[Endeavour79]

Hi,

Honestly I'm lost! My Zotac AD12+ died today and I'm in urgent need for a replacement.
Spent the whole evening reading through this forum and googling and comparing shopping sites and reviews and now I'm back at the beginning.
Tried to find modern hardware that supports my use cases. I seem unable to find one that's powerful, silent and includes a remote.

My needs are:

• IR Remote control support (will serve as Kodi Media Center)
  
• Powerful enough for 3D and HEVC
  
• Ultra silent, fanless design preferred
  
• Gigabit Ethernet port
  
• Minimum 3x USB 3.0
  
• HDMI 2.0, 4K
  
• HEVC decoding hardware support
  
• Ability to run Windows or Linux
  
• Ability to run Kodi (obviously)
  

Have you come across a barebone that would fit those criteria? I seem unable to find one that suits. Money isn't really the criteria but should stay below $800.

Thank you so much!

Cheers,
END

[wrxtasy]

You might want to read this post first from @movie78 and then reevaluate, particularly for 3D and HD Audio passthrough using any Linux based distro:

Beware!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No use being a Intel tech Specs bloodhound when there is a lack of driver support or Kodi features do not work properly.

[Endeavour79]

Thanks for pointing this out.

I will rewrite my post then.. I'm not an Intel fanboy and open to hardware that allows me to do what I'd like to do

[Klojum]

You could consider creating a dual boot system with Windows and Ubuntu.
And for hardware, in extremis perhaps, an Asrock J3455 M-ATX with a Nvidia GT1030 silent (low profile) with a pico psu as a fanless setup. Rough estimate with htpc case, memory DIMM and simple SSD: ~$450,=

The GT1030 is not fully suited for Linux as Nvidia does not support any 10bit video, but that works fine under Windows.
Use the box for Windows for HTPC'ing and Ubuntu for the other (simple) tasks.
And yes, you will get a much bigger box than the Zotac.  

It doesn't help that AMD graphics support in Linux is currently uncertain as well, although their higher energy needs does not help in creating a fanless setup.

[Endeavour79]

I was more looking for a mini PC or barebone. 
It seems like most don't offer IR remote control support. Which makes them essentially useless as Kodi media center :/

[Klojum]

A simple FLIRC module could solve that.

[nickr]

Think beyond the pc - go for a s912 box.

[wrxtasy]

That should definitely be a consideration for media player duties, a S912 with Gigabit Ethernet running LibreELEC Kodi Krypton like a MINIX U9 but with one caveat. If you are using complex, heavy Skins with LibreELEC Kodi Krypton on S912 boxes then there may be fps Kodi GUI issues due to the Hybrid Android / Linux GPU video drivers used.
Kodi's default Estuary Skin had a solid 60fps GUI when logged and is unaffected.

These Hybrid GPU video drivers do not affect Hardware video decoding, because on AMLogic hardware that is handled by the VPU. Video decoding and playback is unaffected.

Another quality option is the Vero 4K, running OSMC Kodi Krypton. OSMC is a Debian Linux based OS.

Some points:
1080p 3D needs dedicated Kodi Hardware, unless you like experimenting with Windows and DIY. Intel Kaby Kake is already NOT recommended for 3D by @movie78
USB3 is not needed for even high bitrate 4K video streaming.

IR remote controls are yesterday's news. Wireless Integrated remote controls are far superior for media player responsiveness, and you also have no line of sight issues. My top 3 wireless remotes in no particular order are the OSMC mini remote, the Xiaomi Mi Box remote and finally the MINIX A2 lite Mini Keyboard Air Mouse remote.

And finally there is not one box that can do it all, compromises will have to be made.