8 ms·

What OSes are better for a "Home Theater" TV computer?? That's a serious question; I recently replaced a creaking old Mac Mini (that couldn't do 4K) with a new

by veidr 8y ago

What OSes are better for a "Home Theater" TV computer?? That's a serious question; I recently replaced a creaking old Mac Mini (that couldn't do 4K) with a new Dell, after going a little bicurious with respect to Windows 10 (for software development work)... and, surprisingly, it's a complete and utter shitshow. I was astonished, actually; I had assumed Windows would be better than macOS as a TV computer, other than integration with Apple services (Apple Music, my kids photos as screensaver). Nothing could be further from the truth. It's a shitshow. 100% of Windows media players are garbage (VLC included, and there is no Movist). They can't play high-bitrate video without stuttering (on way better hardware), they show some ungodly mishmash of scaled UI and tiny unreadable UI on a 4K TV, for each player you install (about 10, so far, for me) you have to google for an hour to make sure they aren't malware (and of course almost all of them nominally are, trying to install all sorts of insane adware shit during the install phase, although that is par for the course on Windows)... It's been 2 months and I saw the new Mac Mini and despite the 200%+ markup on storage I couldn't help but think Hmmm.... My TV also has at its disposal Xbox (OK but not great), PS4 (pretty shit), iOS (Apple TV, pretty shit), and Nintendo Switch (has no TV computer features at all, basically). So what OSes are you talking about? Linux?? Android?

dancsi 8y ago
Have you tried Kodi (kodi.tv)?
- veidr 8y ago
  No! Looks very interesting, thanks! (^_^) Will give it a shot.
  - Jaruzel 8y ago
    Bung Kodi on a Raspberry Pi 3B+ - You'll be pleasantly surprised I think. Downside is... 99% of raspberry pi cases are really ugly :(
    - SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
      Just stick the Pi to the back of your TV with some self-adhesive PCB risers. No case required.
      - dagw 8y ago
        What do you use as a remote? Also does RP+Kodi do Netflix/Amazon/HBO etc. streaming in a nice way?
        biggusdickus 8y ago
        Kodi supports network remotes among other types. You can just install a kodi remote app on your phone.
        Blaiz0r 8y ago
        With a Rpi over HDMI you can use your remote on most tvs if they support the CEC standard.
        myrandomcomment 8y ago
        No and that’s the issue. Works great for your local / NAS media. Lots of plugins for all sorts of things, except, Netflix, Amazon, XM. I still use the TV apps for that.
        xattt 8y ago
        There’s a Netflix plugin that uses the directory structure on Kodi for v18.
        myrandomcomment 8y ago
        Thanks, I have seen and tried it. It’s still not GA and quite buggy. Not at a level I can hand over to my family for use.
        ce4 8y ago
        Some options besides CEC over HDMI: - Amazon FireTV remote (connects via Bluetooth) - Logitech F710 (if you also run RetroPie, connects via USB) https://retropie.org.uk/ https://retropie.org.uk/ is a great emulation system for several vintage consoles (80's-early 2000's).
- secabeen 8y ago
  Kodi is good, but I got a lot happier when I switched to Plex, and put the backend on my home server, and just used a Roku device for playback.
lucideer 8y ago
Since the gp also mentioned NAS and backup, I would presume they're definitely talking about some ∗nix, yes. I'm not sure if Linux would make for a play-for-play better home theatre OS than MacOS, but it would certainly be both better than Windows, and better value than a Mac.
- KozmoNau7 8y ago
  I used Linux Mint on a Lenovo Thinkcentre micro-PC for a while, at 2x scaling on a 1080p TV. Now I've changed over to KDE Neon (because the KDE UI is more flexible) at around 2.5x scaling, and it's a bit more comfortable. The main input device is a Logitech wireless keyboard with a touchpad. I mostly play videos through SMPlayer/VLC, so it doesn't need anything fancy. A dedicated 10-foot UI would maybe work better, but as a low-cost low-effort solution, this works great. I got the PC for free (somebody was throwing it out at work) and the keyboard plus a DP to HDMI cable was $35 total. It plays 1080p x265 just fine.
  - xattt 8y ago
    Have you considered any of the ELEC releases? These are Kodi on minimal Linux with a diverse plugin ecosystem, with docker support. I am using LibreELEC. There is a live option in the installer to give a whirl.
    - KozmoNau7 8y ago
      I have looked at them, but not seriously. Maybe it's time to give it a whirl, thanks :-)
- ce4 8y ago
  I think the GP uses the MacMini as a "hack" to be able to back up the NAS cheaply with Backblaze's unlimited personal desktop backup offering (there's no official Linux client, imho): "Get peace of mind knowing your files are backed up securely in the cloud. Backup your Mac or PC just $5/month." And use their GUI program on MacOS and sync that remote NAS storage folder.
Larrikin 8y ago
Kodi is recommended if you want a media pc connected directly to your tv, but personally I prefer Plex with a Roku and the media streamed to my tv. Only negative is that it's not useful for anything besides video
- mikewhy 8y ago
  Plex also does Photos and Podcasts. Not that I've ever used them.
- Obi_Juan_Kenobi 8y ago
  It's good for music as well, and I even watch Twitch on my Roku with a custom PLEX channel. It's pretty flexible.
robk 8y ago
Buy a cheap NUC for server (run Ubuntu) and use an Nvidia Shield for front end. Works flawlesslh.
- dawnerd 8y ago
  Second the nvidia shield. My original shield is still kicking all these years later and they give frequentish updates. Although recently I’ve been using my Apple TV more, I like the interface better. Still use the shield for anything I want in proper 4K with original audio.
- bstar77 8y ago
  The only downside to the NUC is that it maxes out at 32gb of ram. I have the fastest i7 model ($1,600usd) and it's an absolute beast. I offload my compiling and services to it and it handles everything like a champ, gpu stuff notwithstanding. I do hit the wall with some stuff at 32gb so a 64gb option would be ideal. I would never buy a mac to run servers and I would never buy a NUC to replace my Mac workhorse.
pjmlp 8y ago
XBox, PS4, Android with a NVidia Shield.
dbcooper 8y ago
Windows 10 with MadVR for video rendering with GPU upscaling, and a 3D LUT for colour correction.
- Ambroos 8y ago
  Yeah, I regret living without Windows for one thing only: good and accurate video playback. Got close with LibreELEC, can't get anything right with macOS.
me551ah 8y ago
I personally use Xbox and Roku along with Plex running on a windows desktop computer which is powerful enough to do transcoding. All of the video files reside on a local windows machine and a cheap storage VPS on the cloud(located in NL). Both of the machines run plex server and auto transcode all content to an MP4 container ( HEVC for 4k content ). I force plex on the xbox to direct play all content and it usually works pretty well.
muro 8y ago
Why do you need a PC at all? A TV can play movies directly from a NAS.
- copperx 8y ago
  Yeah, I thought Media PCs were a thing in the 00's. But it's 2018 now. Why would you have a Media PC?
  - folkrav 8y ago
    I personally use Chromecasts, but HTPCs are still a thing, and for multiple reasons : - gaming (console "alternative", emulators, etc) - streaming a personal library of media files (e.g. through Plex) - it's way more versatile than the usually pretty terrible SmartTV onboard software in terms of what content you can access - like Amazon Video that only streams to their own crap stick Media PCs never stopped working, and they're still better at some things. They're just less "convenient" in some ways, and requires more investment, both in time and money, which is why some people switched to streaming boxes or simply using their TV's software.
    - dahauns 8y ago
      >it's way more versatile than the usually pretty terrible SmartTV onboard software in terms of what content you can access - like Amazon Video that only streams to their own crap stick. The sad thing is: This has reversed. I gave up trying to Netflix and Amazon Video from my HTPC. The former at least has an app and now even supports all formats (Dolby Vision 4k, Atmos), but the controls are terrible for a remote. The latter doesn't even have an app, and all you get is HD+Stereo. And don't get me started on Blu-Ray.
  - GordonS 8y ago
    Because it's 2018 and media format support in smart TVs is still garbage. I have relatively new Samsung and Sony TVs, and they are both really finicky about what they support - various combinations of container format, video codec, audio codec and bitrates work on only one or the other, and plenty works on neither (including 10-bit video).
Aeolun 8y ago
What is your beef with VLC? It’s the only player that has yet to fail me.
- cheeze 8y ago
  Comparing vlc to a home theater setup is laughable at best. Can vlc scrape Metadata and download art? Can I browse my catalog through vlc? Does it work with my remote? How hard is it to get to the next episode when watching a season? Vlc is great, but it's just a player.
  - y4mi 8y ago
    > Can vlc scrape Metadata and download art? yes > Can I browse my catalog through vlc? yes > Does it work with my remote? if you got a remote that connects to your pc, yes. there are quite a few of these around, especially if you buy a microserver or similar. > How hard is it to get to the next episode when watching a season? pretty easy.. actually, its imo way easier than anywhere else, as you can always use a wireless keyboard/mouse and just jump around VLC can even cast to a chromecast device and serve its content to TVs if you want that most of that needs to be enabled through the settings though.
    - dahauns 8y ago
      VLC has a lot of features, but it doesn't offer a 10 foot interface at all. Expecting to use the desktop interface in a home theater setup is ridiculous.
  - bwat49 8y ago
    I think Kodi is closer to what you're looking for
kalleboo 8y ago
> What OSes are better for a "Home Theater" TV computer I use an Apple TV 4K. For non-netflix/hulu/primevideo stuff, it streams off a Synology NAS (using Plex or VLC for Apple TV) edit: it's funny how your experience pretty much mirrors mine almost 10 years ago. A Mac guy outfitting a machine for a home media center. I was used to Mac media stuff always being behind on codec support and performance so I bought some HP PC. It never worked right, always had to mess around with audio outputs (HDMI audio output worked maybe once) and codec stuff kept breaking since either Windows or the Nvidia drivers hated trying to do hardware acceleration and you just got a green screen. We mostly ended up plugging in our MacBooks...
- rconti 8y ago
  I'll have to try this again. I put VLC on my AppleTV4, and I don't remember having luck playing things off my Synology. I'm using Kodi on my Android TV-equipped Sony to stream from the NAS, which works, but the UI is a disaster for adding sources. I finally got it to work, but I never want to have to change anything again. For me, using Plex is an utter and complete nightmare. Anything with transcoding and library reindexing is a no-go. I've tried to be happy with it at least 6 times, and each try was an unmitigated disaster. I just want a thing to play files from storage.
  - baddox 8y ago
    Plex is the least nightmarish of the video library apps I've used in the last few years (Plex and Kodi are the only ones I've ended up using extensively, though I've tried out several others). Transcoding is obviously a last resort, but I've used it on rare occasions for streaming live and recorded TV from home to the Plex app on my iPhone and it works reasonably well. For my home theater stuff I absolutely don't want any transcoding at all, and Plex is generally smart enough to figure out what formats my playback device is able to decode on its own. When I first got a Chromecast Ultra, I had to fiddle with some XML config files in Plex because Plex was only aware of the non-4k Chromecast and thus would try to transcode 4k content, but I believe that Plex resolved that issue fairly quickly.
    - 8y ago
tlrobinson 8y ago
I previously used a Mac Mini as an HTPC, but have switched to separate NAS running Plex server + a streaming box or stick as the client (currently a Synology but anything with Docker and maybe hardware accelerated transcoding should be good, and a Nvidia Shield as the client, but 4K Apple TV and Roku are supposedly ok too) I like the flexibility of having them separate (upgrade separately, keep in separate rooms, etc), and having a unified “10 foot” UI I can control with a remote to access Plex, Netflix, etc. You could easily get a 2 or 4 bay NAS + HDDs + Shield/Roku/AppleTV for less than the $800 base price of the new Mac Mini. Unless there’s a reason you need Mac OS I wouldn’t get the Mac Mini. If you’ve already got the Dell I’d consider just using it as a server and getting a Nvidia Shield as the client.
GordonS 8y ago
> 100% of Windows media players are garbage (VLC included, and there is no Movist). They can't play high-bitrate video without stuttering Eh? I use VLC and Media Player Classic HD on a few different machines, including a rather old i5 that only had spinning disks, and I've never had any issue with high bitrate video. I wonder if it's something specific to your setup?
- jamesgeck0 8y ago
  I wonder if they weren't using VLC's hardware acceleration option or something? Not that I blame them; the options screen is kind of a nightmare.
rconti 8y ago
I went through this when I built a Win7 HTPC perhaps 5 or 6 years ago. I was so happy to no longer have to use Connect360 on my xbox 360 to stream transcoded video from my Mac Pro (that I had to power on to run the whole thing). Finally I'd be able to just play files directly from my NAS into the endless world of Windows media support. No more transcoding from whatever stupid codec/container/disaster the 'scene' is using these days. It will Just Work because all of these people use Windows and it plays everything, right? Nope. Unmitigated disaster. Same thing, navigating endless spy/mal/adware laden sites to download CCCP codec packages and plug things together, every time I installed one thing I found another thing that didn't work right. I have some weird Jockersoft thing to force some other application to keep running and restart if it fails, and even though I no longer use whatever that thing was, I can't uninstall the goddamned jockersoft thing to save my life. Windows Media Center itself was actually a joy, though, I really enjoyed how well it worked for the things it could do out of the box which were far fewer than I had been led to believe. I also realized that a decade+ of using OS X had left me unprepared to navigate the latest online threats in the world of not-entirely-legitimate download sites for Windows utilities. It got really bad while I was away.
gregmac 8y ago
I haven't used any Apple stuff, but I've gone through many iterations of this over the past 15-ish years, going from MythTV to SageTV to Plex+Netflix, and using various iterations of Linux, Windows 7, 8, and 10 on everything from leftover PC part builds to the SageTV appliance to dedicated Mini-ITX HTPC systems to Raspberry Pis. My main criteria is being able to use everything from the couch, using a single remote, and no keyboards. I was close to that with the SageTV boxes, but Google bought SageTV and it started becoming obsolete, and there was never really a good Netflix integration anyway. I find the trouble with all PC-based stuff is switching between things and inconsistency between apps. Netflix on PC doesn't have a good way to do keyboard-based control, so remotes don't work well -- you pretty much need a mouse-style pointer. Plex works GREAT but the keyboard works differently than it does when you're using YouTube, and there's not a great way to switch. There's also all kinds of dumb problems getting multi-channel audio working with Netflix since they require some type of certified system or something. A couple years ago I gave up on PCs and bought an Nvidia Shield, and it's basically the perfect device for me. AndroidTV is a great launcher, it supports everything I use (Plex, Netflix, Youtube, Weather, Baby cam monitor) and everything works with a single remote (I use a Logitech Harmony to control it + the TV + audio). No compatibility, rights or audio issues. And bonus: it is a Google Cast device, and also works with an OTA tuner (Silicondust HDHomerun -- though I never actually use that anymore). My TV never changes inputs: it's basically just a dumb display for the Shield, which now does 100% of content playback in my house. It costs maybe a bit more than a nice MiniITX HTPC build, but just works (whereas an HTPC will take hours of time to get it working semi-properly).
- spookthesunset 8y ago
  > I was close to that with the SageTV boxes, but Google bought SageTV and it started becoming obsolete, and there was never really a good Netflix integration anyway. Man I was pissed when Google bought and killed SageTV. It was probably the best DVR out there. Flexible in all the ways you'd want it to be. High Wife Approval Factor (MythTV was a disaster) I guess they open sourced it a few years ago, but our family has moved on to just renting comcasts DVR. It's actually not that bad. ... That being said, the way we consume media has changed considerably since the days of SageTV. Youtube has almost completely taken over my TV watching time.
intrasight 8y ago
I also use a Synology. And a Raspberry Pi as the client.
screye 8y ago
> 100% of Windows media players are garbage. You might want to take a look at Daum Pot Player. I can't bear to use VLC anymore. It is just that much better. I haven't tried it for your use case though.
technofiend 8y ago
>I had assumed Windows would be better than macOS as a TV computer, You assumed correctly circa ten years ago. Unfortunately the best solution bar none was killed by Microsoft: Windows Media Center Edition. It had a killer ten foot interface and actually supported CableCard digital TV tuners. I can only assume it wasn't a big revenue maker and that the support calls were pretty high. Not to mention it never had more than lukewarm reception from cable companies which didn't appreciate the competition for set top tuner boxes. These days if you really want to roll your own you can buy an HD Home Run [1] and let it stream to you. It doesn't install any malware but I haven't seen the UI so no clue if it's beautiful or absolute crap. Since it can stream via DLNA that probably depends on the device you stream to as much as anything. I punted and used Youtube TV which I'm about to cancel since hurricane season is over. Like the old song says "500 channels and nothing's on." [1] https://www.silicondust.com/ https://www.silicondust.com/

by veidr 8y ago

dancsi 8y ago

Have you tried Kodi (kodi.tv)?

veidr 8y ago
No! Looks very interesting, thanks! (^_^) Will give it a shot.
- Jaruzel 8y ago
  Bung Kodi on a Raspberry Pi 3B+ - You'll be pleasantly surprised I think. Downside is... 99% of raspberry pi cases are really ugly :(
  - SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
    Just stick the Pi to the back of your TV with some self-adhesive PCB risers. No case required.
    - dagw 8y ago
      What do you use as a remote? Also does RP+Kodi do Netflix/Amazon/HBO etc. streaming in a nice way?
      - biggusdickus 8y ago
        Kodi supports network remotes among other types. You can just install a kodi remote app on your phone.
      - Blaiz0r 8y ago
        With a Rpi over HDMI you can use your remote on most tvs if they support the CEC standard.
      - myrandomcomment 8y ago
        No and that’s the issue. Works great for your local / NAS media. Lots of plugins for all sorts of things, except, Netflix, Amazon, XM. I still use the TV apps for that.
        xattt 8y ago
        There’s a Netflix plugin that uses the directory structure on Kodi for v18.
        myrandomcomment 8y ago
        Thanks, I have seen and tried it. It’s still not GA and quite buggy. Not at a level I can hand over to my family for use.
      - ce4 8y ago
        Some options besides CEC over HDMI: - Amazon FireTV remote (connects via Bluetooth) - Logitech F710 (if you also run RetroPie, connects via USB) https://retropie.org.uk/ https://retropie.org.uk/ is a great emulation system for several vintage consoles (80's-early 2000's).
secabeen 8y ago
Kodi is good, but I got a lot happier when I switched to Plex, and put the backend on my home server, and just used a Roku device for playback.

lucideer 8y ago

Since the gp also mentioned NAS and backup, I would presume they're definitely talking about some ∗nix, yes. I'm not sure if Linux would make for a play-for-play better home theatre OS than MacOS, but it would certainly be both better than Windows, and better value than a Mac.

KozmoNau7 8y ago
I used Linux Mint on a Lenovo Thinkcentre micro-PC for a while, at 2x scaling on a 1080p TV. Now I've changed over to KDE Neon (because the KDE UI is more flexible) at around 2.5x scaling, and it's a bit more comfortable. The main input device is a Logitech wireless keyboard with a touchpad. I mostly play videos through SMPlayer/VLC, so it doesn't need anything fancy. A dedicated 10-foot UI would maybe work better, but as a low-cost low-effort solution, this works great. I got the PC for free (somebody was throwing it out at work) and the keyboard plus a DP to HDMI cable was $35 total. It plays 1080p x265 just fine.
- xattt 8y ago
  Have you considered any of the ELEC releases? These are Kodi on minimal Linux with a diverse plugin ecosystem, with docker support. I am using LibreELEC. There is a live option in the installer to give a whirl.
  - KozmoNau7 8y ago
    I have looked at them, but not seriously. Maybe it's time to give it a whirl, thanks :-)
ce4 8y ago
I think the GP uses the MacMini as a "hack" to be able to back up the NAS cheaply with Backblaze's unlimited personal desktop backup offering (there's no official Linux client, imho): "Get peace of mind knowing your files are backed up securely in the cloud. Backup your Mac or PC just $5/month." And use their GUI program on MacOS and sync that remote NAS storage folder.

Larrikin 8y ago

Kodi is recommended if you want a media pc connected directly to your tv, but personally I prefer Plex with a Roku and the media streamed to my tv. Only negative is that it's not useful for anything besides video

mikewhy 8y ago
Plex also does Photos and Podcasts. Not that I've ever used them.
Obi_Juan_Kenobi 8y ago
It's good for music as well, and I even watch Twitch on my Roku with a custom PLEX channel. It's pretty flexible.

robk 8y ago

Buy a cheap NUC for server (run Ubuntu) and use an Nvidia Shield for front end. Works flawlesslh.

dawnerd 8y ago
Second the nvidia shield. My original shield is still kicking all these years later and they give frequentish updates. Although recently I’ve been using my Apple TV more, I like the interface better. Still use the shield for anything I want in proper 4K with original audio.
bstar77 8y ago
The only downside to the NUC is that it maxes out at 32gb of ram. I have the fastest i7 model ($1,600usd) and it's an absolute beast. I offload my compiling and services to it and it handles everything like a champ, gpu stuff notwithstanding. I do hit the wall with some stuff at 32gb so a 64gb option would be ideal. I would never buy a mac to run servers and I would never buy a NUC to replace my Mac workhorse.

pjmlp 8y ago

XBox, PS4, Android with a NVidia Shield.

dbcooper 8y ago

Windows 10 with MadVR for video rendering with GPU upscaling, and a 3D LUT for colour correction.

Ambroos 8y ago
Yeah, I regret living without Windows for one thing only: good and accurate video playback. Got close with LibreELEC, can't get anything right with macOS.

me551ah 8y ago

I personally use Xbox and Roku along with Plex running on a windows desktop computer which is powerful enough to do transcoding. All of the video files reside on a local windows machine and a cheap storage VPS on the cloud(located in NL). Both of the machines run plex server and auto transcode all content to an MP4 container ( HEVC for 4k content ). I force plex on the xbox to direct play all content and it usually works pretty well.

muro 8y ago

Why do you need a PC at all? A TV can play movies directly from a NAS.

copperx 8y ago
Yeah, I thought Media PCs were a thing in the 00's. But it's 2018 now. Why would you have a Media PC?
- folkrav 8y ago
  I personally use Chromecasts, but HTPCs are still a thing, and for multiple reasons : - gaming (console "alternative", emulators, etc) - streaming a personal library of media files (e.g. through Plex) - it's way more versatile than the usually pretty terrible SmartTV onboard software in terms of what content you can access - like Amazon Video that only streams to their own crap stick Media PCs never stopped working, and they're still better at some things. They're just less "convenient" in some ways, and requires more investment, both in time and money, which is why some people switched to streaming boxes or simply using their TV's software.
  - dahauns 8y ago
    >it's way more versatile than the usually pretty terrible SmartTV onboard software in terms of what content you can access - like Amazon Video that only streams to their own crap stick. The sad thing is: This has reversed. I gave up trying to Netflix and Amazon Video from my HTPC. The former at least has an app and now even supports all formats (Dolby Vision 4k, Atmos), but the controls are terrible for a remote. The latter doesn't even have an app, and all you get is HD+Stereo. And don't get me started on Blu-Ray.
- GordonS 8y ago
  Because it's 2018 and media format support in smart TVs is still garbage. I have relatively new Samsung and Sony TVs, and they are both really finicky about what they support - various combinations of container format, video codec, audio codec and bitrates work on only one or the other, and plenty works on neither (including 10-bit video).

Aeolun 8y ago

What is your beef with VLC? It’s the only player that has yet to fail me.

cheeze 8y ago
Comparing vlc to a home theater setup is laughable at best. Can vlc scrape Metadata and download art? Can I browse my catalog through vlc? Does it work with my remote? How hard is it to get to the next episode when watching a season? Vlc is great, but it's just a player.
- y4mi 8y ago
  > Can vlc scrape Metadata and download art? yes > Can I browse my catalog through vlc? yes > Does it work with my remote? if you got a remote that connects to your pc, yes. there are quite a few of these around, especially if you buy a microserver or similar. > How hard is it to get to the next episode when watching a season? pretty easy.. actually, its imo way easier than anywhere else, as you can always use a wireless keyboard/mouse and just jump around VLC can even cast to a chromecast device and serve its content to TVs if you want that most of that needs to be enabled through the settings though.
  - dahauns 8y ago
    VLC has a lot of features, but it doesn't offer a 10 foot interface at all. Expecting to use the desktop interface in a home theater setup is ridiculous.
- bwat49 8y ago
  I think Kodi is closer to what you're looking for

kalleboo 8y ago

> What OSes are better for a "Home Theater" TV computer I use an Apple TV 4K. For non-netflix/hulu/primevideo stuff, it streams off a Synology NAS (using Plex or VLC for Apple TV) edit: it's funny how your experience pretty much mirrors mine almost 10 years ago. A Mac guy outfitting a machine for a home media center. I was used to Mac media stuff always being behind on codec support and performance so I bought some HP PC. It never worked right, always had to mess around with audio outputs (HDMI audio output worked maybe once) and codec stuff kept breaking since either Windows or the Nvidia drivers hated trying to do hardware acceleration and you just got a green screen. We mostly ended up plugging in our MacBooks...

rconti 8y ago
I'll have to try this again. I put VLC on my AppleTV4, and I don't remember having luck playing things off my Synology. I'm using Kodi on my Android TV-equipped Sony to stream from the NAS, which works, but the UI is a disaster for adding sources. I finally got it to work, but I never want to have to change anything again. For me, using Plex is an utter and complete nightmare. Anything with transcoding and library reindexing is a no-go. I've tried to be happy with it at least 6 times, and each try was an unmitigated disaster. I just want a thing to play files from storage.
- baddox 8y ago
  Plex is the least nightmarish of the video library apps I've used in the last few years (Plex and Kodi are the only ones I've ended up using extensively, though I've tried out several others). Transcoding is obviously a last resort, but I've used it on rare occasions for streaming live and recorded TV from home to the Plex app on my iPhone and it works reasonably well. For my home theater stuff I absolutely don't want any transcoding at all, and Plex is generally smart enough to figure out what formats my playback device is able to decode on its own. When I first got a Chromecast Ultra, I had to fiddle with some XML config files in Plex because Plex was only aware of the non-4k Chromecast and thus would try to transcode 4k content, but I believe that Plex resolved that issue fairly quickly.
  - 8y ago

tlrobinson 8y ago

I previously used a Mac Mini as an HTPC, but have switched to separate NAS running Plex server + a streaming box or stick as the client (currently a Synology but anything with Docker and maybe hardware accelerated transcoding should be good, and a Nvidia Shield as the client, but 4K Apple TV and Roku are supposedly ok too) I like the flexibility of having them separate (upgrade separately, keep in separate rooms, etc), and having a unified “10 foot” UI I can control with a remote to access Plex, Netflix, etc. You could easily get a 2 or 4 bay NAS + HDDs + Shield/Roku/AppleTV for less than the $800 base price of the new Mac Mini. Unless there’s a reason you need Mac OS I wouldn’t get the Mac Mini. If you’ve already got the Dell I’d consider just using it as a server and getting a Nvidia Shield as the client.

GordonS 8y ago

> 100% of Windows media players are garbage (VLC included, and there is no Movist). They can't play high-bitrate video without stuttering Eh? I use VLC and Media Player Classic HD on a few different machines, including a rather old i5 that only had spinning disks, and I've never had any issue with high bitrate video. I wonder if it's something specific to your setup?

jamesgeck0 8y ago
I wonder if they weren't using VLC's hardware acceleration option or something? Not that I blame them; the options screen is kind of a nightmare.

rconti 8y ago

I went through this when I built a Win7 HTPC perhaps 5 or 6 years ago. I was so happy to no longer have to use Connect360 on my xbox 360 to stream transcoded video from my Mac Pro (that I had to power on to run the whole thing). Finally I'd be able to just play files directly from my NAS into the endless world of Windows media support. No more transcoding from whatever stupid codec/container/disaster the 'scene' is using these days. It will Just Work because all of these people use Windows and it plays everything, right? Nope. Unmitigated disaster. Same thing, navigating endless spy/mal/adware laden sites to download CCCP codec packages and plug things together, every time I installed one thing I found another thing that didn't work right. I have some weird Jockersoft thing to force some other application to keep running and restart if it fails, and even though I no longer use whatever that thing was, I can't uninstall the goddamned jockersoft thing to save my life. Windows Media Center itself was actually a joy, though, I really enjoyed how well it worked for the things it could do out of the box which were far fewer than I had been led to believe. I also realized that a decade+ of using OS X had left me unprepared to navigate the latest online threats in the world of not-entirely-legitimate download sites for Windows utilities. It got really bad while I was away.

gregmac 8y ago

I haven't used any Apple stuff, but I've gone through many iterations of this over the past 15-ish years, going from MythTV to SageTV to Plex+Netflix, and using various iterations of Linux, Windows 7, 8, and 10 on everything from leftover PC part builds to the SageTV appliance to dedicated Mini-ITX HTPC systems to Raspberry Pis. My main criteria is being able to use everything from the couch, using a single remote, and no keyboards. I was close to that with the SageTV boxes, but Google bought SageTV and it started becoming obsolete, and there was never really a good Netflix integration anyway. I find the trouble with all PC-based stuff is switching between things and inconsistency between apps. Netflix on PC doesn't have a good way to do keyboard-based control, so remotes don't work well -- you pretty much need a mouse-style pointer. Plex works GREAT but the keyboard works differently than it does when you're using YouTube, and there's not a great way to switch. There's also all kinds of dumb problems getting multi-channel audio working with Netflix since they require some type of certified system or something. A couple years ago I gave up on PCs and bought an Nvidia Shield, and it's basically the perfect device for me. AndroidTV is a great launcher, it supports everything I use (Plex, Netflix, Youtube, Weather, Baby cam monitor) and everything works with a single remote (I use a Logitech Harmony to control it + the TV + audio). No compatibility, rights or audio issues. And bonus: it is a Google Cast device, and also works with an OTA tuner (Silicondust HDHomerun -- though I never actually use that anymore). My TV never changes inputs: it's basically just a dumb display for the Shield, which now does 100% of content playback in my house. It costs maybe a bit more than a nice MiniITX HTPC build, but just works (whereas an HTPC will take hours of time to get it working semi-properly).

spookthesunset 8y ago
> I was close to that with the SageTV boxes, but Google bought SageTV and it started becoming obsolete, and there was never really a good Netflix integration anyway. Man I was pissed when Google bought and killed SageTV. It was probably the best DVR out there. Flexible in all the ways you'd want it to be. High Wife Approval Factor (MythTV was a disaster) I guess they open sourced it a few years ago, but our family has moved on to just renting comcasts DVR. It's actually not that bad. ... That being said, the way we consume media has changed considerably since the days of SageTV. Youtube has almost completely taken over my TV watching time.

intrasight 8y ago

I also use a Synology. And a Raspberry Pi as the client.

screye 8y ago

> 100% of Windows media players are garbage. You might want to take a look at Daum Pot Player. I can't bear to use VLC anymore. It is just that much better. I haven't tried it for your use case though.

technofiend 8y ago

>I had assumed Windows would be better than macOS as a TV computer, You assumed correctly circa ten years ago. Unfortunately the best solution bar none was killed by Microsoft: Windows Media Center Edition. It had a killer ten foot interface and actually supported CableCard digital TV tuners. I can only assume it wasn't a big revenue maker and that the support calls were pretty high. Not to mention it never had more than lukewarm reception from cable companies which didn't appreciate the competition for set top tuner boxes. These days if you really want to roll your own you can buy an HD Home Run [1] and let it stream to you. It doesn't install any malware but I haven't seen the UI so no clue if it's beautiful or absolute crap. Since it can stream via DLNA that probably depends on the device you stream to as much as anything. I punted and used Youtube TV which I'm about to cancel since hurricane season is over. Like the old song says "500 channels and nothing's on." [1] https://www.silicondust.com/ https://www.silicondust.com/