Want to upgrade to 4K - CoreElec

[100TB]

I currently own a Amlogic S905X2 box. I installed CoreElec on it and have version 9.2.5 … I know its old, but it works flawlessly with exception to no 4K support. When i bought the box it said it had 4K, but when i try and play in 4K, screen goes blank.

I have a 4K tv, and i really want my 4K support. I have 2 questions.

1. Does a newer version of CoreElec support 4K on my current board? If so, what version should i install and is it stable?
2. If not, I want to upgrade to a box that will support 4K HDR be stable and support CoreElec. - And not be overly priced… Want to keep the price around 100 bucks… Chinese box etc…

Thanks ahead of time…

[kris007]

try 19.2-Matrix (Stable)

[100TB]

@kris007

1

Can i do an update? or would i need to do a fresh image load…

[kris007]

I would install it cleanly …19.2-Matrix (Stable), for example, on another SD / USB device
or update to 9.2.8 (Legacy)

[100TB]

I have the H96Max. Which download should i do… I remember i needed the generic before. I saw an option for the H96max, but I know how finicky this stuff can be… Thanks for your help by the way…

[100TB]

Okay, i download and installed 19.2 and took me a bit longer to get my remote working again, but got that working, added one of my network drives back, and enabled 2160. Which works fine, but it does the exact same thing when i select a 4K video. The screen goes black, and the unit seems to seize up, and i have to power cycle.

So, i guess i need new hardware… What will WORK with 4K HDR?

[Vasco]

Please check with other HDMI cables, you would be surprised with how many problems are solv d this way. You can also enable Use 4:2:2 colour subsampling in settings->system->CoreELEC

[Compent]

4K support has been there for S905X2 for a long time, so it is not your box.

An older HDMI cable could well be the reason.

You give no information about your TV or hat 4K file you are using to test.

Logs may also assist in diagnosis.

[100TB]

Okay, well, after listening to you all, i started playing with things. It seems to work if I limit Colour depth to 8-bit. It appears to be an issue with my Yamaha RX-V681 receiver. If i bypass the receiver and go straight to the TV, then i have video… Problem with that, i have no audio because I’m bypassing my Receiver.

How bad is it to limit to 8-bit color depth? does that just effect 4k video or 1080 too?

The TV is a Vizio E75-E1

Ps, i swapped many HDMI cables.

[Sholander]

Looking at specifications for your TV I see that it has “Optical” audio output. With Box directly connected via HDMI to TV then you can connect your TV with an optical cable to Yamaha. If you then choose “Audio Passthrough” in Kodi you can get 5.1 DD(+), AAC.5.1 and DTS.5.1 sound. Maybe that suits your needs better than limiting colour depth to 8-bit.
If you “must have” 7.1 sound without limiting colour depth, then an appropriate HDMI splitter is your only option…

[Hash70]

a hdmi splitter like the I’ve got below is what you need

[boot2k3]

My receiver doesn’t support HDR and new LG TV doesn’t support DTS. So I couldn’t use eARC for all audio.
I use this audio extractor:

Now it could be used fully.
Only issue is CEC doesn’t work with receiver, as I only send audio to it.

[TheCoolest]

8-bit is not a great option. I’d say you should try with the 4:2:2 option.

[100TB]

Okay, this is the UNIT i bought. Looks exactly like the one Hash70 posted. (Thank you Hash70) I had to turn on the SCALE for hdmi2 for the AV receiver. Because it didn’t recognize the video, it also wouldn’t play the AUDIO. But, when i turned on the scale for HDMI2, it then brought up the 4K video as 1080 with full audio, but i watch the video through full 4K via HDMI1 direct to the Vizio TV at 4K HDR10.

Thank you everyone who took time to post here and give me valuable information that brought new LIFE to my old KODI box.

[Hash70]

glad you got it fixed