Help choosing new client hardware (moving on from Windows HTPC)

[Gronnie 8]

Hello all,

 

Currently we are using a full fledged Windows 10 PC with Emby Theater for our viewing on our upstairs television. I would like to repurpose this PC for something else as it seems to be overkill, so I am looking on suggestions for what to use as the client for viewing.

 

The PC is hooked up via HDMI to a Vizio VHT215 soundbar, which then has HDMI to a 50" Panasonic Plasma. I don't believe bitstreaming is a need at this location, we don't need HD Audio here or anything like we do in the den downstairs that has surround sound.

 

The thing we like most about the current setup is how fast we can move around in the app using a Logitech K400 wireless keyboard / trackpad combo.

 

We also like how fast menus open and close, etc on a PC.

 

We have a Roku 4 in the bedroom, and it is pretty good, but doesn't even come close to the PC experience.

 

Just wondering what would be our best bet as a PC replacement that would come as close to the fast, fluid experience on a PC at a much lower hardware cost and lower power use. If it is a Roku, I will go with that, but would like other suggestions to look into.

 

TIA responders.

Edited April 6, 2017 by Gronnie

[Gronnie 8]

One thing I was considering was just going with a cheap NUC.

 

Would this one work well? https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856102183&ignorebbr=1

 

I figured just get 8GB of RAM for it and put an SSD I already have lying around in it and we can continue having the PC experience my wife likes and be able to repurpose the more powerful HTPC for her to game on.

[Jdiesel 1114]

I don't see why it wouldn't, I have a Zotac Mini PC with the n3150 which is the older generation equivalent and it works great with LibreELEC (Emby for Kodi Plugin) and okay with Windows (Emby Theater). The J3455 in the NUC you linked looks to be quite a bit faster. There were people running ET in Windows on much cheaper low powered Intel Atom CPUs with decent success.

Edited April 6, 2017 by Jdiesel

[Gronnie 8]

Great. I think I'll go with that then, want to keep the WAF as high as possible

 

Will report back with results in a week or so once I have it up and running!

[blade005 172]

One thing I was considering was just going with a cheap NUC.

 

Would this one work well? https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856102183&ignorebbr=1

 

I figured just get 8GB of RAM for it and put an SSD I already have lying around in it and we can continue having the PC experience my wife likes and be able to repurpose the more powerful HTPC for her to game on.

@@Gronnie,

 

I am actually running Emby Server on a Minix HTPC for a similar price point. It also includes W10 pre-installed.

 

https://www.amazon.com/MINIX-NEO-Z83-4-Dual-Band-Technology/dp/B01M24W77N/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1491507658&sr=8-3&keywords=minix+neo+z83-4

 

I don't require much transcoding and use Emby Theater on other clients to Direct Play most media. It has performed well over the last few months since setting it up as a Emby server. I don't use it much as a client, but Emby Theater desktop running on it provides good performance. It may not be as snappy as your higher end HTPC, but definitely acceptable as an Emby Client with W10 pre-loaded and a continuation of the PC experience you desire.

Edited April 6, 2017 by blade005

[Swynol 375]

might be worth checking out the nvidia shields. the emby for android TV is a well put together app.

[Spaceboy 2494]

might be worth checking out the nvidia shields. the emby for android TV is a well put together app.

the shield is great

[BAlGaInTl 279]

I'd recommend a Shield as well.  I don't think there is a better device for streaming now that they've managed to add Amazon video.

[Guest asrequested]

Something to consider. Through testing, we're seeing that decoding a lot of 4k HEVC content is proving to be very resource consuming. If you're wanting to do that, you're gonna need a really good GPU/CPU.

[Tur0k 143]

If you are handy with a screw driver and can read manuals and directions you could build your own HTPC. The 6th gen Intel Core i3-6300 Dual core 3.8GHz is pretty cheap now that AMD dropped the Ryzen series CPUs. The 6300 also supports quick sync and HVEC. You could pickup a cheaper miniITX motherboard (with video support), 8 GB of RAM, a mid tier SSD, and an ITX slimline case (with power supply bundled). It would cost you $400-$500 but would literally run circles around that NUC.

Then either load Linux on or go to an online cheap seller for an M$ OS.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited April 7, 2017 by Tur0k

[all4dom 73]

I agree with TurOk. Just build something smaller and more efficient. Nothing out there right now beats the PC experience with emby.

[colejack 30]

I have two Amazon Fire Sticks that get used a lot and I am satisfied with them. You could also look into using a RasberryPi.

[legallink 187]

I personally think the purpose built machines far exceed the HTPC experience for anyone that is not techincal, and for far less cost, provided that you can have an emby server on dedicated hardware somewhere else.

 

The purpose built machines aren't perfect, and each one has their pros and cons, but for the WAF/Kid/Visitor factor isn't in the same ballpark in my experience.

 

We've had an HTPC (with a logitech harmony one remote), a roku, now have apple tv's.  All of them are significant strides ahead of the previous.  We haven't tried an amazon fire tv/fire stick, but I've heard nothing but positives about them.  Nvidia shield, from my perspective, is too expensive for what it is.  Apple has just done well with design on the device, despite some failures and limitations on the hardware (and that amazon prime video isn't on it, but we don't really worry about that anyways.)

 

The purpose built machines have more purpose specific/reliable remotes than an htpc unless you spend a lot of money (not as configurable, but more resilient/just work).

 

They also have app stores typically attached, which means the access and navigation of one application to the next is fairly easy/seamless.  In an HTPC environment, windows or linux or even kodi aren't really built for that.  Kodi is a really close second to a purpose built machine, but you then have to do all the tinkering on the front end just to get started.  

 

Just my perspective.

[Gronnie 8]

I ended up going with the Intel NUC and 8GB DDR3 1866 CL10 RAM with a 256GB SSD since my wife is used to Windows 10 with Emby Theater.

 

It seems to do great with TV shows (including HD downloads), DVDs, and OTA HD TV streaming. It struggles with playing the Movie Theme Videos and TV Theme Videos from Radeon's plugins that play in the background, and with Blu Ray rips. Some BD rips seems to play better than others. The biggest problem is at the beginning it takes a long time to start playing, and some of them the video sputters for the first 15-30 seconds. Seek also doesn't seem to work very well.

 

Reading the reviews it was suggested that 1080P content should be no problem, and the HTPC I had in this exact location worked without issue, so any ideas of settings I need to change in the UEFI, Windows 10, or Emby itself?

 

I have already updated the BIOS.

 

I attempted to give more RAM to the graphics in the BIOS, but apparently that causes a weird bug where the mouse cursor no longer appears on screen. Someone else had the same issue here.

Edited April 12, 2017 by Gronnie

[Gronnie 8]

Did some more searching and apparently that BIOS setting for video memory is only for during boot and seems to mess with Windows 10 giving out memory for video (Windows will automatically set a max value based on total RAM).

 

Made a couple changes and things seem to run quite a bit better now (still not quite as smooth as old i3 HTPC, but good enough):

 

1. Got ride of the theme videos

2. Changed the power profile to high performance with a few tweaks

Edited April 12, 2017 by Gronnie

[Tur0k 143]

Disable

1. Intel speed step (though I don't know that it is a part of the Celeron line.)

2. Any VM features

 

in BIOS

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited April 14, 2017 by Tur0k

[Gronnie 8]

I'm not opposed to your suggestions, but would like a bit more information first.

 

1. Won't disabling Speed Step increase power consumption quite a bit? That is one of the main reasons for using a NUC over a full sized HTPC

2. You are referring to Intel Virtualization Technology, right? I thought that doesn't impact performance at all when no virtualization is occuring

[Gronnie 8]

Wanted to post an update for anyone considering a cheap NUC now that I have had this for a few months.

 

I thought it was a dud because my media would freeze all the time, which was confusing because reviews had all stated it should handle 1080p playback with no issues. I tried all kinds of power and playback tweaks, and none of them fixed the issue.

 

It turns out the unit I received must have an Ethernet NIC issue, because as a last ditch effort I switched to WiFi and now everything runs smoothly. Would definitely recommend one of these if one wants a full fledged PC but doesn't plan to do any gaming and wants low power consumption.

Edited July 9, 2017 by Gronnie

[Blueeyiz702 216]

might be worth checking out the nvidia shields. the emby for android TV is a well put together app.

Very well i have one and the things are killers! There is not anything on the Market even close. Wait till they figure out to put GFX 970 0r a Titan Graphics Card in one. Now that will be absolute Sicness.