This will probably end up a pretty long post; but I’d like to cover a few things.
We’re aware that there are devices out that are favoured because of easy access to services and DRM protected content. If there was an easy way to add these services in without compromising what OSMC is, we’d be doing that now.
With Widevine certification and HDCP; we’d be able to do 1080p for most services via Android using a dual-boot based solution. The restrictions for content usually come in at 4K resolution. I believe this is what happened with Netflix on WeTek devices – and output of up to 1080p was possible.
However, Netflix then retroactively changed the rules; shutting out customers from receiving these services. That’s a big worry for me. It probably wouldn’t reflect well if you bought a Vero 4K + on the premise that you could watch Netflix via an official app; and support for it was removed spontaneously and we could not tell you or even confirm if it’s coming back.
I think that if we were to add official support for these services; we should only add them if and only if we can provide the same experience or a better experience than other devices. That means being able to watch Netflix at 4K if a user wishes etc.
Vero 4K / 4K + supports TEE (Trusted Execution Environment). This makes it possible (in theory) to have a fully encrypted video pipeline under Linux; with OSMC. The bootloader would be locked; but this wouldn’t make a difference for the end user. You’d still have an open source environment and complete freedom of the device; as encrypted content would be handled by a different, secure part of the chip.
With this, someone could go and build a Kodi add-on, and we could push Netflix at 4K. The SoC vendor (AMLogic) even have the userland implementation finished. Providers such as Netflix are currently on the fence. When discussing this with them, they are more open to the idea than they were three years ago.
We’ll never be able to please everyone based on price point, but the goal is to deliver as much as we can at a ~£100 price point and be competitive. The Vero 4K + has been very well received.
A large number of sellers on popular ‘deals’ websites use very cheap and cheerful parts to put it politely. They purchased refurbished or unsuitable (lowly binned) chips and offer flash sales to recoup losses. I’ve done some analysis on the BOMs of some devices sold; and I’d take a guess that most sales are making between $2-3 per device. At this price point, I think you’re unlikely to see any level of support beyond shipping.
These boxes are unlikely to offer OTA updates; and at that profit margin and price point, I don’t really blame them.
We aim to produce monthly updates. We didn’t do one in November, because we’re in a limbo between Kodi v17 and Kodi v18; and we wanted to dedicate more time to improving video playback for 4K displays.
These aren’t just maintenance updates, but also updates to improve the user experience and add more functionality. You wrote to me about this via PM a couple of days ago, and I elaborated on some of the things we are working on in more detail.
We are at the point where we need to significantly re-develop OSMC as well as some of the infrastructure behind it; and we are investing a lot of time and money in to that behind the scenes.
I’ve noticed that people start to understand the value proposition of OSMC when something goes wrong. While this may be anecdotal, I’ve noticed from the forums and emails that a user often starts to appreciate OSMC after they have experienced a problem and found a resolution for it. Strangely enough – something will be better received if it’s broken and then fixed, than if it works out of the box.
I think you might have oversimplified this one.
GPL software does not mean that there are no costs involved. There are about 200 patches on top of Kodi; which is one of the many packages that make up OSMC. This costs time and money to maintain. If a set top manufacturer just ship the Kodi APK on top of Android, then they do not have this responsibility to consider.
But you can’t just go out and take a chip and sell it. You’ll need to certify it, license it (HDMI). This takes time and money as well.
AV1 is a draft specification, but support has been added using dav1d for the next release. There is a lot that can change though as the decoder is not finalised. I don’t think we will see much material in this format for a few years; but I may be wrong.
And you will.
But it sounds like you are saying you would like us to add specific features for you. We can do this – if feasible. Adding a half-baked implementation of several streaming services doesn’t make sense; when most people’s TV’s built in apps will do a better job.
Quite. The Fire TV stick is effectively sold at cost (and likely a loss leader on events like Black Friday) which exists to encourage people to subscribe to Amazon Prime.
I don’t think it’s possible for a device to do everything. Spotify seemed to do a good job in unifying a large number of labels and companies with different interests to deliver music under one roof. I think with video, this is unlikely to happen. We have Apple; Netflix and Amazon spending large sums of money trying to be king and even supermarkets now trying to get in on the action. I think we will infact see an even more fragmented streaming market over time.
A large number of improvements (particularly HDR) are developed by OSMC are used by CE and we remain a significant contributor to their kernel and project.
Cheers
Sam