Share your HTPCs/Media Player Horsepower.

[superczar]

I have been using Kodi since the very day of its inception, when it was XBMP (Not XBMC) (and no one had a clue as to what is was) and then actually converted the usage on a dedicated HTPC way back in 2011. (when I could afford one.. ) Shifted to openELEC and SSD in 2013.
Kodi for windows might not be stable,(hardly used that version) but have been using openELEC since 2013 and it has been nothing short of rock stable, yes initial releases were short on features, but as far as stability and boot timing goes, nothing could beat openELEC. Now I have it on 3 of my boxes (3rd now includes shield which has SPMC) and I am highly satisfied.
Not debating that Apple TV port might not be as good, but Apple ecosystem, just does not entice me

I quite like RaspBMC (rather OSMC) now
The limitations on the apple ecosystem bug me out honestly.. (ios specifically and now tvOS... OS X is a different beast altogether)

On the living room setup though where ease of use (for everyone) becomes important, tvOS is quite nice.. easy flipping between Kodi/Music streaming/Photos is quite appealing..

I switched to NUC when one fine day, power backup decided to fail when I was out of town post which the Rpi wouldn't boot into Kodi (until I came back and had to run a forced fsck)

The NUC still runs well but windows can be terribly flaky

Hopefully ATV 4 runs stable with no bug outs

On a side note, it do seem to be a good choice (so far) for a hassle free media box for new comers

 

[regeHA]

One of the easiest fixes for the wife and parents was to install Plex Media Server and let them stream via the Plex app. Personally I like to run a network share and use my HTPC + madVR, but accessing network shares and searching for media was deemed complicated. By that logic, even Kodi falls into the same category of being techy.

Devices like Roku and Chromecast with the Plex app have been the easiest sell for the parents and the spouse.

 

[regeHA]

Saw this on a tech review video and decided to test on my system as well Only tried till jellyfish-200-mbps-4k-uhd-hevc-10bit as that's what I have on my system right now, but I will download till jellyfish-400-mbps-4k-uhd-hevc-10bit and give it a go.

In the review, these files were struggling to play in VLC, but played perfectly fine in the Movies & TV app of Windows 10. I too tried in the Movies & TV app and plays perfectly without any stuttering or choppiness of the video.

Now to go higher till 400 mbps and test.

 

[sam9s]

^^ Wish someone can test HiMedia Q10 Pro with high end h265 10 BIT jellyfish files, will be interesting to see

 

[harpreetz]

^^ Wish someone can test HiMedia Q10 Pro with high end h265 10 BIT jellyfish files, will be interesting to see

HI SAM,

Downloading the 140 Mbps Jellyfish File, from the link that you have posted in your first page.Let me know if want any specific media file to be tested on HiMedia Q10 Pro. This media player has not failed on any format till now.

 

[sam9s]

HI SAM,

Downloading the 140 Mbps Jellyfish File, from the link that you have posted in your first page.Let me know if want any specific media file to be tested on HiMedia Q10 Pro. This media player has not failed on any format till now.

Go with this ... jellyfish-140-mbps-4k-uhd-hevc-10bit.mkv, if a media player at present can play this file smoothly, no hiccups, the player is good to go with all UHD rips.

And then just to push the player limits you can go all the way up to 400mbps 10 bit file .. as a reference SHIELD TV was able to play 400mbps absolutely fine ..

 

[jsmithe]

Go with this ... jellyfish-140-mbps-4k-uhd-hevc-10bit.mkv, if a media player at present can play this file smoothly, no hiccups, the player is good to go with all UHD rips......

http://www.hifivision.com/home-thea...c-s-media-player-horsepower-3.html#post709413

 

[sam9s]

^^ Oh it was already posted .... apologies for asking it again. How ever would like to know, which player was used to play.... Kodi, SPMC or MX Player? or played on all three.?

 

[jsmithe]

^^ Oh it was already posted .... apologies for asking it again. How ever would like to know, which player was used to play.... Kodi, SPMC or MX Player? or played on all three.?

From what I recall, I tested only with the native player on the Himedia Q10 Pro. If I still have the test files around, I'll retest with Kodi (and MX player if I get it to install) and repost. Not sure though, if the Kodi settings I've messed around with will affect things one way or the other. Stay tuned ....

 

[harpreetz]

Go with this ... jellyfish-140-mbps-4k-uhd-hevc-10bit.mkv, if a media player at present can play this file smoothly, no hiccups, the player is good to go with all UHD rips.

And then just to push the player limits you can go all the way up to 400mbps 10 bit file .. as a reference SHIELD TV was able to play 400mbps absolutely fine ..

Passed: Tested the file with HiMedia's media player. File pays smoothly, no hiccups at all..

 

[buxx]

many of the players can play big files & variety of formats.
But the million $ question is- how much hit is the image quality taking ..?

Try playing the same file through the Media Player and your HTPC and one can clearly make out the difference in image quality.

 

[sam9s]

I dont see any difference when playing any file, rip, ISO or BDMV from my HTPC using either Kodi or MPC HC with mad vr or other blah blah and my SHIELD TV Pro...

 

[jsmithe]

OK re-tested with Kodi 16 (Jarvis) and here are the results (no stutter, choppiness)

Himedia Q10 Pro results for H.265 playback:
jellyfish-3-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv - Playable
jellyfish-3-mbps-hd-hevc-10bit.mkv - Playable
jellyfish-10-mbps-hd-hevc-10bit.mkv - Playable
jellyfish-30-mbps-hd-hevc_4.1.mkv - Playable
jellyfish-110-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv - Playable
jellyfish-140-mbps-4k-uhd-hevc-10bit.mkv - Playable

Himedia Q10 Pro results for H.264 playback:
jellyfish-30-mbps-hd-h264.mkv - Playable
jellyfish-90-mbps-hd-h264_5.0profile.mkv - Playable
jellyfish-110-mbps-hd-h264.mkv - Playable
Jellyfish-120-mbps-4k-uhd-h264.mkv - Playable

 

[buxx]

I dont see any difference when playing any file, rip, ISO or BDMV from my HTPC using either Kodi or MPC HC with mad vr or other blah blah and my SHIELD TV Pro...

Looks like the Shield TV pro costs as much as a HTPC- so no doubt, quality will be great .

And the point is.. any graphics company, AMD, Nvidia, or even Intel HD onboard GPU will have better performance/Image quality as compared to any of the media players.

 

[sam9s]

Looks like the Shield TV pro costs as much as a HTPC- so no doubt, quality will be great .

And the point is.. any graphics company, AMD, Nvidia, or even Intel HD onboard GPU will have better performance/Image quality as compared to any of the media players.

Thats is not true, the cheapest GPU for dedicated HEVC video decoding (Main and Main 10) is GTX 1050 ti, for around 12-13K. This is the GPU alone. The oldest card is GTX 960 for the same purpose which I believe is even more expensive than 1050 ti. Adding the rest of the component to this HTPC will definitely cross 200 USD, (SHIELD TV, not pro, you dont need pro if you are not gaming on shield) not to forget, huge space requirement in comparison, and much much more power consumption, adding to that cost of OS (if not using openELEC), if using openELEC, then also you cannot use streaming services like Netflix and APV or any other except youtube. Other advantages include PLEX server, and other Android TV apps, best implementation of Netflix and APV. In every comparison shield tv wins hands down to an HTPC. (ATM)

 

[captainsubtext]

I'm running the following config for my htpc

Intel i36100 - gigabyte z170n WiFi - noctua low profile cooler - cooler master 130 elite chasis - crucial M4 256 gig add - 2x wd red 4tb in raid 1 - zotac GTX 1060 6 GB - Corsair vengeance lpx 8 GB ram. Running Plex media server on this and handles transcoding x265 without any problems

 

[neel]

Thought it is a good thread to get into action after very many years!

About a year ago I got MeCool BB2 Pro from AliExpress, a well featured and stable android box.

I was able to play jellyfish comfortably upto
jellyfish-250-mbps-4k-uhd-h264.mkv and jellyfish-250-mbps-4k-uhd-hevc-10bit.mkv . 300mbps file also played (all from local usb3.0) drives.
Stutter began to appear with 400mbps file.

I am running Kodi on LibreElec as a second boot from SD card.

 

[sam9s]

Thought it is a good thread to get into action after very many years!

About a year ago I got MeCool BB2 Pro from AliExpress, a well featured and stable android box.

I was able to play jellyfish comfortably upto
jellyfish-250-mbps-4k-uhd-h264.mkv and jellyfish-250-mbps-4k-uhd-hevc-10bit.mkv . 300mbps file also played (all from local usb3.0) drives.
Stutter began to appear with 400mbps file.

I am running Kodi on LibreElec as a second boot from SD card.

Not many years ... just over a year ...

thanks for sharing ....are you talking about ..... this.

https://www.flipkart.com/mbox-mecoo...yer-media-streaming-device/p/itmewc2gwwn3mmmt

If the above can run jellyfish-250-mbps-4k-uhd-hevc-10bit.mkv , effortlessly then its worth the price I think.

 

[neel]

Not many years ... just over a year ...

thanks for sharing ....are you talking about ..... this.

https://www.flipkart.com/mbox-mecoo...yer-media-streaming-device/p/itmewc2gwwn3mmmt

If the above can run jellyfish-250-mbps-4k-uhd-hevc-10bit.mkv , effortlessly then its worth the price I think.

Yes, I am and it does.

It plays regular 4K rips without issues. With Kodi on LIbreElec I can get DTS HD-MA and Dolby True HD audio pass through and not with the supplied Android. Hence I boot from SD card. It supports HDR as well, so very handy box to have around. It hardly gets heated up even on prolonged usage. Even though it came a while ago, it still can give most of the recent android boxes (even MeCool ones) run for the money, thanks to decent specs.

 

[TheSeeker]

I'm running the following config for my htpc

Intel i36100 - gigabyte z170n WiFi - noctua low profile cooler - cooler master 130 elite chasis - crucial M4 256 gig add - 2x wd red 4tb in raid 1 - zotac GTX 1060 6 GB - Corsair vengeance lpx 8 GB ram. Running Plex media server on this and handles transcoding x265 without any problems

you use this for gaming too?