Hardkernel released the Amlogic S922X- powered ODROID-N2 dev board back in February of this year. Now the company has teamed up with the developers at CoreELEC to offer up a plug-and-play set top box built around the N2.
The board itself hasn’t changed. It features the same hexa-core processor with four 1.8 GHz ARM Cortex-A73 CPU cores and two 1.9 GHz ARM Cortex-A53 cores. Configurations with 2GB and 4GB of RAM are available and you can use either eMMC modules or micro SD for storage. Ordinarily neither is included, but the ODROID-N2 Media Center Edition comes with an 8GB micro SD card.
To make it easy to get it up and running out of the box, the card comes pre-loaded with CoreELEC’s minimal Linux OS and Kodi. It all makes for a very capable little media player — one that can handle 4K HDR video, DTX:X and Dolby Atmos audio passthrough. Full Widevine DRM support ensures that you’ll even be able to enjoy full HD Netflix.
Hardkernel says the ODROID-N2 is the “most affordable Arm based Linux board with proper 4K HDR support.” The CoreELEC Edition, then, is an even more affordable option.
They’re offering up a limited number of the bundles — which include a 12V 2A power supply and case in addition to the 8GB micro SD card — at a discounted price. The 2GB version is priced at $65 and the 4GB version is just $10 more. You’re getting all the extras and paying $5 less than you’d pay for the ODROID-N2 on its own.
Saving around $20 is great and the added convenience makes the deal even better. You don’t have to know where to find firmware for the board or how to properly install it to a micro SD card, just plug things in start poking around in the Kodi interface.
Via CNX Software
I was wondering for my first SBC board between Rpi 4, odroid N2 & Rock Pi 64. I went with Raspberry because of the extensive and active community. No SBC card is perfect. when you get stuck trying to accomplish something you would appreciate the extra help.
For Canadians also, Rpi has 2 authorized resellers, same for hardkernel but prices were cheaper for Rpi 4b and got a free shipping. Odroid resellers in Canada are way overpriced, Almost $160 Cad for a starter kit. I paid $95 for my Rpi 4b board with case and adapter and memory card with raspbian OS. Got also a Samsung Evo 860 SSD drive and this baby flies. Hardware acceleration is still a work in progress, everything else pretty much work, right out of the box.
Hardkernel = Samsung corporation?
What? The CPU of this board is from Amlogic.
I am once again tempted by a HardKernel device price, and turned away by shipping costs. With the estimated shipping of $41.05 this is a $116.05 device rather than a $75 buy. And that keeps me out of their product. Devices like this are promising for cordcutting.
This may not apply to you, as I don’t know where you are, but there are a number of distributors in various regions that can make the shipping much easier and less expensive compared to buying direct from Hardkernel(which I did before they had a distributor here in the US, which is Ameridroid). I only point this out because I’ve already seen many times that people are unaware of these stores that make it cheaper to buy in many cases and they think they can only buy direct. But I understand that won’t apply to everyone.
Ameridroid has it for $67 + $12 shipping (~$80).
ODroid-N2e, or, RaspberryPi 4…….?!??
Thank you @riddick! I hadn’t seen it on Ameridroid. That’s what I get for looking too quickly.
It should be interesting to see what international post rates being reconfigured (especially around China) in the coming year do to these shipping structures.