New firmware v2.2.96 version for ZIDOO Z9S release

Tks for your help. i support 60Htz 4:2:0 10bit (11.1 Gbps) without problem so i don't think it's bandwidth problem

i know the vertex fury, but i think i could be less expensive to have a nvdia shield (may be) witch is not realtek 1295/1296

 

No, it does sound like a compatibility problem - The Shield has its own little idiosyncrasies (I use one for Netflix etc) and is a lot more difficult to set up, but it's a very good device as long as you're prepared to put up with either Kodi or Plex. Definitely worth looking at.

Unlike the Realtek boxes, the Shield handles 4K23 422 12-bit correctly (ie at 12-bits!) and is frame perfect in that mode too. It's fast and slick.

Where it falls down is no native Jukebox, no SDR.2020 or HDR>SDR conversion if you use those and a complete lack of auto frame-rate for the likes of Netflix or Amazon. It handles colour space better now, but it's far from intuitive.

 

tks you for the details.

So if i don't use Netflix/Amazon or jukebox or SDR conversion.

But just read 1080p/23Htz REC709 or 4K 23htz HDR BT2020 4:4:4 from SMB (synology) it should be better for me than the realtek , if i understand well

 

Let's just say it's worth a go!

Yes, it plays 1080p/23Htz REC709 and 4K 23htz HDR BT2020 material perfectly. Playback for 4K23 is 12-bit 4:2:2 but since the original material is encoded in 10-bit 4:2:0 that makes no difference whatsoever.

 

You are totally right, the only up for me is to catch back my 23Htz and not be @ 60 Htz

 

I do experience loss of audio sync with some movies. A restart of playback solves it but may be needed several times during a movie.

 

Mark, would you have an opinion on the playback quality at the above resolutions and frame rates between the shield and Z9S?

 

To be perfectly honest I don't see any differences in image quality between the two - I certainly couldn't say one was better than the other. As for frame rates, they both play out perfectly without any frame rate related issues, so again, nothing to choose between them.

I know a lot of people moan about the upscaling quality of the shield, but again, it looks perfectly fine to me.

The only problem I have with the Shield is no native front end for movies so you're stuck with Plex or Kodi, neither of which is ideal so I use the Zidoo for local 4K material and the Shield primarily for Netflix and Amazon Prime.

 

I tried this last night and I have to say I find the Z9s slightly better than the shield, I find the 10 bit 4:4:4 output slightly sharper, the 12bit 4:2:2 output of the shield looks a little soft especially if there is noise there anyway on my OLED.
FYI I use my TV Netflix app as the shield doesn’t do DV.

 

If I instl this will I have to reinstall the version of zdmc or will it still be there?

 

It'll still be there...

 

Hello,

I just installed this firmware, having not used the box for quite some time. I seem to be having major issues with H265 50fps material. H265 and 25/24 FPS plays fine. 50fps material keeps stuttering randomly like the bitrate is too much, despite the box handling high bitrate files easily, the files that aren't playing properly are around the 40mb mark in terms of bitrate.

I'm playing the media via a 4TB usb 3.0 hard drive.

I'm happy to see that some previous issues have now been rectified.

Many thanks.

 

I am having similar problems with H264-4K files at 59FPS, the video looks like its in slow motion and the audio constantly stutters/cuts out throughout the videos.

 

Also installed the firmware.
Good: wallpaper filter doesn't crash anymore
Good and Bad: fast-forward seems to work at least for 2x, but faster fast-forward doesn't work (stays at 2x I think). On the highest factor it usually just jumps back to replay.
Very bad: Had 5 freezes in 1 movie. At least it recovered after ~10 seconds. I use WLAN AC in same room. With my S10 I get ~500 Mbit\s.

 

Hello,
do somebody know why Zidoo still haven't embedded the Widevine DRM to their Z9S firmware?

Due to that I can't use my HBOGO account through the addon in Kodi at all, when attempting to play a video it fails, "Unable to initialize media_drm" it says in logfile.
The kodi repo/addon includes the additional installation of Widevine in all OS, but of course not in Android.
I assume for the same reason Netflix and Prime video will not work, too.

It is supported by cheap android TV boxes, why Zidoo makes us to buy another device?

Do you think Widevine L1 can be included in the next Zidoo Update?

 

I have to choose "full" for every video to fill the screen. Is there a solution to fix the aspect ratio to full for default setting?

 

My player has been restarting very often lately. One movie easily 4 to 5 times at minimum. Anyone had the same issue?

 

Yes, Last few weeks it had random freezes during playback. Sometimes either of two default player would simply exit playback.

I made a painful decision to first flash it and then update it back to V2.2.96.

It's only been couple of days but so far so good. Playing alright at the moment.

 

What's the purpose of flashing i and then update itback to 2.2.96? What does it do?

 

It basically does a hard reset to base firmware. Please search for "How to flash Zidoo Z9S". Or lookup in Zidoo site in support pages. Will lead to the same thing.
Only proceed if you feel confident. Your issues might be different than mine.

This is kind of last resort. You lose all settings including HT poster wall ( I didn't take backup). The attached media drives need to be removed before proceeding.

After flashing and on the first restart it prompted me to update to V2.2.82 OTA which I did. Then updated to V2.2.96 via USB.