 4K streaming, it's pretty much the only place to get it.

NVIDIA SHIELD TV PRO 4K/HDR (2019)

LEVEL UP. EXPERIENCE MOREFaster. Smarter. An all-new design. Now with Dolby Vision™ and Dolby Atmos®. The most 4K HDR entertainment in a streaming media player. And the Google Assistant built in.THE ULTIMATE CINEMATIC TV EXPERIENCEBring your home theater to life with Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby...

www.zeekonline.co.za

NVIDIA SHIELD TV Pro Streaming Media Player (2019 MODEL) - 16GB / 3GB

Stream in amazing 4K HDR - thousands of apps like Netflix, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kodi, and more (some require VPN to work in South Africa) HDR10 & Dolby Vision Compatibility Stream AAA PC games with GeForce NOW. Cast your PC games in 4K HDR to the living room with GameStream. Just say what you...

www.geewiz.co.za

Or

I own this guy for HD passthrough:

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/1005001304066236.html?spm=a2g0n.productlist.0.0.69304640t00YM9&browser_id=010445d7a8fc43459fed2659cf6b680d&aff_trace_key=&aff_platform=msite&m_page_id=z3lgalvleacawkbn17f75c7d7139365dd9475012b6&gclid=

And I have an Ematic for certified streaming

EMATIC AGT419 Quad Core 4K Ultra HD Android TV Box

Netflix and Google Certified Latest Android TV OS version over-the-air (OTA) Google Assistant via Bluetooth remote 4K Ultra HD resolution High Dynamic Range (HDR) Supports DSTV Now, Showmax, Netflix, YouTube, Google Movies and Google Music

www.geewiz.co.za

Or you can do some further research on here:

https://youtube.com/c/Tvboxstop

Maybe I missed a cheaper offering with all your requirements.

 

[abudabi]

Pretty much this. You need HD surround passthrough from HDD and certified 4K streaming, it's pretty much the only place to get it.

NVIDIA SHIELD TV PRO 4K/HDR (2019)

LEVEL UP. EXPERIENCE MOREFaster. Smarter. An all-new design. Now with Dolby Vision™ and Dolby Atmos®. The most 4K HDR entertainment in a streaming media player. And the Google Assistant built in.THE ULTIMATE CINEMATIC TV EXPERIENCEBring your home theater to life with Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby...

www.zeekonline.co.za

NVIDIA SHIELD TV Pro Streaming Media Player (2019 MODEL) - 16GB / 3GB

Stream in amazing 4K HDR - thousands of apps like Netflix, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kodi, and more (some require VPN to work in South Africa) HDR10 & Dolby Vision Compatibility Stream AAA PC games with GeForce NOW. Cast your PC games in 4K HDR to the living room with GameStream. Just say what you...

www.geewiz.co.za

Or

I own this guy for HD passthrough:

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/1005001304066236.html?spm=a2g0n.productlist.0.0.69304640t00YM9&browser_id=010445d7a8fc43459fed2659cf6b680d&aff_trace_key=&aff_platform=msite&m_page_id=z3lgalvleacawkbn17f75c7d7139365dd9475012b6&gclid=

And I have an Ematic for certified streaming

EMATIC AGT419 Quad Core 4K Ultra HD Android TV Box

Netflix and Google Certified Latest Android TV OS version over-the-air (OTA) Google Assistant via Bluetooth remote 4K Ultra HD resolution High Dynamic Range (HDR) Supports DSTV Now, Showmax, Netflix, YouTube, Google Movies and Google Music

www.geewiz.co.za

Or you can do some further research on here:

https://youtube.com/c/Tvboxstop

Maybe I missed a cheaper offering with all your requirements.

Thanks for the link to the channel. I went through a few vids and may have found my unicorn: Mecool KM2

Only 1 sucky thing: No Dolby True HD output, but I might be able to look past that if atmos works properly


Takealot has it in stock with a hassle free 30 day return so might just take the plunge and see

 

[Gudnews]

Thanks for the link to the channel. I went through a few vids and may have found my unicorn: Mecool KM2

Only 1 sucky thing: No Dolby True HD output, but I might be able to look past that if atmos works properly
View attachment 1266736

Takealot has it in stock with a hassle free 30 day return so might just take the plunge and see

You should be fine if Atmos is what you require the most, most of these boxes will support whatever Netflix and them are outputting. If the streamers started offering Dolby TrueHD/DTS MA, you'd see the certified boxes offer that too.

 

[abudabi]

Amazon review:
View attachment 1266806

I'm sure that reviewer was a bit clueless. I can't see how a device marketed as a 4k HDR device cannot output 4k. Even if it were true it'd be an easy return then. Oh, and most devices run 32bit android still.. even the shield that was suggested earlier does, so that's a non-event.

 

[abudabi]

You should be fine if Atmos is what you require the most, most of these boxes will support whatever Netflix and them are outputting. If the streamers started offering Dolby TrueHD/DTS X, you'd see the certified boxes offer that too.

Well the streamers deliver a lossy version of atmos on top of DD+ whereas atmos from files are ontop of lossless True HD.. so that 1 con is a bit concerning.

 

[backstreetboy]

Seren and https://alldebrid.com/. Who still mucks about external drives etc? The world moved on to streaming yonks ago.

 

[abudabi]

No, the shield pro runs 64-bit. 32-bit is not good as it can't physically address more than 4Gb RAM.
NM - looks like it only has 2Gb RAM

Apologies... you are correct

 

[abudabi]

Seren and https://alldebrid.com/. Who still mucks about external drives etc? The world moved on to streaming yonks ago.

Lots of people... and for various reasons.

 

[backstreetboy]

Lots of people... and for various reasons.

Madness. Set up a Plex server then.

 

[abudabi]

No matter the storage medium (plex or Ext Hdd)... it still needs to bitstream the lossless file from a "local" source. And yes I know plex can transcode but that's the whole point of looking for this device.... to not transcode anything.

 

[Gudnews]

Well the streamers deliver a lossy version of atmos on top of DD+ whereas atmos from files are ontop of lossless True HD.. so that 1 con is a bit concerning.

You got those 80GB movie files huh? And you Atmos set up be what? I got a basic 5.1.2 setup with front firing Atmos.