[Matt Devo]

HI All
I'm thinking about buying a Gigabyte BRIX GB-BACE-3150

I want install some standard Linux distribution like Centos 6.x for example, and run some services like OpenVPN and NFS for example.

Also i want to compile and use newest version of Kodi compiled without a X server
So i have some questions:
Does GB-BACE-3150 have a HW support for video playback x264 ?
Does GB-BACE-3150 have a HW support for video playback x265 ?
Can i watch a 1080p movies without a frame lost ?
Can i watch a 4K movies without a frame lost ?
Does HDMI CEC will work ?
Does 5.1 HD audio over HDMI will work ?

I see the topic http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=252916 but I’m confused because this information in first post that 3150 does not have a HW support for ffmpeg

I'm confused, all of your questions are answered in the first post of that thread, and there's nothing about hardware support for ffmpeg, whatever that means - ffmpeg is just an application that leverages hardware capabilities for video decoding. Either way, the answer is yes to everything except CEC and 10-bit HEVC content

[porlock]

Sorry i think that ffmpeg is requred for hardware decoding.
Does USB Cec adapter will work with Braswell?

[noggin]

So i have some questions:
Does GB-BACE-3150 have a HW support for video playback x264 ?

Yes - H264 content should playback fine, though Hi10p may be an issue as this isn't hardware accelerated on almost any platforms so reverts to CPU decode not GPU. I don't know if the N3150 has the CPU grunt to do this.

Does GB-BACE-3150 have a HW support for video playback x265 ?

Yes - H265 8 bit content should playback fine. 10 bit HEVC is not hardware accelerated on Braswell and even with the CPU optimisations for HEVC that have recently been added you may find CPU decode, and again I don't know if N3150 is up to it.

Can i watch a 1080p movies without a frame lost ?

Yes - if they are H264 or H265/HEVC, MPEG2 or VC-1 (*) 4:2:0 8-bit (i.e. DVD, Blu-ray or similar profiles). (*)The usual interlaced VC-1 issues remain on Intel under Linux, but not Windows. You can't play interlaced VC-1 content - which is quite rare, mainly Blu-ray concerts and TV Shows - with hardware acceleration on Intel GPUs in Linux, though it is fine in Windows (driver bug in Linux).

10 bit content will need software decode - and the Braswell CPU is not hugely powerful - and 4:2:2 is very rare and you are unlikely to encounter it unless you want to)

Can i watch a 4K movies without a frame lost ?

As above - and obviously limited to 4K output <30fps via HDMI (as the Braswell is not HDMI 2.0). However movies are 24fps.

You will obviously get issues if you play 1080p and 2160p (aka 4K) content encoded in formats that can't be hardware accelerated.

Does HDMI CEC will work ?

No support - so you'd need to check whether a Pulse8 adaptor will work. No reason to believe it wouldn't.

Does 5.1 HD audio over HDMI will work ?

5.1/7.1 PCM and DD/DTS should work fine over HDMI in Windows and Linux, with Dolby True HD and DTS HD MA support available in Linux only (due to driver limitations in Windows I think HD Audio bitstreaming isn't supported on Braswell?)

[busta.rhymes]

Hi Brasswell people, im thinking of switching back from my nVidia Shield to a Openelec Brasswell Box,
Now i dont realy know wich CPU to buy. Ive pondered through this thread but its not realy clear to me what i need.
I would like to be able to play hevc 4k Material @ 30fps and would like to keep it as cheap as possible.
Is the Dualcore 3000 or 3050 enough for that? Also do i need 2 ram channels or is 1 enough?

[fritsch]

HEVC-8 bit is played by both
HEVC-10 bit is played by non of thse.

[busta.rhymes]

So am i better off sticking with the nvidia Shield at the moment?

[fritsch]

I don't understand this question ... why would you buy a new box if you already have a Shield ...

[afremont]

I believe that Odroid C2 has 10 bit decoding, but I think the software (Kodi) currently can only output 8 bit. I'm really impressed with Odroid C2 running an early version of OpenELEC. I don't have 4K TV though. It's still early and there are bugs to be worked out, but so far it's blowing the RPi2 out of the water in performance AND features.

[fritsch]

No ...

Amlogic does not care at all on what kodi outputs. It uses a bypass rendering mechanism and outputs whatever it wants to do ... no influence by kodi.

[afremont]

Okay, I based that upon a post I read a couple of months ago. Does the S905 output 10 bit?

http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=258707&page=2

[busta.rhymes]

I don't understand this question ... why would you buy a new box if you already have a Shield ...

i was just thinking about going back to a openelec box... but only if it makes sense. If you say it wouldnt make sense for me at the moment then that helps me.

[fritsch]

Whatever it can do on paper - the framebuffer configuration with linux seems to be RGB 8 bit on kernel side ... the rest is marketing I see no implementation there that would maintain a chain of 10 bit to output.

[fritsch]

I don't understand this question ... why would you buy a new box if you already have a Shield ...

i was just thinking about going back to a openelec box... but only if it makes sense. If you say it wouldnt make sense for me at the moment then that helps me.

Currently it makes no sense to invest a lot of money into boxes with the goal to play hevc-10 bit content, which is the future livetv standard, cause: all available intel chips can only do 8 bit in hardware. The hybrid solutions for windows all are limited to 1080p hevc 10 bit - if you throw 4k 10 bit on those - it won't work, too slow.

If you want hevc-10 bit buy some devices that "say" they can cope with it, but realize _before_ you buy, that the output chain is nowhere guaranteed that the 10 bit colors also reach your display. In AMLogic case kodi has zero influence on that. On Shield case, it's too slow to output 4k when we go through our shaders which (in theory) have the possibility to cope with 10 bit content.

[busta.rhymes]

ok so i guess its just to early for 4k boxes... thanks for your help mate

[fritsch]

Here is a sample: http://fritsch.fruehberger.net/samples/f...c-10bit.ts works on the shield? If yes -> why buying anything else? This I also did not get in the beginning: why buy something if you already have a shield? Something not working?