Set top box vs HTPC

[Theldron]

Hi all,

 

I am stuck, I have a HTPC that I built around 5 years ago. It has a AMD Athlon 5350 APU, 8GB RAM, 32GB SSD, AMD Radeon R5 240. I have been using it on and off since, but have recently moved into a new house, and we have setup a cinema room in the garage with a 3D tv.

 

Apart from having the issue of not being able to get any sound from the PC whilst watching San Andreas, it does seem to be creaking a little, so I was wondering if a HTPC is worth it any more and would it be worth selling the bits for what I can and just buy like a Roku Premier box or similar instead?

 

I have all my media on an Unraid server, and I play the films through Plex, Emby or Jellyfish. I did have Kodi setup on the PC, with Libreelec.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

[tikker]

I suggest having a look at the Nvidia Shield TV (Pro). Unless there is something you benefit from by having a PC connected directly to the TV, I'd say it's a much cleaner solution.

 

I use it to run Plex (Plex server lives on a separate Unraid server) and use Steam Link to play games. It supports HDR, Atmos, Dolby Vision (can be a bit finnicky though) etc. Basically any format you can think of and what it doesn't (e.g. TrueHD) it can pass-through to say an AVR. So far Plex on the Shield Direct Plays everything I have thrown at it. And if you get tired of your Plex library just fire up Netflix, Amazon or your streaming app of choice.

[Donut417]

6 hours ago, Theldron said:

Roku Premier box or similar instead?

I can tell you that the 4K Roku sticks and the 4K Fire Sticks work pretty well with Plex. The only downside to the Roku is they dont support MPEG2, in my use case Plex is a whole home DVR for OTA TV, and because OTA TV is in MPEG 2, when the Roku sticks watch content on Plex, it transcodes. The one positive about the Roku experience is that they do offer a lot of free content, though older content, but free is free. 

 

One benefit of the HTPC however is you can run Youtube in a browser with Ad Block and not have to deal with that bullshit. I know creators rely on ad revenue, but the ads on Youtube have gotten worse over time. They do a piss poor job of finding stuff Id be interested in buying. 

[Theldron]

Thanks both for the replies I love the look of the Shield I just can't afford it at the moment.

 

I think a Roku is the best option don't really use it for YouTube and sell off the bits from the PC and use that.