As one should have expected after the Kodi 21 “Omega” release last month, the LibreELEC 12 lightweight Linux media center distribution is now out with many devices updated to 64-bit, including the Rasberry Pi 4 and 5 SBCs.
LibreELEC 11 was released last year based on Kodi 20 “Nexus” and bringing back support for Amlogic devices. LibreELEC 12 builds on that and benefits from the new features added to Kodi 21 such as FFmpeg 6 and works on Arm platforms based on Allwinner, Amlogic, Broadcom (Raspberry Pi), and Rockchip processors, as well as generic x86 computers.
It’s an easy option to create a dedicated HTPC based on a range of hardware with all the features brought by Kodi 21 media center. Since so many platforms are supported there are always some limitations for each and known problems:
- Raspberry Pi – 50/60fps H.264 HW decoding may need force_turbo=1 or core_freq_min=500 in config.txt to avoid AV-sync-issues/skipping
- Several Amlogic devices are well supported – compared to Allwinner/Rockchip, see below – but with a range of missing features
- No support for updates from older LibreELEC releases (clean install is mandatory)
- No support for internal eMMC installs except WeTek Hub/Play2 and SBC boards
- No support for SSV6501 and S908CS WiFi chips
- No drivers for in-box DVB tuners
- No hardware deinterlacing
- No HDR to SDR tone mapping
- No formal support for newer S905X2/D2/Y2, S905X3, S922X, and A312D devices (Android is recommended for those due to a complex situation concerning Linux drivers. Note: CoreELEC is also another option)
- Known problems:
- Allwinner OrangePi Win does not work properly
- Allwinner and Rockchip devices are not widely tested, and there may be issues
- Rockchip RK3328 devices such as the Rock64 SBC are currently not working.
You can check whether your device is supported and get an OS image on the Downloads page. If going the upgrade path from LibreELEC 11 to LibreELEC 12, note that Widevine DRM will need to be reinstalled for those Arm platforms that switch from 32-bit to 64-bit. Further details, notably about the Amlogic Linux drivers situation, can be found in the announcement.
Thanks to Anonymous for the tip.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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There are other options beside Android.
That was informative. Could you extend your answer to being ‘helpful’ by specifiying *what* those other options are?
I would assume he means Coreelec.
CoreELEC seems odd. They don’t support older chips nor the newest. They’re in an odd gap between.
Doesn’t all users touching Amlogic devices know for CoreELEC distro?
With linux 2.6.5 BSP Kernel?
Almost.
Project Amlogic-ng will still be supported by using kernel 4.9.269. Amlogic-ne is upgraded to kernel version 5.4.180.
It is media playback device not some first line of defense in the home. That’s why I would prefer media playback over linux kernel version. Newer is not always better 🙂
Older chipsets like the S905 have been dropped a long while ago.
Yes, s905x3 device here with coreelec and Hyperion-NG internal grabber. That combined with some ws2812b rgb led strip and a esphome MCU does (ambi)light up our living room since years.
Very solid setup in all for under $50 back in the day
CoreELEC is indeed the way to go for AMLogic devices, whether NG, NE or what is coming next, NO.
I forgot about that one. I added it to the post as an alternative to Android for newer Amlogic devices.
Another example of how the Pi5 development is so much more advanced than the RK3588 that is languishing in pedestrian pace advancement due to Rockchip’s dreadful support.
It’s a virtuous circle. Raspberry Pi gets more users because of software support, and it gets more support because it has more users, even though the hardware is not quite as good. Rockchip RK3566/RK3568 support is quite good in mainline Linux, so without the larger adoption (and hype) behind the Raspberry Pi ecosystem it may have been selected by LibreELEC.
What would be a good non-pi board for this? Is there a Rockchip 356x board with suitable case for the livingroom or tv-mount option? Or a good AMLogic one? Looking around on Aliexpress you drown in the options…
Looks like the C2 version doesn’t work. And CoreELEC doesn’t support the board at all. *sigh*