What is the perfect Media Center for Kodi?
#1
Video 
I've been using a Mac Mini 2010 as my Media Center for Kodi for past years and everything was perfect, but with this new generation of video compression files, H.265, my machine is lagging. I'm supposing it's due to the MAc's hardware that doesn't support those files, so, I'm looking for alternatives.

I considered upgrading to the new Mac Mini 2018, but since they don't support the remote (and this is a plus for my current Kodi navigation) and only have two USB ports (I run my files from 3 different hard drives, which would mean, I would have to buy a new USB Type C hard drive to replace the USB ones) I thought it might be the best option out there. 

What would be the best option for a Kodi Media Center considering it's not for streaming, but for local library and that can work with a remote?
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#2
(2019-03-26, 07:15)creativeflip Wrote: I considered upgrading to the new Mac Mini 2018, but since they don't support the remote (and this is a plus for my current Kodi navigation) and only have two USB ports (I run my files from 3 different hard drives, which would mean, I would have to buy a new USB Type C hard drive to replace the USB ones) I thought it might be the best option out there. 

$19 Amazon Basics USB 3.1 Type-C to 4-Port Aluminum Hub, Black (click)

$25 MINIX A2 lite Mini Keyboard Remote (click)

Otherwise you will need a self powered USB Hub (if using multiple 2.5" HDD's) and then....

The Best Of - categorised - media players on the market (click)

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#3
So, you'd go with the new Mac Mini? I heard there might be some synching problems with IR remotes or the one you mentioned is Bluetooth?
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#4
The MINIX A2 lite remote uses it own USB Radio receiver dongle to avoid all those problems. Batteries last 8+ months of daily usage. It's plug n Play and really reliable.

One suggestion....

1) Re-Use the old Mac Mini as a file and iTunes server, plug all the HDD's into it. Then setup SMB (SAMBA) Networked file sharing with OSX. It's really easy to setup.
2) Then choose any media player you like, such as the Plug n Play Apple TV 4K, which is the most powerful of the lot. That also has built Infra Red learning capabilities so you can use any IR remote if you have a favourite.

However it will not run Kodi, you need to run MrMC (click) or the really beautiful Infuse App.

That will be a LOT better vs using any Mac Mini as a media player. You also get access to a whole swag of quality Apps and extra features like HDMI-CEC control.

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#5
I need a day or two just to understand half the things you mentioned. Let me research for a bit, but thank you for your help Smile
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#6
(2019-03-26, 10:58)wrxtasy Wrote: The MINIX A2 lite remote uses it own USB Radio receiver dongle to avoid all those problems. Batteries last 8+ months of daily usage. It's plug n Play and really reliable.

One suggestion....

1) Re-Use the old Mac Mini as a file and iTunes server, plug all the HDD's into it. Then setup SMB (SAMBA) Networked file sharing with OSX. It's really easy to setup.
2) Then choose any media player you like, such as the Plug n Play Apple TV 4K, which is the most powerful of the lot. That also has built Infra Red learning capabilities so you can use any IR remote if you have a favourite.

However it will not run Kodi, you need to run MrMC (click) or the really beautiful Infuse App.

That will be a LOT better vs using any Mac Mini as a media player. You also get access to a whole swag of quality Apps and extra features like HDMI-CEC control.
But this seems a bit over complicating things, no? If my Mac Mini has problems reading H.265 will this not affect how the Apple Tv reads the files via SMB? 
The thing is, I love the fact that Plex has a server embedded into their software, although I was never able to set it up, but as I have a 8TB library, it becomes very difficult for me to want to try other softwares other than Kodi. 

Would it be worth investing in a 2014 Mac Mini? Will it read H.265 encoding?
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#7
(2019-03-27, 10:52)creativeflip Wrote: But this seems a bit over complicating things, no? If my Mac Mini has problems reading H.265 will this not affect how the Apple Tv reads the files via SMB? 
No - absolutely not. Your MacMini is just acting as a file server, and the Apple TV is doing all the video decoding. There is no requirement for a file server to have any video handling whatsoever - it's just passing on a file to your player that handles all the decoding. (There is also no limit to a file server being able to 'read' the contents of a video file even if it can't play it - so it can work out that it is h.265 3840x2160 HDR etc.) I have UHD HDR h.265 files stored on an ancient small HP Microserver that is AMD Sempron based, and would never be able to play them, but it serves them fine to players that can.

If you want to continue using Plex Server, I believe you still can, as Plex can be configured to not transcode and just pass on the original video content to the player if the player is able to play it. However MrMC on an Apple TV may not support a Kodi Plex add-on.
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#8
(2019-03-27, 10:52)creativeflip Wrote: The thing is, I love the fact that Plex has a server embedded into their software, although I was never able to set it up, but as I have a 8TB library, it becomes very difficult for me to want to try other softwares other than Kodi. 

Would it be worth investing in a 2014 Mac Mini? Will it read H.265 encoding?

MrMC on the Apple TV 4K has full support of a Plex database, it even has a Plex Skin included with a lot of ongoing support for it. Emby too.
The beautiful Infuse App on the ATV 4K also supports a Plex database.

MrMC is dead easy to connect to a Plex database:
https://wiki.mrmc.tv/index.php/Plex

In fact those two Apps playback audio, video and subtitles better than the official Plex App on the ATV 4K - virtually everything direct plays with NO audio and video transcoding.

Seriously re-use you old Mac Mini as as some sort of server, it will be really good at that.

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#9
Plexkodiconnect is also an option to integrate Plex library into Kodi
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