LibreELEC, a Just Enough Operating System (JeOS) for embedded devices that has been forked from OpenELEC and is built upon the Kodi home theatre software, has released its latest version 12 today. This significant update provides support for additional devices and introduces new features.
This new version, powered by Linux 6.6 LTS kernel series, is based on the most recent Kodi 21 “Omega” media center software. After over a year since the release of LibreELEC 11, LibreELEC 12 offers support for the Raspberry Pi 5 single-board computer.
In LibreELEC 12, many of the supported devices have been ported to the 64-bit architecture including the Raspberry Pi 4 and 5. The new LibreELEC version necessitates either the force_turbo=1 or core_freq_min=500 option in the config.txt to achieve 50/60fps H.264 HW decoding without AV-sync issues or skipping.
The LibreELEC Generic image maintains the same GBM/V4L2 graphics stack, now with added support for HDR with recent AMD and Intel GPUs. Additionally, a new Generic-legacy image has been introduced which utilizes the older X11 graphics stack, creating a seamless way for users to switch between GBM and X11 images without issues.
However, the developers warn users that the Generic-legacy image should only be used if necessary for support of NVIDIA GPUs, the Chrome Browser extension, or to correct visual glitches on older hardware, such as NUC 6th Gen.
“Throughout the past year, NVIDIA has made advancements in their support for current graphics standards. While drivers are now compatible with mesa/GBM, they still rely on Wayland, which we do not use. Kodi has no intentions to support NVIDIA’s proprietary NVDEC decoding (although VDPAU remains). We continue to advise users not to invest in NVIDIA GPUs,” says the release announcement page.
In conclusion, LibreELEC 12 offers improved support for Amlogic S905, S905X/D, and S912 devices. This includes new features such as H.264 playback and seeking, HEVC playback and seeking, and HDR support for HEVC/VP9 media on S905X/D and S912 devices. It also provides support for multi-channel PCM and pass-through audio on HDMI up to 7.1 channels.
LibreELEC 12 is available for download right now from the official website for a wide range of devices including Raspberry Pi, Allwinner, Rockchip, Amlogic, and NXP boards, as well as for generic computers using AMD or Intel graphics cards.
Existing LibreELEC 11 installations will not be automatically updated to the new release. Therefore, users will have to do a manual update following these instructions. In addition, those running LibreELEC 10 or earlier versions must do a clean install due to the Python 3 changes since Kodi 19.
Furthermore, LibreELEC 11 users using Widevine DRM on a 64-bit device will need to reinstall it due to the changed architecture. We remind users that Widevine DRM is required for various copy-protected video streaming add-ons like Prime Video, Netflix, etc.
Image credits: LibreELEC (edited by Marius Nestor)
Last updated 2 hours ago
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