I’ve had my mecool m8s pro 3gb 32gb s912 box for around 2/3 years now and i think it’s time to upgrade. I mainly use it for locally stored 4K and 1080p remux files and some iptv, my sound system is 5.1 through hdmi arc… Is there a difference in picture quality between firstly s912 and s922x and secondly the n2 vs King? And sound quality? And finally what’s the benefits of the more expensive and seemingly more popular N2 vs the GT-king… I have no need for android so it would be solely used for CE.
What do you all recommend I purchase? Budget is limited but could stretch to the N2 if the benefits are worth it.
Thanks for taking the time to read and hopefully reply!
With the GT-King costing $120+ and the N2 at $79 for the 4GB version, I don’t see how the N2 is the more expensive device.
with HDMI passthrough, there won’t be any audio quality difference.
Image quality is likely to be identical with the N2 and GT-King, since they have the same SoC. Note that the GT-King is not supported by CE yet, while the N2 is already well supported.
Not sure how the S912 would compare, but I noticed an improvement in picture quality with the N2 compared to my S905X box.
Thanks for taking the time to reply, I’m in the uk and to order the king from dh gate or AliExpress it’s £84 for the 4gb/64gb version delivered and the N2 from odroid.co.uk works out £154 with a case and 64gb. Is odroid the right place to order from or can it be found cheaper elsewhere with delivery to uk? I’ve attached a couple of screenshots of how I specced the N2 to be what i understand to be the same as the king?
You don’t need 64GB eMMC for CE. 16GB is far from enough.
Fyi “far from enough” means not enough. I think you meant “More than enough”
€120 or £107 for a complete N2 pack
https://www.odroid.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=886&search=n2
However for me long term reliability is the concern and the Beelink is going to run hot hot hot = unreliable. Again, for me its no big deal to butcher the beelink and add the heatsink and fan it so desperately needs - but is that an appealing prospect for you ?
Shoog
Using my king box as a media player, it plays all my media, including UHD rips, and never gets past 55 degrees Centigrade.
Of course, using King as a media player under Android, still misses some main components, like the HD audio. But, it does not get hot.
Prices really vary depending on where you are. Here in Canada GB seems to have the best GT-King for around $150 where as the N2 cost me about $160 with the 16g emm module.
Strictly speaking about running linux with something like Kodi as the Mediacenter i think the N2 is probably the better video wise as well based on manufacturing maturity and community support i think it has a slight edge as well,
Obviously the newer S922 should blow the older S912 out but sadly because they are both pretty much crippled at the Graphix Stack and subject to similar issues so unless money is a issue the newer S922 is probably the better pick.As well i can see the S922 and its G51 being in a better position then the Mali T8xx based boards while people work towards open source solutions via the lima and panfrost projects. the G51 being newer on boxes with newer Android versions could at least benefit from borrowing the newer blobs that could be wrapped to create solutions similar to whats currently being used in the public sources for the S912 devices.
At this point in the game i would agree with what Shoog also said as for long term reliability goes.
Even tho the GT-King got me bigger storage and was about 10 bux cheaper I would still buy the N2 over it.
Things change all the time tho.
I’m using a 16gb eMMC with my N2 and it’s more than adequate. My media is all stored on the network. At some point I’ll want local media storage to run a local TVHeadend server and plan to go with a USB flash stick or USB SSD on that.
I think in general it’s best to use the eMMC just for the OS and apps then use something more cost effective for bulk storage. The base system is pretty efficient in terms of disk space (around a half gigabyte) so you don’t need to spend a huge amount for the eMMC.
I have some box with processors (S905D)
Current temperature 67 degrees.
My parents and tropical, I do not use cooler, I have not changed heatsink, no changes have been made in the box and it works perfectly.
I have a KI Plus that works perfectly for 3 years.
I have a KI Pro that works perfectly almost 2 years.
I’ve never had problems with latches on the screen.
It has no slowness.
It has no locks.
Com objetivo DVB-S2.
Well I mean the GT-king is a good option, seeing from my point of view.
Yes you’re right!
Have you tried something SW decoded? Like using MX player and switching to sw? It runs hot, I can assure you.
I’ve modified my s912 with a heatsink and 5v hardwired fan, it’s overclocked and I’ve never seen the temp rise above 50•. it doesn’t look pretty tho so I’m not sure I’d be so willing to modify the gt-king as the case and rgb eyes look quite good imo… does the gt-king come with no heat sink at all from factory?
It comes with a similar cooling solution to most of the other tv boxes I’ve seen.
Small shim on the SoC, very thick thermal pad and a block of metal to act as a heatsink. It’s not good, it’s not even adequate.
I have the same arrangement on my VIM2 S912 and it keeps things to between 50-60C most of the time. mine is optimized for speed and performance in every way.
On the gt-king it seems to have a heat spreader over the bottom, but in a sealed case and on such a small scale it can’t be doing much. However it means you could cut a hole in the base, glue on an extra hunk of Aluminium heatsink and then screw on a fan with feet at about the size of the case leaving the top plate totally unaffected. Wouldn’t look to bad at all.
Shoog
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We must take into account that one is the opposite of the other.
Odroid N2 is a dev card not a tv box … no case, DRM L1, no remote control, no pre-configured android, no EMMC storage (SDcards a slooow), no WIFI or BT … and import taxes + freight + extras. It’s a different option.
I think for anyone based outside of America the gt-king represents best value for money as a media player - but on the one proviso that the inherent thermal design flaw is addressed.
Shoog
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I can also have a 1500 watt heater blowing on it to see if it gets hot… But EVERYTHING I have played (many hours), the temp has never gone over 55 C. My temp shows as an overlay at the top of the screen…
I am sure I could RUN something to cause it to run hot, but why??? I just use it as a media player… and it does that well, not perfect, but well.
“On the gt-king it seems to have a heat spreader over the bottom”
What do you mean?
I can’t see anything on the bottom just the bare pcb.
When I looked at pictures I thought I saw a metal plate across the bottom.
Shoog