System Integration Questions for Vero 4K+

Help and Support Vero 4K / Vero 4K +
1

Hello everyone!

Just placed an order for a Vero 4K+, which I’ll use to replace my aging (but beloved) Chromebox running Libreelec I built years ago. After reading up here I’m pretty confident I understand how to get the Vero 4K+ running and integrated with my other devices, but I’d like to review my configuration and intended uses so as to anticipate any issues.

Existing Equipment/Configuration:

Display: TCL 55P605, Roku TV, 4K DV
AVR: Denon X3300W (firmware current as of 12/2/18)
Fileserver: Windows 10 Pro shared folder via SMB; adding a Synology NAS in the near future
Network: Wired GbE via Netgear unmanaged switch (tested at close to port speed0
Remote Control: Logitech Harmony Hub with Smart Control Remote

Intended Uses/Key Features:

Control via Harmony Remote
Streaming local MKV files, in resolutions/colorspace ranging from NTSC/PAL DVD to Bluray to 4K SDR/HDR
Operate UI in 1080p or whatever provides best experience
Automatic framerate/resolution/colorspace switching, so that device only sends the correct format and doesn’t do any unnecessary scaling/conversion
Audio passthrough for AC3/DTS variants up to DTS MA at 96/24 and Dolby TrueHD at 192/24
Audio support for multichannel FLAC and PCM up to 96/24

Questions:

  1. What is the current best practice, balancing ease of installation and performance, for controlling the Vero 4K+ via a Harmony Hub? Is this still the recommended procedure or is there something better? Configure Harmony Elite + Hub with Vero 4k/Kodi
  2. After the October updated, is framerate/resolution/colorspace switching fully supported on the Vero 4K+? Any notable limitations?
  3. Any recommended best practices for SMB sharing?
  4. What is the recommended best file sharing protocol coming from a Synology NAS (which supports CIFS/AFP/NFS/FTP/WebDAV)?
  5. Is there a comprehensive list of supported codecs for the Vero 4K+? Or does it support everything Kodi can play out?
  6. Any notable precautions given my setup and objectives?

Thank you in advance! Really excited about this.

2

Sharing from the Vero to other devices?

NFS with kernel mounts (means either fstab or autofs based)

3

Hi,

  1. Harmony guys will be able to help you there.
  2. Things should work well. There are some workarounds for the LG TVs that will be introduced in the next update
  3. Use a static IP and os based mounts if you can.
  4. NFS is a good choice.
  5. If you have Hi10 content (10-bit h264), you will run in to problems. Otherwise, you should be fine.

The Vero should meet your requirements.

Please let us know if you have any further questions.

4
  1. With the Harmony Hub, you can connect via Bluetooth to the Vero 4k+, which is very responsive and would be the preferred way. You can control the Vero 4k+ in different ways, as you can see from the thread you linked, but Logitech recommends setting it up as a “Microsoft/Kodi” device (Harmony and Kodi) - I did so and it works very well. You would need to use the original Vero remote to enable Bluetooth and pair the Vero 4K+ with the Harmony remote, and that’s it.
5

Excellent, thanks everyone for your prompt reply. Answers/follow ups in order:

  1. Sorry I should have been more clear. Sharing from my PC to the Vero. Sam’s reply answered my question, and is already how I’ve implemented SMB.

  2. @sam_nazarko - I figured Hi10 would be an issue, given that I imagine Vero is decoding it in software and it’s generally troublesome. Is it supported at any resolution bitrate? If I’m going to transcode my few Hi10 files, would HEVC at 1080p be a good choice for the Vero?

  3. @Boombuia - excellent, that looks great. To confirm that I understand correctly, that method leverages the Harmony Hub’s ability to impersonate a bluetooth keyboard, so once Harmony is set up and the Vero is paired I could assign any of Kodi’s hotkeys to the remote. Have you tried using the Harmony mobile app’s software keyboard in this application? How well/awful does it work in your experience? I’ll report back my experience for everyone’s benefit.

Thanks everyone!

6

You’re welcome.

  1. Good to hear.

  2. You can get away with 720p; 1080p is a bit of a push. Transcoding to HEVC at 1080p will be fine. Hi10 is the only real gotcha; apart from Apple ProRes.

Sam

7

hi! yes, the Harmony appears as a Keyboard to the Vero. And the Harmony’s “Microsoft/Kodi” device has lots of Kodi commands available to configure the remote’s buttons as you wish. You can do even more with the Keymap Editor addon in Kodi.

Never used the Harmony app keyboard, though - I use Yatse for that and it works very well.

good luck!

8

Sounds good! Thanks everyone.

9

A few more questions this morning:

  1. Is it possible to change the background image for the default OSMC skin?
  2. Are other skins (Aeon Nox, etc) supported in OSMC?
  3. A line in this state of HDR thread (specifically, “Forcing 4:4:4 or 4:2:2 10bit works fine for 4K HDR with all 4K HDR TV’s.”) has me wondering: what are the best display settings in my configuration/application? Will it be necessary to force 4:4:4 10 bit and if so, is there a special procedure for doing so?

Thank you!

10

Yes

Yes

11

SMB should work ok from your current Windows setup, I use the same protocol with a wired GbE connection to an unmanaged switch from my Win 10 PC to serve full uncompressed UHD HDR rips to my 4K+ without any issues, however I would recommend looking into setting up autofs or fstab on your Vero, both of which in my non expert experience greatly help for any bandwidth stretching files.
I personally use autofs on my 2nd Vero setup which is a 1st gen Vero 4K, but that is because my Windows server isn’t always on and to me its a better option for the always on Vero than fstab, I should set up autofs on my 4K+ too but as I haven’t run into any issues yet using just SMB I’ve been too lazy to do it lol.

I’ve read various threads here about issues with Denon AVR’s, I have a different Denon model to you but the only issue I have with it is that videos containing DTS HD MA tracks go silent if I pause then resume the video,
my fix/workaround is to just stop the video then choose resume when I want to restart it and then the sound works 100% of the time.

12

The 4K + has Gigabit Ethernet, which lends itself to more tolerance using standard SMB and NFS mounts.

Sam

17

Got it, makes sense re GbE and NFS. No need for the more efficient protocol if we’re not running so close to wire speed.

So no need to force 4:4:4? If I do, is the setting within the GUI? Or something I have to modify elsewhere via SSH?

18

Most users are enjoying their LGs with no problems. There shouldn’t be a need to force anything.

19

I’ve got a Denon too, and am sharing videos from my Synology NAS.
I’ve never experienced your problems with unresumable DTS-HD sound. It always takes roughly a second to start the sound again but that’s fine with me.
The only problem I’ve experienced so far is that playing a new codec / feature like HDR the first time my image goes black and does only come back after a hard reboot. But after that the problem never comes back and everything plays fine. Even while playing a different file with the same specifications.
But I think that’s a specific problem with the TV/Vero combination because my tv always warns me before, that he will apply changes to the hdmi port to allow new stuff.
Also the test cases are getting fewer after already experiencing it twice.

20

Noted, thanks everyone. @squirrelthroat - what TV are you using?

Hardest part now is waiting for the thing to get here :slight_smile:

21

I’m using the first model of the vero 4K, therefore an older one than you’ll have.
My other hardware is a LG OLED65B8, a Denon X2200W, and a Synology 918+ NAS