Question Newbie question- which HTPC

Phil667

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Hi all

I want to watch an internet based tv subscription (Celtic tv) on my TV screen and was thinking I need a minipc (as there is no app available) to do this best

Any recommendations?

Ideally it comes prebuilt but open to a little bit of hacking around if need be

I currently have apple tv for netflix/hbo now/itunes movies which apart from the remote control works perfectly well

I have wdtv with an additional 3tb drive for storing movies and music which works well for playing movies etc

Dvd player that is becoming like our cd player-obsolete!

Foxtel box which acts as a pvr only

My laptop doesnt have an hdmi slot and is getting a bit old in the tooth with graphics cards etc
Streaming through airplay was not quite what it should be with slight audio delay.

Any recommendations would be much appreciated?

I have been looking at an intel PUC and thinking adding Kodi/Open elec would be the way to go...
 
The 4th Gen Intel NUCs are about the best mini-PCs for media playing applications, they're small, reasonably quiet, have a range of CPUs and built-in IR. The i3/i5 based units will do HD audio and 4K video. The drawbacks are that they aren't cheap, an adapter is required for a standard HDMI connection and some require mSATA SSD drives. The 5th Gen NUCs seem to have dropped the built-in IR, which is a shame if you want to use them in an integrated setup controlled by a remote.

There are other, lower cost alternatives, but all have drawbacks. For example, one that's very good value is the HP 260 G1 mini PC. For around £100 you get a pretty capable mini PC running Windows 8.1, 32GB SSD and 2GB RAM. However, you'll have to add WiFi/Bluetooth if required, and an (external) IR receiver. The CPU is fine for most current video playback solutions, and although it comes with a Displayport video output a cheap adapter will convert that to the more usual HDMI.
 
thinking adding Kodi/Open elec would be the way to go...
Just a warning that Openelec has Chromium as its browser, not Chrome, so your Celtictv might not be viewable.
 
Thanks for that...very helpful

NUC seems quite expensive

HP lack of remote and wireless is a bit annoying

How good is the NUC remote and add on remotes for the HP?
 
Thanks for that...very helpful

NUC seems quite expensive

HP lack of remote and wireless is a bit annoying

How good is the NUC remote and add on remotes for the HP?

The NUC with a built in IR doesn't come with a remote. I use a logitech 300
 
Thanks for info...

So 4th Gen i3 nuc + remote

or

HP 260 + wifi + remote + IR receiver?

Any others I should consider researching?

CJED- With the HP what does this mean in terms of playing HD feeds and limitations ? "CPU is fine for most current video playback solutions, and although it comes with a Displayport video output a cheap adapter will convert that to the more usual HDMI."

Thanks again
 
Do you need the i3 NUC as the Celeron model is slightly more powerful than the HP 260?
 
Started off looking for something that would allow me to play an internet based channel to be played on my tv and now in a sea of openelec and Nuc etc so not sure what is needed.

As I said I have multiple players and it would be nice to tidy that up and have one system for all in the future

Openelec is probably ruled out as chrome is ruled out
A NUC with windows + Kodi would allow me to do everything but is expensive
HP mini I have concerns about playback of a HD stream
 
Do you need the i3 NUC as the Celeron model is slightly more powerful than the HP 260?

No, the Celeron NUCs are significantly less powerful than the HP 260 G1 which has a 2957u Celeron CPU (passmark 1513, Intel QuickSync acceleration). The two Celeron NUCs use the DN2820 (passmark 995, no Quicksync) or N3050 (passmark 918, has QuickSync).
 
I stand corrected.

A less powerful Celeron NUC running Openelec can cope with a full Bluray remuxed into an MKV with HD audio with no issues. So I don't see why the HP Mini would have any problems other than it's running Windows which will use more resources.
Perhaps slot in another 2-4GBGB RAM if possible.
 
Got an HP260 - can confirm plays full bluray remux and HD iplayer fine.
 
I have an HP 260 G1, and an N2820 NUC, both can handle full Blu-ray rips and other HD sources. However, I'm not familiar with the particular (browser hosted) application mentioned by the OP. I'd go for an i3 variant to be safe (and to possibly handle future media playing apps that have higher CPU/GPU requirements).
 
The new Celeron NUC's have a N2830 althought some are still boxed as N2820's the bar code on the box should read H22562-002 or higher for the N2830. The one I have has been runnig openelec/kodi and a harmony 555 remote with no problems
 
... The 5th Gen NUCs seem to have dropped the built-in IR, which is a shame if you want to use them in an integrated setup controlled by a remote.

Looks like Intel have now updated their specifications pages on the 5th Gen NUCs and they do include the on-board CIR - which is good news if you want to make an HTPC with one.
 

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