[wrxtasy]

Chromebox if the OP was only decoding 8bit 1080p with HD Audio. Software decoding HEVC only. Far more modern Kernel for adding all sorts of USB dongles.

ODROID C2 once you step into hardware HEVC decoding, especially 10bit HEVC and 4K. Beware Bluray Rips containing VC-1 will not work well. Actually the Chromebox cannot hardware decode this VC-1 combo either.

Yes HDMI CEC on the C2 is definitely handy as is the ability to custom program any spare IR remote control lying about the house to use the inbuilt IR receiver.

Both devices running either OpenELEC or LibreELEC.

[Matt Devo]

Beware Bluray Rips containing VC-1 will not work well. Actually the Chromebox cannot hardware decode this VC-1 combo either.

Only interlaced VC-1 is problematic, and only under Linux. Works fine w/o hardware acceleration though

[raidflex]

Ok. Loosing HD audio is kind of a deal breaker for me. I have all my Blu-Rays ripped with True-HD audio.

Get the ODROID C2. http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=258707
It is like a Raspberry Pi 3 but better (and I own a Raspberry Pi).

Just want something simple and wife friendly.

Being in the same positions as you - a very important feature has been HDMI CEC support. This means you can use your TV remote to control Kodi. I used to have a box with an Infra Red receiver built-in, but that was a hassle even with an all-in-one remote, because you have to have the remote pointed in the right place all the time. With "CEC" the signals get sent from the TV down the HDMI cable to Kodi. The Kodi box can be hidden away.

RPI and ODROID C2 both have CEC built in.

To do this on a Chromebox (or an Intel NUC) you may need to purchase a Pulse Eight CEC Adapter. This will add about $50 to the cost.

You haven't spoken about budget, but the RPi and Odroid C2 are about $100 (once you've paid for the power adapter, box and stuff). The Chromebox around double that.

Avoid Android boxes. The only standout reason to use them is for easier integration with Netflix.

I second the ODROID C2 I have one. It supports both 4k and HD audio. The cost for the ODROID C2, case and power adapter is about $60 with shipping.

[nolight]

You pretty much answered your own question... RPi . I get Pi3 and use LibreELEC. Only caveat w/Pi is no HD audio passthrough, if you're okay with that, but it does decode the formats to full 7.1 multichannel. So, you're really just losing DTS:X and Dolby ATMOS. Otherwise, Pi3 is first-rate!

Ok. Loosing HD audio is kind of a deal breaker for me. I have all my Blu-Rays ripped with True-HD audio.

Rpi3 DOES do True-HD no? Just not DTS:X and Dolby Atmos

[hdmkv]

No, RPi can't pass TrueHD or DTS-MA as is. It decodes the usual 6 or 8 channels in those tracks, and passes as lossless multichannel PCM to your AVR. That is probably 95% the same. You just lose some metadata (describing how things like dynamic range compression and dialog normalization should be handled) by sending already decoded audio to your AVR.

And, like you noted, you lose ATMOS and X completely.

[nolight]

Yes I know it doesn't bitstream. I mean it does decode those signals which is same end result to me.

[nickr]

Yes rpi decodes them all except dts:x and atmos.

[ZwartePiet]

Level match the 640Kbps and HD-Audio streams and perform a blind listening test. I'd be surprised if more than a handful could consistently tell the difference. It's analogous to 320Kbps MP3 and FLAC audio. There is a point where increasing bit-rate just doesn't provide any material benefit.

IMO, the only reason to keep the lossless file is if you want to encode it in the future (e.g. via Handbrake). Otherwise, I'd remux each movie to strip out the HD-Audio and reclaim the 1 to 1.5GB of precious disk space.

[dukester]

Level match the 640Kbps and HD-Audio streams and perform a blind listening test. I'd be surprised if more than a handful could consistently tell the difference. It's analogous to 320Kbps MP3 and FLAC audio. There is a point where increasing bit-rate just doesn't provide any material benefit.

IMO, the only reason to keep the lossless file is if you want to encode it in the future (e.g. via Handbrake). Otherwise, I'd remux each movie to strip out the HD-Audio and reclaim the 1 to 1.5GB of precious disk space.

1GB of disc space cost around 35 cents these days so its hardly "precious"

IMO theres no reason to strip anything out of a movie backup, i mean, isnt that the point? 1:1 disc backup?

[ZwartePiet]

1GB of disc space cost around 35 cents these days so its hardly "precious"

It is to me for three reasons:

1) Multiply a trivial amount by thousands of movies/shows/songs and you're talking $$$.
2) Costs really skyrocket when server's slots get filled. 1.5GB x 1500 movies = 90 extra movies.
3) There are intangible costs measured in labor to keep a server running, heat, noise and space requirements. HDDs are really starting to stagnate and it's not clear how the transition to HAMR will go. I really don't want to get stuck with a rack mount server.

IMO theres no reason to strip anything out of a movie backup, i mean, isnt that the point? 1:1 disc backup?

If a 1:1 disc backup was important to me I'd save an .iso of every movie. All I really care about is seeing the movie, so I strip out the fluff. Doesn't meant I'm right. Priorities.

[scottns]

Well after much screwing around I've decided to stick with my current PC but run Kodibuntu instead of Windows. Seems to be working very well and goes into and out of hibernate reliably which is something Windows never did right.

The video card I have in it is an AMD 5400 series card. Everything works but I noticed now the video quality is not quite as good as it was under Windows. There is probably better AMD Windows driver support? Anyways the card is old and I think it's time for an upgrade. What would you recommend as a replacement? I've always preferred Nvidia cards and it looks like Kodibuntu has better driver support for them. Not interested in gaming (I have a game PC already). Just looking for Kodi use, desktop (low-profile) card.