Another "Which is Best" question

xeddog

Novice Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2015
Messages
22
Reaction score
1
Points
5
Age
76
Location
left coast
I am in the market for another media player to replace my Popcorn Hour A410U. I have been a Popcorn Hour user since the A110 (my fav was the A210), but this A410U has really been a disappointment. This box has a problem that Cloud Media says they cannot fix, and that is where the video will occasionally hang for a second, and when it starts again there is some annoying deblocking for a few seconds. I understand the A500 fixes it, but being in the U.S. I would be stuck with the A500U which does not provide Dolby down-mixing, and there are times when I need that.
My needs for the time being are simple. A box to store my videos and play them. I have no need for anything like Plex, Kodi, or any other "jukebox" app. Nor do I need any music or photo apps either.
For at least the near future, 4K and/or streaming are not in the picture yet, but these are good for future-proofing so I would like to have them. So here are three groups of things I would like. Group 1 is mandatory, group 2 is highly desirable, and group 3 is future-proofing.

Group 1 - mandatory
1. Excellent audio and video (720p and 1080p) output
2. audio down-mixing including Dolby
3. Internal 3.5" HDD
4. Play any file format I can throw at it.
5. Good product support.
6. Good networking including nfs, smb, and ftp(optional)

Group 2 - desirable
1. Two internal 3.5" HDD would be very nice
2. QUIET, and this probably means fanless
3. 3D capability since I do have a few 3D releases.

Group 3 - future
1. 4K video with HDR support (HDMI 2.x?)
2. Streaming capabilities
3. Other features that will help futureize me.

So far I have looked into the HiMedia Q10 Pro, the Dune HD Solo 4K, the PCH A500, and the possibility of building a pillbox pc like the NUC. The Dune doesn't have a 3.5" HDD capability so that one is out. The A500U doesn't have Dolby down-mixing. The HiMedia Q10 Pro looks good, but gives me the willies ordering direct from China. The pillbox pc is $$$, the ones that have 3.5" HDD capability are few, and energy usage will be quite a bit higher.


So after all of this, I am open to suggestions.

Thanks,

Wayne
 
If you can find one then the hdi dune duo has two internal 3.5 Hotswap bays but no proper 3d support but the hdi dune base 3d fits your group 1 and 2 but does not support bluray menus.

You can always buy a nas drive (qnap or Synology) depending on how many bays you need as the new models come with a hdmi 2.0 port and kodi built into it from one device.
 
bubblegum57 - Thanks for the link. It is informative
a5ian300zx - With the Dune boxes you either get a box with no internal HDD (Solo 4K) or one that is essentially already obsolete (Base 3D). If they come out with a Base 3D4K . . . now we're talkin'! As for a NAS, well, it's on my list but unfortunately it is quite a ways down on that list. The target to eventually be a 4-bay Synology. But even so, that option also doesn't help much with the low power consumption I am after. I think the A410 only uses single digit watts when idle. The internal disk will park and spin down after a few minutes of idle. The external USB disk does not spin down so draws power continuously unless I manually turn it off, which is why I want an internal disk.

https://www.avforums.com/members/a5ian300zx.77087/
 
I think the Solo 4K has an internal drive capability but only 2.5 inch. It's one of the reasons I rejected it in favour of the Popcorn A500.
 
The target to eventually be a 4-bay Synology. But even so, that option also doesn't help much with the low power consumption I am after.
A NAS is a low powered device and does also spin down the disks when idle. So for low power usage a NAS is going to be a fairly good option
DS416j - Products | Synology Inc.
Power Consumption*
21.6 W (Access)
12.75 W (HDD Hibernation)

Power consumption is measured when fully loaded with Western Digital 1TB WD10EFRX hard drive(s).

Mark.
 
So far I have looked into the HiMedia Q10 Pro, the Dune HD Solo 4K, the PCH A500, and the possibility of building a pillbox pc like the NUC. The Dune doesn't have a 3.5" HDD capability so that one is out. The A500U doesn't have Dolby down-mixing. The HiMedia Q10 Pro looks good, but gives me the willies ordering direct from China. The pillbox pc is $$$, the ones that have 3.5" HDD capability are few, and energy usage will be quite a bit higher.

you don't have to order straight from china for the himedia Q10pro uk based HiMedia Q10 Pro - futeko.com - High Performance Media Box. Android Box, Kodi Box, Mini-HTPC. UK Based.
 
dazm41 - The link you sent was in the UK and I am in the US, but there is something on Amazon so that isn't really an issue. But a little more digging shows the HiMedia Q10 is Android 5.1. 6.0 is already out and has been for a while, and 7.0 has been announced, so that makes me wonder if the Q10 OS will be upgradable to future releases, or is this box already, or soon to be, obsolete. Or is that even a concern? I need to look into that now.

Wayne
 
I bought a Himedia 600B in 2011 from futeko. Since then they have produced a new device every couple of years. In my opinion, they & other manufacturers will be concentrating on the next device & won't be making major upgrades.
My suggestion would be to pose the question to Futeko, ask them to ask Himedia if they will be upgrading Android.
I believe the customer support by Futeko is very good.

This is my opinion, I hope, they will provide long term support but I doubt it.
 
Dune solo 4K is linux based and therefore a lot more reliable, uses the same chip (or SoC if you wanna name it correctly), but it's more stable, performing and firmware consolidated. It reproduces anything you throw at it, accepts 2.5" hdd but could do 3.5" via external USB or adapter.
It has an amazing co-processor and will certainly give you better video image than any android box currently on the market.
 
I do like the linux based options better since I use Linux as my OS of choice, but some other OS would not be a show stopper. I am re-considering the Dune Solo 4K and also the nVidia Shield. I might be able to "get by" with a 1TB 2.5" HDD for short term and recent video, and an external USB attached for the longer term storage.

This may not be the correct place to ask this, but if I were to purchase the 16GB Shield, would I be able to add my own 2.5" disk drive or would I have to get the 500GB model and trash the included disk to put in a 1TB disk?
 
I do like the linux based options better since I use Linux as my OS of choice, but some other OS would not be a show stopper. I am re-considering the Dune Solo 4K and also the nVidia Shield. I might be able to "get by" with a 1TB 2.5" HDD for short term and recent video, and an external USB attached for the longer term storage.

This may not be the correct place to ask this, but if I were to purchase the 16GB Shield, would I be able to add my own 2.5" disk drive or would I have to get the 500GB model and trash the included disk to put in a 1TB disk?

Seems unlikely you can replace hard drive Upgrading nVidia Shield TV 16GB Version - Nvidia Shield Pro Android TV

You can add 128GB microsd card
 
I do like the linux based options better since I use Linux as my OS of choice, but some other OS would not be a show stopper. I am re-considering the Dune Solo 4K and also the nVidia Shield. I might be able to "get by" with a 1TB 2.5" HDD for short term and recent video, and an external USB attached for the longer term storage.

This may not be the correct place to ask this, but if I were to purchase the 16GB Shield, would I be able to add my own 2.5" disk drive or would I have to get the 500GB model and trash the included disk to put in a 1TB disk?
You can get a 4TB in 2.5" form factor.
 
This may not be the correct place to ask this, but if I were to purchase the 16GB Shield, would I be able to add my own 2.5" disk drive or would I have to get the 500GB model and trash the included disk to put in a 1TB disk?
You can add an external drive via USB and configure it to be used as internal storage. You could just buy a caddy with USB connection and connect a standard hard drive that way if you want. Bear in mind the drive is then tied to the Shield and you'd lose the 16gb internal storage. You can only do it with one drive.
 
Do you have an old PC lying about anywhere?

It will need to have a HDMI graphics card or you will need to buy one (they are really cheap these days. Then put OpenElec Kodi on it, Which will give you everything in Group 1. In Group 2 - 1 and 2 will depend on the PC 3 is support somewhat it depends on the type of 3d. Group 3 1 and 2 yes, 3 to much to talk about and continuous development.

The Nice thing about the PC option is when say HDMI 3 comes out and you need it for something you can just replace a part. Or you can add a DVB card for live TV and share the live stream or recordings with any other Kodi machine on the network.

The PC does not need to be very powerful so try it out even if its an old noisy PC to see if you like it, if you do then it might be worth spending the money on your pillbox idea
 
On the old PC route if you have one you can also make it into a nas by installing freenas and populating with hdd.

Thanks
 
You can get a 4TB in 2.5" form factor.
Holy crap! I didn't know that 4tb 2.5" was an option because I only look online for the stores that are nearest to me. Now that is certainly becoming an option. Prices are all that terrible either.

Do you have an old PC lying about anywhere?
I DO indeed have an old pc or two that aren't doing much at all, and I have thought about using one of them as you suggest. One has an old first or maybe second generation I-7 processor with 8GB ram, the other is a similar machine with maybe a third gen I-7 and 16GB ram.

Granted it would be fun to set up a system like that, and I still might. I would learn a few things, and get to spend some more money on things like more disk drives and HDMI-over-Ethernet (or more appropriately HDMI over Cat6), etc. But what I am really looking for HERE is a device that is essentially a simple install/configure/forget kind of system. The way I use it, I don't even have to worry about backups. They just aren't necessary. These small boxes are simple, efficient, quiet, and stable (usually). So simple that even my wife, bless her technology deficient heart, might be able to use it.
 
To be honest of the devices I use for media streaming the HTPC is probably the most reliable. Every other media box I've had has one issue or another. Mine has a seven year old pentium chip, 2 gb of RAM, and a silent £25 graphics card. Yet Kodi on that never fails to play a 1080p file. Use my Harmony to control it as well with a flirc, so not difficult to use.
 
Using openelec, it makes the PC a media center (it cant do anything else, it looks and feels like a settop box, much more so than an android box
 
Using openelec, it makes the PC a media center (it cant do anything else, it looks and feels like a settop box, much more so than an android box
That's true but you can easily boot directly into Kodi and Windows is still siting behind to do whatever you want. But I suppose Openelec has the advantage of being free.
 
To be honest of the devices I use for media streaming the HTPC is probably the most reliable.
Up until my PCH A410U, my experience has been just the opposite and the only real problem with it has been a Dolby licensing issue with the US models. But my demands are not much, just play my videos whatever they may be. I don't need synopsis, posters, fan art, or any of that "stuff". Just play the dang video that I select from the file menu.

In my case, I think there are a couple of problems using a pc as a media center. Maybe not big problems, but still problems. First, one of my criteria was a device with low energy consumption. Using a media center pc means running a power hungry computer for a minimum of 10-12 hours a day, and that throws energy efficiency out the window. Next, I think the noise would not be tolerable in an otherwise quiet living room, so I would not be able to have the pc in the same room as my tv. If I was going to connect it to my tv instead of streaming video via dlna, some kind of HDMI extension like HDMI over Cat6 cabling would be required. That means running additional cat6 cabling just for this machine. And then there is the set-and-forget aspect. A small dedicated box may have occasional firmware updates, but not a continuous flood of OS and application updates and upgrades.

Wayne
 
Well I don't know about your PC but my HTPC is neither power hungry nor noisy. People often set them up to avoid exactly those two things.
 
Every Media center is a PC, they normally run some sort of custom Linux OS, except of course the android boxes. The intel NUC family of motherboards are designed to be fan less and low energy. The most noisy thing could be the Hard drives but that depends on the Hard drives you use and that would be the same which ever box you used
 
Well I don't know about your PC but my HTPC is neither power hungry nor noisy. People often set them up to avoid exactly those two things.
I guess that would depend on what you call power hungry. The PCH A410 is rated at typical 15W, max 40W, plus about 4W for the HD (the WD Blue that I have is rated at 4.1W read/write, 3W idle, and .4W standby). From what I understand, the two I7 processors that I have are rated at 95W and 130W for the processor alone, and some typical machine configurations exceeding 150W-200W depending on load. I think there is a reason why pc's have 400-500W power supplies in them. So five 40W light bulbs versus one 20W light bulb.
 
I guess that would depend on what you call power hungry. The PCH A410 is rated at typical 15W, max 40W, plus about 4W for the HD (the WD Blue that I have is rated at 4.1W read/write, 3W idle, and .4W standby). From what I understand, the two I7 processors that I have are rated at 95W and 130W for the processor alone, and some typical machine configurations exceeding 150W-200W depending on load. I think there is a reason why pc's have 400-500W power supplies in them. So five 40W light bulbs versus one 20W light bulb.

There is no need what so ever to have an I7 for running Kodi, and if not running it through windows and using openelec you dont even need an I3

This is old so should be better these days but shows 8-10 watts

Intel NUC DN2820FYKH Bay Trail System Review - Page 6 of 9 - Legit Reviews
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is Home Theater DEAD in 2024?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom