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Johnny McCash

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 17, 2013
14
4
Hi :)

I'm wondering if anyone is using an M1 Mac and Kodi for HTPC purposes? Or might test it for me ;)

I know that Big Sur supports HDR output, but this might not translate to video content being put out via HDMI with the proper HDR metadata and so on. I also see that the first release of Big Sur had some issues for some WRT HDR, which was later remedied in an OS update.

I also noticed that Kodi with the Matrix 19.1 release supports HDR out-of-the-box, although the article I read on it only mentioned Windows and Android explicitly. Where does that leave macOS, I wonder.

I'm considering the M1 mini, but only if it can also double as an HTPC. It doesn't have to run Kodi, but it has to be able to:

1) Render e.g. UHD Blu-Ray HEVC 4k60 HDR10 via HDMI to an HDR-aware TV set (I know that for laptops without a native HDMI port, you need a specific variant of a DP-to-HDMI adapter to get 60 Hz, but if the 30-Hz variant can deliver HDR, then that should mean any one can, including the mini's native HDMI port).
2) Be able to automatically switch the display output refresh rate to match video content being played back, so that e.g. a 23.976 fps remux of a disc sets the output refresh to either that or 24 fps. This requirement, AFAICT, does mean that it needs to be Kodi, as at least VLC and IINA don't have this feature.

Is any one of you using your M1 Mac in such a way, or is willing to give it a try with the latest Kodi, some UHD HDR content, and an appropriate TV set?

Thank you in advance,
Johnny :)

PS: If you know if it'll do 4:4:4 output in 4k60 as well, that'd be nice to know. My LG OLED has "deep color support," I believe they call it, which should mean that it can accept such a format and thus produce a good-looking UI as well as video.
 
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