widevine. L1 - Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Questions & Answers

So I've been asking this question on almost all the new phones' forums recently because it's never mentioned in any of the spec websites or the manufacturers website. None of the YouTube tech channels check it either except for one which he also forgets to do for some of the phones.
The question is.... Is this phone Widevine L1 certified?
Anybody who already bought the phone can check through downloading an app via playstore. App name is 'drm info'.
Screenshot would be appreciated for anybody who are looking for this particular feature in the next phone they're gonna buy. Thanks in advance guys.

I'm 99.9% sure if will only have level 3, no other Xiaomi phone has anything different. However, I'd also really like to know for sure as this might decide whether I get this phone or not.

confirmed only L3 as shown in this video review
https://youtu.be/0rjZx_5JD1s?t=10m46s

SUPERUSER said:
confirmed only L3 as shown in this video review
?t=10m46s
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Thank you for the information good sir

The china rom has L3 because it doesnt need it, global rom it has L1, just wait

I have the official global ROM (9.6.6.0, phone arrived in an English box with English instructions) - L3 only. Sorry.

Isnt this just a software limitation?
Would it not be possible to just replace som .so and .lib files and manually make L1 work?

SUPERUSER said:
Isnt this just a software limitation?
Would it not be possible to just replace som .so and .lib files and manually make L1 work?
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As stated by XDA themselves on the Pocophone:
Fixing this problem via an OTA update won’t be possible, most likely. There have been some devices that received updates that bring Widevine L1 certification, but those devices already had the required device-unique secret key in the TrustZone. It’s unclear if this is the case on the Pocophone F1. If Xiaomi chooses to address this issue, they’ll either have to offer a service like OnePlus did or roll out an update that enables L1 support on the software side. Keep in mind that G
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https://www.xda-developers.com/xiaomi-poco-f1-widevine-l1-netflix-hd/

benq3000 said:
As stated by XDA themselves on the Pocophone:
https://www.xda-developers.com/xiaomi-poco-f1-widevine-l1-netflix-hd/
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Ah so its a chip that runs side-by-side that you cannot access from the main cpu.
Almost like Intel AME with the ME running Minix.
Either a virtual machine running on the soc or a physical chip that communicates back and forth to the soc.
If the kernel image is virtual placed somewhere in the phone there might be a challenge finding this and modify it but keeping the original signature so the phone will boot..and of course it needs to be decrypted.
If its placed on a separate chip its a whole other story. Only way to access and write to that chip is to connect to it with test points or either solder cables to it or desolder the chip reprogram it and solder it back on.
Info: https://source.android.com/security/trusty/
This is for Qualcomm. So its a separate chip inside the soc..seems to have no way to access it from outside
https://github.com/doridori/Android-Security-Reference/blob/master/hardware/TEE.md

For anyone considering whether to buy or not buy the phone based on this piece of information:
Yes, it only has Widevine Security Level L3, but in my personal opinion, even though it's capable of streaming Netflix or Prime Video content in "only" SD quality, that doesn't look bad at all! I'd consider it to be fully on a par with DVD quality, even in view of the device's display size. It's definitely nothing like a blocky low quality Youtube video or something.
In fact, 'til considering to buy this phone I never realized that something called a "Widevine level" even existed or there were phones not having the "best"/"highest" one; so when I tried to compare with the display quality of my recent Huawei Mate 8, I just then realized that it also(!) "only" got L3 and I nether even noticed the supposedly "low" quality.
So, by all means, if this phone matches all or most of the other criteria you might have and you're no snobby screen density or HD video quality connoisseur, who even spots imaginary pixels on a Full HD display 'cause it's not 4K, 8K, nK... HDR and whatnot, please don't miss out on a perfectly good phone (especially regarding the seeming lack of alternatives in the ranks of real(!) phablets)!

benq3000 said:
I have the official global ROM (9.6.6.0, phone arrived in an English box with English instructions) - L3 only. Sorry.
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Do you mind if I ask where you ordered from and how much you paid?

forwardroll said:
Do you mind if I ask where you ordered from and how much you paid?
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Sure!
Sadly, it won't be of much help.
I ordered it from a local shop in Israel called GoMobile. It cost me 1,270 NIS (355$) for the 4/64 variant.

Patneu said:
For anyone considering whether to buy or not buy the phone based on this piece of information:
Yes, it only has Widevine Security Level L3, but in my personal opinion, even though it's capable of streaming Netflix or Prime Video content in "only" SD quality, that doesn't look bad at all! I'd consider it to be fully on a par with DVD quality, even in view of the device's display size. It's definitely nothing like a blocky low quality Youtube video or something.
In fact, 'til considering to buy this phone I never realized that something called a "Widevine level" even existed or there were phones not having the "best"/"highest" one; so when I tried to compare with the display quality of my recent Huawei Mate 8, I just then realized that it also(!) "only" got L3 and I nether even noticed the supposedly "low" quality.
So, by all means, if this phone matches all or most of the other criteria you might have and you're no snobby screen density or HD video quality connoisseur, who even spots imaginary pixels on a Full HD display 'cause it's not 4K, 8K, nK... HDR and whatnot, please don't miss out on a perfectly good phone (especially regarding the seeming lack of alternatives in the ranks of real(!) phablets)!
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Well... 480p is DVD quality... So you are spot on with that.
The real issue is that we are in the age of 1080p+ and 4k BlueRays.

MrColdbird said:
The real issue is that we are in the age of 1080p+ and 4k BlueRays.
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Yeah, that's right, I just wanted to add this to the discussion, because reading about this issue, I somehow got the impression, that the quality would be much worse than it actually is and I wanted to help others to put this in perspective accordingly.
I guess many of us also still have large collections of DVDs or even still buy new ones and don't consider the quality to be particularly "bad", although - of course - one could always do better. So I don't think they'll consider the streaming quality offered by this device to be particularly bad, either (4K or better isn't an option here anyway, regardless of Widevine level ).
So, to get this straight: Streaming quality on this device in SD quality is much like the difference between a Blu-ray and DVD - not like a DVD vs. an old-timey blocky/blurry YouTube flash video. If you can live with that and see no other downsides, you likely won't regret your purchase, otherwise: rethink! That's all I wanted to say.

Patneu said:
I somehow got the impression, that the quality would be much worse than it actually is and I wanted to help others to put this in perspective accordingly.
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I'm not a big HD Nazi so I'll probably not mind much but I do watch 1080p copies if they are available simply because why not. I won't be crying wolf over this, especially because I'm fairly sure a custom ROM will rectify this issue further down the road, but it is something I don't understand given how much media the populace consumes at a regular basis now-a-days. Especially on a device who's main feature is a big screen.

We should talk about this issue. Because nowadays android phone's screen gets bigger and bigger.
My mi max 3 has 6.9 inch screen. And I know Honor 8x max has 7.2 inch screen.
And newer device and flagship goes 6+ inch screen. And there have so many 8.4 inch or 9 inch screen android tablet.
Why people pay for the big screen? People wanted to see TV screen-ish quality, right?
That means video playback should increase it, too. Doesn't it?

visually said:
We should talk about this issue. Because nowadays android phone's screen gets bigger and bigger.
My mi max 3 has 6.9 inch screen. And I know Honor 8x max has 7.2 inch screen.
And newer device and flagship goes 6+ inch screen. And there have so many 8.4 inch or 9 inch screen android tablet.
Why people pay for the big screen? People wanted to see TV screen-ish quality, right?
That means video playback should increase it, too. Doesn't it?
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To be absolutely honest I bought it for YouTube, manga & comic reading and it's absolutely phenomenal battery.
Netflix and the likes are just the cherry on top... Besides, you can install a patched Netflix APK that skips the widevine checks and feeds you the 1080p streams anyway... Even if your device doesn't have L1.

Oh, thanks for the tips, MrColdbird.

MrColdbird said:
To be absolutely honest I bought it for YouTube, manga & comic reading and it's absolutely phenomenal battery.
Netflix and the likes are just the cherry on top... Besides, you can install a patched Netflix APK that skips the widevine checks and feeds you the 1080p streams anyway... Even if your device doesn't have L1.
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You meant something like this?
https://forum.xda-developers.com/an...-ultrahd-ultrahd-dolby-5-1-l1-t3535349/page26
This stuff no longer works and there is no workaround for a higher quality than 540p on L3 phone. Already tried lot of these apps :/ movies get ultrahd content icon, but that's it. It won't go higher than 540p, you can check that on test patterns.

If you can tell the difference between DVD and HD on a 7" screen ~350 ppi then you are not watching whatever you are watching... You are looking for those imperfections... Enjoy the content and don't look deliberately for things you might not see... It's a under $300 device after all...

Related

Regarding 30FPS Issues this is what I got from HTC

Regarding 30FPS Issues this is what I got from HTC can somebody tell WTF should I reply them back
Dear Faisal Ali,
Dear Faisal, Since the HTC EVO 4G employs a unique HDMI output to deliver video in HD quality to an external display, the hardware graphics driver interface on the HTC EVO 4G uses significant resources for the HDMI output and therefore displays graphics at 30 frames per second on the integrated display. This is a hardware, and not a software, limitation. It’s important to keep in mind that content including most movies and television, are created to run at between 24 and 30 frames per second. The 30FPS is a hardware limitation. We have found that some games may be impacted by this limitation. If you have any other questions or concerns please Reply back to this email or give us a call at our HTC Technical Support Line, 1-866-449-8358. I want to thank you for contacting HTC.
Sincerely,
Lindsay
HTC
ugh.. What if I DONT want to use the HDMI... I never will...
Makes perfect sense to me, I don't think TV's will play the video if it is over 60i/30p. But I'd like to have the option anyway. Hell, if I could record 480p at 120fps that would be great... because then I could get some cool slo-mo videos. By the same token, it would also be nice to hack it to get [email protected] or something like that. On my HD Cam I can pull any frame and use it as a nice photo - good for up to 8x10 prints or for the web. Hard to miss a shot that way.
I think that's what we'd all like, flexibility.
tyrnight said:
ugh.. What if I DONT want to use the HDMI... I never will...
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I definitely will, and have. Take video to family get-togethers and you can just jack into their TV for all to see. Terribly convenient.
I cant even find the Cables for the type d plug..
i wonder if the droid X will be the same, it also has an HDMI out
anyway this shouldn't be under accessories i think...

Your 720 Experience

Hi I want to start this post so everyone can post their experience with the new 720 Recording Feature on the HTC Desire!
Please post Like this:
Video
Description
Problems
FPS
Rom used
I'll start:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxxPdPd8ea4
Description:
Me being very concentrated while playing the Drums... new song Bad Lighting hard sound situation (way too loud for this little Phone ) so worst case
Problems:
I see constant drops in FPS, or more likely a stuttering ever few seconds video playback just kida stops, audio is fine though! I did not have this Problems with other Roms so I think its not my SD card acting up?
FPS: 5-11 not very constant at all, although lighting was very constant (although very bad)
ROM used: LeeDroid 7.1b
Before official update:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugjI5ygsXzQ
Average/good lighting
20fps
Can't remember the rom, I think MCR v5, it was before the official update.
Not a lot of stuttering that I can notice, but the lens cover was a bit smudged and so the video came out a bit opaque.
After the update:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6KuPCn6_2M [quality should improve in a bit]
Probably a tad better lighting conditions
23fps
ieftm semi-stock rom
This is the best sample of three, one was ok, but the last one was stuttering quite a bit, as I think some background program was accessing the sd card heavily. Also lens here was a bit dirty
by the way, youtube quality doesn't render properly, linking videos should be better.
andycted said:
by the way, youtube quality doesn't render properly, linking videos should be better.
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Did not know that, your Video looks very pixelated... Is that because its on Youtube? I will edit main thread thx
finnschi said:
Did not know that, your Video looks very pixelated... Is that because its on Youtube? I will edit main thread thx
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No, I think it was me that turned contrast a bit too high and the fact that without optical zoom or camera lens optics you can get lose details in the distance on such high resolution
I gave up 720p, it is not good. Jumpy, low fps and especially ****ty voice quality.
I use 480p, but it is also not good, not too jumpy ... still ****ty voice quality.
I have 2.2 rom from here and 720p keeps freezing every few seconds.
720p is ok for me. Is it possible that its to do with the internal memory available? I have 60mb or more free, I know some people are down to low numbers. my card is a class2 too. I think the clips look better played on the PC in VLC lpayer than when I upload them to youtube. I think youtube might be introducing some of the negative aspects seen... maybe?
finnschi said:
I'll start:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxxPdPd8ea4
Description: Me being very concentrated while playing the Drums...
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Please please please... Can we please take advantage of the user interface of the XDA site?
For six months XDA has now supported YouTube embeds -- You can even see the icon in the COMPOSE screens -- though admittedly they don't tell you how to use it very easily.
BEHOLD! It's your video, and I don't have to click a new tab to see it. Magic!
Format for YouTube Embeds:
(remove spaces)
[ youtube ]just-the-video-letter/numbers[ /youtube ]
From your video above, the part that goes in between the [ youtube ] brackets follows v= NxxPdPd8ea4
Please, could you edit your first post to include the instructions. It has taken years to get XDA to embrace video. Now that they have, please support svetius, the User Experience designer of the new site, and use the tools. That's why they're here. Thank you.
P.S. -- is this jamming to the old WHO classic I CAN SEE FOR MILES ? -- just curious... in the event it is because Roger Daltrey still tours this very summer playing it -- and a friend of mine, a session guitarist in L.A., does Townsend's parts. ... Me, waiting for the answer:
"Dude, who are The Who?"
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P.S.S. Is this not the coolest thing? DUDE! Your bio here at XDA!
Occupation:
R&D at Apple Inc.
Working at Apple research... hating the iPhone
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I gotta applaud you. I have used Apple products for 25 years. And I currently use primarily Mac computers, but I also use Windows machines. Very agnostic. But I have never used the iphone, especially since Apple was nowhere in sight when I started with touchscreen smartphones 5 or 6 years ago (but I salute the Newton!)... But I'm a usability designer, so i consider myself fair. And even though I have wanted my Desire to match or exceed the 720p capability of iphone4 -- i was at the Apple store a few weeks ago getting my damp MBP repaired for 3rd time and played with the iP4 -- and the 720p recording is pretty damn good. ... Lastly -- are you familiar with the various TEST PROJECTS that have been going on here since the Nexus One to optimize 720p in this HTC class of phones? If not, search... There are a whole bunch of serious collaborative engineering projects here, and as always XDA-devs work miracles -- so I'm not giving up hope yet. We may smash that iphone yet in recoding quality -- though I doubt it... I am told it records 30fps and no matter what backflips are done here, thru Froyo or other enhancements, we can't get this hardware to meet or exceed that. Is that true?
720p is crap, its just upscale from lover res., dont use it.
more info:
The data rate of 720p is over 4 times greater than 800x480. 6000kb/sec versus 1200kb/sec. It's not purely upscaled at all. I made two sample videos of a page of text and compared.
There was ALOT more detail in the 720p video. Even when I zoomed up the 800x480 one. I agree it's not as good as "true 720 HD" but its certainly not 100% upscaled.
mcgon1979 said:
The data rate of 720p is over 4 times greater than 800x480. 6000kb/sec versus 1200kb/sec. It's not purely upscaled at all. I made two sample videos of a page of text and compared.
There was ALOT more detail in the 720p video. Even when I zoomed up the 800x480 one. I agree it's not as good as "true 720 HD" but its certainly not 100% upscaled.
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1200:6000 it's 5 times more. Yes it's not true 720 hd, but I can perfectly live with that quality if we get a couple of fps more
I've taken two short videos of a label, took screenshots from video player, cropped them, resized the 480 to fit the same size as the 720 one. It's very blurry compared to the normal 720p. See the hour in the fake pda, you can't read it in the upscaled one.
Video upscalers tend to do a better job than a simple photo resize and they do introduce more data leading to a larger file size. The disire may truly just upscale the video after all. In any case, its a shame that video capture on this device is as poor as it is. I dislike Apple and their iphone, but i'll give them this; all aspects of the software work very well from go and if not, a fix/upgrade is provided in a reasonably short time.
Jaa-Yoo said:
Video upscalers tend to do a better job than a simple photo resize and they do introduce more data leading to a larger file size. The disire may truly just upscale the video after all. In any case, its a shame that video capture on this device is as poor as it is. I dislike Apple and their iphone, but i'll give them this; all aspects of the software work very well from go and if not, a fix/upgrade is provided in a reasonably short time.
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Given the current state of their last shiny toy, I think it's a bit funny to say so.
Anyway, I've done some more tests and I can take the screen captured from a 480 video and upscale it with any tool with best quality or other algorythms and you always end up with a lot less detail than 720p, especially when there is a lot of light (unlike that test above). I don't think the desire has the processing power to do a better upscale than what I'm trying and while there might be a bit of upscaling given you have a tiny lens, it's not all there.
Also any tiny lens without zoom is pointless when taking videos from the distance anyway.
I can only get 15-16 fps... anyone can do higher?
I can easily get 25 average, outside in. good lighting, with a class 6 sd
quicksite said:
P.S. -- is this jamming to the old WHO classic I CAN SEE FOR MILES ? -- just curious... in the event it is because Roger Daltrey still tours this very summer playing it -- and a friend of mine, a session guitarist in L.A., does Townsend's parts. ...
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No its our own song, although i can see how the beginning sounds kinda like the Who
quicksite said:
I gotta applaud you. I have used Apple products for 25 years. And I currently use primarily Mac computers, but I also use Windows machines. Very agnostic. But I have never used the iphone, especially since Apple was nowhere in sight when I started with touchscreen smartphones 5 or 6 years ago (but I salute the Newton!)... But I'm a usability designer, so i consider myself fair. And even though I have wanted my Desire to match or exceed the 720p capability of iphone4 -- i was at the Apple store a few weeks ago getting my damp MBP repaired for 3rd time and played with the iP4 -- and the 720p recording is pretty damn good. ... Lastly -- are you familiar with the various TEST PROJECTS that have been going on here since the Nexus One to optimize 720p in this HTC class of phones? If not, search... There are a whole bunch of serious collaborative engineering projects here, and as always XDA-devs work miracles -- so I'm not giving up hope yet. We may smash that iphone yet in recoding quality -- though I doubt it... I am told it records 30fps and no matter what backflips are done here, thru Froyo or other enhancements, we can't get this hardware to meet or exceed that. Is that true?
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I talked to some iPhone engineers about how the iPhone can archive 30Fps ... its because all the decoding of pictures delivered by the camera is handled by the GPU... for Android its all done on the CPU! so we need to find a way to decode the video stream using the Desires GPU, but I think the iP4's GPU is far better than the Desires... i am a hardware engineer... i am in no way able to code anything like that! What Makes me curios is file size comparison between an iP4 and the Desire.
Also: Desire running a non sense rom (AOSP) just like the Nexus gives much better 720 Quality!!! so I guess its in the software
finnschi said:
I talked to some iPhone engineers about how the iPhone can archive 30Fps ... its because all the decoding of pictures delivered by the camera is handled by the GPU... for Android its all done on the CPU! so we need to find a way to decode the video stream using the Desires GPU, but I think the iP4's GPU is far better than the Desires... i am a hardware engineer... i am in no way able to code anything like that! What Makes me curios is file size comparison between an iP4 and the Desire.
Also: Desire running a non sense rom (AOSP) just like the Nexus gives much better 720 Quality!!! so I guess its in the software
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SInce I am NEITHER a hardware nor software engineer, I am useless here, other than to ask obvious questions. Your apple access to methodology of iP4's video capture is itself useful information -- something that if I were a software engineer working on the various test projects here at XDA, I would want to know. Maybe that's something they could infer, or maybe its published somewhere, or maybe it's one of those "Geez, it's so obvious do i really need to be told that?" points.
That then gets blurred and muddied by the REAL armchair knowitalls (*I* disclose that I know nothing) who pounce on a pronouncement by someone here and say "That's impossible, or that's bullcrap, look here at my image, it proves you wrong, end of story" -- only to often find --- NOT end of story and that person got it wrong.
All i know is -- my experience has told me never presume -- because this site is SO HUGE, it is actually quite often that the right hand doesn't know what left hand is up to.
I wish there were a better means of coordinating the total knowledge holders of XDA site on this 720p issue regarding TOTAL CAPABILITY, software and hardware, so there is 100% collaboration. In the end, there is only one answer: Yes, desire can meet or exceed iphone4 720 p in every measure of resolution, or not.
THE PART I DIDN"T GET:
What Makes me curios is file size comparison between an iP4 and the Desire.
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Which is bigger? what is your initial inference? larger file size = higher rez?
thank you
roufianos cooked a Rom that achieved 29-30 fps but the phone restarted after 50 seconds of recording. Was that due to overheating of the processor? I don't know. His phone gave up spirit and he is waiting for a replacement so the development of his Rom is on pause at the moment.
andycted said:
I can easily get 25 average, outside in. good lighting, with a class 6 sd
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I've not seen more than 23fps in 720p with great lighting. anyone else? I use a Class2 card so maybe using class 6 is why you get 25fps average?
mcgon1979 said:
I've not seen more than 23fps in 720p with great lighting. anyone else? I use a Class2 card so maybe using class 6 is why you get 25fps average?
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Ive managed 26fps @ 720p with my Desire running official unbranded 2.2. Im using a Class 4 card, so that might help over your Class 2.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saS39iqjDgs
I just compared the youtube clip to the original on my PC (i scaled the VLC window down to the same size as playing the youtube clip in its 'expanded' size) and there is definatly a small quality difference. The details on the original are noticable finer, so even @ 720p on youtube the bitrate must take a small hit.
Here is a screenshot of the comparison.
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/9005/720pcomparison.jpg

What features make the shield better than $50 android boxes?

Before anyone says game streaming I wanted to know if there was any other features that I should consider when deciding over a cheap android box and the shield. I owned a cheap android box for 2 years and it was really good but it was slow and never got updates but kodi worked perfectly until 17 update, but it's hard justifying a $300 price tag for the 16gb over $50 for the cheap one.
1. CPU performance, much faster then any s912, especially it have active cooling make it can keep in full speed, if you use any old amlogic box you will know you just can't decode any 1080 hi10p due to either the HW decoder not support or CPU not fast enough for SW decode. The shield can do it by CPU with 50-70%cpu usage max. Also although newer amlogic such as S912 support h265 but it is very buggy, the shield TV on the other hand is very stable.
2. For Android gaming I don't think you can find any android box in this size/price can better then it. Sure you can get a x86 box but that will much more expensive and larger.
3. Support 1080 ycbcr 422 12bit , I don't have 4K so dunno what is support, but as I remember there are no other cheap android box will support this output. (Sure you will need to take care the HDMI version mismatch problem if you got AVR)
If you will not use Plex and don't need IR then I suggest you just get the 16GB version, by the way I attach a 128GB USB stick to store my mame rom, much faster then hdd version.
Previous I use mi box and some other android box, but I can say shield TV is the most problem free and the fastest one for me.
$50 android boxes are junk, period. These things should be illegal to sell in USA. The manufactures are horrible at support & you never get updates. The only time a cheap android box is worth buying is if there are active private developers. Here's where the price difference matters, your $50 box lasted you 2 years. I've had my shield tv for almost 2 years & my guess is it'll still be alive & kicking in 10 years & still be my main media center. The shield tv was released as a future proof device, meaning it has a long life span while the $50 junk boxes have a very short limited life span hardware & software wise, you'll be replacing these types of boxes every 2 years.
Since when was the 16GB version $300?!
What feature(s)?!
In One Word... Widevine L(evel)1 support. (Ok tht was Two Words, whatever...)
Why is this a big deal? In Two Words this time. Amazon, and Netflix. In full UHD, let alone FHD. Your ~50$ 'Droid Box most likely will never have it. The only exception to that rule would be the Xaiomi Mi Box. Which like the Shield TV is a licenced AndroidTV Box. Which is based on the well known AmLogic S905 SoC. I have no ideas on how, or if Amazon will ever be ported to it. For now I gather it's a bit of a Shield exclusive. But, Netflix should be fine, along with the other usual suspects.
There is also the Gaming, and Emulation side of the Device, that puts it well ahead of the competition. With its small but exclusive Titles under the nVIDIA Lightspeed Studios. But, that may not be enough to convince a mass take up of it considering the initial cost.
If all you need is a cheap Kodi Box than by all means. You could pick one up, and gamble that you get a working one. Note I got burnt TWICE with an AmLogic S912 SoC Device. The first One cooked itself, while using Chrome, and the Second came with a defective WiFi Chip. So you take your chances with an unknown when buying One of these Devices.
When it comes to Updates, you'd be lucky to see a few Bug fixes before whoever's in charge gets bored, and moves on. nVIDIA have been supporting the Shield TV since it came out in 2015, and they will probably still be supporting it for a while yet with the 2017 version.
One last thing you might like to know about Kodi, and these Cheapo Boxes. Unless those Manufactures get off their​ butts, and code their CODECs to Android spec. Kodi will only ever function in Software mode only. Which will have a major impact on Video performance. Alas I don't know if the Mi Box also has that problem. Given its a specialized AmLogic build, perhaps not? But, a native Netflix App does not a Kodi make.
Of course there is One other thing that separates both the Shield TV, and the Mi Box. (Which I hinted at earlier.)
They are both Licenced AndroidTV units. And, in case that isn't quite clear to you. Then a word of caution to you. AndroidTV​ ≠ Android (e.g. Some generic 'Droid Box.), You should expect to see virtually nothing in the (AndroidTV), PlayStore. Certainly nothing like what most People probably imagine, after getting off the PlayStore on their Samsung Phablet. And, you can thank Google for that!
se1000 said:
Since when was the 16GB version $300?!
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Probably since nVIDIA weren't able to meet the demand for the Device which drove Scalpers to scalp it along with the Pro for Upwards of 600€'s, and no I wish I was making that up. The only time the Shield came down to reasonable levels, was just before they announced the Shield 2 (a.k.a. The Shield TV Slim), which was rightly rejected by those who already had a Shield. Seeing that I was able to get a used '15 Pro for 'round 200€ back in January. Good luck finding one now, for that price. If I wanted to spend nearly 300€ on a used One. I would rather just buy the new '17 Model for a fraction more. (i.e. 329€).
Ichijoe said:
What feature(s)?!
One last thing you might like to know about Kodi, and these Cheapo Boxes. Unless those Manufactures get off their​ butts, and code their CODECs to Android spec. Kodi will only ever function in Software mode only. Which will have a major impact on Video performance. Alas I don't know if the Mi Box also has that problem. Given its a specialized AmLogic build, perhaps not? But, a native Netflix App does not a Kodi make.
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Click to collapse
You are correct on this, most cheap android box had broken mediacodec support, as KODI remove the amcodec support so either 1. switch to old version/spmc which have amcode, 2. SW decode, but the cpu not fast enough most of the time.
the google version of mi box's mediacodec are ok, but it still cannot hw decode hi10p (main reason I switch from mi box to shield tv)
DummyPLUG said:
You are correct on this, most cheap android box had broken mediacodec support, as KODI remove the amcodec support so either 1. switch to old version/spmc which have amcode, 2. SW decode, but the cpu not fast enough most of the time.
the google version of mi box's mediacodec are ok, but it still cannot hw decode hi10p (main reason I switch from mi box to shield tv)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Outside of actively getting off my [REDACTED] to search for some hi10p Materials, back when I was still knee deep in Linux VDR (i.e. HTPC). The chances of actually encountering anything actually encoded at 10bits is extremely rare. And I do likes me some KissAnime. So I would chalk it down as a nice to have feature, and not the Killer One, that Widevine Level 1 is. As only the Select TVs running ATV, or the MiBox, and Shield TV are capable of such high end DRMs, for legaly being able to watch Netflix in either FHD, or UHD.
Since those other Boxes only have Widevine Level 3. You'd be lucky to watch Netflix in 480p MAX!
So for me that's a bigger deal going forward. Mores the pitty that the MiBox is virtually useless outside of North America though.
Not going into hard core comparison as far as audio support and video support but just general laymen comparison.
As reference current devices I own a A95x cheap android box, Fire TV Sticks, Nexus Players and 2nd Gen Fire TV, Roku2, Shield TV Gen 1
1. Performance - I didn't think the difference would be that huge since I mainly just use streaming services and apps like Netflix and Kodi to name a few but it's noticeable even in just those two areas. My FTV2 was snappy I thought compared to my other devices but the Shield just Launches apps quicker and goes through local and internet streams a lot smoother. Not a gamer but I have used them and let kids use them to try games and again just performance is amazing.
2. Ease of use my gripe with the a95x cheapo is It was IR remote and the interface just sucked. FTV2 and FTV sticks had their own interface over Lollipop and this too I am not a big fan of. Nexus Player and Shield TV are very straightforward and use the Leanback Launcher IMO easier to use and get google play store unlike Amazons offerings.
3. You get what you pay for. It's an investment that hopefully it will last. Performance wise I'm not worried about having to get a new box for a while now. Also the build and the remotes just are more appealing with the metal finish and all and they are rechargeable (yes the drawback is it's not replaceable batteries). It's running official Android TV yes the Playstore is limited for TV devices but for average user that doesn't want to side load and just works great out of the box it's perfect.
If cost is an issue like it was for me just wait for a deal or find one used if you're willing to take the chance. I just got my 1st gen Shield 2 weeks ago because I bought it used for $120 and had I tested it beforehand I never would have bought my a95x, fire tv sticks. I am happy with the Nexus Players I scored those for $40 but it's discontinued and my FTV2 but the Shield TV kicked those devices out of the family room and now those are in mine and kids bedrooms.
If performance isn't a huge deal then I wouldn't upgrade. If it is but cost still too high there are alternatives Fire TV (Just ew Amazon interface) and Nexus Player (Discontinued) or Mi box (Owned for a month and returned it performance wasn't as good as Nexus Player).
I have 2 fire sticks, a firetv box, and the new version of the shield TV. The shield is fast and responsive, but I don't think its performance justifies the price. If you not going for game steaming... I would just use a firetv box. Kodi performance is on par.
Here is my problem with the shield TV. Ram. For its price point I would expect 4gb of ram. This was a huge mistake I feel when they released the new version.
Don't get me wrong, I love my shield but if I didn't get mine for 175 with a deal, I would have not got it.
I couldn't disagree more with the majority of what's been said. It is true that the shield is an investment. It's worth it in the long run to get a shield. Talks of "4gb of ram" are comical at best. You want 4gb of ram buy a jetson tx1 for $500+ The point is, 4gb of ram isn't required when you have a constant power source. Take the Nintendo switch for example, yea sure it's basically a jetson tx1 (4gb ram) but clocked at a much lower speed to run on battery.
I would say it depends greatly upon how you want to come to the Shield TV. If your looking at it as just another in a long line of 'Droid Boxen, then that is how you will see it. If your like me, and your coming in from the huge running costs of an HTPC, with VDR Recording capabilities. Then the Shield becomes self-evident. As it can do those same jobs in a much tighter Footprint, and use just a microfraction of the Electricity to do it. Everything else is just a nice bonus. e.g. The Games, Emulations, Android itself.
So no Op is correct the Shield TV isn't the right answer for everyone. If for example Op wanted just the cheapest Box to do the most basic streaming (Amazon, Hulu, Netflix HBO Go, etc....), Then the Amazon Fire TV, would be right up his street. But IIRC, that only had 2GB of RAM, not that you would need it.
Also, if you want extra storage, you're better off getting the 16GB model and adding an external HDD. The way Nvidia set up the Pro model is kinda dumb - everything (including the system ROM) runs on the HDD, not flash, so it's really slow. It's also not user-replaceable without voiding the warranty and a lot of hassle. 4 TB portable drives are a bit over $100, so you can get a lot more storage for almost the same price.
Mogster2K said:
Also, if you want extra storage, you're better off getting the 16GB model and adding an external HDD. The way Nvidia set up the Pro model is kinda dumb - everything (including the system ROM) runs on the HDD, not flash, so it's really slow. It's also not user-replaceable without voiding the warranty and a lot of hassle. 4 TB portable drives are a bit over $100, so you can get a lot more storage for almost the same price.
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Click to collapse
That might be true... But it's not like you couldn't just clone the contents of the Original SSHD, and then write that to the heavier, faster SSD. There are at least Two Threads on that subject, that I'm personally aware of. As to it being slower? That only applies when doing things like unlocking the Bootloader (a precursor to rooting), or factory resetting​ it where in both cases it'll take the best part of 2h to complete. Under day to day use However, I greatly doubt there is any major difference in the overall speed.
Also the newer Slim (and, light) Shield TV, also lack a few things, like the IR Port (for Harmony Remotes), and the OTG MicroUSB Port, and worse of all the MicroSD Slot.
Also one thing about Adopted Storage, e.g. adding external Storage. Just because you could add a 4TB SS/H/DD, doesn't give you licence to go 'round installing everything to your heart's content as not everything will be installed to External (Adopted), Storage and you will most likely be scratching your head about not having enough Space to install some Game even if you have the best part of 4+ GBs left inside in your External Storage. Just the way it is on my Phablet alas Adopted Storage is kind of a lie. As I see it.
If you replace the Pro HDD with an SSD, you're paying $100 just for the hard drive bay. (Edit: I did not realize the Pro hardware was basically unchanged.) Also, I would not recommend using an HDD as adopted storage anyway. Better to leave it as NTFS since Android network transfers are so slow.
Finally, it is possible to boot the Shield TV from an external SSD. You need a special boot image (MM only unfortunately) and an SSD in a USB enclosure. It's a bit tricky to set up but works pretty well. A Nougat version is in the works.
Ichijoe said:
That might be true... But it's not like you couldn't just clone the contents of the Original SSHD, and then write that to the heavier, faster SSD. There are at least Two Threads on that subject, that I'm personally aware of. As to it being slower? That only applies when doing things like unlocking the Bootloader (a precursor to rooting), or factory resetting​ it where in both cases it'll take the best part of 2h to complete. Under day to day use However, I greatly doubt there is any major difference in the overall speed.
Also the newer Slim (and, light) Shield TV, also lack a few things, like the IR Port (for Harmony Remotes), and the OTG MicroUSB Port, and worse of all the MicroSD Slot.
Also one thing about Adopted Storage, e.g. adding external Storage. Just because you could add a 4TB SS/H/DD, doesn't give you licence to go 'round installing everything to your heart's content as not everything will be installed to External (Adopted), Storage and you will most likely be scratching your head about not having enough Space to install some Game even if you have the best part of 4+ GBs left inside in your External Storage. Just the way it is on my Phablet alas Adopted Storage is kind of a lie. As I see it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try enable force app install on external in developer options, I had no problem to save everything to my USB.

[Question] Does the OP5T have Widevine L1 certification?

Or will I be forced to keep my Oneplus Two since it can also do L3 (Standard Definition/720x480) DRM video like all the rest of the Oneplus Phones.
Without L1; Amazon, Netflix, VUDU, YouTube TV, and Hulu will be locked to 720x480 resolution. I am surprised that NONE of the reviews even mention video playback, almost like it was intentionally left out.
I've been asking around but no one has answered me yet...
Netflix has stated that devices with a Snapdragon 835 would be able to access HD content, however I don't know if that applies to all devices or only the ones with L1 autorisation.
We really need a 5T owner to test these kind of things.
driverdis said:
Or will I be forced to keep my Oneplus Two since it can also do L3 (Standard Definition/720x480) DRM video like all the rest of the Oneplus Phones.
Without L1; Amazon, Netflix, VUDU, YouTube TV, and Hulu will be locked to 720x480 resolution. I am surprised that NONE of the reviews even mention video playback, almost like it was intentionally left out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 5T still has the L3 certification. That is confirmed by the Oneplus staff. On the other hand, Netflix says that the stream will be in full HD for all devices with the Qualcomm 835 cpu. I don’t have Netflix myself so i can not check if this is true.
Wow, this would be a deal breaker if I can't view Amazon Video with HD quality.
---------- Post added at 02:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:16 PM ----------
Maybe someone can test it with this app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.androidfung.drminfo
Sadly it comes with L3 only: https://www.android-hilfe.de/forum/...-ueber-amazon-video.855928.html#post-10777775
I got someone on Reddit to run the test and apparently the 5T can only get up to 560p on Netflix, however I think (and hope) that it is just a temporary problem and that it will soon be fixed.
And Amazon (Prime/Instant) Video?
Ockham's Chainsaw said:
I got someone on Reddit to run the test and apparently the 5T can only get up to 560p on Netflix, however I think (and hope) that it is just a temporary problem and that it will soon be fixed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If this is true then the claim about it lacking L1 must be false. It wouldn't go higher than 480p.
xocomaox said:
If this is true then the claim about it lacking L1 must be false. It wouldn't go higher than 480p.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually it just depends on the video used to do the test: if you use the 4k one your resolution will go up to 560p even on a L3 device, if you use the 1080p test video your resolution will only go up to 480p, just as you said.
I don't know why it does that, but I verified on my L3 Note 10.1 2014 Edition and I managed to replicate these results.
Ockham's Chainsaw said:
Actually it just depends on the video used to do the test: if you use the 4k one your resolution will go up to 560p even on a L3 device, if you use the 1080p test video your resolution will only go up to 480p, just as you said.
I don't know why it does that, but I verified on my L3 Note 10.1 2014 Edition and I managed to replicate these results.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. I don't have any of these services to test this out, but will see if I can find more info on the matter.
It's so annoying, even on YouTube you have to switch to 1080p everytime
Is this issue solved?
OrtizFerrari said:
Is this issue solved?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, nothing has changed: the OP5T is still only L3 and OnePlus doesn't seem to mind that their +$500 "Flagship Killer" can't even play Netflix/Amazon/*insert popular streaming service* in HD.
Ockham's Chainsaw said:
No, nothing has changed: the OP5T is still only L3 and OnePlus doesn't seem to mind that their +$500 "Flagship Killer" can't even play Netflix/Amazon/*insert popular streaming service* in HD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But this is amazing...and no one is saying anything about this...
Netflix/Amazon/YouTube Look pretty HD on my 5T
Willey1986 said:
Netflix/Amazon/YouTube Look pretty HD on my 5T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Test it with the "Test Pattern" videos on Netflix and you'll see (let it play for a good 5-10 minutes just to be sure), the 5T doesn't actually have any serious problems with YouTube, it's just that it always defaults to 480p, kinda annoying but that's it.
Pro4TLZZ said:
It's so annoying, even on YouTube you have to switch to 1080p everytime
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My phone plays videos at 1080p on YouTube. I have it set to auto and if it's available, it plays it.
I'm talking about normal YouTube and not the paid service.
We should make a change.org or something, because this is stupid. The solution is easy but they dont want to implement in the device...So annoying, Oneplus.
OrtizFerrari said:
We should make a change.org or something, because this is stupid. The solution is easy but they dont want to implement in the device...So annoying, Oneplus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you dont like, then dont buy it. What you think how much oneplus corp even care something derp www-page change.org? Newsflash: they dont care, we dont care.
Just buy samsung or iphone
mumuli said:
If you dont like, then dont buy it. What you think how much oneplus corp even care something derp www-page change.org? Newsflash: they dont care, we dont care.
Just buy samsung or iphone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have one OP5T sir. I bought because its an awesome phone, but I want to watch my series in their full resolution too.
Greetings.

Netflix HDR/5.1 update... Notice any difference?

My phone arrived in the mail the day the new patch came out and I immediately installed it, so I don't have experience using the app before the update. Outside of the occasional hard lockup and whole phone shutdown, things seem okay when playing HDR/5.1 content (you can search for "HDR" without quotes to see Netflix's current HDR offerings BTW). It's not as vibrant/saturated and blacks aren't as dark as my old Samsung Galaxy S6 Active, though that has an AMOLED display. The Razer Phone seems rather lifelike which I prefer. The sound when paired with the Atmos app is great, though I am not sure how beneficial piping 5.1 audio is i.e. whether it helps with the Atmos surround processing or is down converted to 2.0 prior to Atmos DSP. I also can't speak to the difference since the update, so I'm curious long-time Razer phone users... notice any difference?
Most of us are running carrier branded haven't got this update yet as razer have said mid to late February
TBH, I have the update and don't really see any difference. I tried playing non HDR and HDR content. Maybe it's just me and my old ass eyes.
Jonathan.Parker2005 said:
TBH, I have the update and don't really see any difference. I tried playing non HDR and HDR content. Maybe it's just me and my old ass eyes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to let people know Razer did state you need the Premium Top Teir Netflix package to watch this HDR content as the low teir and mid tear isnt good enough although the mid teir does say HD quailty and only on certain shows
https://press.razerzone.com/press-r...-premium-smartphone-entertainment-experience/
"Netflix members must be subscribed to the premium plan to watch in HDR, which includes titles like “Bright,” “Stranger Things 2” and the entire Marvel series."
I am on the 4K tier, so I'm fine. I see the shows marked HDR, for instance Marco Polo (my defacto quick link for testing 4k HDR TV's). Normally HDR (on TV's, so this may not be the case on the phone) maxes the back light and hijacks some other settings. I don't see that on this device. Like I said, it's hard to spot the difference if any.
The screen on the razer phone is still dim so don't know how well HDR will show it's vibrant colours. I'm just glad the bug with opening Netflix caused the phone to reboot I believe a Netflix update fixed that
So HDR on Netflix makes no difference?

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