Is there a media player that isn't rubbish?

While it isn't there yet, the Vero 4K+ should eventually satisfy that criterion. Right now, HDR playback on YouTube is broken - it decodes the video okay, but doesn't correctly flag it as HDR. The OSMC guys are aware of the issue and say they'll take a look once they've finished transitioning to a more up-to-date kernel. At that point it may do what you need.

The actual UI is a bit clunky for YouTube, but what I do is find the video in Chrome on my phone and then "Share" it via Yatse (Kodi remote control app) which starts the Vero playing it. Works okay.


There are certain specific situations in which I use my 203 for local streaming - when I'm playing a Dolby Vision UHD blu ray rip, mainly, and also if I want to play a 480p/24 file. But other than those two situations I find browsing into the network share takes too long and too many button presses. :) So I use my Vero 4K+ for everything else.
The 203 is not slow with browsing and start playing on my network but all of it is wired gigabit Ethernet though. I think the 203 was pretty slow when I had it on wireless ...
 
If it have a source direct function, respects the framrate and color spaces of the source and actually can bitstream Atmos and DV, I might be interested when I eventually rip all my discs to file. Can it do all that? Most players can’t even get BT601 and BT709 right for DVD sources for example...
Yes to all of that. Source direct came last month.

But it won’t play DV or HDR 10+ rips of which I have three out of about three thousand ripped files.

The 203 is not slow with browsing and start playing on my network but all of it is wired gigabit Ethernet though. I think the 203 was pretty slow when I had it on wireless ...

I’m wired gigabit throughout as well and the 203 invariably buffered to start.
 
Yes to all of that. Source direct came last month.

But it won’t play DV or HDR 10+ rips of which I have three out of about three thousand ripped files.



I’m wired gigabit throughout as well and the 203 invariably buffered to start.
Fail :) ! Just kidding, sounds like a promising device then...

Yes it does buffer here as well but it’s such a short period that it doesn’t bother me even on huge 4K files...
 
While it isn't there yet, the Vero 4K+ should eventually satisfy that criterion. Right now, HDR playback on YouTube is broken - it decodes the video okay, but doesn't correctly flag it as HDR. The OSMC guys are aware of the issue and say they'll take a look once they've finished transitioning to a more up-to-date kernel. At that point it may do what you need.

The actual UI is a bit clunky for YouTube, but what I do is find the video in Chrome on my phone and then "Share" it via Yatse (Kodi remote control app) which starts the Vero playing it. Works okay.


There are certain specific situations in which I use my 203 for local streaming - when I'm playing a Dolby Vision UHD blu ray rip, mainly, and also if I want to play a 480p/24 file. But other than those two situations I find browsing into the network share takes too long and too many button presses. :) So I use my Vero 4K+ for everything else.
Vero? Must check out that one too. I don’t care about HDR on YouTube just the framerate!!
 
Fail :) ! Just kidding, sounds like a promising device then...

Yes it does buffer here as well but it’s such a short period that it doesn’t bother me even on huge 4K files...
Yes the OP won’t thank me for saying it but the Zappiti player is not rubbish. But most are.

I’d forget the Vero unless you are prepared to do some tinkering. Mine is back in the box as I said.
 
I haven't tried a Zappiti personally but, judging by the specs, they seem grossly overpriced for what they are.
Forget the specs, the thing just works. You are only letdown if you’ve got DV rips but even then the HDR layer is played.
 
I haven't tried a Zappiti personally but, judging by the specs, they seem grossly overpriced for what they are.

A vero4k+ is £119
A Zappiti mini 4K can be had for £225

I guess it depends how much you value being able to play all the formats or how much you mind having to “ just ssh into the command line “ when something inevitably breaks in the monthly updates. Reliability has value to many people.
 
A vero4k+ is £119
A Zappiti mini 4K can be had for £225

I guess it depends how much you value being able to play all the formats or how much you mind having to “ just ssh into the command line “ when something inevitably breaks in the monthly updates. Reliability has value to many people.
I’m a professional programmer since 25 years so I guess the Vero is workable for me :) . Really like the concept. Now if I could find a blu-Ray ripper with better than real-time speed...
 
Now if I could find a blu-Ray ripper with better than real-time speed...
Go onto the MakeMKV forums plenty of recommendations on there. I use three drives from ASUS and two of them happily rip UHD at a good pace with no fuss.
 
I’m a professional programmer since 25 years so I guess the Vero is workable for me :) . Really like the concept. Now if I could find a blu-Ray ripper with better than real-time speed...

Sounds like it’s probably perfect for you - and it’s version of kodi is great when it’s working.

Make mkv is really easy and fast.

I use an LG BE16NU50 which rips a blu ray in about 20 mins or a uhd in about 45 mins
 
The recent updates for my Vero 4K have worked faultlessly. It's been working well for the past 6 months for me. True before that I had some issues with HDR auto switching, but since around Christmas that's been working fine. The commitment from the dev team is one of the reasons I went for the Vero
 
The recent updates for my Vero 4K have worked faultlessly. It's been working well for the past 6 months for me. True before that I had some issues with HDR auto switching, but since around Christmas that's been working fine. The commitment from the dev team is one of the reasons I went for the Vero
So, how does it support YT? Through a plug-in in Kodi or a separate app?
 
The recent updates for my Vero 4K have worked faultlessly. It's been working well for the past 6 months for me. True before that I had some issues with HDR auto switching, but since around Christmas that's been working fine. The commitment from the dev team is one of the reasons I went for the Vero
Not for me!

Update of new rips is not working consistently and nor is playback of 4K with framerate matching on. The forum over there did kindly offer to help but I am not submitting logs. I'll just use a player that works properly in preference.
 
Update of new rips is not working consistently and nor is playback of 4K with framerate matching on. The forum over there did kindly offer to help but I am not submitting logs. I'll just use a player that works properly in preference.
Fair enough, but I've not experienced either of those issues on my setup . YMMV I guess.
Why don't you want to submit logs?
 
Fair enough, but I've not experienced either of those issues on my setup . YMMV I guess.
Why don't you want to submit logs?
Too much effort when it is just a backup player and my main player works without issue. I'm the type who resents having to fill the dishwasher :)
 
I've not used my Vero for that as that's what my Roku SS+ is for. I assume it'd be through a Kodi app though. There's some discussion on the OSMC forum about this. I may give it a try at some point.
Right, a Roku SS might be enough for my YT needs until I’ve ripped my movies.

And the SS actually handle 23.976, 24, 25, 29.997, 30, 50, 59.94 and 60p YouTube content through framerate switching?
 
Right, a Roku SS might be enough for my YT needs until I’ve ripped my movies.

And the SS actually handle 23.976, 24, 25, 29.997, 30, 50, 59.94 and 60p YouTube content through framerate switching?
I'm not sure about every one of those frame rate (NicholasB mentioned it can't handle 23.976 in his review) but it does 24/25/30/50/60 OK for me. I'll verify them again over the weekend and let you know.
 
I'm not sure about every one of those frame rate (NicholasB mentioned it can't handle 23.976 in his review) but it does 24/25/30/50/60 OK for me. I'll verify them again over the weekend and let you know.
Thx, I guess most stuff on YT is 25/50 or 30/60p anyhow.
 
And the SS actually handle 23.976, 24, 25, 29.997, 30, 50, 59.94 and 60p YouTube content through framerate switching?
No. The Streaming Stick+ has a weird limitation that it can output 59.94Hz but not 60Hz; and it can output 24Hz but not 23.976Hz. That sometimes leads to frames being skipped or doubled.

Now if I could find a blu-Ray ripper with better than real-time speed...
I'd have thought most desktop PC optical drives would be able to do better than that; even the average portable blu ray drive runs at double speed.

So, how does [the Vero 4K+] support YT? Through a plug-in in Kodi or a separate app?
Through a Kodi plug-in. The UI is a bit clunky, but as I said, you can locate a file on your phone and then trigger the Vero to play it remotely, so the UI isn't all that important once everything is configured properly.

A vero4k+ is £119
A Zappiti mini 4K can be had for £225

I guess it depends how much you value being able to play all the formats or how much you mind having to “ just ssh into the command line “ when something inevitably breaks in the monthly updates. Reliability has value to many people.
The Vero is a bit over-priced for what it is. Draw your own conclusions about the Zappiti. :)

The point about stability is a valid one, but the Vero is beginning to settle down a bit now. It's certainly not the case that something breaks every month, and when something does break, it's generally because they're extending the player's capabilities beyond what they previously were. At the moment, for example, there's some work being done on providing pass-through of 720x480 or 720x576 video (i.e. unscaled output that doesn't mess up the aspect ratio); that's not even an option on (say) the Nvidia Shield TV, and I'm confident it'll all be working nicely quite soon. 4K HDR playback on YouTube is also likely to come soon. There's a good chance we'll get HLG/HDR playback on iPlayer at some point. And there's even been some movement on frame-packed 3D, too. Give it a few more months. :)

As I said, I'm not personally familiar with Zappiti, but am I correct in thinking that they don't run Kodi, they use their own proprietary front-end instead? That's good in a way; but Kodi does also allow an enormous number of additional things you can do by way of third-party add-ons: things like management of NAS behaviour, automatic control of Philips Hue lighting systems, acting as a front-end for Freesat or Freeview tuners, running an onboard bittorrent client, and a hundred other things. If none of that matters to you, that's absolutely fine, but it matters to some people.
 
I think you have to factor the continued software support for the Vero into the price too (5 years). I can't think of many manufacturers that support their products with software that long.
Also it's £101.10 at the moment from their store.
If you compare the price against other lesser sticks and streamers then I can see what you mean, but it had been totally worth the cost for me. I don't feel I would have got the same features that I needed from those other devices.
The Zapitti is just too expensive for me for what I would use it for, which is a shame as I'd like to give it a go as many people like that too.
 
I think you have to factor the continued software support for the Vero into the price too (5 years). I can't think of many manufacturers that support their products with software that long.
Also it's £101.10 at the moment from their store.
If you compare the price against other lesser sticks and streamers then I can see what you mean, but it had been totally worth the cost for me. I don't feel I would have got the same features that I needed from those other devices.
The Zapitti is just too expensive for me for what I would use it for, which is a shame as I'd like to give it a go as many people like that too.
That’s Oppo-level :) ! I’m beginning to think that someone should jail-break the 203 and create a Plex-like interface for it...
 
The point about stability is a valid one, but the Vero is beginning to settle down a bit now. It's certainly not the case that something breaks every month, and when something does break, it's generally because they're extending the player's capabilities beyond what they previously were. At the moment, for example, there's some work being done on providing pass-through of 720x480 or 720x576 video (i.e. unscaled output that doesn't mess up the aspect ratio); that's not even an option on (say) the Nvidia Shield TV, and I'm confident it'll all be working nicely quite soon. 4K HDR playback on YouTube is also likely to come soon. There's a good chance we'll get HLG/HDR playback on iPlayer at some point. And there's even been some movement on frame-packed 3D, too. Give it a few more months.


The thing is it was actually pretty stable for me for maybe 10 months, and then i have had issues with that last two updates in May and then again in June. Both times have have required me to do a hard reinstall of previous versions of OSMC.

I'm not even using it for some of 'newer' features - just playing my 1080p blu ray rips.

As its an appliance that sits there and is used by the household its actually pretty frustrating when it auto updates and no longer works - and spending my free time flashing USB sticks, reinstalling software and restoring library details is something I resent and personally would rather have paid an extra £100 more for a reliable 'appliance' - Completely appreciate that's not the same for everyone and its also got quite a large hobbyist following.
 

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