netbook as an entertainment center

[nandac]

i play music (flac) on my stereo through my laptop using jriver media center.

also play movies using the jriver media center using the hdmi port on my laptop hooked to the television.

but i would like to use a dedicated computer for this.

would a netbook suffice for my needs?

i am particularly concerned about the power of the processor found in netbooks - intel atom, intel celeron dual core, amd c70 etc.

will a netbook have the adequate power to optimally run jriver media center with flac and avi files?

anybody tried this? appreciate the insights.

 

[sam9s]

I would suggest , XBMC for movies and Foobar for flacs, and yes a nettop should be able to handle easily FLACS and x264 video files. Atleast AMD C-70 will for sure.

 

[ajinkya]

If your budget permits go for a desktop or a more powerful computer. I found the difference when playing Netflix through a low-powered mobile computer vs. desktop. The "HD" quality signal never came through on the netbook because the fast buffering and data sizes could not be handled. Never had a problem on the desktop. Same internet connection.

A faster CPU and more memory also helps in music playback to buffer from memory instead of HDD. So, if you have the resources, set up a dedicated system with enough redundancy to last for the next 5 years. If you're planning to change setup, components later, then a netbook will suffice for your basic AV needs without a problem.

 

[panditji]

I had a similar question.....if using an external DAC, will a netbook suffice for playing music or for that matter a proper laptop running Fidelizer and J River using an external DAC such as a Halide HD to an amplifier...

I have been told to use a powerful desktop but a laptop seems more attractive as I can use the same to watch movies as well and since the TV is in another room, I can carry it easily....
Also in the future if there is a new product, then the laptop can be used for work as it wont be a waste unlike a desktop...

Opinions please...

 

[baijuxavior]

A powerful desktop pc is not needed for music playback. Decoding FLAC or mp3 is not gonna stress the cpu of a netbook. IIRC FM 'jaudere' is using netbook + DAC for music.

 

[echo77]

Netbook will work for music and SD video.

For HD video, you need better buffering and processing requirements.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

A powerful desktop pc is not needed for music playback....

Indeed. Pentiums (and even 486s? I can't remember what my first PC used for music was) were playing music just fine.

For music, keep the CPU power low, keep the HDDs slow! Both will result in less heat and less noise ... and will do the job.

Slow hard disks? Sure! Guess what... computers can play music from CDs, which are enormously slower than what passes for 'slow' in today's range of HDDs.

Not only does music not need high power and high specs, but it won't even be improved by them either! (Hmmm... in a desktop, a quality power supply might make a difference).

Video, I guess, needs a bit more horsepower...

 

[panditji]

So would buying an entry level laptop with say an i3 processor, 4 GB RAM and Windows 8 suffice for both music and movies with usage 90% and 10% respectively?
I am assuming a USB based external DAC is used for playing music...

 

[just4kix]

As far as understand, audio and video playback is not CPU intensive. An Intel Atom processor is more than capable. So for audio, the netbook is more than capable. For video, and especially HD video, check whether netbook has HDMI-out port. If yes, then no further cause of concern. There is no issue of dithering, buffering or stuttering video. Video playback goes not demand any intense calculations either from the CPU or GPU. For games, it is different. In games, the video is rendered on the fly and hence requires GPU power.

You can route the audio to DAC via USB and output the video to HDTV via HDMI. You will be all set.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

When I built my current desk-side PC, I needed a general-purpose machine, so I did not go for something low-power. However, my need for video is so small that I did stop at built-in graphics, rather than a separate GPU. The only game I play is solitaire.

Thus, although I am interested in audio and PCs, I do not comment on video issues, about which I don't have a clue!

 

[panditji]

As far as understand, audio and video playback is not CPU intensive. An Intel Atom processor is more than capable. So for audio, the netbook is more than capable. For video, and especially HD video, check whether netbook has HDMI-out port. If yes, then no further cause of concern. There is no issue of dithering, buffering or stuttering video. Video playback goes not demand any intense calculations either from the CPU or GPU. For games, it is different. In games, the video is rendered on the fly and hence requires GPU power.

You can route the audio to DAC via USB and output the video to HDTV via HDMI. You will be all set.

Thanks, that was just the kind of confirmation I needed...

 

[echo77]

So would buying an entry level laptop with say an i3 processor, 4 GB RAM and Windows 8 suffice for both music and movies with usage 90% and 10% respectively?
I am assuming a USB based external DAC is used for playing music...

Add at least 1GB DDR3 graphics card and you are good to go.

My laptop is [email protected] / 4GB / 1GB ATI Radeon running W7 and I can play 1080p movies without any problems.

Edit: I also have a netbook: Atom 1.0 / 1GB / no graphics card running XP and have no problems playing music and SD video. Never tried watching 720p or 1080p on it because screen is lower resolution (I think 600p)

 

[just4kix]

Add at least 1GB DDR3 graphics card and you are good to go.

My laptop is [email protected] / 4GB / 1GB ATI Radeon running W7 and I can play 1080p movies without any problems.

Edit: I also have a netbook: Atom 1.0 / 1GB / no graphics card running XP and have no problems playing music and SD video. Never tried watching 720p or 1080p on it because screen is lower resolution (I think 600p)

Nope. For video playback, high end CPU/GPU, lots of RAM, graphics memory, etc., are NOT needed. This is because movie video is already rendered. The player software is just scanning the movie file and streaming (sending) the video to output (screen or HDMI). You can try by connecting a high resolution monitor (TV or external monitor). Even a P4 PC with 512 GB main memory, 128 GB graphics card with hdmi, can play back HD video. Do BDPs have lots of memory, strong graphics capability, etc.?

 

[echo77]

I haven't checked playing fullHD on my netbook. Will try that out.

 

[panditji]

That would be great...it would clear the point once and for all...

 

[sam9s]

Nope. For video playback, high end CPU/GPU, lots of RAM, graphics memory, etc., are NOT needed. This is because movie video is already rendered. The player software is just scanning the movie file and streaming (sending) the video to output (screen or HDMI). You can try by connecting a high resolution monitor (TV or external monitor). Even a P4 PC with 512 GB main memory, 128 GB graphics card with hdmi, can play back HD video. Do BDPs have lots of memory, strong graphics capability, etc.?

Though I support that a video playback does not need a beefy machine, on the contrary to what you said, even if video rendering is not done as such, ....because most of the 1080p videos/movies are compressed with codecs like x264 or divx, video decoding process and video post-processing is done by CPU in real time, which does take a toll. That is where hardware acceleration on display adapters comes in to the picture. It takes the load off from the CPU, providing a significant boost.

Its also all depends on the kind of HD video file you are playing, High Profile, high bitrate(VP3), files definitely will need atleast a 3rd gen GPU to be able to play back smoothly, as the CPU alone would not have the juice for it. casual 1-2mbps low profile files can easily be played on as low as a P-4. Google and download a video file called "killa sampla" and see what I mean, try to play back on an old computer and its gonna bring the whole system down to its knees.

Regards
Sammy