[Reelyator]

Dears, 
when looking through the threads in this forum, i got the impression, that many posts are pretty old. Therefore i am starting a new one (Just to mention: Googling for HTPC Graphic Cards leads to 99,99% to gaming related posts and ads, wich is obviously not my area of interest).

My Question would be:
Are there any hardware recomendetions (single components or combinations) that are well suitable/well established for:
4k playback from a Windows HTPC with Kodi 19.4?
Preferrably with the latest HDR formats (Dolby Vision, HDR+ etc....)
Output of Video and Audio (including HD Audio passthrough) through one single HDMI Plug would be desired for easy connection to the AVR.
HTPC Case Form Factor: ATX 

Any qualified feedback and practical experiences are welcome! Preferrably on succesfull setups. But also feedback on what NOT to use is definitely beneficial

[Reelyator]

First discussion with one of the larger IT stores indicate, that a system based on a Mainboard with Intel B660 Chipset make most sense, because those have a onboard HDMI 2.1 connector.

In combination with a Intel Core I5 CPU Generation 12 or above not even a dedicated Graphic card should be needed as the Graphic Chip in the CPU/GPU??/IGP Should be sufficiend for 4k Video Playback.

Anybody here having a comparable setup ??

[JamesX]

Bear in mind that no HTPC will do Dolby Vision (on Kodi at least). PCs will be capable of HDR... but not all flavors. Also, for current Kodi 4k capabilities an HDMI 2.0b port is sufficient. It should be noted that HDMI 2.1 maybe doesn't mean what you need/want it to mean... but for movie playback you should be fine anyway.

Before buying anything I would advise to try and question people that have the exact same hardware you are willing to buy. If I learned something about Kodi and HW is that you can't really assume anything about compatibility... anything at all.

[Reelyator]

...Before buying anything I would advise to try and question people that have the exact same hardware you are willing to buy. If I learned something about Kodi and HW is that you can't really assume anything about compatibility... anything at all.

Thank you James. Fully With you. Nice Approach!! But considering how much feedback i got on this post up to now, i doubt that i can find anybody having even a similar setup at all....

And thank you for the link..... Consumer Electronics and their standards.... , that topic could fill a book

[noggin]

...Before buying anything I would advise to try and question people that have the exact same hardware you are willing to buy. If I learned something about Kodi and HW is that you can't really assume anything about compatibility... anything at all.

Thank you James. Fully With you. Nice Approach!! But considering how much feedback i got on this post up to now, i doubt that i can find anybody having even a similar setup at all....

And thank you for the link..... Consumer Electronics and their standards.... , that topic could fill a book

Reality is that a LOT of Kodi users migrated from Intel/AMD platforms to ARM when they became realistic options.  UHD HDR and HD Audio support has been a lot easier on ARM platforms for a while now - particularly as a lot of Intel iGPU motherboards only had HDMI 1.4 outputs - or implemented HDMI 2.0 using Displayport to HDMI adaptors on-board that caused issues with HD Audio passthrough.   I stuck with various Intel solutions until UHD HDR came along - though I was already running ARM boxes alongside. Now I'm pretty much all ARM/Apple Silicon.

There is also the Windows vs Linux/LibreElec decision to make with Intel/AMD.

For UI speed and handling large libraries and intensive skins, Intel/AMD are great, but for basic AV functionality - some of the ARM platforms have been pretty impressive for a while.

[selfcontained]

Just more support for what @noggin has shared - I too stuck with Intel/Nvidia/Win for a long time but when looking at the costs for upgrading that stack for HDR10 - I just couldn't justify the costs. That and it was questionable as to whether I'd even achieve correct HDR10.

I got an Nvidia Shield TV Pro (2019 model) and everything's worked perfectly since. (Caveat - I'm less concerned with audio than proper frame-rate/refresh-rate & color, etc.)

Some downsides:
much slower library management (scanning, scraping, etc.)
slower menu navigation (even with "light" skins)

nothing beats a fast x86 for processing single-threaded Python 3.x

[JamesX]

Some downsides:
much slower library management (scanning, scraping, etc.)
slower menu navigation (even with "light" skins)

nothing beats a fast x86 for processing single-threaded Python 3.x

Yeah, I did go from x86 to ARM once... but I'm back and happy I did. The ARM downsides proved too much for me.

Maybe someday I'll try ARM again, but right now I don't see a reason to. Maybe if Nvidia took Shield more seriously... but now they seem too distracted with all this profit coming from AI in the datacenter.

[noggin]

Some downsides:
much slower library management (scanning, scraping, etc.)
slower menu navigation (even with "light" skins)

nothing beats a fast x86 for processing single-threaded Python 3.x

My solution to some of these is to properly library manage my content rather than automatically scrape it. I use a library management tool running on a PC to create the correct info files and download the best artwork for each TV series and movie I have on my NAS, and then get Kodi to import those when I add that movie/TV show.  

I run MrMC on an Apple TV 4K 2021 as one of my main platforms - though also use a couple of S905X4, S992X devices running CoreElec and Rasperry Pi 4Bs running LibreElec.

The Apple TV 4K is definitely the most powerful CPU of them all.

[selfcontained]

@noggin which tools do you use? I know of using local nfo files but how about getting artwork to where Kodi wants it?

[Reelyator]

Thank you @noggin , @selfcontained and @JamesX !

I had several Android boxes from Himedia and Zidoo during the past that i used mainly for movie playback with Kodi and the XBMC Wrapper. Lately with ZDMC on a Zidoo UHD3000. This worked pretty stable.

Still i would like a second Kodi client based on a Windows HTPC that i can mainly use for the administration Kodi. And also for playback of TV Shows and Music....

Meanwhile i have ordered me some components:
Mainboard Asus Prime B660-Plus D4 with HDMI 2.1 and a Realtek 7.1 HD Audio Chip
Intel Core I5 12600 CPU (without any suffix wich indicates that the CPU has a integrated Intel UHD Graphic 770 chip).
Keeping fingers crosseed, that this will meet my requirements and expectations.
.....to be continued.

[noggin]

@noggin which tools do you use? I know of using local nfo files but how about getting artwork to where Kodi wants it?

I've been using Ember Media Manager.

[vläd_]

I'm sure that this config is probably overkill, but I wanted to hopefully future proof this build as much as possible.

CPU: Intel Core i7-10700
Motherboard: ASUS PRIME Z590M-PLUS
RAM: 2x 16GB Crucial
GPU: Gigabyte RTX 3060 VISION OC 12G (2 HDMI)
OS: Microsoft Windows 10 x64

I am currently running the Gigabyte vid card outputs one to a pre/pro, and the second to display. Seems to be working well with HDR and passing the correct information to the pre/pro for the ATMOS/DTS-X surround sound.

From what I have read in the forums, Dolby Vision is somewhat problematic, see this thread for details.

[Reelyator]

Thank you @vläd_ !

Meanwhile i am pretty happy with my current setup:
Case: Silverstone LC16M (with a new USB-C/USB 3.2 Front Panal)
CPU: Intel Core i5-12600 with integrated Intel UHD Graphic 770 chip
Motherboard: Asus Prime B660-Plus D4 with HDMI 2.1 and a Realtek 7.1 HD Audio Chip
RAM: 2x 16GB
HD: Transcend 220S 1 TB, SSD (PCIe 3.0 x4, NVMe, M.2 2280)
OS: Microsoft Windows 11

...No major Hickups so far but i agree that DV Material sometimes works, sometimes not

[PANiCnz]

I think it's worth point out for anyone that reads this thread retrospectively that you don't need a i5 or an i7 for Kodi, something like the Celeron G6900 or an embedded processor like a J4105 or J4125 would suffice. If you're building something that will also be used for gaming with a discrete video card etc, then a i5 or i7 definitely has its place. 

With LE11 builds my J4105-ITX based HTPC does 4k60 HDR just fine.

[Olyar15]

A bit late to the party, but I upgraded my HTPC a few months back, and so far I'm happy with the results.

i3-12100 on an Asrock H610 ITX motherboard, 16Gb 3200 DDR4, 256GB SSD, in an InWin Chopin case. Running Kodi and iTunes (for music) on Win11. It's small, quiet, and energy efficient. All my media is stored on a NAS.

I play 4k blu ray rips and it handles HDR fine. It's hooked up to my avr and then to my LG oled via hdmi, and it handles audio passthrough fine, although I only have a 5.1 system.