futeko.com FORUM
Product Support => HiMedia H8 => Topic started by: langostino on October 20, 2015, 08:16:28 AM
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I don't know if buy Himedia H8, Zidoo X6 or Himedia Q5. Can you help me to decide?
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I don't know if buy Himedia H8, Zidoo X6 or Himedia Q5. Can you help me to decide?
HiMedia Q5 has a wrapper which allows you to play the video on a separate video player even if you launch it from XMBC/Kodi.
That's the basic difference.
HiMedia H8 uses Kodi (with 7.1 HD audio passthrough) directly, without a wrapper calling the external app.
And no, H8 will NOT receive a wrapper any time soon.
I would personally chose Himedia H8 because that would allow me to use Kodi with 7.1 HD passthrough and also the Media Player with 7.1 HD passthrough.
Seems like Kodi 7.1 HD passthrough is unstable, but it seems like it will be stable in the following weeks/months.
So if you want something that works perfectly after applying a firmware update and installing the wrapper, buy Q5.
If you want a product that will be more solid in the near future, buy H8.
H8 has better hardware specs.
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H8 is more powerful and has the advantage of features being implemented in native Kodi (no wrapper). Compared to the Q5 however it currently lacks 3D-ISO in Kodi, 7.1 HD-Audio has some bugs, it lacks Hicontrol, Samba server, PVR in Kodi. Most/all of these will be fixed/added in future in firmware updates.
Q5 has working 3D-ISO, 7.1 Audio in Kodi via wrapper and has a year of firmware updates behind it so has few/no bugs. On the hardware side Q5 has S/PDIF coaxial audio, external SATA, front LCD, power button. H8 has none of these. The other big thing that Q5 has over H8 is better picture quality. This is likely to always be the case, the Q5 chipset was developed specifically for video playback whereas the H8 chipset is more general purpose.
Zidoo X6 is the same internal hardware as H8. Some people would say current firmware is better but this is unlikely to be the case for long. Himedia are bigger company and have better development resources. Also, Zidoo changes to Kodi are open source so can be replicated easily.
In my opinion (and we have an X6 here) Zidoo X6 has a fundamental problem in it's hardware design. It's casing is very small and made of cheap plastic. Many reviews online have noticed performance drops over time or when the device is pushed. This is due to overheating and CPU throttling, the casing provides insufficient cooling for the RK3368 chipset. Decoding high bitrate video is one of the most intensive things a chipset can do, so a media box will be pushed to it's limits regularly and for extended periods of time. Himedia H8 has a larger all aluminium casing and a big heatsink, which are much better for keeping the chip cool. H8 casing also looks a lot better aesthetically. See photos below.
(http://www.futeko.com/simg/q5h8x6back.jpg)
(http://www.futeko.com/simg/q5h8x6bpcb2.jpg)
(http://www.futeko.com/simg/q5h8x6side.jpg)
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If you want something that works "out of the box" today with Atmos, DTS-HD, 3D iso. then go for the Q5
If you're happy to wait a while for future updates for a better end product, Something that runs better, smoother and is compatible with future hardware such as 4k, HDMI 2.0 etc.. then go for the H8
I can't comment on the Ziddon as i don't have any experience of it.. But in my research before buying was of the opinion that the H8 was the way to go...
Mort...
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LOL~~~~~
Toshiba MLC eMMC,H8 have?
802.11ac 433M 2.4G/5G,H8 have?
Bluetooth, H8 have?
1000M Ethernet,H8 have?
Does this call better hardware? come on!Only the cost of the WIFI module is more expensive than the H8 5USD.
According to your opinion, ZIDOO should not be open source?Don't you know your kodi version for H8 based on zidoo open source??
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Mirror 88,
I would be nice if you mentioned that you are working for Zidoo.
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Yes,I am
As you can see, I doesn't change ID
I don't want to say anything.I understand here is HiMedia turf
But here is an obvious misleading.
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Yes,I am
As you can see, I doesn't change ID
I don't want to say anything.I understand here is HiMedia turf
But here is an obvious misleading.
I am making one simple point.
Zidoo X6 has a much smaller heatsink, much smaller case, and a plastic case vs aluminium for H8.
Several reviews have noted Zidoo X6 CPU throttling, which is a result of overheating.
Overheating will result in degraded performance and hardware problems over time.
I don't want to get into a forum war about it. There are some good things about Zidoo X6, the effort going into software development being the main one.
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To be fair, as I have both Q5 and X6, after using for 2 hours, Q5 runs quite a bit hotter. I'm not seeing performance degraded in either Q5 or X6 up to 3 hours. Haven't used longer than that yet in one sitting. But, H8, which I don't have yet, looks to have better internal design vs. rest.
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To be fair, as I have both Q5 and X6, after using for 2 hours, Q5 runs quite a bit hotter. I'm not seeing performance degraded in either Q5 or X6 up to 3 hours. Haven't used longer than that yet in one sitting. But, H8, which I don't have yet, looks to have better internal design vs. rest.
Q5 has an aluminium shell, which is designed to act like a heatsink. It's designed to get warm.
When you get H8 if possible please test heat and performance over time under heavy load. It will help put this argument to bed.
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I expect no heat-related issues with H8. With Q5, I recall someone had done a temperature check & posted Q5 getting to around 60+ degrees Celsius, and the aluminum casing does get very hot, but if it's designed for that, no worries I guess. Like I noted, I didn't notice any performance issues after 2-3 hours of sustained use.
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Hi,and greetings from Bulgaria.I am interested in getting H8 or Q10.I will play 95% of the time mkv files h.264 or h.265.Also 3D mvk files.I have Sony DAV-DZ260 with only optical in,so my only interest is DD 5.1 and DTS.Will both of product play dts and DD 5.1 from optical out?
Which one of these should i choose? My tv-Panasonik AX-750,so 4k playback will be fine to have.
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No one??
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Hi,and greetings from Bulgaria.I am interested in getting H8 or Q10.I will play 95% of the time mkv files h.264 or h.265.Also 3D mvk files.I have Sony DAV-DZ260 with only optical in,so my only interest is DD 5.1 and DTS.Will both of product play dts and DD 5.1 from optical out?
Which one of these should i choose? My tv-Panasonik AX-750,so 4k playback will be fine to have.
Sorry, missed your post yesterday.
3D MKV isn't supported on either Q10 or H8. You'll need to convert it to ISO. See here: http://www.futeko.com/newforum/index.php?topic=158.0 Once it's in ISO format then either Q10 or H8 will play it using Himediaplayer (Himedia's Android video player). Himediaplayer is better at the moment on Q10, more format support and better subtitle support. Q10 will play 3D from Kodi using a wrapper solution (calling Himediaplayer from Kodi). H8 will play 3D ISO as SBS 3D now and should soon have full native MVC 3D ISO support in Kodi.
Both Q10 and H8 will play 5.1 audio via TOSLINK optical out.
Both play 4K. Q10 max 4K30, H8 4K60.
My advice would be to go for Q10 (or Q5) if you want something where everything works now. It doesn't sound like you're going to need the extra raw power of the H8.
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Ok it is a difficult to chose right one :)Let me give you file info.Name:..............................3D.half.OU.BDRip.1080p.x264.DTS.mkv
Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 4 / Version 2
File size : 11.6 GiB
Duration : 1h 41mn
Overall bit rate : 16.3 Mbps
Movie name : ..................................... 3D
Encoded date : UTC 2015-04-24 00:16:45
Writing application : mkvmerge v7.8.0 ('River Man') 64bit built on Mar 27 2015 16:31:37
Writing library : libebml v1.3.1 + libmatroska v1.4.2
DATE_ENCODED : 2015-04-23
DURATION : 01:40:55.007000000
NUMBER_OF_FRAMES : 1530
NUMBER_OF_BYTES : 19856421
_STATISTICS_WRITING_APP : mkvmerge v7.8.0 ('River Man') 64bit built on Mar 27 2015 16:31:37
_STATISTICS_WRITING_DATE_UTC : 2015-04-24 00:16:45
_STATISTICS_TAGS : BPS DURATION NUMBER_OF_FRAMES NUMBER_OF_BYTES
Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.1
MultiView_Count : 2
MultiView_Layout : Top-Bottom (left eye first)
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 1h 41mn
Bit rate : 13.8 Mbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.278
Stream size : 9.86 GiB (85%)
Title : BDRip
Writing library : x264 core 138 r2358 9e941d1
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=4 / deblock=1:-3:-3 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=32 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=12 / lookahead_threads=2 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=9 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=60 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=15.5 / qcomp=0.70 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=40000 / vbv_bufsize=30000 / crf_max=0.0 / nal_hrd=none / frame-packing=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:0.70
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No
DURATION : 01:41:59.781000000
NUMBER_OF_FRAMES : 146728
NUMBER_OF_BYTES : 10772074198
_STATISTICS_WRITING_APP : mkvmerge v7.8.0 ('River Man') 64bit built on Mar 27 2015 16:31:37
_STATISTICS_WRITING_DATE_UTC : 2015-04-24 00:16:45
_STATISTICS_TAGS : BPS DURATION NUMBER_OF_FRAMES NUMBER_OF_BYTES
Will i be able to play this on any Himedia device?Most of the movies will be something like this.Sorry,but i am not familiar with most of info :-[
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No, you'd need to convert it to ISO.
It's quite easy to do and is explained more in the thread I linked to in my earlier post.
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Thank you very much.My only solution than is to wait .Too bad.
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This thread on Kodi forum is excellent if you're looking for info on 3D Kodi player options: http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=221407&page=82
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Hi bore,
your example file
MultiView_Layout : Top-Bottom (left eye first)
Format profile : High@L4.1
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
is "only" a Standard Full-HD MKV file, it is not a frame-packet 3D MVC-MKV file. So you loose 50% from the vertical resolution.
The file name is "...3D.half.OU..." and if the file is MVC you should get something like:
Format-Profil : Stereo High@L4.1 / High@L4.1
Your example should be playable with the Q10 and H8 and nearly every halfway modern media player. Your TV set has to support the Top-Bottom 3D format!
The only actual problem with the H8 is that 23.976 fps is missing in the firmware, but futeko promised that Himedia is working on that topic.
@futeko.com: Am I wrong?
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You're correct. My fault for jumping to the conclusion that MKV 3D meant full-res MKV 3D.
You can play all top/bottom or SBS 3D on Q5/Q10 and H8.
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Futeko closed my previous thread about HiMedia H8 with 5Ghz as I was comparing Zidoo which does has 5Ghz.
in my house 5Ghz ***DOES*** make a difference.
Is there a reason why questions like mine are never responded?
Before I buy HiMedia H8, may I know if there are any plans to have 5Ghz?
It's frustrating how Futeko says '5Ghz is not necessarily better than 4Ghz'
that's not the point, the point is since it DOES make a difference (the reason why I have returned other Android TV Boxes has been the slow 2.4 Ghz speed and buffering, Zidoo solves that problem with 5Ghz speed), are there plans to introduce a HiMedia H8 chipset (since it has custom Kodi with all the codecs) but with 5Ghz??
please Futeko, I need a yes or no answer.
help your customers, don't confuse them with "is that really what you need?"
just answer the questions please don't try to hide the problems with discussions.
If I buy HiMedia I need to spend around $100 hiring a professional that can wire Ethernet CAT 6 so it doesn't buffer upstairs.
So I want to know if there are plans for 5Ghz.
I don't want to argue if Zidoo is cheap, I have it and I think it's such a powerful little box.
However I do like the idea of having a HiMedia box since I like the bigger box because of the remote.
That's all.
please answe and don't close the thread
Thanks!!
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Futeko closed my previous thread about HiMedia H8 with 5Ghz as I was comparing Zidoo which does has 5Ghz.
in my house 5Ghz ***DOES*** make a difference.
Is there a reason why questions like mine are never responded?
Before I buy HiMedia H8, may I know if there are any plans to have 5Ghz?
It's frustrating how Futeko says '5Ghz is not necessarily better than 4Ghz'
that's not the point, the point is since it DOES make a difference (the reason why I have returned other Android TV Boxes has been the slow 2.4 Ghz speed and buffering, Zidoo solves that problem with 5Ghz speed), are there plans to introduce a HiMedia H8 chipset (since it has custom Kodi with all the codecs) but with 5Ghz??
please Futeko, I need a yes or no answer.
help your customers, don't confuse them with "is that really what you need?"
just answer the questions please don't try to hide the problems with discussions.
If I buy HiMedia I need to spend around $100 hiring a professional that can wire Ethernet CAT 6 so it doesn't buffer upstairs.
So I want to know if there are plans for 5Ghz.
I don't want to argue if Zidoo is cheap, I have it and I think it's such a powerful little box.
However I do like the idea of having a HiMedia box since I like the bigger box because of the remote.
That's all.
please answe and don't close the thread
Thanks!!
I locked the thread because there is already a Zidoo vs Himedia thread. I also asked you to post any more Zidoo vs Himedia type posts in that thread..
This thread will therefore be merged into the existing one, as will any more. I would now ask you to stop posting Zidoo vs Himedia posts. This is a support form for Himedia products, not a general 'what to buy' type forum. AVForum, AVSForum, Kodi forum are all better places to post your comparison questions.
I have never said '5Ghz is not necessarily better than 4Ghz' because 4Ghz isn't a thing..
What I said was that the Zidoo X6's dual-band wifi has to be balanced against the X6's use of a teeny little wire inside the casing as an antenna.
Himedia H8 has single band wi-fi but with a large high-gain external antenna. For most people this will produce better results than dual-band with tiny internal wire antenna. It's important to note that the majority of people have single band routers.
H8 specs won't change. Himedia make specification and design decisions based on their experience of what works best, not on what looks better on paper. Another example is 10/100 vs Gigabit LAN. 10/100 done well provides more than enough bandwidth for all video content. Often, manufacturers will pile in features that are unnecessary just to make the specs look better. Himedia don't do this.
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Hello Everyone,
as you can see I'm new to this forum. I'am looking for a new media player (TV intern solution sucks, and using an pc (intel i5) works fine, but is a lot more than needed).
I'm pending between the Q5 and the H8.
Before I read this thread I favorised the H8 because of its higher potential.
But in this thread I read that the Q5 has a better picture quality.
How big is the difference? More picture enhancement features?
Is there maybe somewhere a test (or just pictures) which shows the difference, so I could have a look on my own..
Greetings
GamblerX2
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If you trawl through this thread there are some side by side comparison images for Zidoo X6 vs Himedia Q5. Zidoo X6 has similar image quality to Himedia H8 (same chipset): http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=221407&page=103 Approx page 80.
Himedia H8 has excellent image quality, better than 99% of Android boxes. But Q5 is the best you can get, bar none.