I have a Roku and it runs these apps… can a Vero 4K+ ?
TV/Movies:
- YouTubeTV ?
- Amazon Video ?
- Hulu ?
- Netflix ?
- Vudu ?
ETC.
Music:
- Spotify ?
- Pandora ?
- Amazon Music ?
ETC.
There’s a YouTube add-on. No idea about YouTubeTV.
Kodi v18 supports this.
Don’t think so.
Nope. Never heard of it, in honesty.
Search forum for solution
Not sure about that one, never heard of it. Sounds Latin.
There seems no Kodi addon for Vudu available. So your only option would be via a Android Image but I wouldn’t recommend that.
Since you mentioned Android image… is there any way to install/enable dual-boot Osmc / Android in the Vero 4k+ ?
Opinions may vary on this point, but my view is that the Vero 4K+ is not really designed for Internet-based video streaming. It’s designed to stream video locally - files that you have stored on your local network.
It does an okay job of YouTube, but resolution is limited to 1080p/60 or lower - no 4K or HDR playback. While it can play video from Netflix and Amazon, the maximum useable resolution there is 720p.
If you want something that will primarily be used with services like Netflix and Amazon than you’re probably better off with a different device (e.g. your Roku). For local streaming, the Vero 4K+ may well be a better choice.
2 Likes
I personally agree totally with that perception but the price, IMHO, only to play HDR10 local files (the rest can be got by, virtually, almost any player out there) is just too expensive for lots of users. That’s the weakest point and I’d love this device could be more flexible due to that high price point.
Don’t get me wrong I know what I paid for. At least OSMC is way more open than Android and the box can get more uses than just playing local files but even with that possibilities 140€ is a really serious amount of money for a box based upon free/GPL software and running in a “good enough” but not really special hardware.
I think you can safely assume that if adding the ability to handle Internet video services nicely were easy, the OSMC guys would have done it by now.
Playing 4K/HDR stuff on YouTube would require changes to the inputstream.adaptive Kodi add-on, which is not directly under OSMC’s control. (It’s conceivable this could happen one day - the hardware is capable of accelerating VP9.2 playback - but one should never buy a piece of hardware based on what it might be capable of in the future.)
For things like Netflix, you’re up against Netflix’s own policies. They insist that a dedicated Netflix app can only be run on a device that is thoroughly locked down, OS and bootloader. Precisely because OSMC is such an open platform, Netflix will never officially support it. Unofficial Netflix plug-ins depend on something called Widevine, which only allows hardware-acceleration at resolutions up to 720p. (Again, Netflix itself enforces that - if Widevine offered acceleration above 720p, Netflix would block it). It’s possible that optimisations may one day allow the Vero 4K to play 1080p Netflix videos smoothly in software, but you’d be unwise to count on that, and 4K Netflix playback will definitely never happen.
Amazon Video also uses Widevine and is subject to similar limitations, and I think Hulu does as well.
As far as the cost is concerned, I agree that the Vero 4K+ is expensive compared to generic S905X boxes, but A: the secondary hardware is better than on some others - generic Chinese boxes often have very slow RAM or inadequate heatsinks, etc. - and B: what you’re paying for, primarily, is the support, not the hardware. It’s up to any individual purchaser whether that’s worth the extra money - no one is forcing you to buy one. 
Judging by the comments on this forum, Vero4Ks are flying off the shelves as fast as Sam can produce them, so they are obviously not too expensive for a lot of people. The only device I can think of that will do the streaming stuff you want, as well as administering a local library, is an AppleTV 4K which will cost you at least half as much again as the Vero …
The reason Netflix et. al. are not available on the Vero (or any Kodi-based device) is more due to licensing issues rather than technical ones. The rights holders of movie and music ip are really not keen on anything that smells of open-source.
On a side note, I have a ‘4K’ tv of about 50". To be honest, I can barely tell the difference between 720p and 1080p from my usual viewing distance (~2.5 m) on this screen. So, unless you have a > 100" screen (or sit really close to your tv) it really doesn’t matter whether the Vero can stream 4K or not - you probably won’t be able to tell the difference anyway … 
You are both right. But it doesn’t mean users can’t demand or expect more services in the box. Specially the most popular ones without losing quality. And for playing 720 or 1080, honestly, I don’t think I would have purchased this box.
Well the only alternative that comes close to the vero is the apple 4k that comes without usb support and a very closed down device compared to the vero also good luck asking Apple to fix your issue for you if you have one or implement a new feature you’d like.
Plenty of people would also rather die than bring an apple device into their home so that’s that
Apple is also more expensive
Obviously people have different expectations but I, for one, would never expect any more ‘services’ than what already are available. And, as has already been explained, the likelihood of Netflix or Amazon on this device in anything better than standard HD is very slim due to it being open-source.
I bought my Vero4k for what it does now - not for what it may or may not do in the future. I regard it’s 4K capabilities as an added bonus for if and when there appears any content actually worth watching in that format. For the time being almost all my library is SD or standard HD …
I think there has been some talk of an AndroidTV image for the Vero4K+ which presumably would allow the big streaming services to run in 4K but surely most people who have a 4K tv already have these apps built into the tv itself so I’m not sure there’s much point having them on the Vero too …
Yes and no; in this context, mostly no. 
The limit of human vision is around 1 minute of arc (1/60th of a degree) which, if you do the sums, means that if you’re viewing from around 2.5m, on a 42" screen you can’t see any difference between 720p and 4K, and on a 65" screen you can’t see any difference between 1080p and 4K.
However, that analysis assumes that you’re dealing with otherwise-similar, high-quality sources. I have a 65" screen, with similar viewing distance, and I usually can’t see the difference between a 1080p blu ray and a 4K SDR version of the same thing. But the difference between 1080p and 4K on Netflix is very visible indeed. The reason is simply that 1080p Netflix streams have a quite low bit-rate - often around 5Mb/s (as compared with 30Mb/s or more for a 1080p blu ray). So, when it comes to streaming something like Netflix, you can easily see a difference between 1080p and 4K versions of the same video - it’s not really to do with the resolution as such, it’s more to do with the source quality.
And on top of that, of course, there’s HDR and WCG to consider - if the TV is capable of rendering those, then the difference between 4K HDR and 1080p can be dramatic.
That is true, although some might argue that it has fewer bugs in the first place. 
Plus, it runs apps that are under active development - Apple may not offer new features, but the authors of Infuse and MrMC will.
It is obviously rather more expensive than the Vero 4K. As a way of accessing Netflix, Amazon, etc. it is greatly superior to the Vero 4K. In some situations it’s rather less good at local streaming: in particular, it can’t bitstream audio tracks, meaning you can’t have Dolby Atmos or DTS:X on locally-streamed video. (There are also one or two - rare! - situations where it’s better for local streaming, e.g. if you’re an anime fan and want to play stuff encoded as Hi10P; but that’s definitely the exception rather than the rule).
I don’t think that’s a safe assumption. I believe Netflix tends to insist on a device’s boot-loader being locked down before they will certify it for a proper Netflix app - so, it’s not enough for the device to run Android, it has to be incapable of running anything else.
Also debatable. Getting Dolby Atmos sound out of a TV’s built-in app is not so easy - and sometimes impossible. And people like myself who use video processors need everything to come from an external source. (Okay, we’re a minority! ) Also, some TVs can’t play 4K/HDR on YouTube and/or on BBC iPlayer, but can handle those if they come from an external player.
Sorry for hitting a raw nerve in asking about this. The explanations of internet streaming vs. local streaming, and licensing issues, were helpful.
Here’s some “How To” for a couple of these popular apps/services:
https://discourse.osmc.tv/t/amazon-and-spotify-addons-for-osmc-kodi
So did I. I bought the box because what it does now, but to be honest, once you have set up your box (2hours . 2 days…2 weeks?) … which support effort could I expect/demand if no new features will be added ?
We can’t forget this is GPL software and without legal streaming support atm, so no expensive licenses to pay. It is just a customized Kodi box built over free software with a “just enough” HW meant to do only that job.
If I pay 140€ I just expect more than plain support for the things the box already do, for the incoming years.
If only a few users ask for a feature that could be considered as “niche” and if it’s a really popular demand high chances that Kodi Team (not only OSMC) will implement it.
I know, it’s my totally my fault to expect “a bit more” but also my right to expect in the following months “a value added”.
Just mentioned it could be great to get a “dual boot” for Android. At lest the box could have a chance to be used with legal apps if anyone is interested.
And I’m sorry, I’m starting to sound a bit grumpy, I know, I just expect you to see my point, not to fully share it. And not trying to ruin anyone’s experience.
Yes, I know there’s more to 4K than simply the resolution. I can well imagine a low bitrate 4K stream can look ‘better’ than a good 1080p one.
The Wetek boxes were Netflix certified weren’t they? They came with a OpenElec/LibreElec too. But maybe that’s changed …
I have to admit I’ve lost interest in the big streaming services since they never seem to send anything I want to watch anyway. So I’ve gone back to buying good old fashioned Blurays and even DVDs …
Aah! I always forget there are actually people who use all those toytown multichannel audio formats! Me I’m resolutely stereo. In fact most of my library is probably recorded in glorious mono on a rented Nagra III …
I’m with you there. I run everything through an eeColor LUT box which, incedentally, is max 1080p. But as you say, that’s a minority use case.
I am having a bit of a problem to follow your logic.
So when you buy a car you also assume that 2 months after you start driving the producer invites you for a repair shop visit to add you additional features?
2 Likes
Lumagen RadiancePro, here, so I need an external player for 4K sources.
Don’t try to move the conversation to an another …waaaaaayy different arena. That’s not very nice. If you want to talk about cars I want to talk about phones and computers.
I still use a 10 years old laptop computer because it supports Windows 10 and tons of apps. 10 years old.
Talking about Apple, not my favourite brand, my wife’s iPhone 5s still is getting updated… acquiring new features about 4 years after first purchase.
Any premium software/hardware products I’ve bought and had lasted for more than 2 years, usually have been able to get updates to improve and increase their features over the time.
You sell this box at higher price point than competition while offering free software and not spectacular HW (that’s a fact). And you claim that the price is because it will be supported along 5 years.
¿ Does it mean than if AV1 becomes “a popular codec” in 3 years (I hope that not) I can demand an update ? I think that no, because AV1 will need HW decoding an this HW still hasn’t (as anyone board else atm, indeed).
So “by 5 years support” I personally would like to get new/more features.
¿ You won’t add it ? I guess I’ll have to live with it.
Have a nice day
Why would I see them as “attacks”. I am just not getting your logic of buying a 140€ TV Box versus a 140,000€ car