celeron n3050 enough to stream movies

[nandac]

Hey all, I am looking to buy a laptop for dedicated audio/video streaming to stereo/tv via usb/hdmi.

I primarily use jriver media center for playing music/movies. Sometimes I also play online movies using google chrome.

The cheapest laptops seem to come with Celeron n3050/3060.

With 4 gb memory, will they be enough to serve my purpose?

A shop assistant in BestBuy told me that the minimum for a 'smooth' video streaming would be an i3 processor.

But I can see laptops with Celeron processor with hdmi output. They wouldn't have them if the processor couldn't process videos properly, would they?

Appreciate any insights.

 

[dr_rocket]

Hey all, I am looking to buy a laptop for dedicated audio/video streaming to stereo/tv via usb/hdmi.

I primarily use jriver media center for playing music/movies. Sometimes I also play online movies using google chrome.

The cheapest laptops seem to come with Celeron n3050/3060.

With 4 gb memory, will they be enough to serve my purpose?

A shop assistant in BestBuy told me that the minimum for a 'smooth' video streaming would be an i3 processor.

But I can see laptops with Celeron processor with hdmi output. They wouldn't have them if the processor couldn't process videos properly, would they?

Appreciate any insights.

Celeron may be enough for x264 but nowadays many files are encoded in x265 hevc. For that, intel 6th gen onwards processor is required. Else you will need a hevc capable graphics card separately.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

 

[nandac]

I currently use a Toshiba satellite laptop with a i7 quad core processor. But this is atleast 3 years old. Not sure which generation it is though.

 

[MaSh]

I am in the process of moving from Raspberry Pi to a PC and have been doing some reading on it. So what I understand is that a Core 2 Duo with a minimum of 4gb ram should be able to handle the processing. How good would it handle, would remain a question though. I guess if the mother board came with a dedicated GPU, it would help tremendously.

An HDMI out may not necessarily mean, it can play the new video codecs the way they were meant to be, but yes it is more like an option to connect a display with a HDMI input. Also, I have read many stories of these HDMI ports not being compatible for various reasons. I have 2 such laptops at home for different brands. There is a thread on this forum too about a number of members complaining of the same.

I would suggest looking at a slim cpu that you can connect to your receiver/display, which would give you more flexibility in terms of hardware and also cooling efficiency.

PS: I am still researching on this to build my HTPC, so any information above if incorrect, is open for correction.

MaSh

 

[manniraj]

If you are interested I have this slim fanless PC on sale with me lying unused since more than a year. I think this PC will not be able to decode DTS-HD or Dolby Tru-HD but it does all other things for a nice media player. Completely fanless and comes with a external laptop kind power adapter. I was using this earlier for a dedicated music only PC. I am giving away a 4GB laptop RAM I think of Kingston/Corsair make along with this PC.

 

[nandac]

how about chromebooks? supposedly use only half the resources of windows and fast as lightning?

 

[ranjeetrain]

Bestbuy guy was right. Short term, small clips - okay. But once you start streaming full length, high bit-rate movies you will often face stuttering.

Go for i3 minimum, i5 better still.

Even better, go for a headless PC, if all you need is to stream movies. A laptop is not best suitable for the job.

 

[manniraj]

If you are interested I have this slim fanless PC on sale with me lying unused since more than a year. I think this PC will not be able to decode DTS-HD or Dolby Tru-HD but it does all other things for a nice media player. Completely fanless and comes with a external laptop kind power adapter. I was using this earlier for a dedicated music only PC. I am giving away a 4GB laptop RAM I think of Kingston/Corsair make along with this PC.

Forgot to link my sale thread - http://www.hifivision.com/sale-owner/59238-foxconn-intel-atom-barebones-pc-4gb-ram.html

Thanks

 

[nandac]

Hey all, thanks for all the input. I decided to dedicate my existing i7 quadcore laptop for media and get a cheap (under $200) chromebook or windows laptop for browsing, email, facebook etc and also small/light enough to carry on travel.

So initially I started with seeking a solution for wireless - Bluetooth, chromecast, sonos etc, then thought I would buy a tablet for media (Toshiba Thrive especially with hdmi/usb), then moved in favor of a small powerful laptop for media (which I could use for travel as well) and finally ended with this decision.

And for those offering their laptops/CPU etc for sale, I am not in India - so sorry about that and thanks for your offers.

 

[MaSh]

Hey all, thanks for all the input. I decided to dedicate my existing i7 quadcore laptop for media and get a cheap (under $200) chromebook or windows laptop for browsing, email, facebook etc and also small/light enough to carry on travel.

So initially I started with seeking a solution for wireless - Bluetooth, chromecast, sonos etc, then thought I would buy a tablet for media (Toshiba Thrive especially with hdmi/usb), then moved in favor of a small powerful laptop for media (which I could use for travel as well) and finally ended with this decision.

And for those offering their laptops/CPU etc for sale, I am not in India - so sorry about that and thanks for your offers.

Quite a journey and I am sure a good one. Does the i7 laptop come with an onboard gpu? What are your plans for the software side?

MaSh

 

[nandac]

i use jriver mc. not sure abt gpu. does it make difference if laptop is hooked to smart tv with hdmi? so if my laptop has no gpu or inferior gpu can i use an external gpu?

 

[nandac]

also sometimes when watching movies the laptop seems to be processing with a lot of noise n heat. is this due to inefficient drivers? should i look for better drivers?

 

[nandac]

amd radeon hd 7600m : apparently this is the video card on my laptop.

 

[hydra]

I do see that you've made up your mind. In case will be looking for a solution later, you might find an Intel NUC that fits your needs, if you'll be using it exclusively for media. You can simply hook it up to your TV via HDMI, add a wireless KB and mouse (or a Logitech K400) and you should be set.

They come with BT, WiFi and IR (you can use an IR remote too for control), and they are available with the 6th Gen Processors now. They come as a shell: You'll need to add RAM and a HDD/SSD. Considering your location, you should get good deals on those, and you should not be limited for variety (they come in lots of variants).