[oWarchild]

The news some of us were waiting for (at least I was waiting for), ASUS is releasing the new Chromebox with Broadwell CPU!

They are claiming that it's capable of 4K video playback

Asus says the Chromebox CN62 supports 4K video playback, features 802.11ac WiFi, and uses just 6 watts of power while idle.

Source: liliputing: Asus refreshes its mini PC lineup: New Chromebox, VivoPC, VivoMini models

A brief hands on video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyK_VMNM7xo

UPDATE: Asus has added specifications to their website: https://www.asus.com/ASUS_Chromebox/ASUS...fications/

[Robotica]

To support 4K (3840x2160p) at more than 30Hz, HDMI 2.0 is required (at least 4:2:0 HDMI 2.0 mode that just squeaks into HDMI 1.4 bandwidths and doesn't require a full HDMI 2.0 interface).

[Matt Devo]

It's really no more capable of 4K than the model it replaces, other than not needing MST for 60Hz output

As I've said elsewhere, the best thing about the Broadwell Chromeboxes will be the associated price drop on the Haswell models

[Robotica]

It's really no more capable of 4K than the model it replaces, other than not needing MST for 60Hz output

As I've said elsewhere, the best thing about the Broadwell Chromeboxes will be the associated price drop on the Haswell models

Even no h265?

[Matt Devo]

Even no h265?

Broadwell offers hybrid HEVC decoding, but it's not supported by Intel's Linux drivers, only Windows, so essentially a non-factor from a Kodi perspective

[oWarchild]

As I've said elsewhere, the best thing about the Broadwell Chromeboxes will be the associated price drop on the Haswell models

This is true!

[oWarchild]

Broadwell offers hybrid HEVC decoding, but it's not supported by Intel's Linux drivers, only Windows, so essentially a non-factor from a Kodi perspective

Wouldn't Kodi running on Windows be able to take advantage of them?

And is there no hope for Intel Linux drivers to be updated to support hybrid HEVC decoding?

[Matt Devo]

Wouldn't Kodi running on Windows be able to take advantage of them?

And is there no hope for Intel Linux drivers to be updated to support hybrid HEVC decoding?

We won't know how well it runs Windows until someone gets one and tries, but it's quite possible (even likely) it will have the same lack of HDMI audio as the Haswell boxes, negating its usefulness.

From what I understand, Intel won't be adding hybrid HEVC decoding to the Broadwell Linux drivers, but instead is focused on Braswell/Skylake which offer full hardware decoding.

[oWarchild]

I see, thanks!

[movie78]

New Chromebox..

Hope this one has better graphics processor than the old model...

[noggin]

New Chromebox..

Hope this one has better graphics processor than the old model...

The 2955U in the previous Chromebox - once MCDI was implemented - was/is pretty good for Kodi though.

Maybe not for gaming, but it delivered decent scaling and high quality deinterlacing, alongside good quality H264, MPEG2 and VC-1 decoding (other than VC-1 interlaced material - which I think is still an issue ?)

[Matt Devo]

New Chromebox..

Hope this one has better graphics processor than the old model...

that's kind of an odd statement, without any qualification, but the specs of the GPU in the Broadwell 3205U have already been well documented and it's been pretty thoroughly tested, so one can simply read the reviews rather than hoping.

[katsup]

I wonder if this one will actually be fan less. 6 watts is impressive as I got 12 watts with an idle Kodibuntu on the M004U.

[Matt Devo]

I wonder if this one will actually be fan less. 6 watts is impressive as I got 12 watts with an idle Kodibuntu on the M004U.

Nope, it's not

[southlegend]

Any news on if the levels issue has been/will be fixed in the Broadwell drivers?