Dedicated C4 Kodi Box

[TheCoolest]

I think what you mean is files that exceed 100Mbps peaks. The overall file size is not the most important thing in this regard.

[Artstar]

@lolight

It’s not obvious for newcomers what those Odroid boxes are, why they are so popular, how to get them, and what are those additional items, why they need them and what’s their purpose since they must be purchased as a package because Odroids are boards and not really “boxes” like every other self-contained product out there.

Yes, to that end, I blame the “Kodi box” sellers on eBay for creating that confusion. Very well, perhaps they can be called appliances.

The cheap complete boxes are everywhere, slickly advertised and readily available with free or a very minimum cost of shipping.

Yes, because they come from China, made very cheaply and in wasteful quantities so that the Chinese can later rebrand them as something else or just throw them out, knowing it cost them very little to produce.

A Hardkernel device, on the other hand, would cost you an arm and leg just for shipping costs if purchased directly from the manufacturer. Why don’t they offer cheaper shipping options? Why do they insist on using a fast but super expensive courier?

Really? Mine got posted from Korea to Australia at a cost of USD$25. It still worked out cheaper than buying from any local dealer.

Why a pathetic 30-day warranty?

Keeping the cost low means a sacrifice to warranty. Longer warranties are usually backed by higher initial selling cost in order to absorb any expense for warranty claims. All businesses factor this in when they work out the pricing for their products.

It seems they’re not really geared up for direct sales and instead are relying on their very few and exclusively contracted regional resellers that ship Odroid boxes locally (seems located in the U.S. and E.U. only) but charging even more than if purchased directly and still are frequently running out of stock for the most popular models.

That’s not the impression I get. Perhaps I got lucky with supply at the time but they are no doubt running with minimal overhead, so they’re not at risk of overproducing, overstocking and all the while, taking the final step in keeping that cost low by reducing the warranty period. At the price paid, it’s not something I would expect to have anything longer than even a three month warranty. If you are on a shoestring budget, I can respect that this is still not good enough to justify a purchase for some but I chose it because it is well-supported by the CoreElec team, the hardware has a solid history and the modular nature of it makes it a highly serviceable product. The eMMC is most likely to be the first component to die and since it’s a plug-in module, it means it’s cheap to replace. That equates to greater longevity of the core product thanks to this level of serviceability and general flexibility compared to the sealed/locked down appliances.

Anyway, each to their own. I’ve bought enough locked-down Android appliances and then gone to the extreme of using NUCs with plenty of balls to spare for longevity (though useless if 4K is desired), before coming across the Odroid N2+ which is way better value for money, particularly where 4K is involved.

So to an extent, you really do get what you pay for. I’m not here to demonstrate any brand loyalty. I’m simply offering my perspective through my few experiences over the last nine years of using/building these media players for myself and friends.

[Compent]

Warranties are not connected to cost because they cost absolutely nothing unless and until failures become present.

Ergo, a tiny warranty, that also bucks the trend of products sold in so many countries, can reasonably be seen as not having confidence in the quality of your product.

[lolight]

@Artstar

Anyway, each to their own. I’ve bought enough locked-down Android appliances and then gone to the extreme of using NUCs with plenty of balls to spare for longevity (though useless if 4K is desired), before coming across the Odroid N2+ which is way better value for money, particularly where 4K is involved.

I’m not really sure what your argument is all about.
I’d blame my English and lack of articulation on my part.
As I said before, HardKernel makes it unnecessarily difficult for a total noob to configure a complete box and then adds the unnecessarily expensive shipping method. An obvious option would be a complete “system”.
But they won’t bother.
I don’t think that DHL is the only carrier shipping out of S. Korea.
I’ve paid $30 U.S. shipping for a configured “appliance”.
I’m not sure about you, but very few people would be able to easily justify this kind of outrages shipping costs, considering the cost of the board itself is $66. And it’s not about penny pinching.
If HardKernel are satisfied with their market position and are not interested in competing and expanding their customer base among the Coreelec using community, then all power to them.
The only reason I’ve chosen to chime into this thread is to state an opinion on what I see as the clear-cut reasons on why so many people go with cheaper “Chinese junk”.
I did purchase the Odroid box myself and would recommend it to others.
But I totally understand why they’re not an easy choice for everyone.

But somehow my opinion is being considered not welcome here after posting my suggestion that Coreelec forums should make it easier for newcomers to familiarize themselves with Hardkernel’s complete “box” configurations and maybe creating a FAQ-like thread on what makes Hardkernel special.
Cause “there’s no generally recommended box.”
Understandable, but since they’re so popular here and widely recommended by the forum posters, why not make it just a little bit easier for noobs to figure out their advantages without throwing the “official” support behind them.
I’m sure plenty of experienced Odroid users would be able to easily create a centralized FAQ in the already existing Odroid N2/N2Plus/C4 section without tying it up to the official Corelec support policy.
But if it’s something that is still against the forum rules then maybe the mods should make it clear for everyone here and prevent posters from recommending Odroid,
since there’s no “officially” recommended box.

[Vasco]

Don’t overcomplicate this. We also have preferences and devices we like more. Odroid stuff in one of the main ones. Feel free to share your experience with it and you can contribute with the guide you’re referring. When we target the “crappy Chinese box” is to make people understand that “you won’t always get what you want” because each no name Chinese device “is like a box of chocolates,you never know what you’re gonna get”.

[lolight]

Great.
I’m glad we’re on the same page now.

[wangyu1314]

I agree with your point. I just need a simple TV box that can run coreelec. That is to say, I need a complete solution. I have no interest in building blocks. Besides, these blocks are very expensive.

[Shoog]

Odroid and other box sellers have attempted to offer Coreelec bundled packages, but it then become a considerable chore for them to keep pace with the rapid development of the CE software. Things quickly fall out of step and run into problems. Its really not worth the effort for the manufacturers and ends up causing bad feelings all round.
Better for HK to simply release the product and let the like of CE deal with telling the user how to run their software - its really not that tricky even for a noob to get a HK board up and running.

However it can be a real pain in the arse to load CE onto an “Android Box” where it was never intended to run. You take your chances but there is a very real possibility that you will brick your cheap android box trying to get CE onto it. CE is not difficult even for a noob, but there is a steep learning cure and if you haven’t got a technical mindset it would be easier for you to stick to Android and run the inferior version of Kodi it offers.

Shoog

[Sholander]

@lolight

The only reason I’ve chosen to chime into this thread is to state an opinion on what I see as the clear-cut reasons on why so many people go with cheaper “Chinese junk”.
I did purchase the Odroid box myself and would recommend it to others.
But I totally understand why they’re not an easy choice for everyone.

But somehow my opinion is being considered not welcome here after posting my suggestion that Coreelec forums should make it easier for newcomers to familiarize themselves with Hardkernel’s complete “box” configurations and maybe creating a FAQ-like thread on what makes Hardkernel special.
Cause “there’s no generally recommended box.”

You are mixing DIY SBC (Odroid products) with Android BOXES. They are intended for different use and users. Take some time and read what are SBC boards intended for, and soon you’ll realise how it differers from usage of an Android BOX.
Since NO Android BOX is made intended for running CoreElec, there cannot be any recommendation for “best box for CE”. Another reason is different manufacturers use the same name for boxes with different hardware installed, and then the fun begins…

[lolight]

I agree with your statement that CE is not too difficult to install, even for a noob.
The Coreelec team did a great job explaining the process in the install How To.
My only point was that the everyone’s favorite Hardkernel N2+/C4 duo adds some nontrivial configuration decisions that one needs to be aware of.
e.g. what are and the purpose of eMMC module and eMMC module writer and how to use them).
There are also certain unique to Hardkernel’s N2+/C4 only Coreelec installation steps, though simple if one’s aware of, but that are not easy to find about since there’s no single place on either the forum nor the installation page for a newcomer to see prior to making a purchase.

[lolight]

OK, I’m mixing SBC’s and Android boxes.
And…
I don’t quite understand your point and simply don’t really care what is really their intention.
I’m only interested in running Coreelec on either of them, which I do.
As a non-techie and an admitted noob, I’ve purchased several Android boxes, from different brands, thrown Coreelec on them in a few simple steps, thanks to the excellent installation guide, and was done, all within minutes.
The Odroid N2+ was quite different, not from the point of usage, but from the simple lack of info on where even to start and what to buy since they’re SBC’s.
I’ve seen a while back the Coreelec N2 edition selling straight from HardKernel.
And even now it’s available from Odroid UK.
btw, all I needed just a simple guide, preferably on the already existing Coreelec installation page, that would tell me that, hey, since Odroid units are SBC’s, then I need to purchase two additional items (along with the case) and then follow these specific and still simple installation steps.
That’s all.
Instead I had to search through forums trying to make sense of these extra items and steps.
I mean, for a basic Coreelec user, that’s all that required.
It still puzzles me why the above-mentioned info needs to be searched for among many different threads.

[Portisch]

That’s true and can’t be expected for all users to know such details.
But I see this more a issue from the (online) shops. There a link to (maybe) required accessories need to be placed. But like with this example you will not need a eMMC modul at all as you can just use a uSD card to start up the device.

We have some other supporter also providing SBC like Kahads VIMs or Banana Pi M5 (like C4 but with eMMC on board) or M2Pro. There you have a different hardware configuration as well but still the possibility to miss to order a case for the SBC.

I agree with the vendors not selling SBC bundles with CoreELEC preinstalled as it’s a support issue. Users will blame the vendors for issues but they have no control about the software part. So the users are forwarded to CoreELEC. And here we run into another issue as we have no control what the vendor do install on his device. Good example are the Khadas krescue images. We have no idea about it as a single user at Khadas “hacked” dual boot system together what can or better is causing issues for users.

So easiest for both sides is to provide only the software they have the hand on and tell the users to make a sub system install by them self. This would help both sides and the users wont be moved from one support end to another one.

[lolight]

Thank you for the explanation.
It now started to make sense to me.
I wasn’t aware of those complexities.

[Tim_Taylor]

@lolight

The Odroid N2+ was quite different

Sure ?
First I bought some cheap Android Boxes and there was a little fight to install another OS like CE.
Then I bought the N2, prepared a SD card, inserted it and the installation was easy doing.
Installing to EMMC card is easy like this.

I will never buy any of this Android boxes, because I don´t want to waste my time

[lolight]

@Tim_Taylor

Sure ?

Yes, very much sure.
Never had any problems with installs on my Beelink and Tanix boxes using the toothpick method (both are s905x on Android 6). Took literally minutes.

[Richdem]

Hi All,

I originally posted the question. I have had my Khadas VIM3L for about a month now and I love it. The reason I went with the Khadas was the onboard storage & WiFi (Although I have it connected via ethernet) The kit came with everything assembled in a nice case with a remote. It works flawlessly running CoreElec off the internal storage (I did try a microSD card as well) I have seen no heat issues and the passive cooling works very well. 4K content streams perfectly and I have added shared pictures from my NAS and there is zero delay when loading images.

All in all I am very happy. I might pick up a C4 for our bedroom, I would like to have a play with that. I would never buy a cheap chinese box from Amazon again(If I want there is an Android image for this device which I did play around with but just love CoreElec)