Hey folks -
So for the past few years, I’ve been using an HTPC as my primary playback device (you can see what’s in it here). However, at least some part of my HTPC is starting to fail, so i’m considering how to move forward. The reason I’m a fan of the HTPC route is that, at least at the time I built it, it provided the best audio of all comparatively priced and lower options. However, a lot has happened in the past few years. I do own an Amazon Fire TV streaming box, and while it’s okay - i don’t love the audio quality or the plex interface. to that end, i’m considering a few options -
- Sticking with just my Fire
- Replacing/Upgrading my HTPC
- Purchasing another Streaming Device/Front End (NVidia Shield*, Roku, etc)?
-
- I don’t need storage space so the Shield seems like an unlikely option unless someone tells me it has some serious hardware in it to handle audio etc… etc…
Does anyone here have experience with these various options? I’m really concerned about the quality of the audio the device handles. I also have a lot of x265 videos - so i need something powerful enough to handle all of that. i currently use a SiliconDust HDHomeRun to handle my OTA needs - i have the unofficial channel installed so i can watch it through Plex - i’m going to presume that whatever device i move forward with would allow for this to work but in case there’s something odd i’m not aware of - just want to make sure i don’t loose that functionality.
Any thoughts?
@trumpy81 said:
If I was going to recommend anything, it would be using an Odroid C2 running RasPlex/OpenPHT. The Odroid will handle HEVC and 4K so it should be suitable for any TV you may have.
I also recommend a good AV Receiver with 5.1 channel output. Brand is a matter of opinion, model is what you can afford. They start at reasonable and go to ridiculous. I would recommend you look at Denon or Yamaha.
The audio output is via HDMI and you may encounter some issues with DTS HD-MA, although they can usually be bypassed by commanding the TV to output DTS in PCM format which will preserve the quality, but not all of the special effects. This is highly dependent on what make/model TV you have and what it actually supports of course.
Your TV also needs to support HDMI-ARC otherwise you may need to manually switch the audio outputs. Your TV should also be equipped with a fibre optic audio output for regular over the air type viewing.
As far as I am aware, you should not have any issues with Live TV and the HDHomeRun. Do check on that in the Live TV forum though.
https://forums.plex.tv/categories/dvr-live-tv
Use any PC/Mac for the PMS server, as long as it has a reasonably powerful CPU, i5 or above.
Odroid looks pretty sweet - how does odroid deal with 7.1 though? I’ve got a trusty denon receiver so that’s all set. I’m not sure how to command the tv to output DTS in PCM format (i’ve got a Panasonic
TC-P58S2 (http://amzn.to/2xB3u46) - and it’s got ARC - but since the receiver is handling the audio - not sure what to change on the tv/
Roger, regarding HDMI-ARC, yes that is how i’m setup - i was thinking there was some new feature that you knew about that was news to me :-). Thanks kindly for your help.
I have had great fun with the NVIDIA Shield. Reasonably priced, a gaming console to boot, a Plex server to boot as well. Handles 7.1, 6.1, DTS-MA native, etc passthrough accurately in all formats over HDMI as far as I can tell. Easily decodes HEVC, 4K. Does HDR10. It’s small. The UI is snappy.
