Best value 4K capable media centre?

goingDHfast on 04/10/2015 - 12:35

Hi All,

I recently got the Bauhn 4K 65" TV from Aldi and need to build a media centre to feed it 4K content!

At minimum I would like to be able to hardware decompress h.265 movies in 4K resolution at 60fps so most of the cheap/bottom end Android/Chinese devices are out of the equation. So, what are OzBargain's best tips on setting up a decent media centre rig preferably under $400 AUD? The Intel NUCs seem very nice but I'm not sure they are the best value for money - maybe I should be patient and wait for a decent specced one to go on sale OzBargain style?

In terms of software, so far I've shortlisted Plex, KBMC/Kody and Emby so any advice on those would also be useful.

Computing

Comments

  • stephendt on 04/10/2015 - 12:41

    I would start by looking at the systems that are capable of hardware assisted HEVC/H265 video decoding. I believe the most recent Intel i5 NUCs are a good start, but the Nvidia GTX960 is the only card on the market that will do full hardware video decoding of these new codecs.

  • sane on 04/10/2015 - 12:45

    Worth waiting and seeing what the Roku 4 can do.

    • sane on 06/10/2015 - 18:45

      At minimum I would like to be able to hardware decompress h.265 movies in 4K resolution at 60fps

      Roku 4, announced today, claims it will do all that. - US$130

      That's what I'd be looking at.

  • frondono on 04/10/2015 - 14:49

    You can pick a shield up from amazon for about $209USD delivered. It's the only android box that does 4K60Hz and the subscription gaming thing looks pretty sweet too.

  • oscargamer on 04/10/2015 - 17:15

    Popcorn Hour VTEN

  • DrStinge on 05/10/2015 - 11:46

    https://ausdroid.net/2015/10/05/grab-a-4k-android-media-play…

    I don't know how well it's going to run 4K but for $80 worth a try.

  • [Deactivated] on 09/10/2015 - 22:45

    I think the h.265 decoding is going to be the thing that makes your system expensive and/or loud vis-a-vis cooling. If the CPU (assuming it isn't a skylake one, which are expensive) is doing the decoding (through software, which is inefficient) that fan is going to be spinning like crazy, creating noise, the enemy of the HT experience. If you water cool it, it is going to add to the price (even a 120mm AIO cooler is like $85). If you get a GPU with HEVC support you need to get a pretty recent card. The recent GTX and R9s have it. I am pretty sure my 390 does. This is all assuming you want a HTPC and not just a set-top media player. I like HTPCs because they are infinitely more useful. But different strokes …

    The Nvidia Shield TV option is a good one, but make sure your TV has HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2 support otherwise you're boned. You can look at a comparison chart here:
    http://shield.nvidia.com/android-tv/shield-androidtv-vs-appl…

    Ars also has a pretty good review:
    http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/10/nvidia-shield-android…

    I don't want to give you too much of a hard time, OP, but this is one of the reasons why I won't jump to 4K just yet. That, and content is pretty thin.

  • [Deactivated] on 07/11/2015 - 23:08

    Why do people make these topics and then just abandon them? Did you make a choice or did you just waste everyone's time?

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join