NVidia Shield As Kodi Box

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Hi

Just wanted to put this one forward for anyone looking for a new Kodi Box..

Have been using Kodi/XBMC since its inital launch and have gone thru many boxes, from the orignal XBox1, upwards..

For the last couple of years I have settled on a HP N54L Microserver with a 1080p video card for storage and playback

Great reliable box, but showing its age with latest H265 and high bandwidth codecs.

Tried a few of the andriod boxes but all seemed lacking

Last week picked up an NVidia Shield Box, and was amazed how well it handles Kodi, All the HD Audio Streams play, H265 no issue, Bluray 3D, everything smooth as silk

Also totally silent so great in the media room, all from a £149 box the size of a small paperback book

Honestly if you are looking for a small box that is silent and plays everything this thing is worth a look..
 
I'm curious.
Is Kodi already installed or do you have to side load it in some way, and is it the full fat version of Kodi or a watered down version in the same way as Openelec?
Also, do you know if you can install steam and the steam add-on in Kodi?
 
Kodi can be downloaded from the Play store. It can't currently bitstream HD audio on the Shield. It's being worked on, but latest eta is v17.

Btw, why is Openelec watered down compared to Kodi - it's just Kodi in a minimal OS?
 
Btw, why is Openelec watered down compared to Kodi - it's just Kodi in a minimal OS?
By watered down I mean limited vs the Windows version in terms of available add ons, supported skins and therefore customisation.
 
Ah, didn't realise that thanks - haven't come across anything that wouldn't work on OE. I know "custom builds" aren't available but goodness knows why anyone would ever install one.
 
I know "custom builds" aren't available but goodness knows why anyone would ever install one.
Because it's fun for sad geeks like me to add short cuts and tailor the UI to my required spec.
 
I do that too lol. I meant the ones available pre-built, full of piracy addons and bloated rubbish.
 
Anything that can run on Kodi can run on OpenElec as it is Kodi.

Now you might have a problem with some skins due to hardware, like the origional Pi, but that has nothing to do with OpenElec.

If you took an i5 PC and installed OpenElec on it it would preform better than Kodi does on windows as its not using system resourses to run windows.
 
Anything that can run on Kodi can run on OpenElec as it is Kodi.
Not True.
Taken from OpenELEC FAQ - OpenELEC
What is the relationship between OpenELEC and Kodi?
Shortcut: #OpenELEC and Kodi
OpenELEC and Kodi are two different open source projects. Whilst there is some staff overlap and a good relationship between the projects they are discrete.
 
Not True.
Taken from OpenELEC FAQ - OpenELEC
What is the relationship between OpenELEC and Kodi?
Shortcut: #OpenELEC and Kodi
OpenELEC and Kodi are two different open source projects. Whilst there is some staff overlap and a good relationship between the projects they are discrete.


Technically you are correct, but please show use where it says that openelec is watered down or will not run everything that Kodi will??

The only thing that I can think of is the netflix addon, and that is because it require silverlight and the addon breaks the Kodi addon specs to provide support and uses resourses from outside kodi.

The main reason that they are classed as different projects, is that OpenElec has its own unofficial Repo, which has addons that are installed to the enitired system but not dirrectly to Kodi, these include things like TVHeadend and need to a Linux envioment to work. As this repo is only available for OpenElec, it becomes a fork in the project.
 
OpenELEC isn't watered down Kodi. It's a Linux build with everything you don't need to run Kodi removed, that also boots straight into Kodi.
Like all Kodi platforms there are some skins that won't work and a couple of add ons here and there, but overall if you're using Kodi on Windows, Linux, Android, Mac or OpenELEC it's the same thing with the same add ons and repos.

The main difference with OpenELEC is that it uses much less resources so you don't need a powerful processor, a graphics card or a load or RAM.
 
That's my point.???

Well you put it poorly then. A couple of add ons here and there and not being able to use netflix is hardly watered down.
Is the Windows version watered down as it can't use some Kodi addons that are specific to Linux builds?
 
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I've wanted to get a Nvidia Shield to do this for a while. My main want was the game streaming, but as I'm only in a flat, I'm having a hard time justifying the need, as my PC is in the same room, albeit round the corner.
 
I've wanted to get a Nvidia Shield to do this for a while. My main want was the game streaming, but as I'm only in a flat, I'm having a hard time justifying the need, as my PC is in the same room, albeit round the corner.

Just so you're aware Kodi doesn't currently support HD audio properly. It does have passthrough for DTS / AC3 that IS working on my RX-V675 reciever but it's not supposed to be (non api compliant way according to devs). The latest nightly supports DTS-HD MA decoded as LPCM with a few audio glitches at the start but is fine after. When V17 hits at some point in Early 2016, it'll be a great player. Plex might even beat Kodi to the punch with HD audio.
 
Just so you're aware Kodi doesn't currently support HD audio properly.
Really?
Are you referring to a build of Kodi that only applies to Android or something as the Windows version I run supports full pass through of all HD audio codecs?
 
Really?
Are you referring to a build of Kodi that only applies to Android or something as the Windows version I run supports full pass through of all HD audio codecs?

Windows is a completely different platform and supports the passthrough of all the HD audio codecs. I'm referring to the android .apk builds that run on the SHIELD TV. SHIELD runs on Android, not Windows.

I'm referring to the latest nightly build that I flashed which was kodi-20151127-3a87b76-master-armeabi-v7a.apk

It can decode DTS-HD MA to LPCM (when you disable passthrough of DTS / AC3) but it cannot bitstream / passthrough all of the HD audio codecs yet. As Jarvis V16 is a feature freeze build, passthrough is coming at some point in V17 which is expected early next year like I said earlier.
 
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Last week picked up an NVidia Shield Box, and was amazed how well it handles Kodi, All the HD Audio Streams play, H265 no issue, Bluray 3D, everything smooth as silk

How did you manage to get the Bluray 3D ISO working?
 
Hi,

I currently have a rather expensively assembled AMD HTPC in my media room (massive overkill to be fair!). TV is a Panasonic 60ZT65 and speakers are Ken Kreisel Quattros. Amp and Processors by Nakamichi, although soon to be sold in favour of an all in 1 AVR.

I am getting annoyed with the constant windows update requests, amd driver updates and the fact that windows boots and then I have to navigate into Kodi.

Sooo, if I went for one of these nvidia boxes, will the picture quality be as good as my current HTPC? MKVs are 1:1 rips using MakeMKV. I of course want HD sound, but it appears there are work arounds to this, so not overly concerned.

Also, is the interface on Kodi the same as on a Windows PC, or is it dumbed down version like you see with Plex on the Roku boxes?

Any pointers would be great.
 
Assuming you are running Windows 8.1 or 10, you can easily set it up to boot straight into Kodi on startup.
Here's how Easy way to start XBMC when Windows 8.1 starts
I run an Intel NUC with Windows 10 in this way and and all updates seamlessly run automatically in the background and Kodi launches automatically too.
Alternatively running Openelec on your HTPC would be an ideal solution. Both the above options fully support bit streaming of all HD audio codecs which the NVidia doesn't according to previous posts on this thread.
 
Just to add you can try Openelec on your htpc by running it from a USB stick. That way it leaves your Windows installation untouched.

Sooo, if I went for one of these nvidia boxes, will the picture quality be as good as my current HTPC?
Yes.

Also, is the interface on Kodi the same as on a Windows PC
Yes.
 
Thanks Steve and Tony. Steve that is a decent setup you have there! I just think that the HTPC I have is a bit wasted as just a streamer (I have a pretty crummy remote control as well which makes it a bit annoying to navigate Kodi). I can use the PC in my study so would not go to waste.

You are right, the HD audio codecs are a worry, but it seems there are work arounds for this at the moment and hopefully full support will be provided in the not too distant future. I think I may give it a go and see where I get. If I end up preferring my HTPC I can always relegate it into the lounge!
 
Thanks guys, reckon I will give it a go. The other reason for relegating the HTPC from my attic room is that it seems to transmit noise from the CPU through to the speakers (an electrical interference sort of thing!)
 

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