LibreELEC 11 Released With GBM/V4L2 HDR Support On x86_64, More ARM Hardware

LibreELEC 11 is out today as the newest version of this Linux distribution that is purpose-built for an HTPC-oriented experience powered by the recent Kodi 20 HTPC/PVR software.

Kodi 20 debuted back in January with AV1 acceleration using VA-API, various other AV1 codec handling improvements, performance optimizations in the PVR recording code, fixes for the TV channel scraping, Steam Deck controls support, and many other enhancements.

LibreELEC is a Linux distribution focused as serving as a basic OS to serve as a software appliance for running the Kodi software. The main change with LibreELEC 11 is shifting to the Kodi 20 upstream software while it also has restored support for some older Amlogic Arm boards, now uses the GBM/V4L2 graphics stack on x86_64 just as they have long been doing with Arm hardware, and other changes.

Notable with going the route of just GBM/V4L2 on x86_64 is that when using AMD Radeon or Intel graphics, high dynamic range (HDR) support should now be working in conjunction with the Kodi 20 support. The older X11-based graphics stack remains available for NVIDIA proprietary driver support, if needing to run the Chrome web browser, or if experiencing any glitches with the GBM/V4L2 stack.

Downloads and more details on the LibreELEC 11 release via libreelec.tv.