Very weak processor so doubt it can handle high bitrate 1080p content & certainly not the 4k content. I suggest to simply buy used ryzen 2200G with dual channel 2*8gb ddr4 3000 ram with open box(these are returned under amazon 10 days return policy while having no issue so dealer can't even send them back to company so directly selling at 10-20% discount here) asrock A320M mobo from dealer paradise section(user prosenjit supposedly from nationalpc website) with a fresh gst bill in your name with full 3 years warranty & put everything with a cheap 1TB ssd in a mATX cabinet. Much better than any intel nuc available at similar price.
It should but some chances of issues are always there.
Crucial MX500 1TB ssd was available for around 5200 after 10% card discount & was one of the best deal in this amazon prime sale for pc components. You can still get 500gb version of MX500 for 4149(need to add stuff eligible for 10% card discount offer to make total cart value at least 5k to get 500 instant discount).
I still don't think it is good as htpc nowadays because many times the videos due to certain encoding conditions don't support smooth playback while using hardware decoder. Unless you are mostly sticking to the streaming services with their standardized encoding, chances are you will face issues while trying to play downloaded content from net. Then there is ever present "windows 10 updates" making & breaking something every time which is especially important to anything hardware decoding related & you might end up more time troubleshooting than actually watching the videos.Supports full passthrough of the audio formats so it should work. 4k playback is also supported. In fact with only around 11W consumed during 4k playback it is a pretty good candidate for HTPC. Lack of HDR is a letdown though.Gemini Lake NUC Review (NUC7CJYH) – Linux, HTPC, Conclusions (3/3) - The NUC Blog
Ok, it’s almost time to wrap up our NUC7CJYH review. Before we do that, let’s see how do recent Linux distributions support this hardware and how well does it work as a HTPC. Installing...nucblog.net
Well it would make no sense to compare this with more newer and powerful options. The HW has been demonstrated to do 10-bit HEVC and 10-bit VP9 decoding at 4k and supports all audio passthrough, and sips power while doing that. You get a Vesa mount so its a hideaway behind the TV. It doesn't do HDR but costs less than 8k with discounts. As long as you understand the limitations and accept that it is dated platform, it is a good option. Just add RAM, HD and install Libreelec and its ready. Windows will be sluggish as noted already in the review so should be avoided. Edge cases of video not playing back correctly will exist with any H/W let alone this.
There is WD SN570 1TB for 7867 so after 10% card discount it will cost 7081 which is a decent price.
I only dabbled in linux for a short time & found it not worth the hassle just for multimedia stuff. I used win 10 LTSC for around a year to avoid "extra bells & whistle" on my HTPC desktop but found out it has its own quirks when it comes to certain driver related improvements in regular versions. I am now on regular win 10 pro version & decided to compromise on extra bells & whistle stuff to get updated drivers & system performance related stuff but it is something I have to actively manage unlike good old win 7. I believe an avg user looking for HTPC wouldn't be willing to go to even same extent as me let alone exceed me & dabble in linux full time just for HTPC usage. That is why when I see any HTPC related query from a "typical user" I always assume it is going to be the windows os on that system.
Thanks for sharing "your" experience. For HTPC, I have always used one of the specialised Linux distros - Libreelec or Coreelec based on the HW platform. They are pretty well supported, actively updated with installs being pretty easy. Both open up to the standard Kodi interface, which once configured, is pretty easy to use even for an average user. Windows is not really a very efficient platform if you just want to run a dedicated HTPC.
We are getting off topic as this is increasingly about your personal experience. Hardware-accelerated media playback is something not to be ignored because of quality/smoothness and energy efficiency improvements. You can almost always find or rip media which is encoded to comply to your specific H/W requirements. I have always advocated low energy usage when it comes to a dedicated HTPC (especially if you binge watch) so ARM SBCs like Rpi or Odroid are actually the platform of choice for me. This comes close. I have almost never used browsers for media content since the playback was on Kodi for downloaded or backed-up media. For streaming, its a Firestick 4K.
I agree but I just gave another option with much better performance & flexibility(used ryzen 2200g for around 3k+open box a320m mobo for around 3k from dealer's paradise here+2.3k psu) & power consumption shouldn't be much noticeable in terms of electricity bill(around a difference of 50w so a difference of 1 unit in 20 hours of usage). If the person still thinks intel NUC is better then I have no issue with that.
