Hello all,
after my current HTPC Asus Chromebox with Ubuntu makes more an more problems with Plex. all the time issues with showing video… red lines and something like that i wood like to buy an new one. i am searching for an new Computer for Plex HTPC… an Linux based system
i think an Intel NUC is an idea, what do you think?
What kind of CPU is okay for that? i3, i5 or more… 16GB Ram or more? 256GB SSD Harddrive or more?
Thank you for your feedback
The answer is entirely “it depends” on what kind of media you watch, what kinds of devices you watch on, and how many simultaneous streams you run.
My first server was an i3-7100. It could even handle 3 simultaneous 4k transcoding/tone mapping operations.
It was fine for my needs but if I needed to share Plex with 50 people and expected 10 simultaneous tone mapped streams, it would not have been fine.
Likewise with storage space… How big is your library? Do you want video seeking thumbnails? If so what interval is acceptable? That space adds up fast.
If you can explain your use case you can get some more detailed advice.
Sorry, but I am looking for a hardware for a Plex player, not a Plex server
If all you need is a player then look at a Shield or Fire stick or even a Roku Ultra.
Those all offer good playback for Plex and there are a lot more even, if you really want/need to stay with Apple devices an Apple TV box is pretty good but it is pricey and, personally, I really dislike the interface.
While HTPCs do offer some minor advantages the disadvantages seem to vastly outweigh the advantages.
I have retired my HTPC devices and I use Rokus about 95% of the time. I like their operation and the picture quality is outstanding.
As a disclaimer I am not very demanding as far as picture quality or audio goes as my old eyes and ears do not really see much difference as resolutions go beyond a pretty basic quality, usually 1080p and standard Dolby 2.1 audio, I cannot see any real difference.
But I have friends that are much more demanding and they are quite happy with their Rokus.
OK, since you specified it must be Linux I figured you meant the server. If you require a Linux player then any semi-recent hardware should be adequate for Plex HTPC.
(I would get a Shield TV instead, it is a great client… but I realize you may require Linux for philosophical reasons.)
Using a PC as a Plex player does only make sense if you are intending to max out the quality options. Which in turn might require you to use Windows and add a dedicated GPU of at least the caliber of a RTX 1xxx or 2xxx. This enables you to pick the highest quality postprocessing filters with the “Hurt my GPU” preset.
If that is not what you want, you are probably better served by a nVidia Shield Pro, Fire TV Cube or Apple TV.
Does this clients support HD Audio Passthrough or DTS Passthrough?
Take this for what it is worth as I do not use HD audio at all but I believe that all top end devices like the Shield, Fire TV and Apple TV support it just fine.
My suggestion is to pick one and order it and test it for you use case and keep it if it meets your needs and return it an try something else. The only way to know for sure is to test. Reading specs and/or suggestions from dweebs like me can only take you so far.
Generally users would use a computer with HTPC only if there is another reason to have a PC connected to the TV (such as a gaming PC) or if the increase in quality is worth the cost for them.
That aside I answered some hardware recommendations here: NUC or equivalent choice for 4K movies without any transcoding (Atmos / DTS / DolbyVision / IMAX ) - #6 by gbooker02
Per streaming boxes, if you want HD audio codecs, I’d avoid the AppleTV. I believe it is still lacking HD audio codec passthrough. I believe the FireTV is the same.
The Shield can passthough HD audio.
I’ve a 2015 Nvidia Shield Pro.
Shield <–HDMI–> Denon AVR-X4300H <–HDMI–> LG B7 OLED
The Shield bitstreams the following audio formats to the receiver:
AAC audio is sent to the Denon as PCM. The Shield performs the conversion. No transcoding by Plex Media Server.
Music Limitations:
FireTV except Cube v3: TrueHD will be transcoded by Plex Media Server to another format. Any Atmos info is not preserved.
FireTV Cube v3: Still getting the kinks worked out. TrueHD + Atmos should passthrough OK. Unclear what will happen with DTS. It may passthrough only the lossy 5.1 core when playing DTS-HD or DTS:X.
Apple TV: No passthrough for TrueHD audio. It is blocked by Apple.
I have a Shield TV tube version. It direct streams 4k with HDR and passes through all the HD audio codecs to my receiver.
I Test an shield Tv Pro and come back
Okay, an Nvidia Shield Pro TV works… but I don’t pay 230€ for an device with Advertising banner all time…
Not possible to hide it
You can load an alternative launcher, but it’s certainly extra work to eliminate the ads.
This is a non-trivial action. I did this a while back only to have to deal with it again when the alternative launcher broke. In the end, I just stopped using the Shield completely.
Note, these ads are Google’s fault and NVIDIA appears to be unable to stop it.
I don’t know if I am missing something or is I have done something “smart” or “stupid” that helps my Shield activity to be pretty much ad free.
I do not see any ads on the main screen except for the one that kind of plays in between the favorite app row and the top of the screen and that add is super easy to totally ignore. The Shield starts with the favorite row selected and it only takes two or three key presses to get from the playback section, which I really see no purpose for, to the actual “favorite” apps.
I do not find my Shield any harder or easier to use than my Rokus or my Fire Stick or my Fire tablet.
But I rarely use my Shield as I like my Roku’s and my Fire’s interfaces better than the Shield’s by a pretty good margin.
As a disclaimer I use my devices to watch content. I do NOT watch the interface and sometimes I do not even notice the interface except as needed to find and play content.
I think that’s the ad everyone is talking about.
I find it pretty irritating myself, but I’m not going to stop using my Shield because of it.
I assume any other similar device has its own ads.
While some devices use ads to offset the costs of the hardware, the Shield was never such a device. Then, years afterwards, ads are added to it by Google and not by NVIDIA.
Note: The AppleTV doesn’t have ads either.
But NOTHING and I really mean nothing makes using Apple products worthwhile.
I have an Apple TV device (Spectrum forced me to take it to get some really huge discounts.) and yesterday I went to straighten out my Electronics rack and I found it had become partially unplugged and slipped down behind the shelf that the rack was on. The last time I did anything with that rack was almost a month ago so the Apple TV had been unusable for at least that time. I never missed it.
But I do seem to remember seeing ads on the main screen. However I never even investigated if they could be turned off or otherwise avoided because the interface was so crappy.
I was forced to activate it to get the discounts but fortunately nothing forces me to use that junky box.
