Low cost Intel NUC HTPC for high GB video file playback

[Kapeel]

I am looking at Intel NUC11PAHi30Z01 as a low cost solution to replace a 7+ years old Intel NUC HTPC, since for sometime playback of high GB video file downloads on the current NUC is choppy and stuttering. Plan later this year is to also purchase a 4kHDR TV to replace the current 1080p TV. I have selected Intel NUC11PAHi30Z01 because it supports h.265, 16gb ram and HDMI 2.0. Htpc will only be used to watch movies/TV series on streaming apps and video file downloads saved on the hard drive via Kodi etc. Can someone confirm if this will be a sensible purchase ?

 

[reachkalyan.kr]

I am looking at Intel NUC11PAHi30Z01 as a low cost solution to replace a 7+ years old Intel NUC HTPC, since for sometime playback of high GB video file downloads on the current NUC is choppy and stuttering. Plan later this year is to also purchase a 4kHDR TV to replace the current 1080p TV. I have selected Intel NUC11PAHi30Z01 because it supports h.265, 16gb ram and HDMI 2.0. Htpc will only be used to watch movies/TV series on streaming apps and video file downloads saved on the hard drive via Kodi etc. Can someone confirm if this will be a sensible purchase ?

If you are looking only for media playback, I would suggest to go for media player instead NUC .

For ONLINE content shield tv pro.
For OFFLINE content Zidoo.

 

[Kapeel]

Thanks for these suggestions, Shield tv pro seems to be widely recommended. Can someone confirm, if there are any drawbacks of Chromecast with Google tv 4k over the Shield TV?
I was thinking of repurposing the NUC (Celeron + 4gb ram) as a FreeNAS Plex media server along with a Chromecast 4K + USB Hub for ethernet .
Both NAS Plex server and Chromecast will be connected to wired ethernet.
Chromecast with Google tv 4k seems to support all the desired formats, there will not be multiple connections and I don't foresee major transcoding of content

 

[reignofchaos]

If you are looking only for media playback, I would suggest to go for media player instead NUC .

For ONLINE content shield tv pro.
For OFFLINE content Zidoo.

What does zidoo give that a pc+madvr software doesn't?

 

[reachkalyan.kr]

What does zidoo give that a pc+madvr software doesn't?

IMHO
It is user friendly and pocket friendly.

Zidoo - No need to think about the formats getting played and Glitches / SW update /Codec Update /Patches / Stuttering / Settings / Hw upgrade.
Only initial settings are required and it’s done with it.

Tried dedicated HTPC with dedicated GPU in the past. Everytime when I use HTPC I feel kind of something is missing .Finally settled in Zidoo for offline playback.

Have not used madvr extensively.
May be recently the implementation would have improved. Not sure.
But I won’t go back to HTPC for sure.

YMMV.

 

[sidvee]

IMHO
It is user friendly and pocket friendly.

Zidoo - No need to think about the formats getting played and Glitches / SW update /Codec Update /Patches / Stuttering / Settings / Hw upgrade.
Only initial settings are required and it’s done with it.

Tried dedicated HTPC with dedicated GPU in the past. Everytime when I use HTPC I feel kind of something is missing .Finally settled in Zidoo for offline playback.

Have not used madvr extensively.
May be recently the implementation would have improved. Not sure.
But I won’t go back to HTPC for sure.

YMMV.

I used Madvr, it's a nightmare unless you are a power user and know what you are doing. I will stick to zidoo anyday, unless I have a $20,000 projector and professional calibration available plus proper integration to my system with a push button physical remote etc etc. I have Jriver 31 which has a much touted version of Madvr on my htpc, and honestly using the jriver version I can't tell much difference from my zidoo.
And yes I will never go back to HTPC either.
Cheers,
Sid