Special QQ Edition Kodi Media Player (Round 1 closed - Wait listing for possible Round 2)

[HomerJAU]

BTW: Lee @letting1 in Canada is testing my first NVME SSD image (cloning to a new 500GB SD) on his NUC8 (Thank you Lee), so that’s getting close to being available. I’ve tested here but it needs fresh eyes to review/question.

I’ll need to write up a small pdf doc with ‘How To’ info for users to get started and get their media into the Kodi library (database). How the UI works and the important settings, which will nearly all be preset, but good to know as a new owner/kodi user.

 

[PK]

The NUC8s give you 4K HDR video (and a 4K Kodi UI, if you have a modern 4K TV it looks superb). These NUCs have way faster processing and better graphics processing. No lag in the UI. So yes to the upgrade, especially at this price.

You could buy a more recent NUC (faster again) and build your own again but that would cost at least $200 more than these NUCs. The NUC11 Pro (i3) is the sweet spot for those interested in rolling their own NUC.

Yes I now have a 4K tv and it sounds like a good time to upgrade!
Count me in too...Thanks Garry

 

[elroy]

Definitely curious and interested - recently retired so this would be a good way to stretch the brain a bit, having not used any media player before. Southern California is home!

Thanks for offering Garry.

 

[HomerJAU]

You’re going to love it Elroy, and something to play with!!

 

[HomerJAU]

Still no member(s) here willing to build some NUCs, although as of now US members count is 15 NUCs, that's a couple days work at the minimum and a big commitment in unpacking/re packing etc. So I understand why no one has offered to help (yet...). Then there's ensuring each NUC has correct address and arranging shipment, time consuming...

Alternative ideas (chime in please):
1. We might be able to get a PC company now selling 2nd hand NUCs to do the builds and sell directly to members. I will provide my custom LibreElec disc image to clone. This would add to the cost as an IT company won't provide new parts (NVME SSD and Power Supplies) without adding a profit margin. Then there's man-hours to update bios, clone the drive and install NVME drive. I have approached one company but no response as yet..

2. We get anyone in US willing to clone the drives. This is the longest task (time wise) but easy. But the project could fund a fast dual drive NVME cloning tool. So any one even without IT skills can just sit there and load each new NVME and push 'Clone' until all 15 are done. So we'd have 15 NVMEs ready to install. The cloning tool costs around $90 so that would add about $6 to the price of all NUCs in North America. Maybe those 15 NVMEs can be supplied to the NUC vendor to shorten their manual effort? 15 NVMEs are very light and asy to ship in a padded overnight shipment (cheap and easy to handle).

Typical NVME Cloning tool here:
https://www.amazon.com/WAVLINK-NVMe-Duplicator-Tool-Free-Dissipation/dp/B0D3BM1HWB

3. OR We ship all the NUCs to someone in US and all they do is update the bios on each NUC. This is the most difficult for non-IT experienced users. Disabling 'Secure Boot' and setting boot priority, upgrading bios from a USB drive and booting into a USB stick with Windows to run the HDMI firmware update. All that is probably 15mins to 20min per NUC initially, then faster as you feel comfortable with the process.

Now if 2 + 3 are done, anyone of the users here buying these NUCs can do the last part: Receive you NUC + NVME drive + Power Supply + Remote and install NVME in NUC: Unscrew 4 screws, remove the lid, unscrew one tiny captive screw, insert NVME drive in M.2 slot (carefully), replace captive screw, replace lid and do up 4 screw tightish. About 2 minutes.

Plug in the power supply (duh), push the 'on' button, NUC starts and goes to the Kodi main menu.

ONE ADDITIONAL TASK IS NEEDED and could be done by anyone with a USB keyboard: Pair the bluetooth remote to the NUC. You need a USB keyboard to navigate to the LibreElec/Kodi settings to click: 'Pair new device', hold a couple Remote keys down and the remote goes into Pair mode and shows in Kodi's Bluetooth settings, select it with the keyboard. Bang done! Ready to use.


Lets hope someone steps up to the plate, otherwise those willing to have a go to do samer tasks can help out and those that don't want any tech work can pull-out.

We are not yet at this decision time, lets see what happens over next few days.

Option 1 is easiest but most expensive. Maybe providing the cloned NVME SSDs to the NUC vendor would be best cost/effort scenario.

But that's were we are right now.

 

[humprof]

Still no member(s) here willing to build some NUCs, although as of now US members count is 15 NUCs, that's a couple days work at the minimum and a big commitment in unpacking/re packing etc. So I understand why no one has offered to help (yet...). Then there's ensuring each NUC has correct address and arranging shipment, time consuming...

Alternative ideas (chime in please):
1. We might be able to get a PC company now selling 2nd hand NUCs to do the builds and sell directly to members. I will provide my custom LibreElec disc image to clone. This would add to the cost as an IT company won't provide new parts (NVME SSD and Power Supplies) without adding a profit margin. Then there's man-hours to update bios, clone the drive and install NVME drive. I have approached one company but no response as yet..

2. We get anyone in US willing to clone the drives. This is the longest task (time wise) but easy. But the project could fund a fast dual drive NVME cloning tool. So any one even without IT skills can just sit there and load each new NVME and push 'Clone' until all 15 are done. So we'd have 15 NVMEs ready to install. The cloning tool costs around $90 so that would add about $6 to the price of all NUCs in North America. Maybe those 15 NVMEs can be supplied to the NUC vendor to shorten their manual effort? 15 NVMEs are very light and asy to ship in a padded overnight shipment (cheap and easy to handle).

Typical NVME Cloning tool here:
https://www.amazon.com/WAVLINK-NVMe-Duplicator-Tool-Free-Dissipation/dp/B0D3BM1HWB

3. OR We ship all the NUCs to someone in US and all they do is update the bios on each NUC. This is the most difficult for non-IT experienced users. Disabling 'Secure Boot' and setting boot priority, upgrading bios from a USB drive and booting into a USB stick with Windows to run the HDMI firmware update. All that is probably 15mins to 20min per NUC initially, then faster as you feel comfortable with the process.

Now if 2 + 3 are done, anyone of the users here buying these NUCs can do the last part: Receive you NUC + NVME drive + Power Supply + Remote and install NVME in NUC: Unscrew 4 screws, remove the lid, unscrew one tiny captive screw, insert NVME drive in M.2 slot (carefully), replace captive screw, replace lid and do up 4 screw tightish. About 2 minutes.

Plug in the power supply (duh), push the 'on' button, NUC starts and goes to the Kodi main menu.

ONE ADDITIONAL TASK IS NEEDED and could be done by anyone with a USB keyboard: Pair the bluetooth remote to the NUC. You need a USB keyboard to navigate to the LibreElec/Kodi settings to click: 'Pair new device', hold a couple Remote keys down and the remote goes into Pair mode and shows in Kodi's Bluetooth settings, select it with the keyboard. Bang done! Ready to use.


Lets hope someone steps up to the plate, otherwise those willing to have a go to do samer tasks can help out and those that don't want any tech work can pull-out.

We are not yet at this decision time, lets see what happens over next few days.

Option 1 is easiest but most expensive. Maybe providing the cloned NVME SSDs to the NUC vendor would be best cost/effort scenario.

But that's were we are right now.

I've cloned a drive before, @HomerJAU--once, using different software--but how hard can it be?

As for any or all of the other stuff: I suppose I can follow directions, especially if I've got a flight instructor talking me down. (Maybe by Zoom?) But apart from building a Hafler pre-amp as a teenager, my only experience taking apart/putting together computers or electronics consists of installing drives, cards, and fans; soldering the odd connection; and doing the occasional command-line thingy. So for the really sensitive stuff, you might want someone a bit more adept, especially if there's a danger of breaking or bricking anything!

And if Option 1 ends up costing everyone, I donno, 25 bucks or less, then I say let the pros do it!

 

[LuvMyQuad]

If you need anything done in the US i am more than willing to help out. I already run kodi from a mini non-NUC windows PC

 

[HomerJAU]

If you need anything done in the US i am more than willing to help out

Please PM me to discuss how much you a willing to do. Any of those previously listed tasks would be fantastic!!


@PK did some price searching on US websites and surprisingly (for me) Crucial P3 NVME SSDs are cheaper here in AU even paying 10% GST (sales tax) than the cheapest US price (38 USD in US vs around $33 USD here although exchange fees may bring that closer

I’d need to do exact numbers but it could work out to be cheaper to buy 20 NVME SSDs here, I’ll clone them then ship them all with remotes to whoever will do the assembly in US. Standby. They should by light enough to go express, unsure if taxes in US though…

(20 because the quantity is still rising here)

 

[Veganfloyd]

@HomerJAU, I'm in the UK and potentially interested in buying. I could have it shipped to a EU country if it worked easier. I have had a MeLe n5105 (windows) fanless NUC waiting in my drawers for 2 years until I find the time to set it up for streaming Atmos from my NAS. It's still sealed. If copying your drive image onto it was an option, I would be happy to have a go at it or find help locally. Happy to pay you either way.

 

[HomerJAU]

Ok. We have a way forward.

We have the option to buy a mix of BEK (slim) and BEH (high) NUC8s. The BEH are a little cheaper about $5 in small numbers, maybe about 6 only, then there are quite a few for $5 more than the BEK. To be fair I think the final BEH pricing will be the average price over all BEH purchases.

In addition I’ve offered a NUC BEH to @LuvMyQuad who is the guy that’s possibly saved this project! He has offered to do all work required to ship out to buyers here. Please give him a huge thank you!

The difference between Models, apart from height, is the BEH will house an internal 2.5” hard drive. So your choice. I don’t think an internal 2.5’ drive will be all that useful. External USB drives are cheaper and more versatile.

 

[humprof]

Ok. We have a way forward.

We have the option to buy a mix of BEK (slim) and BEH (high) NUC8s. The BEH are a little cheaper about $5 in small numbers, maybe about 6 only, then there are quite a few for $5 more than the BEK. To be fair I think the final BEH pricing will be the average price over all BEH purchases.

In addition I’ve offered a NUC BEH to @LuvMyQuad who is the guy that’s possibly saved this project! He has offered to do all work required to ship out to buyers here. Please give him a huge thank you!

The difference between Models, apart from height, is the BEH will house an internal 2.5” hard drive. So your choice. I don’t think an internal 2.5’ drive will be all that useful. External USB drives are cheaper and more versatile.

All hail LMQ! (And Homer.)

 

[HomerJAU]

ALL BUYERS - PLEASE CONFIRM YOUR ORDER AND NUC MODEL (CASE SIZE)
@esimms86 BEK
@GOS BEK
@CINERAMAX (x2)
@Steve Schoultz BEK
@J. PUPSTER BEK
@humprof BEH
@Mark Anderson
@Davey-J BEK
@barfle BE(any)
@jsulzinger BEH
@leefarber BE(any)
@mrcond
@PK BEK
@elroy BEK
@LuvMyQuad BE(any)
@bobtimms BEH
@gene_stl BEH
@djstephan BEK
@DJPauly BEK
@Trubbaman BEK
@Marplot BEK
@mathemusician BEK
@skindzier BEK
@atlantasteve BEH


I’m placing orders for hardware very soon for first round North American members and locking in final numbers. Last chance to order for round 1. There will only be a round two if enough users request, we can still get NUCs and do more builds in US. At the time of writing this I plan to order 21 units. If more orders arrive in next 24 hrs I'll increase that number. Currently we have 18 buys + 1 freebie to @LuvMyQuad for all the work he's about to perform building 20 NUCs!! Buyers will share the cost of his NUC (adding a few buck to each order, without Paul this project may never have been completed). Any complaints, talk to the manager

FINAL 24 hrs to confirm your order and whether you want a BEK (slim) or BEH (high) NUC. Delivery is still a couple weeks away, I will probably ask for a deposits tomorrow to secure your orders, after I re estimate all costs. Although there are still a few non exact numbers we’ll get close enough for deposits and get the final price after everything is purchased. the price is excluding shipping. We will get shipping prices soon.

I need deposits as I have to fund the purchasing. I'm retired and my AU bank will charge extortionate exchange rates and foreign currency fees, which will be passed onto buyers I'm afraid. They are one of the biggest banks in the world and got there on FEES and little competition.

The NUCs will be built by @LuvMyQuad in upstate NY and shipped to members from there.

See Post #50 for NUC sizes and Weights.

Remember these are 2nd hand NUCs, some may same slight imperfections. It will be the luck of the draw. (I won't see them, so be nice to Paul - (a joke )

Both models have identical specs except height & weight and BEH has space for a 2.5" internal drive
NUC BEK (slim) appear to be in better condition based on advert description and are fixed price
NUC BEH (tall) are in short supply. I have two sources, one is about $5 cheaper than the BEK (not many), the other is $5 more than the BEK (the balance of your orders). To be fair on buyers the final price for BEH will be the average price paid for BEH NUCs. EDIT: Looks like I can get all the BEHs we need at $5 under the BEK.

At this stage the pricing will come a little under my estimate in my opening post, even with the freebie going to Paul LMQ for his work. I found better speed NVME SSDs cheaper than the EBay deal, but I’m unsure of the tax Amazon US wants to charge me, it wants to charge me in iAUD and charge a tax to ship to NY, does that sound correct? I think it’s AU duty for > $1000 AUD, not sure. Maybe it’s US state taxes? Does that men tax on NUCs too? I’ll find out tomorrow I guess.

I would recommend the BEKs, there's a good chance these are in better condition, and there's really no need for tall. Use external USB drives (faster) than internal.

(For Aussie buyers I only have BEH models, but sales are still open as I have 3 unsold)

Any questions, please fire away.

Current Status:
NUCs are in stock awaiting orders. Now the numbers have increased I may try to shave another couple of dollars off each...
@PK found an ebat seller for slightly better pricing on the NVME SSDs (a buck & a quarter)
I have now ordered the remotes, shaved couple bucks off from a 'wholesaler'. I paid tax to import into US with order, let’s see if we’re hit at the border.
Tomorrow I will do numbers on the new power supplies. It may be cheaper to have them shipped directly from seller to each buyer (separately from the NUCs - samller NUC shipment will have $). I'll confirm.

The Linux (LibreElec/Kodi) disc image will be tested tomorrow outside my office here by @letting1 I may teak a couple of screens before its cloned to your NUCs

I think that's it.

If I don't get a confirmation of NUC size from buyers I'll order based on ratio of respondents.

THX
Garry

 

[bobtimms]

I'll go for a BEH.

 

[Methuselah’s Grandpa]

I use Kodi on my old Nvidia Shield so I am not really needing this but I just wanted to chime in and say that this is very cool what you are doing Gary!

I love the experience of a media library on Kodi & am very happy to see that more people will be experiencing this for themselves; ...it's more efficient, more enjoyable and overall just a MUCH better and more fulfilling way to listen to and browse your music collection than the clunky experience of using most other methods.

Cheers!

 

[PK]

BEK please

 

[Steve Schoultz]

BEK for me

 

[paligap]

What a wonderful idea and endeavor. Garry has been so helpful to so many of us in our pursuit of audio nirvana. If I hadn't recently bought another media player, I would definitely have been interested.

 

[gene_stl]

Should a person be interested in this if they have popped for a copy of jriver??? do kodi and jriver do the same thing?

 

[LuvMyQuad]

Should a person be interested in this if they have popped for a copy of jriver??? do kodi and jriver do the same thing?

Basically yes. But from what ive seen, the Kodi interface provides a better experience. Look at the screenshots at the start of the thread.

 

[PK]

All hail LMQ! (And Homer.)