2015-08-28, 21:52
I like many purchased the Broadwell based Intel NUC NUC5i5RYH.
The quote the great Fritsch:
That leave us (at lease some of us who care about this sort of thing) to decide what to do next if they're looking to be future proof as one can be as of today. Yes, of course, many folks would argue that waiting for (what are we waiting for now? Kaby Lake?) an integrated solution with HDMI 2.0a HDCP 2.2 and full hardware decode to get that elusive 4kp60 HEVC 10bit. However, if someone was wanting to tide them over till that new solution is commonplace, what are the best options? Here's what I believe is the breakdown using PROS & CONS. Please correct me anywhere I'm wrong. Your opinion matters!
1. Get a NVIDIA Shield
PROS:
* HDMI 2.0
* Full HEVC 10bit decoding 4kp60
* Reputable company
CONS:
*No 23.976fps playback support
*Lack of HD Audio Bitstreaming
(NOTE:We hope Nvidia intends to fix the framerate and audio issues)
*Missing Lanczos3, and Spine36 etc.
* ARM vs x86 (Mature vs immature architecture)
*Android....BLAH!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Get Braswell
PROS:
*HEVC 8bit hardware decoding 4kp60
* Inexpensive compared to Broadwell/Skylake
CONS:
*Intel's Braswell NUC lacks Dual Memory (users report Dual Memory required for proper playback) - AsRock Beebox required for Dual Memory
* Current Beebox lacks Pentium n3700 (For those looking the get the maximum performance out of the generally weak Braswell)
*HDMI 1.4a
*Lack of HEVC 10bit
*No DisplayPort for any hope of conversion to HDMI 2.0 (i.e. No way to get a 4K signal from the current implementations)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Wait for Skylake
PROS:
*HEVC 8bit hardware decoding 4kp60 (Software powerful enough for 10bit?)
CONS:
*HDMI 1.4a
*Must use future (mythical?) active Displayport to HDMI 2.0 converter to get true 4kp60 picture
*Lack of full hardware 10bit HEVC 4kp60
*Wait till at least October
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Wait for Kaby Lake
PROS:
*All outstanding issue solved
CONS:
*Unless they're not
*Wait till at least sometime 2016?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Keep i5 Broadwell
PROS:
*Hybrid decoding of 8bit and 10bit HEVC 4kp24/30 (better than nothing)
(NOTE: For at least the KODI GUI, videos as far as I understand will NEVER achieve 4kp60 smooth video playback with Intel's Windows drivers nor Fritsch & fernetmenta amazing work with LINUX VAAPI with EGL interoperation
CONS:
*Hybrid Decoding for HEVC 8bit and 10bit HEVC 4k (Apparently Hybird decoding is weak at best?)
*Again, HEVC 4kp60 playback will NEVER be possible (Never? Not sure if the answer to this is definitive for the life cycle of Broadwell. My understanding is Windows is the only platform that will receive the Hybrid support. Linux is apparently off the table....Not sure if this a technical or business issue. Can anyone comment to this?
*Must use future (mythical?) active Displayport to HDMI 2.0 converter to get true 4kp60 picture (GUI Only)
6. Your Solution Here
The quote the great Fritsch:
(2015-08-26, 07:32)fritsch Wrote:(2015-08-25, 22:56)cford1905 Wrote: Will this also work on the NUC Broadwell 5th generation? I'd be more than happy to help with testing when the time comes.
No - Broadwell does not have a HEVC decoder ... it was only released to make money without any value compared to a HSW.
That leave us (at lease some of us who care about this sort of thing) to decide what to do next if they're looking to be future proof as one can be as of today. Yes, of course, many folks would argue that waiting for (what are we waiting for now? Kaby Lake?) an integrated solution with HDMI 2.0a HDCP 2.2 and full hardware decode to get that elusive 4kp60 HEVC 10bit. However, if someone was wanting to tide them over till that new solution is commonplace, what are the best options? Here's what I believe is the breakdown using PROS & CONS. Please correct me anywhere I'm wrong. Your opinion matters!
1. Get a NVIDIA Shield
PROS:
* HDMI 2.0
* Full HEVC 10bit decoding 4kp60
* Reputable company
CONS:
*No 23.976fps playback support
*Lack of HD Audio Bitstreaming
(NOTE:We hope Nvidia intends to fix the framerate and audio issues)
*Missing Lanczos3, and Spine36 etc.
* ARM vs x86 (Mature vs immature architecture)
*Android....BLAH!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Get Braswell
PROS:
*HEVC 8bit hardware decoding 4kp60
* Inexpensive compared to Broadwell/Skylake
CONS:
*Intel's Braswell NUC lacks Dual Memory (users report Dual Memory required for proper playback) - AsRock Beebox required for Dual Memory
* Current Beebox lacks Pentium n3700 (For those looking the get the maximum performance out of the generally weak Braswell)
*HDMI 1.4a
*Lack of HEVC 10bit
*No DisplayPort for any hope of conversion to HDMI 2.0 (i.e. No way to get a 4K signal from the current implementations)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Wait for Skylake
PROS:
*HEVC 8bit hardware decoding 4kp60 (Software powerful enough for 10bit?)
CONS:
*HDMI 1.4a
*Must use future (mythical?) active Displayport to HDMI 2.0 converter to get true 4kp60 picture
*Lack of full hardware 10bit HEVC 4kp60
*Wait till at least October
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Wait for Kaby Lake
PROS:
*All outstanding issue solved
CONS:
*Unless they're not
*Wait till at least sometime 2016?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Keep i5 Broadwell
PROS:
*Hybrid decoding of 8bit and 10bit HEVC 4kp24/30 (better than nothing)
(NOTE: For at least the KODI GUI, videos as far as I understand will NEVER achieve 4kp60 smooth video playback with Intel's Windows drivers nor Fritsch & fernetmenta amazing work with LINUX VAAPI with EGL interoperation
CONS:
*Hybrid Decoding for HEVC 8bit and 10bit HEVC 4k (Apparently Hybird decoding is weak at best?)
*Again, HEVC 4kp60 playback will NEVER be possible (Never? Not sure if the answer to this is definitive for the life cycle of Broadwell. My understanding is Windows is the only platform that will receive the Hybrid support. Linux is apparently off the table....Not sure if this a technical or business issue. Can anyone comment to this?
*Must use future (mythical?) active Displayport to HDMI 2.0 converter to get true 4kp60 picture (GUI Only)
6. Your Solution Here