Yet Another HTPC-advice Thread!

[superczar]

Seeker nobody browses on HTPC, on HDTV....., if anyone does, then its not recommended, HTPC as the name suggests is Home Theater PC and should be assembled and used in that regard only, barring few exceptions like using it as a torrent box and also as a file server, but never as a regular desktop PC.

Oddly enough, Some people do like subjecting themselves to this pain.
My Bro in law does this - I had gifted him a HTPC (NUC based) for his b'day and he had the same exact complaint.
I increased the DPI scaling to 200% - problem solved

 

[sam9s]

^^ its still not comfortable, atleast for regular prolong browsing. But whatever floats ones boat ...

 

[VSG12777]

Sam, you had mentioned the Intel NUC DN2820FYKH doesn't support HD audio passthrough. How do we find out which models do support this? It doesn't seem to be mentioned anywhere on the specs. I did check a few different models. Lots of price difference across models in the NUC range too. How do we decide on a suitable one?

PMed you by the way.

 

[sam9s]

^^ Oh that's a PITA, Intel is very very confusion when it comes to specs of NUC for passthrough, there are loads of NUC models out there, some support passthrough out of the box some doesnt, some does with updated drives. Some work with updated BIOS .... This is on windows I am talking about, with openELEC the situation is still better ...... its a mess basically. Usually its their celeron models that have issues. The i3/i5 are ok out of the box. (windows only) ....................Long story short, if you want to use NUC for HTPC, and decide to purchase Celeron model, be ready for driver, updates, BIOS updates.

A Quick recomendation NUC5PPYH has been confirmed that HD audio works under openELEC and NOT windows, even after driver updates ...

 

[VSG12777]

Thanks Sam. So for troublefree HTPC use with an AVR, the minimum I should look at is an i3 NUC model? Do these come with an OS preinstalled, or do we have to install the OS?
What about suitable RAM and built in HDD or SSD? I was under the impression that an NUC would be a HTPC ready to use right out of the box. Am I mistaken?

I sent you a PM too with some queries.

 

[sam9s]

Celeron models will also passthrough but under Linux only, that is some marketing gimmick from intel not to release drivers for Celeron based NUCs, even though the hardware is capable of HD passthrough. Perfect example is NUC5PPYH which will pass through under openELEC (linux) and not windows.

But then you will be spending close to 15K just for running openELEC. If you are ok with that then you might choose this option.

If you will be using your HTPC as regular PC as well with windows and all then yes i3 will do the job, a quick research tells me NUC5i3RYH should be able to support HD Audio passthrough in windows with updated drivers and openELEC as well.

Coming to your last query, yes these models does not come with HDD and RAM so you have to purchase those separately, for HDD any 2.5" HDD will do but RAM you have to be care if only support low voltage DDR3-L (DDR3L-1333/1600 1.35V) only. The regular laptop ram might not do.

But I would still suggest to google as much as possible and research thoroughly, NUC are notorious for confusing which model support HD Audio out of the box. Just do not take my word only ..

 

[mgdelhi]

Sam, you had mentioned the Intel NUC DN2820FYKH doesn't support HD audio passthrough.

Intel is very very confusion when it comes to specs of NUC for passthrough,

DN2820FYKH does pass through DTS-HD-MA and Dolby True-HD on Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and Windows 10. I have been using it since June, 2015.

 

[sam9s]

DN2820FYKH does pass through DTS-HD-MA and Dolby True-HD on Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and Windows 10. I have been using it since June, 2015.

Bios update needed? Driver update needed ...some more info can be really beneficial ... . I know it does under openELEC, but for windows I never tried and online infor was pretty dicey. Some said they did manage to passthough using drivers meant for other NUC on 2820. What was your experience ...?

 

[mgdelhi]

Bios update needed? Driver update needed ...some more info can be really beneficial ... . I know it does under openELEC, but for windows I never tried and online infor was pretty dicey. Some said they did manage to passthough using drivers meant for other NUC on 2820. What was your experience ...?

Download latest drivers.

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/78953/Intel-NUC-Kit-DN2820FYKH

I updated BIOS also because earlier BIOS had IR enable/disable only. I wanted to use IR remote. When I enabled IR, it started turning ON with Tata Sky remote keys. Newer BIOS gave me an option of not turning on NUC even if IR was enabled.

 

[TheSeeker]

Seeker nobody browses on HTPC, on HDTV....., if anyone does, then its not recommended, HTPC as the name suggests is Home Theater PC and should be assembled and used in that regard only, barring few exceptions like using it as a torrent box and also as a file server, but never as a regular desktop PC.

yes but I do manage to find the need for it often; its like a PCasHT for me.

 

[sam9s]

^^ yes in that way, we generally manage to use anything in a way, ...that is specifically not meant to be used that way ... ...... But as I usually say, what ever floats ones Boat ...

I cannot use my HDTV for browsing, never even if I zoom and increase the DPI its not comfortable. This is how my regular PC/Laptop is used .......................................Browsing/searching/researching/Team Viewering/RDPing/forums posts/Music pushing to Moode/casual downloading ...all this, which I heavily do is actually on my superlappy (thats what I call it ...) ...(i3 with 16GB RAM, hybrid HDD with SSD for OS/VMs and 500GB SATA), running Windows 10 VM for all VPN,DNS, torrenting, experimenting activities. Rest is on the host machine ..... damn satisfied. At one point, I have 3 browsers opened all filled with 10-15 tabs (chrome, maxthon, vivaldi), I dont use firefox usually and my VM running side by side doing any experiment that I have asked it to do so, and then in one of the browser (usually chrome) I do all my forum postings, like I am doing right now ... .... Not boasting trust me, just felt the need to share ...

Then I have my regular i7@4Ghz 32GB for my ESXi LAB remember .. (Its down right now for maintenance , but it will be up soon .. )............all this and a couple of other servers physical that I have for some other activities, haven't share on hifi ever...

 

[VSG12777]

DN2820FYKH does pass through DTS-HD-MA and Dolby True-HD on Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and Windows 10. I have been using it since June, 2015.

Hey MG,

Good to know this DN2820FYKH NUC model passes through HD audio. Could you tell us what player you use? Is it Kodi or something else? Do you connect the NUC to your AV receiver?

Download latest drivers.

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/78953/Intel-NUC-Kit-DN2820FYKH

I updated BIOS also because earlier BIOS had IR enable/disable only. I wanted to use IR remote. When I enabled IR, it started turning ON with Tata Sky remote keys. Newer BIOS gave me an option of not turning on NUC even if IR was enabled.

Can we get a standalone remote to use with the NUC or would any universal remote do?

 

[TheSeeker]

^^ yes in that way, we generally manage to use anything in a way, ...that is specifically not meant to be used that way ... ...... But as I usually say, what ever floats ones Boat ...

I cannot use my HDTV for browsing, never even if I zoom and increase the DPI its not comfortable. This is how my regular PC/Laptop is used .......................................Browsing/searching/researching/Team Viewering/RDPing/forums posts/Music pushing to Moode/casual downloading ...all this, which I heavily do is actually on my superlappy (thats what I call it ...) ...(i3 with 16GB RAM, hybrid HDD with SSD for OS/VMs and 500GB SATA), running Windows 10 VM for all VPN,DNS, torrenting, experimenting activities. Rest is on the host machine ..... damn satisfied. At one point, I have 3 browsers opened all filled with 10-15 tabs (chrome, maxthon, vivaldi), I dont use firefox usually and my VM running side by side doing any experiment that I have asked it to do so, and then in one of the browser (usually chrome) I do all my forum postings, like I am doing right now ... .... Not boasting trust me, just felt the need to share ...

Then I have my regular i7@4Ghz 32GB for my ESXi LAB remember .. (Its down right now for maintenance , but it will be up soon .. )............all this and a couple of other servers physical that I have for some other activities, haven't share on hifi ever...

contact IB or ISRO; esp. the latter could certainly make use of your systems to aid our next multi-satellite launch.

 

[sam9s]

contact IB or ISRO; esp. the latter could certainly make use of your systems to aid our next multi-satellite launch.

I would take this as a compliment ..

 

[yugaaa]

The HDMI is not board dependent anymore . It is the processor which is important . The Intel NUC models feature laptop processors with low voltage designs . For the price of a NUC , I would suggest a mac mini .. even a used one . Gives more flexibility . I know the remote will be missed

 

[mgdelhi]

Hey MG,

Good to know this DN2820FYKH NUC model passes through HD audio. Could you tell us what player you use? Is it Kodi or something else? Do you connect the NUC to your AV receiver?

Can we get a standalone remote to use with the NUC or would any universal remote do?

I use Kodi. I connect NUC to my AVR.

You can use any Windows Media Center MCE PC Remote Control like:

 

[Rockfella]

Yep, but these are hard to find now!

I use Kodi. I connect NUC to my AVR.

You can use any Windows Media Center MCE PC Remote Control like:

 

[VSG12777]

True. I've not seen these remotes for quite some time! However it is indeed great to know that the NUC model suits the HTPC purpose well and at a low/reasonable cost. For the remote, are there other IR remotes available that can be used? I have no idea how these remotes are setup with the NUC. Is there separate software to install, for the remotes to be used with the NUC?

 

[superczar]

True. I've not seen these remotes for quite some time! However it is indeed great to know that the NUC model suits the HTPC purpose well and at a low/reasonable cost. For the remote, are there other IR remotes available that can be used? I have no idea how these remotes are setup with the NUC. Is there separate software to install, for the remotes to be used with the NUC?

Get any cheap universal remote (500>) off ebay - almost all of them have the ability to act as a MCE keyboard..No extra software required

 

[regeHA]

^^^ Not sure you would need them this day and age, most media player software will have an app or multiple third-party apps.

But it was certainly cool back in the day, I even remember having wired remotes for VCRs.