Cheap Hardware for Windows & Kodi Discrete machine for each
#1
Getting a €700 Epson TW5210 3D Projector soon and need something more powerful than a D525 Dual Core Atom powered Arctic MC001 to play the 3D content. My father also uses another MC001 as a Windows PC. Its pretty much OK for what he uses the computer for. Literally just browsing and watching Youtube vids but all 1080P youtube content stutters and even some 720p (Not buffering) I'd be buying two machines. One that I'd install windows on for my father and one that I'd be installing Openelec on.

Whats the bare minimum and cheapest I can get away with for both given what I'll be installing on them and their use case. Braswell, Broadwell, Celeron, Atom, i3, Brix, Beebox, Nuc etc etc. I've gotten very confused. Can anyone help me narrow down my choices?
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#2
You need to give a $$ price range of the Hardware cost.
You need to specify what type of 3D you are playing as the RPi2 may be the only solution.
See Here:
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=...pid2126730

For OpenELEC, this has been answered many times.
In order of Kodi GUI speed: (slowest first)
- RPi2
- ODROID C1+ (nearly as fast as the Intel gear with my optimised setup)
- WeTek Core
- Intel gear such as Braswell or ASUS Chromebox.

Cost: (cheapest first):
- ODROID C1+
- RPi2
- WeTek Core
- ASUS Chromebox
- Intel gear. Such as Braswell, NUC's.

You need 5Ghz WiFi at the very least Do not use 2.4Ghz
Dual band may be better if you have a decent router.

Most Cost effective and integrated OpenELEC device would be the WeTek Core, as its Plug N Play with a very responsive RF remote control that works straight out of the box.

For a Windows 10 Box have a good look at the increasingly popular cost effective Tronsmart Ara X5 Cherry Trail:
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=...ght=cherry

YouTube should be run in an Android App if you want all the bling and remote control friendliness IMHO. The WeTek Core actually runs the Android TV OS version of YouTube, so its very bling and easy to navigate with a remote control. Damn fast too !

Note: 4K/2K/1080p hardware HEVC decoding is only available on the C1+ WeTek Core, Intel Braswell and Cherry Trail hardware.

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#3
(2015-11-08, 03:24)wrxtasy Wrote: Note: 4K/2K/1080p hardware HEVC decoding is only available on the C1+ WeTek Core, Intel Braswell and Cherry Trail hardware.

Does the C1+ do 4K? Thought it maxed out at 1080p output?
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#4
Sorry WRXtasy. I usually end up creating TLDR monstrosity of posts but this time went in the opposite direction and made a post thin on detail.

Currently there is a single (2011 era) Arctic MC001(Atom D525+AMD Mobile GPU) in the Livingroom with Windows 7 installed and Kodi installed as a program. Hooked up to a 1080p Dell monitor and 1080P 40" TV. Kodi has no problem playing 1080p 5.1 Rips smoothly and yet Youtube 1080p is choppy. (Its not buffering) I assume this is because the GPU is doing decode with KODI but youtube decoding must by CPU only and the Atom lets the machine down in this regard. Its not the pressure from multimonitor mode as it was the same before we introduced the monitor. When we did add the monitor to the mix we were hoping dad could use the monitor for his browsing and youtubing while Kodi would open up on the extended screen (the TV) Turns out Windows is always forgetting where Kodi should open, if he switches devices on out of a particular order one gets nothing on the TV etc etc. The setup just hasn't been intuitive to him. Doesn't matter that its a doddle for me. It has to be a doddle for him...which it isn't.

Hence I want a dedicated device for each but because I need to buy two devices, ideally they will both be cheap in the €100-€200 range. In terms of a dedicated Kodi device with Openelec it needs to be able to play FullHD 3D rips because of the 3D projector I'll be buying soon. It does not however need to be able to play TrueHD or DTS-MA. My Receiver is not capable of the HD audio formats and I don't particularly need them nor desire to spend €500 on a new receiver. I have no need for 4K either. I'm one of those people who isn't sure we need 4K for projector screen sizes never mind TV screen sizes (From normal seating distances at any rate)

An android device for Dads youtube browsing is out of the question. He doesn't do much else on a PC and so nothing very powerful at all is needed but he does email and use one or two other programmes that require windows. The only requirement for the Windows machine is that it play 1080p Youtube smoothly.

No need for Wifi as I have 2 Ethernet cables run to this room.

So you reckon the WeTek Core should be the one to go for for the Openelec Kodi machine? Did I read it'll be about €120 all inclusive? Any word on when its going on sale yet?
Am I reading you right that literally anything released in the last year or two with Celeron/Atoms is actually probably good enough for Dads Windows PC?
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#5
(2015-11-08, 13:01)noggin Wrote:
(2015-11-08, 03:24)wrxtasy Wrote: Note: 4K/2K/1080p hardware HEVC decoding is only available on the C1+ WeTek Core, Intel Braswell and Cherry Trail hardware.

Does the C1+ do 4K? Thought it maxed out at 1080p output?
Just my poorly constructed sentence there. Yes 1080p HEVC on the C1+

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#6
Researching more myself here.

Taking a few more things into account. Dads MC001 has a maxed out 60gig SSD. He needs more space. My own PC has a maxed out 120gig SSD. I need more space. The Arctic has 2x4gig sticks of DDR3 Sodimm which can be reused.

So if I go with identical Braswell Beeboxes ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00ZXXU04U/re...sus+beebox ) with the N3150 chipset, they'll cost about €185 each.
I take a 4gb Sodimm and the 60gig SSD from the Arctic and put them in one of the Beeboxes and install Openelec. Theres my 3D capable Kodi machine for €185
I take the other 4gb Sodimm from the Arctic and put it in Dads Beebox. Buy myself an €80 250gig SSD for my PC and put my current 120gb SSD in Dads Beebox. Now both of us have doubled capacity. Re-install Windows 7 for him.

This is the way I'll go I think rather than a mix of devices and WeTeks etc. Assuming the Braswell N3150 Beebox meets my requirements for both devices.
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#7
Beware thinking you can re-use RAM. Many modern systems require lower voltage RAM than older models.
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#8
(2015-11-08, 14:26)calibos Wrote: Openelec it needs to be able to play FullHD 3D rips because of the 3D projector I'll be buying soon.....
If these are 3D MVC mkv's & 3D ISO's you will need to buy a RPi2. AMLogic gear like the Core will not do it.
If its full HD 3D MVC be extremely careful about what you are buying.
The safe bet is the RPi2. I'm not sure about 3D MVC on the Braswell boxes.

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#9
Ah, I thought the Braswell boxes were the 'Playing it safe...all bases covered' option.

Right, so what do I lose with an RPi2 compared to a Braswell box?

HD Audio? Don't care
4K? Don't care
Slow GUI or Library Scanning? Do Care!

Any recommended prebuilts or cases? Is IR included or do I need a dongle?

The Sodimms from the Arctic is DDR3L 1600 CL9 so I think I am good to go Noggin.

Thanks for all the great info so far and for preventing me from blowing money and something not fit for my purposes! Big Grin
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#10
The RPi2 has a reasonable Kodi GUI and Library Scanning speed. It is usable. However it is not what you would call fast compared to recent Intel machines or even a cheap AMLogic S805 running OpenELEC.
The RPi2 will not do 1080p HEVC. It has comprehensive HDMI CEC control if your TV or Projector supports that.

Everything is a trade off at the moment. Want Full HD 3D with properly synced 24p video output then the RPi2 is the one and only option if you want to run OpenELEC.

If you use a Intel Windows machine for 3D then there are other options like you see here, but its not an out of the box 3D solution like the RPi2.
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=...pid2029706

hdmv has a 3D devices thread you may have seen and uses both a RPi2 and a HiMedia Q5 4K 3D, but the HiMedia Q5 cannot output properly synced 23.976fps video which is not desirable at all if you are sensitive to any sort of video judder.

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#11
Just need to confirm one final thing. Can the RPi2 decode the AC3 DD5.1 soundtrack embedded in the TrueHD of a 3D ISO for example and bitstream it via HDMI via a Matrix switcher to my old Sony DB1080 DD/DTS 5.1 Receiver or do I need to go the route and hassle of re-encoding to MKV with the audio I want ?
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#12
(2015-11-10, 14:38)calibos Wrote: Just need to confirm one final thing. Can the RPi2 decode the AC3 DD5.1 soundtrack embedded in the TrueHD of a 3D ISO for example and bitstream it via HDMI via a Matrix switcher to my old Sony DB1080 DD/DTS 5.1 Receiver or do I need to go the route and hassle of re-encoding to MKV with the audio I want ?

I think you're asking if it can bitstream DD rather than decode aren't you? I assume you want to play the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track that accompanies the Dolby True HD track but rather than decode it (and output as PCM 2.0 or 5.1) you want to bitstream it and output it over HDMI as a Dolby Digital 5.1 stream for your Sony Amp to decode? (This is bitstreaming or passthrough, not decode)

If so - yes - you enable passthrough on the Pi in the SYSTEM->AUDIO settings (you may need to enable Expert or Advanced settings to see the option) and it will bitstream the DD 5.1 accompanying track and ignore the Dolby True HD stream. The same is true for the DTS HD core that is part of a DTS HD-MA/HRA stream.
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#13
Excellent. Thanks so much for your help Noggin and Wrxtacy!!
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#14
Just remember to tell Kodi that you DON'T want to decode HD Audio, and configure Kodi for 2.0 speaker output (even though you have 5.1 speakers...) If you want to play AAC, FLAC etc. multichannel in surround, then enable transcoding to Dolby Digital.
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