[Deekalarts]

Hi all,

Thanks in advance for your comments. I am looking at purchasing this HTPC http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Cheapest-...261.VgIfyT with 4 GB ram and 64 GB SSD - total $223 USD..

I will be using the device solely for Kodi and predominantly for streaming 720P and 1080p video (Netflix) and live streaming sport at 720p. I have no desire to stream 4k video.

Will this device suit my needs? Are there any better, cheaper alternatives? Currently using Amlogic M8S+ running OpenELEC which works for 80% of what I need but the CPU struggles at times (running well over 100%) with 1080p video and especially with live streaming sport.

Any feedback will be massively appreciated.

[PatK]

Once you've eclipsed $200 I would look at http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=220297&page=65 and read http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=252916 I'm actually surprised the M8S struggles at points, but I've seen the limits of my i7 cpu already and heard very good words about the Nvidia. Could some of your struggles be bandwidth issues?

[Deekalarts]

Really shouldn't be bandwidth as I have a 100/20 mbps download/upload fibre connection, but who knows. The videos don't look to be buffering as such, just very jittery video (accompanied by no audio) at times. Totally unwatchable. I'll check out the links. Cheers.

[Deekalarts]

Once you've eclipsed $200 I would look at http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=220297&page=65 and read http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=252916 I'm actually surprised the M8S struggles at points, but I've seen the limits of my i7 cpu already and heard very good words about the Nvidia. Could some of your struggles be bandwidth issues?

Would you (or anyone else reading this) say the NVIDIA Shield is better than the HTPC I posted in the original post? Looks to me that, for the purposes I require, the HTPC would be the preferred choice.

[wrxtasy]

Hi all,

Thanks in advance for your comments. I am looking at purchasing this HTPC http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Cheapest-...261.VgIfyT with 4 GB ram and 64 GB SSD - total $223 USD..

I will be using the device solely for Kodi and predominantly for streaming 720P and 1080p video (Netflix) and live streaming sport at 720p. I have no desire to stream 4k video.

Will this device suit my needs? Are there any better, cheaper alternatives? Currently using Amlogic M8S+ running OpenELEC which works for 80% of what I need but the CPU struggles at times (running well over 100%) with 1080p video and especially with live streaming sport.

Any feedback will be massively appreciated.

There is definitely something wrong with your Firmware if a M8S+ with a AML S812 is struggling with basic 1080p video and H264 / mpeg2 Sports. Both should hardware decode and hardware deinterlace and the CPU should not peak above 5-10%.

Sound like it is Software decoding everything if the CPU is hitting 100%. Spend some time over on the Freaktab website digging out new Firmware for it would be my suggestion.

[Deekalarts]

Hi all,

Thanks in advance for your comments. I am looking at purchasing this HTPC http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Cheapest-...261.VgIfyT with 4 GB ram and 64 GB SSD - total $223 USD..

I will be using the device solely for Kodi and predominantly for streaming 720P and 1080p video (Netflix) and live streaming sport at 720p. I have no desire to stream 4k video.

Will this device suit my needs? Are there any better, cheaper alternatives? Currently using Amlogic M8S+ running OpenELEC which works for 80% of what I need but the CPU struggles at times (running well over 100%) with 1080p video and especially with live streaming sport.

Any feedback will be massively appreciated.

There is definitely something wrong with your Firmware if a M8S+ with a AML S812 is struggling with basic 1080p video and H264 / mpeg2 Sports. Both should hardware decode and hardware deinterlace and the CPU should not peak above 5-10%.

Sound like it is Software decoding everything if the CPU is hitting 100%. Spend some time over on the Freaktab website digging out new Firmware for it would be my suggestion.

The CPU reaches 200% +. It runs smoothly until 100% is hit and then all bets are off and it craps out majorly. Even when just scanning the menus without video playing, it is routinely at 20%. I'm running it through OpenELEC currently... Should I revert back to Android firmware?

[sarlan19]

I've seen the limits of my i7 cpu

What do you mean by that ? I have an i7 (6700K) and it does everything i throw at it. I'm just curious of what limit you refer to.

[noggin]

I've seen the limits of my i7 cpu

What do you mean by that ? I have an i7 (6700K) and it does everything i throw at it. I'm just curious of what limit you refer to.

My overclocked i7-2600K hit its limits software decoding 2160/59.94p HEVC content, but didn't totally disgrace itself when I moved to an optimised ffmpeg build (and used ffplay)

If you are playing HD stuff on a Quad Core desktop i7 you shouldn't hit many (any?) limits imposed by your CPU (though low power Dual Core i7s may be slightly less powerful)

[PatK]

hit its limits software decoding 2160/59.94p HEVC 10bit content

Yup.