diff --git a/scripts/checkdeps b/scripts/checkdeps
index 9940b46dcc..2b1d142b03 100755
--- a/scripts/checkdeps
+++ b/scripts/checkdeps
@@ -4,35 +4,31 @@
 # Copyright (C) 2009-2016 Stephan Raue (stephan@openelec.tv)
 # Copyright (C) 2018-present Team LibreELEC (https://libreelec.tv)
 
+set -e
+
+# set up variables
+declare -A dep_map file_map perl_map need_map
+DEBUG="false"
+
 get_deps() {
-  need=()
-  need_pkg=()
+  # start from a blank slate
+  need_map=()
 
-  for i in "${!deps[@]}"; do
-    dep=${deps[${i}]}
-    dep_pkg=${deps_pkg[${i}]}
-    if ! command -v "${dep}" >/dev/null; then
-      need+=(${dep})
-      need_pkg+=("${dep_pkg}")
+  for key in "${!dep_map[@]}"; do
+    if ! command -v "${key}" >/dev/null; then
+      need_map["${key}"]="${dep_map[${key}]}"
     fi
   done
 
-  for i in "${!files[@]}"; do
-    file=${files[${i}]}
-    file_pkg=${files_pkg[${i}]}
-    if [ ! -f "${file}" ]; then
-      need+=(${file})
-      need_pkg+=("${file_pkg}")
+  for key in "${!file_map[@]}"; do
+    if [ ! -f "${key}" ]; then
+      need_map["${key}"]="${file_map[${key}]}"
     fi
   done
 
-  for i in "${!perl_mod[@]}"; do
-    mod=${perl_mod[${i}]}
-    pkg=${perl_pkg[${i}]}
-
-    if ! perl -M"${mod}" -e exit 2>/dev/null; then
-      need+=(perl::${mod})
-      need_pkg+=(${pkg})
+  for key in "${!perl_map[@]}"; do
+    if ! perl -M"${key}" -e exit 2>/dev/null; then
+      need_map["perl::${key}"]="${perl_map[${key}]}"
     fi
   done
 }
@@ -40,12 +36,13 @@ get_deps() {
 get_yes_no()
 {
   local ans
-  read -p "Would you like to install the needed tools? (y/n) " ans
+  read -p "Would you like to install the needed tools? (y/n)" ans
   [ "${ans,,}" = "y" ] && return 0
   [ "${ans,,}" = "yes" ] && return 0
   return 1
 }
 
+
 if  [ -f /etc/lsb-release ]; then
   DISTRO=$(grep DISTRIB_ID /etc/lsb-release | cut -d "=" -f 2)
 fi
@@ -56,115 +53,219 @@ fi
 
 DISTRO=${DISTRO,,}
 
-deps=(wget bash bc gcc sed patch lsdiff tar bzip2 gzip xz perl gawk gperf zip unzip diff lzop make file)
-deps_pkg=(wget bash bc gcc sed patch patchutils tar bzip2 gzip xz-utils perl gawk gperf zip unzip diffutils lzop make file)
+# [program]=package
+dep_map=(
+  [bash]=bash
+  [bc]=bc
+  [bzip2]=bzip2
+  [diff]=diffutils
+  [gawk]=gawk
+  [gcc]=gcc
+  [gperf]=gperf
+  [gzip]=gzip
+  [file]=file
+  [lsdiff]=patchutils
+  [lzop]=lzop
+  [make]=make
+  [patch]=patch
+  [perl]=perl
+  [sed]=sed
+  [tar]=tar
+  [unzip]=unzip
+  [wget]=wget
+  [xz]=xz-utils
+  [zip]=zip
+)
 
-files=(/usr/include/stdio.h /usr/include/ncurses.h)
-files_pkg=(libc6-dev libncurses5-dev)
+# [file]=package
+file_map=(
+  [/usr/include/ncurses.h]=libncurses5-dev
+  [/usr/include/stdio.h]=libc6-dev
+)
 
-perl_mod=(JSON XML::Parser Thread::Queue Parse::Yapp::Driver)
+# [module]=package
+perl_map=(
+  [JSON]=libjson-perl
+  [Parse::Yapp::Driver]=libparse-yapp-perl
+  [Thread::Queue]=perl
+  [XML::Parser]=libxml-parser-perl
+)
 
+### PROJECT SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS ###
+# Extend build scripts to look for distro/project/device checkdep scripts before adding further checks here
+# Native aarch64 on debian(?) host Rockchip needs to support rkbin
+if [ "$(uname -m)" = "aarch64" -a "${PROJECT}" = "Rockchip" ]; then
+  dep_map[qemu-x86_64]=qemu-user-binfmt
+  if [ ! -f /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 -o ! -f /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6 ]; then
+    echo -e "Copy from a working x86_64 system:\n\t/lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2\n\t/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6"
+  fi
+  file_map[/lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2]="libc6:amd64"
+  file_map[/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6]="libc6:amd64"
+fi
+
+# remap or add [depend]=package needs based on host distro
 case "${DISTRO}" in
     fedora|centos|rhel)
-      deps+=(g++ mkfontscale mkfontdir bdftopcf xsltproc java python3 rpcgen)
-      deps_pkg+=(gcc-c++ xorg-x11-font-utils xorg-x11-font-utils xorg-x11-font-utils libxslt java-1.7.0-openjdk python3 rpcgen)
+      dep_map+=(
+        [g++]=gcc-c++
+        [mkfontscale]=xorg-x11-font-utils
+        [mkfontdir]=xorg-x11-font-utils
+        [bdftopcf]=xorg-x11-font-utils
+        [xsltproc]=libxslt
+        [java]=java-1.7.0-openjdk
+        [python3]=python3
+        [rpcgen]=rpcgen
+      )
       if [[ ! $(rpm -qa glibc-static) ]]; then
-        deps+=(glibc-static)
-        deps_pkg+=(glibc-static)
+        dep_map+=(
+          [glibc-static]=glibc-static
+        )
       fi
       if [[ ! $(rpm -qa libstdc++-static) ]]; then
-        deps+=(libstdc++-static)
-        deps_pkg+=(libstdc++-static)
+        dep_map+=(
+          [libstdc++-static]=libstdc++-static
+        )
       fi
-      files_pkg=(glibc-headers ncurses-devel)
-      perl_pkg=(perl-JSON perl-XML-Parser perl-Thread-Queue perl-Parse-Yapp)
+      file_map+=(
+        [/usr/include/ncurses.h]=ncurses-devel
+        [/usr/inculde/stdio.h]=glibc-headers
+      )
+      perl_map+=(
+        [JSON]=perl-JSON
+        [Parse::Yapp::Driver]=perl-Parse-Yapp
+        [Thread::Queue]=perl-Thread-Queue
+        [XML::Parser]=perl-XML-Parser
+      )
       ;;
     gentoo|sabayon)
-      deps+=(g++ mkfontscale mkfontdir bdftopcf xsltproc java python3 rpcgen)
-      deps_pkg+=("gcc[cxx]" mkfontscale mkfontdir bdftopcf libxslt virtual/jre python3 net-libs/rpcsvc-proto)
-      files_pkg=(glibc ncurses)
-      perl_pkg=(JSON XML-Parser perl-Thread-Queue perl-Parse-Yapp)
+      dep_map+=(
+        [g++]="gcc[cxx]"
+        [mkfontscale]=mkfontscale
+        [bdftopcf]=bdftopcf
+        [xsltproc]=libxslt
+        [java]=virtual/jre
+        [python3]=python
+        [rpcgen]=net-libs/rpcsvc-proto
+      )
+      file_map+=(
+        [/usr/inculde/stdio.h]=glibc
+        [/usr/include/ncurses.h]=ncurses
+      )
+      perl_map+=(
+        [JSON]=JSON
+        [Parse::Yapp::Driver]=perl-Parse-Yapp
+        [Thread::Queue]=perl-Thread-Queue
+        [XML::Parser]=XML-Parser
+      )
       ;;
     arch)
-      deps+=(g++ mkfontscale mkfontdir bdftopcf xsltproc java python3 rpcgen)
-      deps_pkg+=(g++ xorg-mkfontscale xorg-mkfontdir xorg-bdftopcf libxslt "java-runtime-common jdk8-openjdk" python3 rpcsvc-proto)
-      perl_pkg=(perl-json perl-xml-parser perl perl-parse-yapp)
+      dep_map+=(
+        [g++]=g++
+        [mkfontscale]=xorg-mkfontscale
+        [mkfontdir]=xorg-mkfontdir
+        [bdftopcf]=xorg-bdftopcf
+        [xsltproc]=libxslt
+        [java]="java-runtime-common jdk8-openjdk"
+        [python3]=python3
+        [rpcgen]=rpcsvc-proto
+      )
+      perl_map+=(
+        [JSON]=perl-json
+        [XML::Parser]=perl-xml-parser
+        [Thread::Queue]=perl
+        [Parse::Yapp::Driver]=perl-parse-yapp
+      )
       ;;
     opensuse)
-      deps+=( g++ mkfontscale mkfontdir bdftopcf xsltproc java python3)
-      deps_pkg+=(gcc-c++ mkfontscale mkfontdir bdftopcf libxslt-tools java-1_8_0-openjdk python3)
+      dep_map+=(
+        [g++]=gcc-c++
+        [mkfontscale]=mkfontscale
+        [mkfontdir]=mkfontdir
+        [bdftopcf]=bdftopcf
+        [xsltproc]=libxslt-tools
+        [java]=java-1_8_0-openjdk
+        [python3]=python3
+      )
       if [[ ! $(rpm -qa glibc-devel-static) ]]; then
-        deps+=(glibc-devel-static)
-        deps_pkg+=(glibc-devel-static)
+        dep_map+=(
+          [glibc-devel-static]=glibc-devel-static
+        )
       fi
-      perl_pkg=(perl-JSON perl-XML-Parser perl perl-Parse-Yapp)
+      perl_map+=(
+        [JSON]=perl-JSON
+        [XML::Parser]=perl-XML-Parser
+        [Thread::Queue]=perl
+        [Parse::Yapp::Driver]=perl-Parse-Yapp
+      )
       ;;
     *)
-      deps+=(g++ mkfontscale mkfontdir bdftopcf xsltproc java python3)
-      deps_pkg+=(g++ xfonts-utils xfonts-utils xfonts-utils xsltproc default-jre python3)
-      perl_pkg=(libjson-perl libxml-parser-perl perl libparse-yapp-perl)
+      dep_map+=(
+        [g++]=g++
+        [mkfontscale]=xfonts-utils
+        [mkfontdir]=xfonts-utils
+        [bdftopcf]=xfonts-utils
+        [xsltproc]=xsltproc
+        [java]=default-jre
+        [python3]=python3
+      )
       ;;
 esac
 
-# project specific dependencies
-if [ -n "${EXTRA_DEPS}" ] ; then
-  deps+=(${EXTRA_DEPS})
-fi
-if [ -n "${EXTRA_DEPS_PKG}" ] ; then
-  deps_pkg+=(${EXTRA_DEPS_PKG})
-fi
-
-# distro specific dependencies
-if [ -n "${DISTRO_DEPS}" ] ; then
-  deps+=(${DISTRO_DEPS})
-fi
-if [ -n "${DISTRO_DEPS_PKG}" ] ; then
-  deps_pkg+=(${DISTRO_DEPS_PKG})
-fi
-
-# aarch64 dependencies
-if [ "$(uname -m)" = "aarch64" ]; then
-  if [ ! -f /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 -a ! -f /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6 ]; then
-    printf "Copy from a working x86_64 system:\n\t/lib64/libc.so.6\n\t/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6\n"
-  fi
-  files+=(/lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6)
-  files_pkg+=(libc6:amd64 libc6:amd64)
-  deps+=(qemu-x86_64)
-  deps_pkg+=(qemu-user-binfmt)
+if [ "${DEBUG}" = "true" ]; then
+  echo "DEP MAP"
+  for key in "${!dep_map[@]}"; do
+    echo "${key}:${dep_map[${key}]}"
+  done
+  echo "FILE MAP"
+  for key in "${!file_map[@]}"; do
+    echo "${key}:${file_map[${key}]}"
+  done
+  echo "PERL MAP"
+  for key in "${!perl_map[@]}"; do
+    echo "${key}:${perl_map[${key}]}"
+  done
 fi
 
+### DEPENDENCY CHECKING AND INSTALLATION ###
 get_deps
 
-if [ "${#need[@]}" -gt 0 ]; then
-  echo "**** Your system lacks the following tools needed to build ${DISTRONAME} ****"
-  for i in "${!need[@]}"; do
-    echo "${need[${i}]} provided by ${need_pkg[${i}]}"
+if [ "${DEBUG}" = "true" ]; then
+  echo "NEED MAP"
+  for key in "${!need_map[@]}"; do
+    echo "${key}:${need_map[${key}]}"
   done
-  echo "**** You seem to use a ${DISTRO} system ****"
+fi
+
+if [ "${#need_map[@]}" -gt 0 ]; then
+  echo "**** This system lacks the following tools needed to build ${DISTRONAME} ****"
+  for key in "${!need_map[@]}"; do
+    echo "${key} provided by ${need_map[${key}]}"
+  done
+  echo "**** The system appears to be a ${DISTRO} system ****"
 
   if command -v sudo >/dev/null; then
     case "${DISTRO}" in
       ubuntu|debian|linuxmint|\"elementary\")
-        get_yes_no && sudo apt-get install "${need_pkg[@]}"
+        get_yes_no && sudo apt-get install "${need_map[@]}"
         ;;
       fedora|centos|rhel)
         command -v dnf >/dev/null && YUM=dnf || YUM=yum
-        get_yes_no && sudo ${YUM} install "${need_pkg[@]}"
+        get_yes_no && sudo ${YUM} install "${need_map[@]}"
         ;;
       gentoo)
-        get_yes_no && sudo emerge --ask --deep "${need_pkg[@]}"
+        get_yes_no && sudo emerge --ask --deep "${need_map[@]}"
         ;;
       sabayon)
-        get_yes_no && sudo equo install --ask "${need_pkg[@]}"
+        get_yes_no && sudo equo install --ask "${need_map[@]}"
         ;;
       mageia)
-        get_yes_no && sudo urpmi "${need_pkg[@]}"
+        get_yes_no && sudo urpmi "${need_map[@]}"
         ;;
       arch)
-        get_yes_no && sudo pacman -Sy "${need_pkg[@]}"
+        get_yes_no && sudo pacman -Sy "${need_map[@]}"
         ;;
       opensuse)
-        get_yes_no && sudo zypper install -y --no-recommends "${need_pkg[@]}"
+        get_yes_no && sudo zypper install -y --no-recommends "${need_map[@]}"
         ;;
       *)
         echo "**** unsupported distro ${DISTRO} ****"
@@ -173,15 +274,17 @@ if [ "${#need[@]}" -gt 0 ]; then
     esac
   else
     echo "The command 'sudo' was not found. Please install necessary packages manually."
+    exit 1
   fi
 fi
 
+# check if installed packages satisifed deps
 get_deps
 
-if [ "${#need[@]}" -gt 0 ]; then
+if [ "${#need_map[@]}" -gt 0 ]; then
   echo "**** The following packages were not installed correctly ****"
-  for i in "${!need[@]}"; do
-    echo "${need[${i}]} provided by ${need_pkg[${i}]}"
+  for key in "${!need_map[@]}"; do
+    echo "${key} provided by ${need_map[${key}]}"
   done
   echo "********"
   exit 1