advice on hardware for small factor under tv htpc

Danick

I have built a powerhouse plex pc server - now I need a small and quiet htpc that I can put under the TV. It needs to be able to do the following:

1. Play any file that my pc server sends to it on plex
2. Optical out and HDMI out
3. Slim case
4. I want it to last a couple of years
5. 1080p is a necessity but 4K is not

Thanks a million guys - I would never have been able to build my pc if it wasn't for the advice I got from this site.

Mad_Mike

First gen Amazon Fire TV maybe?
http://www.aftvnews.com/comparing-the-1st-and-2nd-gen-amazon-fire-tv-specs/
The new one loses optical out and in theory you don't need support for numerous file types as your plex server will transcode anything that isn't supported?

ED E

With plex doing all the work for you anything will do really.

Try and find something with a hardware HEVC/H265 chip onboard as then you wont be decoding 4K HBR files on your CPU.

alonamartin

You can extend your media experience to other rooms by adding Digital Media Receivers (DMR) such as Roku streaming player, Apple TV or Raspberry Pi. Keep in mind that you do not need to buy everything immediately, but you can add new modules later over time.

Danick

Thanks - am I right in saying that the Apple TV will only play plex mp4 files? Is the ROKU 3 capable of playing all file types? I heard the raspberry pi can play everything but it can be slow scrolling through library - I have a huge plex server library - about 4-5 TB - I really appreciate your advice.

ED E

You don't understand plex Danick. Plex is a workhorse, it transcodes content to what the device can play.

PC to PC in house - Direct play usually
PC to Smart TV - Transcode to match TV profiles
PC To Phone via 3G - Transcode to lower res MPG4 for the slower connection.

ED E

BTW you've opened 8 threads in B&U in three weeks, this could all have been done in two threads. Keep that in mind in future please

Danick

ED E wrote: »

You don't understand plex Danick. Plex is a workhorse, it transcodes content to what the device can play.

PC to PC in house - Direct play usually
PC to Smart TV - Transcode to match TV profiles
PC To Phone via 3G - Transcode to lower res MPG4 for the slower connection.

Thanks - I admit that I am confused - my xbox one plays everything as a plex client but my ps4 does not.

I would love an Apple TV 4 or roku 3 but wonder if they will play all files like my xbox one or will there be files they can't play like my ps4?

Thanks for any advice

privateBeavis

I have one of these for few years now and use Kodi on it.
The case is like a large heat sink so no fan and have SSD drive in it so totally silent.
http://fitpc.com

Danick

That looks like a great idea - did you get it from USA or can you get them in the UK - what specs did you get?

Thanks

privateBeavis

Danick wrote: »

That looks like a great idea - did you get it from USA or can you get them in the UK - what specs did you get?

Thanks

Got direct from their site from uk but that was few years ago. http://www.tinygreenpc.com/fit-pc3-lp-barebone-675.html
One I got was Fit PC3 Pro cost me about €500 without disk or IS cos I got SSD separately. Has Radeon HD 6600 series onboard.

Mad_Mike

Danick wrote: »

my xbox one plays everything as a plex client but my ps4 does not.

The PS4 should play all of your files? The whole idea is that your Plex server sees that a PS4 is connecting and will convert the file format if its a format that the PS4 doesn't support

What exactly happens when you get files that won't play?