[szymon]

Hi,
I want to build a small/silent/energy efficient Htpc. I don't need it to be powerful, I just want it to run Kodi, printserver, DLNA server and smb. Linux, Mint is preferable.
Have you had any experience with Intel J3710 or at least Intel N3700?
N3700 seems to be ok, it's not super popular but as far as I know it should handle all the tasks I need.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any single review of Intel J3710. It seems to be similar to N3700, but it's newer, it's "J" and has better(?) graphics. Does any of you guys have it?

And finally - hevc support for linux and Intel. Does hardware decoding work decently?
Kodi FAQ says that "Kodi v16 further improved hardware decoding on Android and Windows and introduced it via VAAPI and VDPAU API on linux" but is it as good as on Windows?

[DragonFly]

Just got an Asrock J3710-ITX today. Want to try various operating systems (Windows, OpenElec, LibreElec, RemixOS). Don't have a lot of time, but will try an OpenElec Live USB to see how HEVC decoding performs.

[szymon]

Great to hear that!
anxious to see the results.
What PSU and case did you get?

[DragonFly]

I've had this enclosure for years now and it suits me fine because it blends in with my other (43 cm) Yamaha AV-equipment

As far as HEVC decoding is concerned. What HEVC content are you planning to play? 1080p, 4k, high bitrate, medium bitrate, 8bit, 10bit?

I've done some quick tests with samples (1080p, 4k) using Open/LibreElec and they play just fine, regardless of the bitrate BUT as long as they're NOT 10bit. Also have some 'downloaded' HEVC x265 content like series and movies and they play perfectly showing low cpu usage.

The 10bit HEVC samples did play on my Nvidia Sheld TV. So if you want 10bit decoding the J3710 is not enough, but just fine for any other content. Still have to do some test between the Asrock and the Shield regarding picture quality and audio pass-trough.

[szymon]

thx, I was worried about drivers/incompatibility issues under Linux but if Openelec works fine I guess there's nothing to worry.
I know about 10bit Hevc being not supported by most Intel CPUs but I won't even go 4k for now so it's not much of a concern.

Still have to do some test between the Asrock and the Shield regarding picture quality and audio pass-trough.

How do you stream from Asrock to Shield? DLNA?

[DragonFly]

I know about 10bit Hevc being not supported by most Intel CPUs but I won't even go 4k for now so it's not much of a concern.

Well, then you're golden. It will play all.

How do you stream from Asrock to Shield? DLNA?

I don't. Files are on a separate server (Windows), so both the Shield and the Asrock get their content through SMB. But maybe I explained it wrong. I'm deciding if the Shield OR the Asrock will be my main HTPC

[Roby77]

[Still have to do some test between the Asrock and the Shield regarding picture quality and audio pass-trough.

+1 interested

Ps :did you try libreelec 8 ?
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=269815

[szymon]

@DragonFly,
sorry for the OT, have you tried Geforce NOW on shield? I love the idea of playing some PC games without having to buy a new gaming PC.

[DragonFly]

Ps :did you try libreelec 8 ?
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=269815

I know it's just cosmetics, but I really don't like the Krypton default skin. Did try v8, but every time I start it, I'm reluctant to try anything further....
However, tried the same samples and they played just fine. Video only, because I'm still not hooked up to my AV but then audio pass-through is really a Windows and Android (license) problem and not on issue on Linux.

[fritsch]

You can easily install confluence. It's in the official repository for v17

[DragonFly]

@DragonFly,
sorry for the OT, have you tried Geforce NOW on shield? I love the idea of playing some PC games without having to buy a new gaming PC.

Sorry, szymon, not really much of a gamer. Did try some 'heavy' (CPU and graphics) Android games and they play very smooth.

[DragonFly]

You can easily install confluence. It's in the official repository for v17

Yeah, I know. Can't really explain it. Been using Krypton builds on various machines and often reinstall it for testing purposes and face the dreaded and somewhat cluttered default skin. It's just me, I guess.

Running this on the Shield, I see the resemblance of the Android TV UI. Can't help but thinking this skin tries to mimic that layout but in a more cluttered way. Pitty digitalhigh stopped his development of DroidTV. It would have been a perfect default skin.........on Android TV, that is.

[fritsch]

Yeah - it's just you. But as said, you have the choice.

[sdsnyr94]

@DragonFly,
sorry for the OT, have you tried Geforce NOW on shield? I love the idea of playing some PC games without having to buy a new gaming PC.

I really can't comment on the Geforce NOW part, but I do use the Nvidia Gamestream to play games from my PC to the Shield, and it works fantastic.

[DragonFly]

Installed Win10, WinPE, OpenElec, LibreElec and Remix OS all on the same SSD on their own respective partitions and have them start all within one bootloader (Grub4Dos).

• Audio
  As expected, all tested sound formats (Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS-HD HRA) played fine using both Open- and LibreElec.
  On Windows you're limited to what the audio drivers supports (DTS, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus). Depending on what you're using (Jarvis or Krypton) and what setting is used (Directsound or Wasapi), it will play those formats, but only those. NO True HD, Master Audio etc.
  Note: When running Kodi on Windows, the Audio settings in Kodi should really mention what the driver is capable of and not the attached receiver.
  Sadly, no sound at all on RemixOS.
  

• Video
  On Windows and both Open/LibreElec all tested samples played fine as long as they are not 10bit. On Remix OS you can play "standard" 1080p content just fine
  

• Comparison to the Shield
  At the moment of writing the Shield plays all mentioned sound formats running SPMC but suffers from micro stutters, which can be a nuisance.
  

• Request
  I'd like some video samples which can really show differences like colorbanding, HQ scalers effects, etc between the Shield and the J3710. I don't have a 4K TV.