Yet Another HTPC-advice Thread!

[regeHA]

thanks. I will then check it out at the local PC store.

I do have an old laptop. currently relegated to downloading-duties, but on windows. would change it to some Linux distro, sure (but don't know if sharing media between my HTPC having Win 8.1 & this Linux PC would be seamless or not; currently I just play media on my HTPC by accessing files on the laptop over the network. both have same OS).

other than that also have a Seagate goflex home & a pogo pro, but not being used. was thinking of giving them away as now don't recall what all steps I used to follow to run my few debian packages on them, nor have time to do a re-setup of them (which otherwise I LOVE doing such stuff!). thinking of getting something like an RPi 3 or similar plug pc, any which has better and more guides/support.

my main (gaming) PC is one other machine which is ailing since months. some booting-issue with RAM chips, plus a corrupted boot-sector in HDD, and have to install an SSD and an additional HDD after buying a SATA port multiplier (not available locally). the paucity of time to do all this is the main issue.

P.S. - the components I mentioned in my previous post are of my HTPC.

Install OpenMediaVault - The open network attached storage solution on your laptop. Takes all of 2-3 GB for the OS, and runs on less than 512 MB RAM (my PC running it has 3 GB RAM and is a dual core CPU).

From there on you can install Plex Media Server and have it play on any device with the Plex app. Or you can enable SMB sharing and these shares will be available on all the local network for any device to access. I'm doing it both ways, Plex for ordinary viewing, and SMB shares for my high-end HTPC with madVR.

PS: Plex is not transcoding, for that you will need a higher CPU, typically an i5 at the very least. You can get away with very less resources if it is just serving files.

 

[TheSeeker]

Install OpenMediaVault - The open network attached storage solution on your laptop. Takes all of 2-3 GB for the OS, and runs on less than 512 MB RAM (my PC running it has 3 GB RAM and is a dual core CPU).

From there on you can install Plex Media Server and have it play on any device with the Plex app. Or you can enable SMB sharing and these shares will be available on all the local network for any device to access. I'm doing it both ways, Plex for ordinary viewing, and SMB shares for my high-end HTPC with madVR.

PS: Plex is not transcoding, for that you will need a higher CPU, typically an i5 at the very least. You can get away with very less resources if it is just serving files.

great! thanks. would this OS also allow for some occasional browsing, etc? or I better then do a dual-boot set-up, with Win & OMV?

 

[balzac]

Have anyone of you tried the "Remix OS" on NUC? Let me know if someone has tried it?

 

[regeHA]

great! thanks. would this OS also allow for some occasional browsing, etc? or I better then do a dual-boot set-up, with Win & OMV?

Dual boot. It's a headless OS like a NAS, Pi, etc. Access is from a network location and only to update, add plugins, etc. Other than that its forget and run in the background once setup.

 

[regeHA]

Have anyone of you tried the "Remix OS" on NUC? Let me know if someone has tried it?

Nope. Would help if you share what you are trying to accomplish with this OS?

 

[balzac]

Nope. Would help if you share what you are trying to accomplish with this OS?

Actually, I found it to be the best way to get all the Media related activities accomplished. As this OS allows you to install "Android Apps" in your system.

So, my plan is to install this on NUC, then connect it to my TV and add apps like Voot, Hotstar, Showbox, etc. and stream all my media content.

Below is the link for the Remix OS:
Remix OS - The Future of Android PC is now on Android Marshmallow

Cheers!

 

[regeHA]

Actually, I found it to be the best way to get all the Media related activities accomplished. As this OS allows you to install "Android Apps" in your system.

So, my plan is to install this on NUC, then connect it to my TV and add apps like Voot, Hotstar, Showbox, etc. and stream all my media content.

Below is the link for the Remix OS:
Remix OS - The Future of Android PC is now on Android Marshmallow

Cheers!

It seems besides the point, why would you want to waste an Intel NUC on it when a $30-$50 Android TV stick will work just as well for the same. Chromecast would also achieve the same function for a fraction of the cost.

The only thing needed would be running a local media server if you have a lot of your own content and want to stream to multiple devices.

The operating system should install fine though by the looks of it.

 

[balzac]

When I connect my AVR with my NUC with Windows 10, the screen overshoots. Even after the Intel driver installed, when in full resolution the screen gets cut from all the side. What do I need to do? Is there a fix for this?

 

[sam9s]

^^ lol... this is hard to troubleshoot, intel hd drivers does not have an overscan option to rectify this .... I had the same issue ... I tried everything, update drivers, tried old ones, ...eventually took a very verylooongg and tricky, risky and tiresome route ..... you also first try google and see if you might be able to find a solution .... else will let you know what I did ....

 

[sam9s]

Have anyone of you tried the "Remix OS" on NUC? Let me know if someone has tried it?

Yes I tried it, just for the fun of it, and it is a decent Android port OS and worked OK, but I might just not use it as a full-blown permanent OS, atleast for now. So I would say I agree, that investing on NUC just for that, might not be advisable, when in the same price or less you can get an Android Media player TV box that will do much more and will also be much more stable than Remix OS.
e.g.
You can get an Himedia H8 (which is an exceptional Android TV Box) for as low as 6K.

 

[balzac]

Yes I tried it, just for the fun of it, and it is a decent Android port OS and worked OK, but I might just not use it as a full-blown permanent OS, atleast for now. So I would say I agree, that investing on NUC just for that, might not be advisable, when in the same price or less you can get an Android Media player TV box that will do much more and will also be much more stable than Remix OS.
e.g.
You can get an Himedia H8 (which is an exceptional Android TV Box) for as low as 6K.

Oh great. Could you share the steps? I have a NUC actually. So just for the fun of it thought of giving a partition done and install this OS.

Also, I have posted a query regarding my screen overshoot when I connect to TV. Could you suggest some fix for this?

Cheers!

Sent from my SM-N910H using Tapatalk

 

[sam9s]

I do all this on my ESXi bro ... but the steps are pretty straightforward ..

How To Install And Set Up Remix OS To Run Android On Your PC : TECH : Tech Times

Also I already replied to your over scan issue.

 

[regeHA]

You can get an Himedia H8 (which is an exceptional Android TV Box) for as low as 6K.

I gather you don't watch Netflix on any of these Android TV boxes? I gave up on them because none of them can play Netflix at 1080p, and 4K is totally out of the picture.

Only the likes of Roku and Chromecast as well as Nvidia Shield play any form of full HD for Netflix, and they have been the mainstay of my streaming devices.

 

[balzac]

^^ lol... this is hard to troubleshoot, intel hd drivers does not have an overscan option to rectify this .... I had the same issue ... I tried everything, update drivers, tried old ones, ...eventually took a very verylooongg and tricky, risky and tiresome route ..... you also first try google and see if you might be able to find a solution .... else will let you know what I did ....

I did a lot of Googling and tried to do it. But, it didn't work. Please let me know your solution.

Time = Saved.

Cheers!

Sent from my SM-N910H using Tapatalk

 

[sam9s]

I gather you don't watch Netflix on any of these Android TV boxes? I gave up on them because none of them can play Netflix at 1080p, and 4K is totally out of the picture.

Only the likes of Roku and Chromecast as well as Nvidia Shield play any form of full HD for Netflix, and they have been the mainstay of my streaming devices.

How many Android TV boxes I would purchase ..?. The Netflix limitation I knew, hence purchased Roku 3, and now Shield, which is even better and supports Netflix HDR and Dolby Vision. I don't have any other Android TV Box, except a cheap one that I purchased just for testing purposes.

Also I think WD TV Live also supports Netflix @ 1080p

 

[sam9s]

I did a lot of Googling and tried to do it. But, it didn't work. Please let me know your solution.

Time = Saved.

Cheers!

Sent from my SM-N910H using Tapatalk

,

OK you asked for it, mind you this is a patient, time-consuming, and risky and complicated procedure. I take no responsibility of any hardware damage, you would be playing with EDID hexadecimal values. So proceed at your own risk, however I must say solution did work for my TV ....

[TUTORIAL] How I fixed my HD Ready overscan issue - FreakTab.com

 

[regeHA]

How many Android TV boxes I would purchase ..?. The Netflix limitation I knew, hence purchased Roku 3, and now Shield, which is even better and supports Netflix HDR and Dolby Vision. I don't have any other Android TV Box, except a cheap one that I purchased just for testing purposes.

Also I think WD TV Live also supports Netflix @ 1080p

I actually bought 2, but none that are updated beyond Android 5 (or 4) so ineffective for even gaming from the Play Store.

Just wondering why the recommendation for Android media boxes with outdated OS and no support for Netflix, unless most folks are not into Netflix.

 

[sam9s]

I actually bought 2, but none that are updated beyond Android 5 (or 4) so ineffective for even gaming from the Play Store.

Just wondering why the recommendation for Android media boxes with outdated OS and no support for Netflix, unless most folks are not into Netflix.

Most of the people purchase Android TV box as a media player and kodi, to play downloaded content from external HDD or NAS, and ofcourse some occasional small Android gaming. All work well with anything above Android 4+.(With MX player and ES File explorer) If Netflix 1080p is the prime priority, then ofcourse these are not for the one....

 

[balzac]

,

OK you asked for it, mind you this is a patient, time-consuming, and risky and complicated procedure. I take no responsibility of any hardware damage, you would be playing with EDID hexadecimal values. So proceed at your own risk, however I must say solution did work for my TV ....

[TUTORIAL] How I fixed my HD Ready overscan issue - FreakTab.com

Thank You for the information Sam. I didn't have to do anything actually, just changed the picture option of my TV and it worked. :yahoo:

Also, installed Remix OS on a NUC partition. It works really well.

Cheers guys for all the help.

 

[sam9s]

Thank You for the information Sam. I didn't have to do anything actually, just changed the picture option of my TV and it worked. :yahoo:

Also, installed Remix OS on a NUC partition. It works really well.

Cheers guys for all the help.

yes if your TV has the option then there is nothing better than that (my LG had) unfortunately, my current TV and lot many does not and hence the off road long route .....