Dolby Vision / HDR + Dolby Atmos on Minix Neo U9-H

Good question :).



The U9-H definitely supports HDR :). Works fine with the hardware in my sig, (although as stated I had to tinker a little to get it all right).

It could be something you've enabled/disabled or possibly an error with your Kodi. Try MX Player & see if HDR functions normally from that ;).

Following a direct hook up to your TV & subject to your AVR being fully HDR compatible, have you also tried using different HDMI cables to what you're currently using?

Is there anything else you haven't mentioned such as extremely long HDMI cable runs ;)??

Using mx player or vlc also doesn't output a hdr signal. My cable is 3m long and high speed so don't think it's the cable issue.
 
How are the movie colours when you play a non-HDR movie in forced HDR mode ? Are they good or not ?
@ArcticWolf unfortunately if I were to "force" the tv to output hdr, the color is quite bad. Overly saturated and color is all wrong on the non-hdr content. Even on hdr content, forcing it to display as hdr is not as gd or vibrant as if the content is automatically recognised by the TV (eg when the hdd with the content is connected direct to the TV and using the TV's internal player).

Have played ard and still somehow an unable to get the u9-h to recognise hdr content. Sigh.

Last resort is to try the libreelec method.

Using mx player or vlc also doesn't output a hdr signal. My cable is 3m long and high speed so don't think it's the cable issue.

OK, if no HDR in MX Player either that at least eliminates Kodi being the problem & it appears to be universal with your U9-H :(.

I know it's a pain in the backside ;), but if you have a spare cable do try it. (Unlikely it has a problem if it's working in every other regard but it happens)!! The cable supplied with the U9-H is fine, try a direct hook up to the TV, that way if it does work it'll save you additional messing around if it then doesn't work through the AVR.

Beyond a cable check that could mean defeat I'm afraid :(. Your device may have an unfortunate defect.

How long have you had your U9-H? Anymore suggestions @Skynet? Otherwise, @MINIX - John, @MINIX – Martin, anything else this gentleman can try please?
 
If you can force HDR mode then U9-H is not faultly.

You must check everything:
- HDMI cable
- TV settings
- U9-H settings
- Kodi settings

You can try a U9-H factory reset to be sure U9-H settings are OK (U9-H AND Kodi)

You can also try CoreElec or LibreElec on a USB pendrive to test with another system.
 

Sorry for the late reply. Yes! After using Coreelec and Kodi, the U9-H outputs HDR (accurately according to whether the source is HDR or not) to the TV when directly connected. So I don't have to "force" the TV to be on HDR mode.

However, as you rightly pointed out, unfortunately the Denon X5200W doesn't support HDR so I have to make a tough choice of whether I want Atmos or HDR :(

I even tried getting a HDMI splitter to send two HDMI outputs out from the U9-H but in such a case, it then doesn't recognise HDR (for some strange reason.. perhaps cos it's taking the worse of the 2 signal outputs?)

So for now, unless I upgrade my amplifier, I will have to live without HDR content from the U9-H.

But all said and done, at least I know that Coreelec does allow for HDR content to be recognised by the U9-H correctly.
 
Hello krazkat06,

An available option - depending on you budget - is to add an HDFury Integral 2 or Vertex matrix splitters between your HDR sources (2 inputs on the HDFury products) and your TV & AVR (2 outputs also on the products).

You can then configure the splitter to report the maximum combined capabilities of your "sinks" (TV & AVR) to the sources (U9-H & PS4 Pro for example) and they will activate HDR which will be forcibly sent to the TV (direct HDMI connection from the splitter) as well as whatever sound mode your AVR supports (sent through the 2nd HDMI output of the splitter): the best of both worlds!

Of course, if you switch your TV to the AVR input while playing an HDR movie, you'll get a crappy colour... hence a direct connection from the splitter to your TV.

I have 2 of their devices which help me bypass the limitations of my Denon AVR which is even older than yours... no HDR and 4K without HDCP 2.2 support! That was a rip-off.

Check this option out (lots of info on another forum with quick response from HDFury) and if you decide to buy, order directly from their main site, as intermediaries don't offer the same replacement service or include the basic accessories as they do.

No product placement intentions on my part, just a very happy customer sharing one of the almost limitless HDMI compatibility options their products offer.

Regards,

W.
 
Sorry for the late reply. Yes! After using Coreelec and Kodi, the U9-H outputs HDR (accurately according to whether the source is HDR or not) to the TV when directly connected. So I don't have to "force" the TV to be on HDR mode.

However, as you rightly pointed out, unfortunately the Denon X5200W doesn't support HDR so I have to make a tough choice of whether I want Atmos or HDR :(

I even tried getting a HDMI splitter to send two HDMI outputs out from the U9-H but in such a case, it then doesn't recognise HDR (for some strange reason.. perhaps cos it's taking the worse of the 2 signal outputs?)

So for now, unless I upgrade my amplifier, I will have to live without HDR content from the U9-H.

But all said and done, at least I know that Coreelec does allow for HDR content to be recognised by the U9-H correctly.

No worries :). Sorry to hear you're still experiencing problems :(.

So as things now stand after trying different HDMI cables, double/triple checking all relevant settings on the U9-H, Kodi, & your TV as well - Even when directly connecting your STOCK U9-H to your TV & taking your AVR out of the equation, HDR still doesn't work at all with Kodi or any other capable media player, (such as MX Player)?

And... The only way you can get HDR to function normally is to run Kodi in a different OS from the U9-H such as CoreELEC or LibreELEC? When doing so your TV then correctly auto switches into HDR mode?

Obviously, an incredibly odd problem as HDR should be working natively from the U9-H & its stock Android 6.0.1!! Something still isn't right if the only way you can get HDR is by running Kodi in another OS.

Have you tried factory resetting your U9-H? (Apologies if you've already posted that info.)

Otherwise, I feared solving this issue completely may have been a bittersweet affair as far as your AVR was concerned after checking its specs for HDR compatibility. HDR or Atmos for the time being. That's a shame :(. IMHO, whilst HDR certainly packs a punch visually & it is undoubtedly a game changer compared to SDR:- Were I in your shoes & unwilling/unable to purchase a new AVR at this time, I'd prefer to have the better Atmos audio quite frankly. Having said that, AVR's do seem to be a little cheaper than they were 4 years ago if you did want to bite the bullet. Although, understandably your current AVR wasn't exactly cheap either which makes it an even tougher decision still.

Anything further you can think of please @Skynet??? All checks carried out & the only way this guy can now get HDR to work is to run Kodi in another OS from the U9-H!!
 
Anything further you can think of please @Skynet??? All checks carried out & the only way this guy can now get HDR to work is to run Kodi in another OS from the U9-H!!

Nope, nothing else than factory resetting the U9-H or flash full FW008 with USB tools.
HDR mode works with Android 6.01, i use it every day.
If HDR works with another system (CoreElec, LibreElec, ..) then we can be sure it's not a hardware issue but a software one.
 
Nope, nothing else than factory resetting the U9-H or flash full FW008 with USB tools.
HDR mode works with Android 6.01, i use it every day.
If HDR works with another system (CoreElec, LibreElec, ..) then we can be sure it's not a hardware issue but a software one.

Indeed, HDR works flawlessly for me with my U9-H & stock OS too, (also FW008).

There you go then @krazkat06, a full factory reset may be your only other option unless you're happy to just continue using CoreElec??
 
A new chipset out that supports dolby vision and hdr10+ is the new s905x2 and s922... Their are boxes with s905x2 out and hopefully minix will release a new minix box with the s922.
Hi,

Does anyone know what's the best way to have HDR + Dolby Atmos from the U9-H?

I'm currently able to output Dolby Atmos using Kodi (which passthrough the audio to my amp) and while there's 4k, there's no indication of 10bit HDR. Any advice on what I should be doing? Alternative to Kodi? Or some setting I need to enable? Thanks!

Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
 
No worries :). Sorry to hear you're still experiencing problems :(.

So as things now stand after trying different HDMI cables, double/triple checking all relevant settings on the U9-H, Kodi, & your TV as well - Even when directly connecting your STOCK U9-H to your TV & taking your AVR out of the equation, HDR still doesn't work at all with Kodi or any other capable media player, (such as MX Player)?

And... The only way you can get HDR to function normally is to run Kodi in a different OS from the U9-H such as CoreELEC or LibreELEC? When doing so your TV then correctly auto switches into HDR mode?

Obviously, an incredibly odd problem as HDR should be working natively from the U9-H & its stock Android 6.0.1!! Something still isn't right if the only way you can get HDR is by running Kodi in another OS.

Have you tried factory resetting your U9-H? (Apologies if you've already posted that info.)

Otherwise, I feared solving this issue completely may have been a bittersweet affair as far as your AVR was concerned after checking its specs for HDR compatibility. HDR or Atmos for the time being. That's a shame :(. IMHO, whilst HDR certainly packs a punch visually & it is undoubtedly a game changer compared to SDR:- Were I in your shoes & unwilling/unable to purchase a new AVR at this time, I'd prefer to have the better Atmos audio quite frankly. Having said that, AVR's do seem to be a little cheaper than they were 4 years ago if you did want to bite the bullet. Although, understandably your current AVR wasn't exactly cheap either which makes it an even tougher decision still.

Anything further you can think of please @Skynet??? All checks carried out & the only way this guy can now get HDR to work is to run Kodi in another OS from the U9-H!!

Hi! Yup that's exactly right. Only way to get HDR functioning correctly is to run CoreElec. Can't seem to get Kodi or MX player to output when connected direct to the tv. It IS an odd problem....

Oh yes forgot to add that I've done a factory reset and still no go. Have to prob resort to coreelec...
 
Last edited:
Hello krazkat06,

An available option - depending on you budget - is to add an HDFury Integral 2 or Vertex matrix splitters between your HDR sources (2 inputs on the HDFury products) and your TV & AVR (2 outputs also on the products).

You can then configure the splitter to report the maximum combined capabilities of your "sinks" (TV & AVR) to the sources (U9-H & PS4 Pro for example) and they will activate HDR which will be forcibly sent to the TV (direct HDMI connection from the splitter) as well as whatever sound mode your AVR supports (sent through the 2nd HDMI output of the splitter): the best of both worlds!

Of course, if you switch your TV to the AVR input while playing an HDR movie, you'll get a crappy colour... hence a direct connection from the splitter to your TV.

I have 2 of their devices which help me bypass the limitations of my Denon AVR which is even older than yours... no HDR and 4K without HDCP 2.2 support! That was a rip-off.

Check this option out (lots of info on another forum with quick response from HDFury) and if you decide to buy, order directly from their main site, as intermediaries don't offer the same replacement service or include the basic accessories as they do.

No product placement intentions on my part, just a very happy customer sharing one of the almost limitless HDMI compatibility options their products offer.

Regards,

W.
Hi! This is a very good suggestion! After looking through, I just placed an order for the HDFury AVR Key (which is supposed to be a cheaper option of the Integral 2 because it doesn't pass video to the AVR, just the audio signal) but it seems that it will be a more cost effective solution to my problem as it will allow me to keep my AVR! Thanks so much for this. Am now waiting eagerly for it to be shipped over.
 
Hi, I have almost exactly the same TV as you (X900E) and a U9-H, and the exact same problem - no HDR but Atmos is working fine.

My workaround is, as you suggested, to use libreelec, HDR flag shows up fine and when its supposed to. Not ideal because with libreelec you are more or less limited to Kodi and nothing else.

So, I guess it is TV specific in some way. Anyone else have any thoughts on what the problem could be?
 
Hi, I have almost exactly the same TV as you (X900E) and a U9-H, and the exact same problem - no HDR but Atmos is working fine.

My workaround is, as you suggested, to use libreelec, HDR flag shows up fine and when its supposed to. Not ideal because with libreelec you are more or less limited to Kodi and nothing else.

So, I guess it is TV specific in some way. Anyone else have any thoughts on what the problem could be?

Are you using an AVR or soundbar @plasticbippy, or just a straight connection to your TV?

Otherwise, that seems to be two people with the same issue with virtually the same Sony TV's. One with the model X900F & one the X900E. Obviously it's not concrete, but it would appear to be related to these particular models.

Ideally, need others with very similar or same Sony TV models to also report if they can't get HDR to trigger normally with the U9-H's stock OS. Older model HDR capable Sony TV's don't seem to have any issues switching to HDR as intended with the U9-H. (Sony have recently been criticized for blocking Kodi on their Android OS TV's; have they also sneakily added further code to the OS that's somehow capable of blocking certain HDR content that doesn't have the correct digital rights, etc.????). (Purely speculative but somewhat coincidental.)

@krazkat06 has tried everything we could think of for troubleshooting this problem @plasticbippy. CoreELEC or LibreELEC seem to be the only working options at this time with these Sony TV's.

Can one or both of you raise a support ticket directly with Sony? See what they have to say about this!
 
Back
Top