[Qefx]

Hello guys,

sorry to create a new thread, but

a) I have a few questions
b) all lists are for people from around the globe but not Germany ;(

First what I would like to have:

Silent / Fanless
SPIDF (DTS, Dolby )
1080P Output for Videos and Streaming
And once a month enough to edit a few photos with Gimp for example

http://www.amazon.de/Intel-NUC-Kit-D3401...=intel+nuc

I am looking for something like that, but I m missing the SPIDF output ;(

Edit: Maybe an ARM "PC" would be also an alternative? (I want to save energy too lol) and ARM is ideal for that, wouldn´t mind if Android is running on it as long as I can plugin a Keyboard and mouse via Blutooth or dongle.

Edit 2: Found this:

J1900 based mini PCs worth it?

Or the Zotac ID 91/ 92?

Opinions?

[harry07]

Look at the Zotac ZBOX nano AQ01, a test can be found here http://www.technikaffe.de/anleitung-98-z...win_7_xbmc

[omnium]

Zotac ZBOX nano (fanless)
.
http://www.zotac.com/de/products/mini-pc...tions.html

Audio:
Analog Stereo output
Digital 8-ch via DVI-HDMI adapter, S/PDIF

[Qefx]

Look at the Zotac ZBOX nano AQ01, a test can be found here http://www.technikaffe.de/anleitung-98-z...win_7_xbmc

wow, THAT LOOKS AMAZING! THANKS!

There seems to be a normal version and a plus version? Whats the difference? The plus version got SPDIF?

And I could watch Netflix / Watchever with it? 1080p?

[harry07]

The ZBOXes always come in 2 versions:
the plus version with RAM (here 4 GB) and HDD (here 500 GB), the normal version without.

[Qefx]

But both versions got spdif?

[berut]

But both versions got spdif?

Yes.

[Qefx]

But both versions got spdif?

Yes.

You got that box? Iam ordering it soon lol

Just one question: Will it play 4k Videos? (not a must have, but nice to have)

I am reading that it can and sometimes it can´t...

And does it play DTS via SPIDF on OpenElec? ( I can run Windows, but Linux would be nice lol)

[noggin]

You don't say what format 4K content you want to play. On some platforms H264 4K content may be decodable in hardware, with acceleration, whilst HEVC (which is being used for 4K trial broadcasts in Europe instead of AVC) is currently software only and needs a very fast Quad core i7 type processor.

Also - are you looking to play 4K 24p content or 4k 50/60p content. 4K up to 30p will go over HDMI 1.4, 50p or 60p 4K requires Displayport (1.2 I think) or HDMI 2.0 (which is still very new)

[Qefx]

H265 would be nice, possible?

4K 24p should do it.

[noggin]

H265 would be nice, possible?

H265 = HEVC (like H264 = AVC) Not possible on current x86 implementations in hardware AIUI - only software (and very CPU intensive. My i7 2600K clocked at 4GHz can almost cope playing 2160/60p World Cup stuff with OpenHEVC ffplay) Would expect HEVC support for hardware acceleration on cards in the future, and some ARM SoCs have announced support as well - though whether that is available to XBMC will depend on how open source friendly the manufacturer is.

4K 24p should do it.

That makes life a bit easier in interconnect terms. If you wanted to watch broadcast content then you'd need 50/60p.

If you are looking at a low-power, low-cost solution I'd ignore 4K for the moment.

[Qefx]

H265 would be nice, possible?

H265 = HEVC (like H264 = AVC) Not possible on current x86 implementations in hardware AIUI - only software (and very CPU intensive. My i7 2600K clocked at 4GHz can almost cope playing 2160/60p World Cup stuff with OpenHEVC ffplay) Would expect HEVC support for hardware acceleration on cards in the future, and some ARM SoCs have announced support as well - though whether that is available to XBMC will depend on how open source friendly the manufacturer is.

4K 24p should do it.

That makes life a bit easier in interconnect terms. If you wanted to watch broadcast content then you'd need 50/60p.

If you are looking at a low-power, low-cost solution I'd ignore 4K for the moment.

Hm sad but, well ok, Or do you have another recommendation than the AQ01? With around the same price?

[noggin]

H265 would be nice, possible?

H265 = HEVC (like H264 = AVC) Not possible on current x86 implementations in hardware AIUI - only software (and very CPU intensive. My i7 2600K clocked at 4GHz can almost cope playing 2160/60p World Cup stuff with OpenHEVC ffplay) Would expect HEVC support for hardware acceleration on cards in the future, and some ARM SoCs have announced support as well - though whether that is available to XBMC will depend on how open source friendly the manufacturer is.

4K 24p should do it.

That makes life a bit easier in interconnect terms. If you wanted to watch broadcast content then you'd need 50/60p.

If you are looking at a low-power, low-cost solution I'd ignore 4K for the moment.

Hm sad but, well ok, Or do you have another recommendation than the AQ01? With around the same price?

Not really - I have different requirements. I run an i5 Haswell NUC (needed to decode 1080i 4:2:2 H264 at high bitrate in software) and an Asus Chromebox (used for 4:2:0 only) - both with OpenElec. (I also have a second Chromebox I run Ubuntu on for playing with more experimental TVHeadend and XBMC builds)

I am HDMI for audio not SPDIF/Toslink - either HD Audio bitstreamed to an Onkyo amp or PCM 2.0 decoded to a standard HDTV.

[Qefx]

Hey, just wanted to say thank you

The AQ01 is an amazing box for its price!