NEWS: Zappiti 4K HDR Players Announced

Looks promising. Spec wise it does everything I want but that price, ouch!

Just when I was getting over Zappiti on my Dune and enjoying Kodi...
 
Do they lock their OS down or can Kodi be installed on these?
 
Is there any info if the chipset will support Dolby Vision HDR?
Either way, looks like a winner to me. Pre-ordered!
 
The Zappiti UI is pretty functional. I have been using the older v2 as it works on my Dune and of course I still get full DB menus but the v4 UI should be a lot better even though Cinavia has screwed the BD menus up.

Of course compared to Kodi it is pretty dull, just does the basics right though and very stable. I'll be putting this on my shortlist I think.
 
Looks promising. Spec wise it does everything I want but that price, ouch!

Just when I was getting over Zappiti on my Dune and enjoying Kodi...


Hi Adam,

What made you move from using zappiti UI to Kodi?

I’m curious as whenever I do some brief online research I frequently see forum members reporting issues with frame rate or audio. The Dune seems to have a great reputation as a stable unit (no picture/audio issues) to playback contact from a NAS which is what I’m primarily looking for.

These new Zappiti units look like a decent alternative.

I discounted the Dune HD before as I think it is HDMI 1.4 but maybe Dune will release a HDMI 2.0 unit at CES in a few weeks.

Regards,
Stuart
 
Hi Adam,

What made you move from using zappiti UI to Kodi?

I’m curious as whenever I do some brief online research I frequently see forum members reporting issues with frame rate or audio. The Dune seems to have a great reputation as a stable unit (no picture/audio issues) to playback contact from a NAS which is what I’m primarily looking for.

These new Zappiti units look like a decent alternative.

I discounted the Dune HD before as I think it is HDMI 1.4 but maybe Dune will release a HDMI 2.0 unit at CES in a few weeks.

Regards,
Stuart

Hi Stuart,

The thing I like most about DuneHD/Zappiti is the fact you can playback BD menus or at least BD Lite, something you haven't been able to do for ages on newer hardware obviously. Zappiti is pretty resticted in customisation and skins and any plugins which makes it a stable but vanilla experience.

I really enjoyed the move to Kodi (I use a LibreELEC VM on my Server) but it is nowhere near as stable but generally it plays back everything I throw at it ok. I wanted to try Kodi as I was after a viable HDR player. My GFX card supports it so I am hoping Kodi will/does too. (I don't yet have a TV to try with). Most of all Kodi looks great (Mimic skin) and it is possible to customise it to your liking.

The big problem I have is my library. i have a lot of BDs ripped to ISO and Kodi either plays the longest playlist or gives you the choice of playlists and on obfuscated discs this is useless. Any TV series ISO also get really messed up with Kodi displaying 4 or 5 versions of each episode and you get to guess which one may or may not actually play back.

Remuxing several hundred ISOs and BD folders looks like my only choice if I want to move on as even Zappiti 4K HDR only supports BD-Lite/Playlists which unless I am missing something puts me in the same place I am now.

Kodi used with an external player may be an option but I have yet to look into it and I think the linux options are limited.

Adam
 
Hi Adam,

thanks for the detailed reply.

Sounds like a lot of work to get your content playing as expected using Kodi.
Would MKV material incur the same issue you describe above?
  • choice of playlists and on obfuscated discs
  • Kodi displaying 4 or 5 versions of each episode

I'll hold off buying a media player until CES announcements/product launches to see what the updated Nvidia shield looks like and a review(s) of these new Zappiti players.

Regards,
Stuart
 
mkv is quite a compatible format and you will not experience the issues mentioned with iso as long as the naming convention is correct.

the dune solo 4k can play full bluray iso and the built in my collection can scrape them but does not do tv series yet as it's only the second firmware with it included.

Yadis, my movies and zappiti work well with the dunes, I personally use yadis as it allow customised skins etc.

I want to see what the new mede8er has for show, I'm pretty certain it will be the same processor but there firmware is normally solid and reliable.

Thanks
 
What are Zappiti like for ongoing firmware support to their devices?

They don't seem to sell on Amazon anymore and there is only one UK reseller listed on their website. Where else can they be bought from?

I've priced a new Kodi HTPC at £350 so if the Mini is £250 that's quite a saving, smaller and either device would only be for movies.

Edit just seen the online store tucked away at the bottom of the Zapitti page so ordered myself a Mini. No free delivery on the mini like the other two models so 15 euros on top.
 
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We will be adding the HDR range to our portfolio early in the new year. Projected price for mini is currently under £250 Inc UK delivery. Need to check my calcs for exact price.
 
We will be adding the HDR range to our portfolio early in the new year. Projected price for mini is currently under £250 Inc UK delivery. Need to check my calcs for exact price.
Ricky I just paid £235 delivered for the Mini direct from Zappiti. Works out as just the same delivered price as the PCH A500.
 
Ricky I just paid £235 delivered for the Mini direct from Zappiti. Works out as just the same delivered price as the PCH A500.
Thanks. Looked at my working page, and we are aiming to be at around £219 via website, and £229 via Amazon, pending some last minute tweaks, so in the right ballpark:)
 
Question: Why are people buying this? What does it do that devices already available for half the price don't do? I'm struggling to see.
 
I'm a fan of the Shield. I've been running one of those but find SPMC annoying and the game controller irritating. I could never work it out and it's usually a last resort using this machine.

I've also been running the 4K Zappiti (non HDR) for close to 8 months. An excellent gadget which I've found to be far more reliable than the Nvidia Shield. More on par with the Mede8er which was excellent. Firmware updates have been regular and added to the experience. The remote control is very good though it's range wasn't quite as great. What's been missing is HDMI 2.0 support, HDR10 and BD lite.

The new units tick these boxes and have a better chipset so they should play everything thrown at it. The remote control has also been improved and control 4, Logitech and other control driver compatibility should make them easy to run. Add to that media control from an iPad. We should be getting our stock in early Jan.
 
Question: Why are people buying this? What does it do that devices already available for half the price don't do? I'm struggling to see.

I'm a fan of the Shield. I've been running one of those but find SPMC annoying and the game controller irritating. I could never work it out and it's usually a last resort using this machine.

I've also been running the 4K Zappiti (non HDR) for close to 8 months. An excellent gadget which I've found to be far more reliable than the Nvidia Shield. More on par with the Mede8er which was excellent. Firmware updates have been regular and added to the experience. The remote control is very good though it's range wasn't quite as great. What's been missing is HDMI 2.0 support, HDR10 and BD lite.

The new units tick these boxes and have a better chipset so they should play everything thrown at it. The remote control has also been improved and control 4, Logitech and other control driver compatibility should make them easy to run. Add to that media control from an iPad. We should be getting our stock in early Jan.
Also when paired with their NAS makes a good user friendly easy solution.
 
My Shield works perfectly. Works with my Sony Android tv remote but also with a multitude of cheap remotes and keyboards from Ebay/Amazon. I also use a backlit keyboard for entering text and for general use as well.
 
The connections on this thing seem unique. I've counted seven USB ports of which two are 3.0 and one the newer type C. In addition to the usual LAN there is also a WAN port but I've no idea how or why you would use that on a media player?

The AVS forum has raised some doubts as to whether this chipset supports forced PGS subtitles in MKV. The previous model didn't apparently but this one is spec'd to. No forced subs would be very bad indeed.
 
For that amount of money I would like something more but looking at the specs it's not adding anything new or different .
 
For that amount of money I would like something more but looking at the specs it's not adding anything new or different .
What else would you expect on a local file streamer? It has every modern audio and video standard apart from DV and that's just about irrelevant since there is no sign of a disc let alone a method of ripping it.

The Shield that you are enjoying so much was still giving me problems two months ago. I guess people pay this sort of money because they expect the Zappiti to work to specification. We shall soon see whether that is the case or not. Indications are good based on the predecessor model.

Meanwhile I'm watching a film on my WDTV until the new thing arrives. It is doing a good job as well for an ancient streamer.
 

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