Anyone recommend a good smaller pc to play plex. I want to put a small dedicated computer in my theater room to play and transcode my media. It has to support 4k, hdr and pass surround audio over the hdmi connection? Also windows. Anyone have recommendations? Is this even possible?
Sound like a fairly new NUC would be ideal for your needs.
In my case I use a full sized system in a HTPC case so sadly I can’t give any recomendations as to NUC model numbers.
It won’t do HDR though.
Is there a small pc that will do hdr?
There is currently no officially supported software which can do it.
There might be a way with Kodi and much tinkering, but I can’t vouch for it.
If you need HDR right now you better use a nVidia Shield.
I have HDR working with MPC-HC and MadVR. It’s a bit fiddly, but does work.
Ditto, madshi (the dev behind MadVR) has wonderfully provided HDR support on Windows for a while now. It’s definitely clunky compared to PMP, but the combo of Kodi DSPlayer + Plex For Kodi Add-On + MadVR works for me.
At first I was ticked that so many devs were sidestepping HDR support because it’s a veritable mess, but almost two years on I’m glad to have something that works. From what I’ve seen from MPV’s github commits, HDR support is being looked into, but could be years away. The devs seem content with their tone-mapping approach to HDR, which means PMP will remain that way barring either a player engine change (highly unlikely), or external player support (also unlikely).
@kr0490–like @Xhaka I run a full-blown HTPC so not a ton of help here on the NUC front. You mention you want the device to play AND transcode, so am I correct in assuming you want this as both your Plex client and server? If so, I’d really recommend the HTPC route. NUCs are fantastic devices, but for use as a server, I’d be wary. Building your own HTPC gives you a lot more control over power, storage, graphics, etc. These things are magnified when building a device that’s hosting services you rely on.
Either way, good luck with the new build; always an exciting time when you’re upping your home theater game!
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