NUC recommendation?

1st Official Post
    • Official Post

    NUC and cheap? :)

    Try waiting for the next NUC series, something J35xx or J4205 chipsets, or something of the Baby Canyon (?) generation. They should have 10bit 4K HEVC, although Linux driver support is not always readily available.

    Also, better to buy simple things that last 1-2 years, and not something expensive that needs to last 5-10 years. Technology can change fast.

    • Official Post

    Oh... Seems I don't get an update on a replied topic.

    My recommendation? That depends on your ability to wait for the newest technology, personal preference as well as 'deep pockets'. If you want something -right now-, then get a Intel NUC with a Braswell/Skylake system, the simplest being the Intel NUC NUC5CPYH (Braswell N3050 chip). It does do 4k HEVC upto 30fps, but only 8bit. Not the 10bit videos.

    Seems that Gigabyte has the first 'proper' new Kaby Lake NUC-like boxes
    search.aspx?q=Gigabyte BKi3
    search.aspx?q=Gigabyte BKi5
    search.aspx?q=Gigabyte BKi7
    whatever your preference is.
    Those are the Pentium boxes, I'm sure there will be Celeron boxes too, cheaper but also usable for HTPC usage.

    if you don't mind a 'normal' PC board, have a look at the Apollo Lake ASRock J3350-ITX and/or J4205-ITX (both hevc 10bit & VP9 capable). Those have entered the price lists so should be available for sale by now.

    Here is some general info: Intel's low-cost 'Apollo Lake' Celeron and Pentium processors quietly debut | PCWorld

    Why to wait for a NUC that might support your wishes in future, if there are S905 amlogic boxes, for the price of the CEC adapter you would need for the NUC, that can do it already now?

    Gerald

    Quote from gdachs


    Why to wait for a NUC that might support your wishes in future, if there are S905 amlogic boxes, for the price of the CEC adapter you would need for the NUC, that can do it already now?

    Gerald

    Because the S905 devices have don't have working web browser in LibreElec, generally they run outdated kernels, usb ports often lack sufficient voltage for all usb devices, support often gets dropped sooner than it does on x86-64 hardware.

    If there was an S905 device that ticked all my boxes and worked with my tvcapture card I'd have one already. In the meantime I'm running a braswell nuc.

    Edited once, last by fTdOmen (October 27, 2016 at 10:26 PM).

    I am a BIG fan of the NUC range, but I think the issue here is different, just HOW much of your content is of the HEVC 10b variety and are they your own recoded or 'obtained' material. either way unless you are a purist then simply obtain the right levels of material for your needs. As stated tech will change constantly and to tie yourself to any current platform can be problematic, why not have your content in the most compatible format, a lot of people are just going with the latest most fancy, but are unable to tell the differences in either the video or the audio.

    Just look at the number of posts re the s9nnx/s8nnx models and see how varied the final products are, at least with the NUC you have stability (E&OE) and yes that does come with a cost.

    2c

    Quote from fTdOmen


    Because the S905 devices have don't have working web browser in LibreElec, generally they run outdated kernels, usb ports often lack sufficient voltage for all usb devices, support often gets dropped sooner than it does on x86-64 hardware.

    If there was an S905 device that ticked all my boxes and worked with my tvcapture card I'd have one already. In the meantime I'm running a braswell nuc.

    When i was asking around about these new S912 players it was suggested by a couple of people that is best to just use the Android that comes with Amlogic boxes and use LibreELEC on Intel setups.

    By your post it makes sense now.

    Quote from fTdOmen


    Because the S905 devices have don't have working web browser in LibreElec, generally they run outdated kernels, usb ports often lack sufficient voltage for all usb devices, support often gets dropped sooner than it does on x86-64 hardware.

    If there was an S905 device that ticked all my boxes and worked with my tvcapture card I'd have one already. In the meantime I'm running a braswell nuc.


    Okay, the web browser is a reason, I have no need for one, but the outdated kernel is no reason, because that is nothing a normal user would notice.

    Yes, the Intel devs. support the drivers a longer time, but they do it bad. Ask fritsch from kodi team about the problems he has.
    The cost for an Amlogic device is so low that the dropped support for older hardware is no issue too. For the price of the NUC you can buy the next five years every year an actual Amlogic device with full support.

    Gerald

    Quote from gdachs


    but the outdated kernel is no reason, because that is nothing a normal user would notice.

    Yes, the Intel devs. support the drivers a longer time, but they do it bad. Ask fritsch from kodi team about the problems he has.
    The cost for an Amlogic device is so low that the dropped support for older hardware is no issue too. For the price of the NUC you can buy the next five years every year an actual Amlogic device with full support.

    Gerald

    Kernal support can be an absolutely valid reason for an end user, eg. when you have tv capture cards that are supported by newer kernels but not older ones.

    I'm somewhat familiar with fritsch's issues, I'm still running his EGL version of openelec & will continue to do so until LE reaches it's next beta. I'm not just talking about support from intel though. Fitsch's EGL build is a great example of the support you can get from the community when your hardware is popular.

    As for my actual costs, $NZ:
    1. NUC5CPYH: $222, ssd $60, ram $30 = $312
    2. Odroid c2, case, emmc, psu, shipping = $180

    I can't even replace the odroid once and come under the cost of my nuc. If you want to take resale value into account the difference closes up even more. There is no second hand market for Odroid c1's, but I can see my nuc is still worth >$100.

    The odroid c2 is newer than my nuc,, but is a fantastic example of the difference and end user gets by having well supported hardware. WRXtasy and others have done a great job getting LE running on it, but despite sporting better hardware than my raspberry pi3 (arguably better than the nuc too [10bit h265]), it runs less addons (moonlight, chromium being ones I use), doesn't work with my tvtuner (due to that old kernel) & based on the c1/c1+ will not receive much support once the next version is released.

    I really want AMLogic devices to work, but having bought one this generation, as an end user (who appreciates how much work has gone into supporting them) I'm left disappointed by my device.

    Edited once, last by fTdOmen (October 28, 2016 at 10:24 PM).

    I don't know how you get this prices, but I can get a Chinese S905 box with everything included for less than 40€ shipping included. Even a Wetek Hub is cheaper than your $180.
    And you forgot the costs for the HDMI-CEC adapter for the NUC. The thread starter asked for CEC support.

    Gerald

    Edited once, last by gdachs (October 28, 2016 at 11:49 PM).

    • Official Post

    NZ$180 = US$120 which pretty much equates to the US$100 image shown + suggested value of a decent PSU; so you're all talking about the same numbers just in different currencies :)

    NUC's are great (although not cheap) but 10b HEVC is becoming the norm so I'd want to wait for small form-factor Kabylake devices to start shipping in the next couple of months. I don't have experience with the C2 but the similar S905 Hub/Play2 WeTek boxes I have for testing perform well against everything in my media library running current Krypton alpha builds. There are still some outstanding quirks to fix but there are a lot of clever people who want those boxes to work great. The only complaint I have on either WeTek device is the sub-par remotes (lots of feedback from LE/Kodi devs to WeTeK on that).

    Well i don't like slow hardware at all :). So an Odroid isn´t an option for me. I like the x86 hardware and so i like the NUC´s. They are small, and nice looking.

    Klojum
    If i get you right you would recommend me to wait for a new NUC generation, right? I don´t wanna rebuy in a few months just to be able play 10Bit HEVC then. The new NUC should be capable for the next years to come.

    @everyone
    So do you have anything on mind under these conditions?

    Thanks!

    • Official Post

    Nobody at Intel marketing loves me enough to send NUC test samples so I don't have one. However with other boxes I mostly use anything MCE compatible that looks like it will survive two energetic kids for a while (more of a throw test than drop test) and doesn't have an unusual or weird button layout (WeTek Play 2 fails here). On any given day there's a choice of 4-5 different boxes/remotes available and they're proving to be quite adaptable in figuring them out :)