A Budget Home Theater & PC Setup: 4K, HDR, UHD Blu-ray, and More
by Ganesh T S on December 26, 2017 8:30 AM ESTEvaluating Display Sources: HTPCs & CE Devices
Home Theater PCs used to be bulky versatile machines that had to support built-in TV tuners, a number of hard disks, as well as optical drives. However, the rising popularity of network TV tuners, network-attached storage (NAS) devices, and OTT streaming have resulted in the a transformation of the functionality that people expect from HTPCs. Simply put, a modern-day HTPC needs to be a flexible and versatile media player capable of handling a multitude of codecs and DRM requirements. The latter is not restricted to the handling of the encoded video. The display output also needs to be secure, while providing enough bandwidth and features to take full advantage of the capabilities of the downstream devices in the setup.
The average consumer often finds the 'it just works' nature of consumer electronic (CE) equipment such as the Roku streamers, game consoles, and standalone Blu-ray players to be attractive. However, for power users, the flexibility of HTPCs (such as the ability to support arcane subtitle formats or specific container features such as MKV chapters, or, even serve as a gaming machine) is simply too much to give up. Certain CE devices such as the NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV STB attempt to offer the best of both worlds. However, they are still closed platforms, and often do not have enough horsepower to fall back upon software decode for unsupported codecs.
Despite my predilection for HTPCs, I wanted to bring out the pros and cons of other closed solutions. Towards this, the evaluation of various options for media playback / display sources addresses the following aspects:
- HDR Support
- OTT Streaming (YouTube and Netflix)
- Local Media Playback (via USB)
- UHD Blu-ray Playback with HDR
The first candidate is the TCL 55P607's built-in Roku platform. Our tests were processed with the TV connected to the network using its wired 10 / 100 Mbps interface and Wi-Fi disabled. Firmware version 8.0.0 4142-30 was used.
The second solution in our evaluation set is one of the most popular Android TV STBs in the market - the NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV (SATV). Despite having launched back in 2015, the combination of high-end hardware and regular firmware updates have kept it at the top of the media player / Android TV STB market. Our tests were processed with the SHEILD connected to the network using its wired 1 Gbps interface and Wi-Fi disabled. Firmware version 6.2 was used.
The use of a RF remote / controller, combined with IP control using a smartphone app, mean that the SHIELD can be safely tucked away out of sight in a home theater setup.
Moving on to the HTPC front, we have three different PCs, with configurations and driver versions listed in the table below.
| Compact Home Theater PC Candidates - 2017 | |||
| PC | Zotac ZBOX MAGNUS EN1080K | ASRock Beebox-S 7200U | Intel NUC7i7BNHX1 |
| CPU | Intel Core i7-7700 | Intel Core i5-7200U | Intel Core i7-7567U |
| GPU | NVIDIA GTX 1080 (8GB GDDR5X) | Intel HD Graphics 620 | Intel Iris Graphics 650 |
| RAM | Corsair Vengeance 2x16GB DDR4-2667 SODIMM | Micron 16ATF1G64HZ 2x8GB DDR4-2133 SODIMM | Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 2x16GB DDR4-2400 SODIMM |
| Storage | Toshiba OCZ RD400 (512GB) | Kingston SSD Now V+ SNV325S2 (128GB) | Samsung SSD 840 EVO (500GB) + Intel Optane (16GB) |
| BIOS | 2K170814 | 1.73 | BNKBL357.86A.0054 |
| GPU Driver | 388.31 | 4877+ (beta) | 4877+ (beta) |
| Specifications | Zotac ZBOX MAGNUS EN1080K Specifications | ASRock Beebox-S 7200U Specifications | Intel NUC7i7BNHX1 Specifications |
| Pricing (NOT as configured) | USD 2000 (with 120GB SSD, 1TB HDD, 8GB RAM, and Windows 10) | USD 349 (Barebones) | USD 506 (Barebones) |
Note that we are using a beta driver from Intel that will be released to the public in January 2018. The reason behind the use of this driver will be apparent in our UHD Blu-ray Playback section.
Windows 10 Fall Creators Update was used as the OS for all the tests done using the above PCs. This version is critical for cutting-edge HTPC functionality, as it brings HDR desktop and media payback support into the stable release channel.
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Reflex - Tuesday, January 2, 2018 - link
You are not answering my question:If I play back content that is encoded in DD5.1, 7.1 or Atmos, will your equipment do the proper object placement so that I get a sound effect in the appropriate location?
It is an important detail, if you cannot do that with the material that is available today, your solution is a solution for an audience of one. If it can do that, I am curious how it accomplishes it with what you are describing as essentially a 3.1 setup and with no Dolby or DTS license.
Bullwinkle-J-Moose - Tuesday, January 2, 2018 - link
"what you are describing as essentially a 3.1 setup and with no Dolby or DTS license."-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The original reference design was 3.0
Moving the Bass speaker to a separate sub cab and calling it a 3.1 system makes zero sense
No Dolby or DTS License is correct
I do not support fake standards forged from a Real Standard
If Dolby and DTS is as good as mine, they should get a License from me
If you wish to play incompatible standards, be my guest
As I have said, I do not support Lesser Quality, incompatible or forged Standards
Dolby Vision is the same in that regard, as I or anyone else can easily create an "Open" Standard that is Visually the Equal of Dolby Vision without need for a Dolby License
Being locked into a proprietary and lesser Standard is "your" choice / not mine!
Reflex - Tuesday, January 2, 2018 - link
Then your setup is good only for you and content you produce, and for the purposes of the article and the discussion thread essentially meaningless. If you can't play back the content that is being produced accurately then it just isn't relevant to the discussion.I'm glad you enjoy your setup, I also enjoy mine.
Bullwinkle-J-Moose - Wednesday, January 3, 2018 - link
"Then your setup is good only for you and content you produce"------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You are correct
I can produce content for anyone, and they can Lock it down with whichever proprietary standard they want for sale to people like you
My content can be encoded in the standard of the week or whatever "standard" Dolby comes out with next year
Yes, I wanted a system that can master for anyone!
and you want the finished result in a proprietary format of your choice
GOOD FOR YOU!
we are both happy with what we have!
Bullwinkle-J-Moose - Wednesday, January 3, 2018 - link
My Home Audio setups are for creating frontal 2 and 3 channel Audio ImageryI am not interested in surround but I could easily add as many surround channels as the next standard can handle
My focus is on audio production/mixing/mastering/Imaging
yet they are all I need or want for Video / Home Theater as well
All I really want is a great Audio Image in front, so I want what I have and I have what I want!
It's right for ME!
What works for you is also correct
There is no wrong standard here
You can believe in one standard, a hundred standards or none
wiyosaya - Friday, January 5, 2018 - link
I choose C: You are a troll!Aspernari - Tuesday, December 26, 2017 - link
Everything came out of your pocket, except several thousand dollars worth of stuff you recommended because you didn't have to pay for it, so it had no budgetary cost to you.Would you have really bought the $500 receiver instead of a suitable HDMI switch (if you didn't have enough HDMI ports for all your 4k sources) and using ARC or optical out from the TV with your existing receiver?
Your cost/benefit analysis is broken in this article. You keep trying to defend it, but it's not defensible.
ganeshts - Tuesday, December 26, 2017 - link
The $430 receiver was what I wanted in the build. That is what I was ready to spend my budget on.What part of the sentence 'pick and choose from the list' did you not get in the concluding section?
A HDMI switch will not do the job of the AVR.
It is not a matter of defensible or not - I have presented what worked and what didn't, even with the sponsored equipment. I have presented alternatives also. I think $349 for the AVR driving a $700 TV is a very reasonable budget - incidentally, the same amounts that I spent back in 2008 with a Toshiba Regza 46" TV and a Onkyo TX-SR606.
Aspernari - Tuesday, December 26, 2017 - link
Regarding not understanding: I understand just fine. Your choices are poorly considered and presented. I'll restate from elsewhere: You recommend readers buy $200 worth of Bluray-related hardware and deal with BSODs and/or pursue beta drivers, among other issues.Regarding the receiver: I guess you just wanted a new one, since a budget option would have been a TOSLINK cable or other solution to get audio from the TV to your existing receiver, abandoning the HDMI ports on it, and making use of an HDMI switch if you were short on HDMI ports. Total investment of about $40. Sure, you lose some of the functionality of the obsolete receiver (which you could still use fine on 1080p and lower content), but you also save $349 on sale/$430 retail/$464.40ish after tax by not buying a new receiver. Or getting someone to sponsor you.
" I have presented what worked and what didn't, even with the sponsored equipment." - You didn't present anything that I noticed that didn't work with the receiver. You state the inverse actually, "None of the issues encountered in the course of the evaluation presented in this piece could be attributed to the Denon AVR X3400H." - Which may well be true. But you also didn't evaluate the hardware you then recommend people go out and buy anyway, so the entire thing is moot. You're pushing hardware you didn't get your hands on, which just makes this all the more silly.
Imagine publishing a hardware review article, giving something a good "buy" recommendation,but never actually using the product. Oh wait - you just did that.
It's cool that you're going back and making edits based on the response here, but there's really two articles that should have written, crammed into this one:
1) A blog post about stuff you bought and the setup you made, where you can squeeze in your promotional consideration for Denon.
2) The testing you did and the issues you had navigating the current home theater market, focusing on 4k and HDR with HTPCs and high-end settop boxes.
Are you going to actually review the $1000 receiver, or is this article all that they're getting out of it?
edzieba - Tuesday, December 26, 2017 - link
"I guess you just wanted a new one, since a budget option would have been a TOSLINK cable or other solution to get audio from the TV to your existing receiver, "That's... not how things work. At all. Adding an S/PDIF cable is not going to magically allow transport of audio streams that:
a) Are too high bitrate for S/PDIF (which cannot even carry 5.1 LPCM)
b) Were developed decades after the S/PDIF standard
It's as ludicrous and nonsensical a suggestion as installing an IDE cable to allow your SATA motherboard to use m.2 PCIe NVME drives.