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I need some help from you guys!


KayJay

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Hi everyone,

 

I'm wondering if someone can help me with my setup.

 

I have a PC in my bedroom running media browser server and a NOWTV(Roku) box in the living room on my HDTV that I've put the media browser APP on and i've been running that fine and watching all my content for a good few months now.

 

My question to you all is, after checking out the media browser theatre programme, what can I replace the NOWTV(Roku) box with in order to get media browser theatre in my livingroom (It just looks SOOO much better!).

 

Obviously I'm going to want something cheap, runs quietly and doesn't heat up the room. I have tried a Dell Optiplex GX620(that I got free from work) but it uses 100% CPU and heats the room up pretty quickly!

Looking forward to your replies! 

 

P.S. Also love to here about peoples setup's and maybe get ideas on making mine better. It's just simple for now because I'm in a one bedroomed flat, but I'll forever be expanding my setup when I can afford it.

 

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Would one of these celeron puppies be enough to power an MBC machine as well or should I be looking at an i3 one?  Thinking about replacing my main HTPC with a small, quiet form factor.

 

The built-in graphics on these things is good enough for MBC animations as well...?

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Deihmos

I would stick with a roku. It consumes 3 watts of power and plays back everything from the media browser server plus so much more. Why spend 200+ on a PC when you can use the roku? That's my thought.

 

A celeron nuc would do the job.

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Spaceboy

There are advantages to an nuc. Much more flexibility in choice of OS for one, but Deihmos is correct about the roku. Personally I'd get another nuc, I've got an i5 but sure someone has chipped in and said they have a celeron running mbc or maybe xbmc

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Macburp

I would stick with a roku. It consumes 3 watts of power and plays back everything from the media browser server plus so much more. Why spend 200+ on a PC when you can use the roku? That's my thought.

 

A celeron nuc would do the job.

 

I have a NOW TV box, I think the pq is not very good. A higher specc'd Roku may fit the bill (NOW TV is a Roku XS-1 I believe). For me, for my main TV I'd want a solution that direct plays my media, no transcoding. MBC does that (which I use on an Xbox 360) ,the quality of HD shows is excellent. MBT on a NUC would provide a similar solution.

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Deihmos

I have a NOW TV box, I think the pq is not very good. A higher specc'd Roku may fit the bill (NOW TV is a Roku XS-1 I believe). For me, for my main TV I'd want a solution that direct plays my media, no transcoding. MBC does that (which I use on an Xbox 360) ,the quality of HD shows is excellent. MBT on a NUC would provide a similar solution.

 

My roku direct plays everything.

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I would stick with a roku. It consumes 3 watts of power and plays back everything from the media browser server plus so much more. Why spend 200+ on a PC when you can use the roku? That's my thought.

 

A celeron nuc would do the job.

 

The roku is fine for my kids and as a secondary device but the interface simply cannot be compared to what I can have in MBC (with MB Plus ;)).

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The Baron

I would spend a few dollars more and buy the i3 just so you have a a bit more horse-power under the hood (as it were).

 

Nothing like buyers' remorse after finding out that the processor is not quite up to the job.

Edited by The Baron
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I have a Celeron Nuc in the bedroom and it runs MBC as well as MBT and XBMC just fine although not sure what EBR means by MBC animations. It has 4gb of memory and a 120gb Msata. I currently have it on a 1gb network but did fine with AC Wifi although not so good with N. Previous poster is correct in that it is almost noisless. The only issue I have is it losing the HDMI sync and so audio goes out after wake from sleep sometimes and then has to be rebooted. I have seen alot of complaints about this, with no solution from Intel, but interestingly enough no complaints on this board. If I was going to use this for anything else other then an HTPC with MB I would likely get an i5 version and still might if I get some extra money just cause its always nice to have something better.

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The only issue I have is it losing the HDMI sync and so audio goes out after wake from sleep sometimes and then has to be rebooted. I have seen alot of complaints about this, with no solution from Intel, but interestingly enough no complaints on this board. 

 

I have that problem with my normal HTPC.  It is a HDMI handshake issue and is rather maddening because it is inconsistent.  I tried HdmiYo but it had no effect.

 

One of the things I was thinking I could do with the NUC was not let it sleep and maybe that would solve that issue.

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newfiend

I have that problem with my normal HTPC.  It is a HDMI handshake issue and is rather maddening because it is inconsistent.  I tried HdmiYo but it had no effect.

 

One of the things I was thinking I could do with the NUC was not let it sleep and maybe that would solve that issue.

If you want to fix that permanently you can always get one of these..  http://www.gefen.com/kvm/ext-hdmi-edidp.jsp?prod_id=8005

Their not exactly cheap but it does usually fix that problem.

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Yea I was just leaving the NUC on but then got HDMI Detective Plus which reduces the problem but does not completely resolve it. I had gone back to letting it go to sleep but considering leaving it on again since you really can't notice that it is on from a noise stand point and it does not use much power especially when not doing anything. I didn't mention that I have another HTPC, non-nuc, with an i5 and really can not see any difference in MB performance.

 

Edit: just saw your post newfiend after finishing mine and as noted for me does not completely fix the problem although I am wondering if part of my problem is that I am using an HDMI switch between my NUC and the TV as the TV is older and does not have enough HDMI inputs for the Joey and Bluray. I have put the HDMI Detective between the switch and the NUC. I might try it between the TV and switch tos see if that makes a difference.

Edited by sasaba
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newfiend

Yea I was just leaving the NUC on but then got HDMI Detective Plus which reduces the problem but does not completely resolve it. I had gone back to letting it go to sleep but considering leaving it on again since you really can't notice that it is on from a noise stand point and it does not use much power especially when not doing anything. I didn't mention that I have another HTPC, non-nuc, with an i5 and really can not see any difference in MB performance.

 

Edit: just saw your post newfiend after finishing mine and as noted for me does not completely fix the problem although I am wondering if part of my problem is that I am using an HDMI switch between my NUC and the TV as the TV is older and does not have enough HDMI inputs for the Joey and Bluray. I have put the HDMI Detective between the switch and the NUC. I might try it between the TV and switch tos see if that makes a difference.

I would try moving it between the TV and Switch I think that may fix the issue then the TV won't loose the EDID (essentially loosing the handshake) and should still work I would think.

Edited by newfiend
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Holy cow, I didn't expect such a response! I tried logging on over the weekend but forgot my passwords. I'll take some time to read all your responses tonight and get back to you all. Thanks so much for who ever replied!

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@@ebr I'd wait for a ?clovertrail? NUC.

 

http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2014/09/05/intel-launches-the-intel-core-m-processor

 

No doubt they will build one the tablets are pencilled in for "fall" so I'd guess the NUC's won't be far behind...

 

Great info, I wasn't aware Intel had a new mobile chip in the pipe for this year.  Unfortunately, it appears the cost of these chips won't be cheap, suggesting a $300 price point. "The processor alone will cost around $300, more than many low-end tablets."  At this price point the cheapest barebones NUC would likely be in the high-$400 or low $500 range before adding SSD, RAM, OS and possibly Wireless AC.

 

My main reasoning for a NUC is to get the most of my 7.1 surround sound system.  It doesn't appear anything outputs Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD as well as a PC and I too personally like the benefits from using MBC. 

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@@Tharnax I think the price will fall quickly on these when the 14nm cpu "tocks" to a new socket.

 

It will also probably mean the current gen ones will get even cheaper which sounds better to me. Battery life is a non issue in this application and I have to believe an i3 is more than enough performance.

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@@ebr I was thinking 40-60% grapghics-cpu performance hike tbf...

 

Yes, but the feedback so far is that graphics performance is not a problem with the current models.  If that's the case, then it shouldn't matter.  But I haven't seen it for myself yet.

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It'll likely come down to cost/benefit.  I hear Intel hasn't had the best feedback on their NUCs specifically the Celeron and i3.  It appears the Celeron can't pass through DTS-HD or DD+ and they dropped that feature from their specs.  The i3 shouldn't have an issue with audio other then the whole HDMI handshaking issue, which is fine for most of us but can be frustrating for family members ease of use.  

 

If the new NUC devices, if and when they are released, are more reliable then their current devices it might be worth the premium just to avoid the potential hassles.

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