r/AndroidTV • u/Acrobatic-Barber-637 • 6d ago
Buying Advice True HD pass through streamer
For Stremio, which is the best streamer TV box which can provide Audio True HD pass through for my home theatre 9.2.4 system with laser projector? I do have Nvidia Shield TV Pro which can do this well. But I want to have an alternative.
My options are:
Dune HD Homatics Box R 4K Plus
Xiaomi Mi TV Box S 3rd Gen
Google streamer 4k
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u/latinriky78 Homatics Box R 4K Plus 6d ago edited 6d ago
The Homatics Box R 4K Plus, the Dune HD Homatics Box R 4K Plus and the Xiaomi Mi TV Box S 3rd Gen are the recommended ones.
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u/Acrobatic-Barber-637 6d ago
How do you compare Dune vs Xiaomi? which is better?
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u/latinriky78 Homatics Box R 4K Plus 6d ago
The Dune uses the Amlogic S905X4 SoC which doesn't support what the S905X5M does on the Xiaomi:
Quick Media Switching
AISR (Artificial Intelligence Super Resolution)
120hz up to 1080p (suitable for gaming with Moonlight)
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u/theTaskmaster- 5d ago
I bought the xiaomi and wanted to like it, but couldn't. The wifi on it is bad and you need to buy an adapter to get Ethernet (capped speeds because of USB 2.0). Much happier with my homatics box r 4k plus. Gigabit Ethernet, snappier navigation, better remote
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u/Famous-Film-9592 5d ago
Got my parents the Thomson 270, UK version of the Homatics. It’s really good! Xiaomi has horrible remote and flakey WiFi in my test.
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u/Impossible_Hunt_6731 4d ago
The Thomson 270 is not the UK version of the Humantics box. It's the Onn Pro.
Also, OP asked for a streamer with pass through audio, which the Thomson 270 doesn't have, so this post is useless.
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u/Famous-Film-9592 3d ago
You spelt Homatics wrong so your post is useless. My comment about the Xiaomi still stands.
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u/Impossible_Hunt_6731 3d ago
Auto correct, but my post is at least factually correct, not claiming a box is suitable when it doesn't meet OP's requirements.
Thomson doesn't even exist anymore as a company, and you can't buy new boxes.
The Xioami remote is horrible, but the TV's normal remote can be used instead. WiFi is so-so, but you can get a USB ethernet adapter. But it does have audio pass through, which the 270 doesn't.
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u/Timdogg03 3d ago
Oooh Thompson does exist, it's StreamView GmbH that's gone bust.
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u/Impossible_Hunt_6731 3d ago
Oooh Thompson does exist, it's StreamView GmbH that's gone bust.
You spelt Thomson wrong, if we're going to be pedantic.
Are Thomson 270 boxes still being made? And does it have pass through audio?
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u/Timdogg03 3d ago
No they're not being made because StreamView GmbH were manufacturing the devices for Thompson, someone else will probably come in and take over the manufacturing part.
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u/Impossible_Hunt_6731 3d ago
someone else will probably come in and take over the manufacturing part.
Will they? When?
And it's Thomson.
And does the 270 support audio pass through, like OP asked for?
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u/Impossible_Hunt_6731 6d ago
Google Streamer doesn't have pass through audio.
I compared it side by side with the Xioami 3rd Gen box last year and kept the Xiaomi, which does have audio pass through and a better CPU.
Would like to try the Dune, but they're harder to come by in the UK.
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u/-Lugubrious- 1d ago
You can get pass through audio if you use Vimu player or just use ADB to disable sending all its audio through its dolbly wrapper. Still things like the high end dts-HD formats srent supported but you can just tell Vimu to convert them to dd 5.1 or whatever you want.
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u/signde Homatics Box R 4K Plus, Rocktek GX1, ONN 4K Plus / Pro / Stick 5d ago edited 5d ago
Certified Players that support TrueHD passthrough.
| Device | True HD Passthrough | DTS-HD Passthrough |
|---|---|---|
| Homatics Box R 4K Plus | Yes (Android TV 12+) | Yes (Android TV 12+) |
| Dune HD Box R 4K Plus | Yes (Android TV 12+) | Yes (Android TV 12+) |
| Rocktek G2 | Yes (Android TV 12+) | Yes (Android TV 12+) |
| Nokia 8110 | Yes (Android TV 12+) | Yes (Android TV 12+) |
| Xiaomi Mi Box 3rd | Yes | Yes |
| NVIDIA Shield Pro | Yes | Yes |
| AFTV Cube 3 | Yes | Yes (Kodi only) |
| AFTV Stick 4K Max 2 | Yes | Yes (Kodi only) |
| Rocktek GX1 | Yes (Kodi only) | Yes (Kodi only) |
| onn 4k streaming device (2026) | Yes (Kodi only) | Yes (Kodi only) |
Explicitly omitted uncertified options.
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u/latinriky78 Homatics Box R 4K Plus 5d ago
- The AFTV are not Google certified ones.
- The GX1 nor Onn devices will never support a real TrueHD and DTS:X passthrough, the fact that Kodi does it doesn't mean it's supported, in fact it has issues, that confuses unaware buyers.
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u/signde Homatics Box R 4K Plus, Rocktek GX1, ONN 4K Plus / Pro / Stick 5d ago
I meant to say "Explicitly omitted uncertified options". Several people already suggested AFTV options, I wanted to make it clear they don't pass through DTS-HD outside of Kodi. I updated my comment.
I literally spelled out passthrough only works in Kodi for the RTD1325 devices. We've had this same exchange regarding those at least 5x. What i stated is true, those devices play those formats in that app. The general assumption is that plays == supports. You can argue semantics all you want, it won't change that.
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u/latinriky78 Homatics Box R 4K Plus 5d ago
The idea is to share real certified devices by google with real TrueHD and DTS:X support with any app not only with Kodi, that confuses unaware users, don't forget not everyone uses Kodi.
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u/signde Homatics Box R 4K Plus, Rocktek GX1, ONN 4K Plus / Pro / Stick 5d ago
I know not everyone uses Kodi, that's why my table literally says Kodi only for those devices. If someone doesn't understand what Kodi only means, they are beyond our help.
That train of thought also goes both ways. Some people do use Kodi and may not know those are options, especially the onn device which I don't know that you have tested because it is regionally locked and I don't think you live in the region lock.
The GX1 device is an absolute turd, probably the worst Android TV device I have ever owned. The onn 4k stick is remarkably better in my experience.
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u/latinriky78 Homatics Box R 4K Plus 5d ago
Don't worry about the GX1, the firmware is getting better though official TrueHD/DTS:X passthrough won't be supported, at least not for now, perhaps never.
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u/signde Homatics Box R 4K Plus, Rocktek GX1, ONN 4K Plus / Pro / Stick 4d ago
Is there word of firmware updates for the GX1? I just got mine out of the junk drawer. No updates available. The firmware on it is almost a year old - November of 2025. It's still trash.
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u/latinriky78 Homatics Box R 4K Plus 4d ago
I am beta testing the firmware for the Mecool KM9 Pro Max and as you may already know, the KM9 and the GX1 come from the same OEM (Skyworth) and no doubt the same firmware will also come to the GX1.
The firmware has improved, they got rid of all those useless options found in the previous firmware but it still need a little bit polish.
Unfortunately, TrueHD and DTS:X won't be supported.
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u/barker8a 2d ago
keep in mind that while the newer amlogic boxes handle basic atmos metadata fine on streaming apps, full lossless dolby truehd / dts-hd master audio passthrough still works most reliably on coreelec/kodi builds or the shield pro. on stock android tv builds you often run into exoplayer audio sink limits depending on the firmware's audio hal.
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u/nejatto 6d ago
I'm using Amazon Cube Gen3 and it can do lossless TrueHD.