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15% off Vero 4K+ Media Player £101.15 (~AU $193, Was £119) with Free Worldwide Shipping @ OSMC

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15% off Vero 4K+ Media Player £101.15 (~AU $193, Was £119) with Free Worldwide Shipping @ OSMC
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frostman on 09/01/2020 - 10:49 osmc.tv (294 clicks)
Last edited 09/01/2020 - 13:53 by 2 other users

Shopping around for a decent 4K Media Player that's capable of some decent 4K + HDR+ Dolby Sound/ATMOS, however haven't been lucky as Australia is at the ass-end of the country list of receiving cool gadgets.

Can't locally procure the new gen Nvidia Shield, Roku, Vero nor the Amazon Fire Cube

So we're left with Telstra TV, Vodafone TV and if you're lucky, buying the Laser 4K Media player which is a good paperweight.

Anyway, back to the post, Vero is applying a 15% discount if you're happy for your media player to be shipped on 20th of Jan.

I am keen on taking this one however only set-down is you probably need an AU AC Adapter?

Electrical & Electronics Media Player Vero 4K+

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closed Comments

  • Superstar15 on 09/01/2020 - 10:58
    +3

    Wouldnt the 'old' Nvidia Shield TV be better than this? would also be similar pricing

    • frostman on 09/01/2020 - 11:00
      -4

      The previous gen Shield is under-powered and based on a 2 year old version, the new Tubular Design is at least 15% more powerful.
      Its also over-priced here at HN

      • Superstar15 on 09/01/2020 - 11:05
        +1

        It plays my UHD HDR MKV's via plex perfectly, so is there anything that you need more than that?
        It can be had for sub $200, and itll only come down in price when the new version is out. Only thing that is really new in the Shield TV is Dolby Vision.

        Also what OSMC vs Android TV. Not too sure what apps would be on OSMC

        • frostman on 09/01/2020 - 11:21

          It can be had for sub $200

          Link?

        • vicerum on 09/01/2020 - 11:25

          OSMC is a Linux distro based on Debian, with only LibreELEC installed. Agreed that full fledged Android TV is better, but depending on your use case if you only want to stream media, these Chinese media boxes are usually good enough. There's heaps on AliExpress and BangGood that range from $60-$150 depending on the SOC and features, and connection options like Ethernet etc.

          Most don't have Widevine L1 support so won't be able to stream Netflix in full 1080p or higher - be aware of that.

      • BluBoy on 09/01/2020 - 11:14
        +1

        The 'power' of a media player has very little to do with the capability to play videos.

        Even older s912 (maybe s905*) have had the ability to play back 4k/10bit HDR/audio passthrough… All on a cheap $20-$50 box from geekbuying/AliExpress.
        This is because 99% of the time it is purely using the video hardware acceleration.

        Kodi/librelec has had the drivers built in for a while now. They also offer a lot more customisation and extensions as well.

        Honestly, most people might be better off saving $150 and using it to purchase the next model up TV or audio system never time they need to upgrade.

        • nemesis on 09/01/2020 - 12:48

          "Smart TV"s are a farce. You're completely at the mercy of the manufacturer - who wants you to buy a new TV. Firmware/OS rarely ever gets updated, apps get retired, new codecs don't work.

          I'll take a "dumb" TV and a media player every time.

      • teros on 09/01/2020 - 11:25

        it's more than fine to play atmos and 4k the new version has dolby vision but it works perfectly fine and works with the google echo system

  • wombat_58 on 09/01/2020 - 10:59
    +1

    From the Vero FAQ:

    What type of plug will I receive? Do I need an adapter?
    We will ship a power plug appropriate for your country. If you require a different adapter, please let us know when placing your order.

  • Wimma on 09/01/2020 - 11:03

    How would a digital xbox compare (wrt media capability)?

  • vicerum on 09/01/2020 - 11:04
    +4

    Why not just get the ODROID N2? https://www.hardkernel.com/shop/odroid-n2-4gb-coreelec-editi…

    Runs CoreELEC (Kodi Leia) and can handle pretty much everything you throw at it. Incredibly powerful for the price.

    • frostman on 09/01/2020 - 11:08
      -1

      to RaspberyPI for me, some aesthetics are welcome - this is an ugly unit with possibly low support levels

      • vicerum on 09/01/2020 - 11:18

        Both OSMC and CoreELEC are based on Linux Kodi, so I don't really see how "support levels" would be different. In both cases you're getting a single board computer with features designed to stream media, running open source software, and forums to help if you run into issues.

        In terms of aesthetics, I think the ODROID N2 in its black case looks very similar to this Vero anyway. They're just little square black boxes.

        • skittlebrau on 09/01/2020 - 13:08

          The main benefit of the Vero 4K is there’s no tinkering involved and it’s already set up.

          • vicerum on 09/01/2020 - 15:31

            @skittlebrau: The Odroid N2 I linked is also already set up out of the box. Kodi is pre-installed on the microsd. Tinkering is optional.

      • SickDmith on 09/01/2020 - 11:44

        I did a little research.
        As far as I understand there are a couple of benefits of Odroid N2 over RPi 4:
        * much better thermal design
        * eMMC option
        * slightly faster CPU and GPU

        But if you want to run anything other than ColreELEC I would pick RPi.

    • dancube on 09/01/2020 - 15:16

      I picked up one of these recently and it's great. Streams 4k files over my LAN without missing a heartbeat.

  • chyawala on 09/01/2020 - 11:07

    Looking for a recommendation on a media player for downloading a 4k Netflix show over slow connection to then play later.

    • frostman on 09/01/2020 - 11:18

      Im tossing up between this and the Roku Stick+.
      Not sure how a HDMI Stick can buffer 4K movies with Dolby audio over wifi with such small form factor

      • chyawala on 09/01/2020 - 15:15

        Indeed. You can download shows on the phone apps, so looking for that feature.

  • Ringu on 09/01/2020 - 11:25

    Just beware, this unit is designed to be ON all the time, but it gets VERY hot. You can't power it down, so you need to pull the plug if you want to switch it off, but then it can screw up your HDMI/ARC connection.

    • frostman on 09/01/2020 - 11:26

      ok thanks for letting me know, that's a deal breaker for me.

      Where did you get the info from

      • Ringu on 09/01/2020 - 11:28
        +1

        I have the unit myself. It's been replaced by Shield since, as there was too many headaches with Vero in my case.

        • balkerman on 12/01/2020 - 21:52

          The shield 2017 is the same, the light turns off but its still on… FYI

  • Omarko on 09/01/2020 - 11:27

    what about Xiaomi Mi Box S ? I have few and they seem to do the job very well and are $100 delivered.

    • frostman on 09/01/2020 - 11:28

      Yeah if you want your personal information and watching habits harvested

      • Omarko on 09/01/2020 - 11:34

        I guess question is what do they do with it that impacts us as consumers personally?

        also I thought DNS blockers like pihole block sending out info by blacklisting the domains lot of android boxes have.

        • frostman on 09/01/2020 - 11:37

          I'm cautious around Xiaomi products, just me.

  • Xiaomate on 09/01/2020 - 11:39

    Am also curious as to what ozbargain's favourite streaming box is?

    • SickDmith on 09/01/2020 - 11:45
      -3

      Apple TV 4K?
      :)

      Judging by upvote numbers through recent posts.

      • frostman on 09/01/2020 - 11:48
        +1

        Yep, but I believe Apply TV as a media player is being phased out by Apple.

        Also AppleTV can't play ahem, all video file sources.

    • frostman on 09/01/2020 - 11:48
      -1

      Here are my thoughts

      NvIdia Shield 2019 - Best all rounder but not released here yet
      Nvidia Shield 2017-2018 - Good all rounder with 4K, Dolby Atmos, etc but it's quite LARGE compared to others
      VERO - Great form factor, support for all video files but apparently just been told you can't turn it off
      ROKU - Great form factor, 4K, Atmos, but cannot play lossless audio and has inbuilt ads

      • teros on 09/01/2020 - 12:00

        The Shield 2018 without the SSD HDD is actually pretty slim line i hide it behind the TV.

        I haven't really seen that many advantages between the Nvidia 2019 over the 2018 except dolby vision the ai scaling i bet will be ported across (xda are looking into porting dolby and ai) but if it's just a media player would be fine.

        The gaming on the shield isn't to bad either surprised.

        The shield for TV is pretty good as well i'm using it for sling / foxtel and works very nicely.

    • LolComputers on 09/01/2020 - 11:50
      +3

      Nvidia Shield

    • yanivsr on 09/01/2020 - 12:03

      Nvidia Shield is the top 1 for me, waiting for 2019 model to arrive Australia market, currently using 2017 and it is awesome and powerful with amazing UI experience.

    • drinkin-beer on 09/01/2020 - 12:05

      Not sure what streaming you mean specifically, but if its Netflix, Amazon etc. i use an Xbox One S. Supports 4k, Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision, HDR etc. Can be bought very cheap at $200 new and even cheaper second hand.

    • ashanrath on 09/01/2020 - 12:59
      +1

      Vodafone TVs seem to be popular. Hardware x265, 4k, local warranty $72.

    • wisc on 09/01/2020 - 12:59
      +1

      Vodafone tv for $72 bux,all day every day and twice on Sunday's… simple efficient and effective

      • Punkboy on 11/02/2020 - 14:48

        Doesn't cover HD audio pass through and doubt it covers HDR.

  • hen dawg on 09/01/2020 - 12:12

    OP not mentioning Apple TV 4k? Bit more money but seems to do everything, even if you don't like Apple (which I don't) it's a option if want a no hastle streamer and video player.
    Currently $207 with OW price beat here: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/511040

    I'll leaving streaming to Android TV on my Sony and will be getting ODroid N2, works out about AUD$135 with postage.

  • jv on 09/01/2020 - 12:18
    -2

    Vero 4K+ Media Player £101.15

    Is this Vero good?

    • vicerum on 09/01/2020 - 14:19
      +1

      It's a cheap $50 chinese media box, with a fancy website and priced 4x higher. Not worth it.

  • Atlantus on 09/01/2020 - 13:01

    You can shut down the device, but you will need to power cycle it to turn it back on.

    • jv on 09/01/2020 - 14:36

      That's a security feature.

  • bluehalk on 09/01/2020 - 13:27

    How do people get around the limitation of the TV's audio passthrough?

    I have 4K tv and 4K media plater (Apple TV 4K and Neo U9-H) and cannot get anything more than stereo to passthrough the TV as TV is limited to 2 Channel audio. To make it worse the soundbar in use only has one HDMI connected to connect to TV's ARC port. So, I have 4K video but 50 year old audio.

    Makes me wonder why would I even bother buying these 4K media player if there is no audio to match.

    • vicerum on 09/01/2020 - 14:18
      +1

      If you want decent audio, you need to purchase an AVR (Yamaha, Denon, Marantz, etc.) or at the very least, a top quality soundbar + subwoofer combo.

      Hook up your setup using HDMI like this: Media Player -> AVR -> TV (connect to the TV's HDMI ARC port)

      Set your media player audio to passthrough (aka bitstream) rather than manage internally. You don't want to see PCM. This tells the audio signal to be processed by the AVR, which is what it's designed for.

      Then you can get your PS4, Xbox, whatever plugged into the other inputs in the AVR to have their sound go through there as well.

      • frostman on 09/01/2020 - 14:50
        -1

        That's only if you have a hectic 5.1 or 7.1 physical setup with speakers all around you.

        If you have a decent soundbar, it should play the audio well enough with the encoding on the Media Player.

        I.e

        Media Player > Soundbar (HDMI IN) > TV ARC

      • bluehalk on 09/01/2020 - 16:36

        I do have a dedicated theatre room for serious movie experience with dolby atmos configured speakers, The TV in that room is android 4K tv and also have a dedicated AVR where all of my other components plugs in and has no issue with audio passthrough.

        The one in question is for living room, where I have Sonos Beam as the sound bar and 2 Sonos ones and Sonos Sub for 5.1 setup along with Apple TV for latest apps. This is where the TV is limiting the Audio potential, TV only passes through 5.1 for Broadcast channels and for inbuilt apps, anything external connected is just stereo. Mind you the TV is 4K and only few years old, very disappointed that it does not allow passthrough of 5.1 audio for external sources.

        Here, I wanted to minimise the setup and cables and thats why went for Sonos for wireless audio, which only has one HDMI port which must be connected to HDMI ARC port (Only TV). I was just curious if others where in the same boat as me and if they had worked around any solution.

        Only connection option in this case is Apple TV > TV < Sound bar.

        • vicerum on 10/01/2020 - 11:38

          You want both the Apple TV and the TV itself plugging into the Soundbar.

          If your Sonos soundbar only supports one HDMI in port, and using TOSLink optical isnt an option, you might need a different soundbar.

          What exact TV do you have? I'm surprised it doesnt handle 5.1 audio in some form, even if its just basic.

          • bluehalk on 10/01/2020 - 11:52

            @vicerum: TV is Samsung 4K UA55HU7000. Samsung verified it that TV does not passthrough 5.1 audio either via HDMI ARC or Toslink for any external sources. Only inbuilt apps and Free to Air broadcast are supported. It is the same case with many TVs, only very recently TVs have started supporting 5.1 audio passthrough.

            I am very much sure that this is a software limitation on Samsung's part than hardware limitation of the TV to force consumers to upgrade. Same as newer apps are not available nor the newer version of the apps.

            I bought the ATV4K for Disney+ and ATV+ apps but unfortunately stuck with stereo sound.

            Many soundbars (Sonos, Bose to name couple of the popular ones) these days only come with one HDMI port that needs to be connected to TVs ARC port and TV acts as a middle switch for the rest of the components.

    • SickDmith on 09/01/2020 - 14:19

      I tested CoreELEC running on Odroid N2 last week.
      Audio passthrough worked Ok for AC3 and DTS.

      • vicerum on 09/01/2020 - 14:21
        +2

        Correct - Odroid N2 can handle passthrough of all audio formats, E-AC3, Dolby TrueHD, DTS MA, Atmos and DTS:X too. But you still need an AVR or a similar audio processing device to actually accept that signal. Many cheaper TV's dont support these formats natively.

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