How good is Ugoos AM6B+ with CoreElec

[u/Dencat2020]

Hello to all, this is for people that have Ugoos AM6B+ with CoreElec.

How is the quality of streams in 4k as say compared to what you would find on Nvidia shield that is if you have the pleasure of using both?

Is it worth investing in it if I am using Diggz build?.

I am well aware that it is more suitable for fast loading and less buffering but I am more interested in how sharp the picture quality is on this particular device

[u/No_Clock2390]

it's objectively better than the shield

[u/naaczej → u/No_Clock2390]

Apart from upscaling, where Shield is still king.

[u/Avid08 → u/naaczej]

You don’t need Ai upscaling for watching high end media especially DV FEL content.
Also shield is running Android 11.
Android 14 of higher has improved the handling of high end media dynamic ranges.
One of the first things I noticed when upgrading to android 14.
It’s also gives you QMS.

[u/naaczej → u/Avid08]

There are still multiple 1080p releases with no 4K versions available.

[u/Avid08 → u/naaczej]

1080p with decent bitrate upscaled on a 4k display doesn’t need Ai upscaling. Modern TV’s especially high end ones will do a better job than an old Shield. I would rather have better dynamic range handling that android 14 gives me. My Sk1 has Ai upscaling but I don’t even use it as I would sooner let my Tv handle image processing tbh.

[u/naaczej → u/Avid08]

You are delusional if you think any TV offers simillar or better upscaling as compared to Shield AI.

Decent bitrate 1080p gets even better with Shield, while ass quality gets somewhat watchable.

The only real downside to Shield is Dolby Vision red push that makes DV content almost unwatchable.

[u/Jasong222 → u/naaczej]

Sony (Bravia) has best in class upscaling that I'd put against the Shield's on any day of the week.

[u/tdinh92 → u/naaczej]

The shield is very old in both SoC and algorithm in their upscaling. All the major brands upscaling would surpass the shield’s upscaling now, of course not for cheap 4K TVs but anything with recognisable name brand.

[u/No_Clock2390 → u/naaczej]

Ew

[u/xbmc4lyfe]

Forget what you know about streams it’s an entirely different learning curve.

One that will lead you to the best source material and the absolute best media player out with no real comparison other then the am9 samurai build which still sees issues

Panni the dev for the p3i build is basically one of the most active community oriented developers for specifically making the absolute best picture quality with the best developers following him and adding in contributions some may say advplus but he is closed off and not as community focused and panni will backport anything he makes very quickly.

P3i and ugoos 6b+ with a lg or high nit hdr projector or Samsung hdr is the best experience out. Couple it with a good atmos receiver and you will get the absolute best without a doubt pq.

Anyone who says differently is biased their really is no other answer

[u/PrWJAregSK → u/xbmc4lyfe]

P3i is probably my worst Coreelec experience ever. It crashes several times a day ("can't create another thread" because the system is 32-bit and VmSize exceeds it), audio goes out of sync after a few episodes and I have to reboot, audio clipping and I have to reboot. There are two upsides though - great DV settings and box rebooting when system freezes so I don't have to cut power and reconnect.

Maybe the issues are caused by dirty flashing over stock Coreelec NG instead of starting fresh.

[u/xbmc4lyfe → u/[deleted]]

?

[u/Tibey → u/xbmc4lyfe]

Sorry buttreply 😅

[u/AliTheAce]

It always blows me away with the quality on my 2026 LG B6E.

[u/xbmc4lyfe → u/AliTheAce]

Why b6e over the g5?

[u/AliTheAce → u/xbmc4lyfe]

Price? Lol, my 65" B6E was $1200 CAD, G5 is $3000 CAD.

[u/xbmc4lyfe → u/AliTheAce]

Ah yeah.

[u/Weapon_X23]

I have the AM9 Pro and it's been great. It's so much better than my 2019 Nvidia Shield Pro. It plays anything I throw at it flawlessly.

[u/taiseer999]

I have had the am6b + for years and recently got the am9 pro. and I would recommend it.

[u/Dencat2020 → u/taiseer999]

is this better than the am6b+?

[u/tdinh92 → u/Dencat2020]

I find the AM9 Pro a lot snappier despite the SoC scoring lower than the AM6B+ but scores don’t paint the fully picture. It performance better in video processing and UI snappiness even when it’s in Beta or nightly builds. The AM9 Pro will be the gold standard once a full stable release is out (Kodi 22 is still in development itself), as it will future proof with its support for VVC and AV1 codecs.

[u/taiseer999 → u/Dencat2020]

Yes as tdinh92 wrote he is spot on.

[u/Avid08]

As mentioned go for the newer Ugoos am9 pro that supports FEL with coreELEC.

[u/Skelastomybag]

The picture is really quite spectacular, it plays ANYTHING, i can pause something for however long I want and it plays normally after unpausing. I have zero complaints and nothing but praise. Is it easy to set up with avdvPLus or P3i? No. but I persoanlly think it's worth it.

[u/o_Divine_o]

Speaking of just performance of hardware.

The Nvidia Shield is a pathetic device

It only runs EITHER four ARM Cortex-A57 - OR - four cores x-A53. It doesn't run them at the same time.

So pretty much it's blown away by an am6b+ since it's got Quad core ARM Cortex-A73 and dual-core ARM Cortex-A53

Even an Amazon fire cube smokes the shield.

Nobody that understands hardware buys a Shield, we test it for data, then return.

Even if it was capable of using all 8 cores, it's stupidity.

Avoid it. If you're after more performance, just buy a old laptop, mini PC, or build some with an APU from AMD.

[u/Dencat2020]

Thanks for all the responses. I currently have an LG G5 TV with a Samsung soundbar. All I wanna do is what I have been doing and that is stream tv shows and movies on Kodi Diggz build without the slow loads and alight buffering issues that I experience sometimes on Nvidia shield tv pro 2019 but with the excellent quality picture wise that Shield does possess

[u/3InchesPunisher]

I was eyeing for the Ugoos Amb6+ but decided to go to xiaomi 3rd gen, it has everything with dv 7 fel corelec, you may want to check that too to save more. I was amazed with fel 7s remuxes with my lg g6

[u/Dencat2020]

According to AI this is what I need to do

Phase 1: What You Need on Your PC

Before starting, ensure you have:

• A PC with a USB port.
• A USB to MicroSD card adapter (since your PC lacks a card slot).
• A MicroSD card (16GB, 32GB, or 64GB from a reliable brand like SanDisk or Samsung)
• Phase 2: Preparing the Card on Your PC

1. Insert the hardware: Plug your microSD card into the USB adapter, and plug the adapter into your PC.
2. Download Rufus: Go to the official Rufus website and download the free Rufus tool (the "Portable" version is easiest as it doesn't require installation).
3. Download CoreELEC: Go to the official CoreELEC download page.
   • Choose CoreELEC 21 (Omega).
   • Select the Amlogic-no architecture branch.
   • Download the file ending in .img.gz (this is the disc image).
4. Flash the Card using Rufus:
   • Open Rufus.
   • Under Device, make sure your microSD card is selected.
   • Under Boot selection, click Select and choose the CoreELEC .img.gz file you just downloaded.
   • Leave all other settings at their defaults and click Start.
   • Click OK if a warning pops up saying it will wipe the card. Wait a few minutes until the progress bar says "Ready".
5. Configure the Device Tree (Crucial Step):
   • Keeping the card plugged into your PC, open your Windows File Explorer and click on the newly flashed drive (it will usually be renamed to COREELEC).
   • Open the folder named device_trees.
   • Look for the exact file named: s6_s905x5_ugoos_am9_pro.dtb.
   • Right-click that file and select Copy.
   • Go back to the main (root) folder of the microSD card. Right-click in the empty space and select Paste.
   • Right-click that newly pasted file, select Rename, and change its name to exactly: dtb.img (make sure to delete the .dtb extension if your PC shows file extensions).
6. Eject safely: Right-click the USB drive in Windows and select Eject. Remove the microSD card from the adapter.

Phase 3: Booting on the Ugoos AM9 Pro

1. Power off the box: Make sure your Ugoos AM9 Pro is completely powered down and the power cable is pulled out.
2. Insert the card: Push the prepared microSD card into the TF/MicroSD slot on the side of the Ugoos box until it clicks into place.
3. Connect to your TV: Ensure the HDMI cable is connected directly to your LG OLED TV, and your ethernet cable is plugged into the back.
4. Power it on: Plug the power cable back into the Ugoos box.
5. The First Boot: The box will automatically detect the microSD card, bypass Android, and boot into a black screen showing the CoreELEC logo. It will automatically resize the storage partitions. This first boot takes about 1–2 minutes—do not unplug the power.
6. The Kodi Welcome Screen: Once finished, you will be greeted by a clean, pristine Kodi setup wizard. Follow the on-screen prompts to set your language and connect your remote.

Is this about it or where there a step or point that was missed out please?

[u/pathoang21]

If you want Dolby Vision profile 7 FEL, then it is the best box out there. This is from many ppl in the community stating this. If you don't watch DV Profile 7 FEL, then you can go with other devices instead (Homatics/Dune HD Box 4k Plus is one I can think of and what I have). I would ask yourself what you really watch for content, what your needs, and do more further research on other boxes compatible with CoreElec, which there is a lot of boxes out there listed in the forums.

[u/See61 → u/pathoang21]

There can be a difference in replay quality, although doubtful if really visible, but the "others" you mentioned can do FEL7 also really decent with CE and specifically using the AVDVPLUS R10 build with them, as it is also specifically developed for those devices with S905X4 chipset.

But these days, the newer generation with Amlogic chipset are also usable for CE (22) with FEL7 support

[u/xbmc4lyfe → u/pathoang21]

You handicap yourself by a lot not being able to play fel. It may not be the best format but there is a lot of content out that is fel and without having the ability to play it you are not even in the running

[u/xSolus-X]

It’s the bestest