How to Setup an Intel NUC for Kodi

[HomerJAU]

Garry, I have not pulled the trigger on that 4th gen NUC yet, do you think i should just wait for this new one?? because like PK i have an awful lot of converting to do first. I guess i'm not sure what HDR is and if i really need it.

If you are not in a hurry then hang off on purchase for just a short while to see how the new lower cost NUCs go. The original NUC I recommended (same as mine) is getting scarce though.

HDR info here. If you don’t have an HDR TV or use UHD/4K Blu-ray then you don’t need it:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-dynamic-range_video

HDR to video = DR to audio (higher is better). HDR video wasn’t possible until recently due to technical reasons, but you’ll see more including Netflix content.

 

[PK]

I authored direct to the web page. I don’t have any document.

No problem...I'm doing copy and paste right now

 

[HomerJAU]

Garry, I have not pulled the trigger on that 4th gen NUC yet, do you think i should just wait for this new one?? because like PK i have an awful lot of converting to do first. I guess i'm not sure what HDR is and if i really need it.

In your case Kevin, since you already have many ISOs, I’m thinking I could create a batch conversion tool in Music Media Helper to allow you to queue a heap of ISOs and batch convert them all to FLAC so you can do them unattended, overnight etc.

I’m pretty sure I could control Foobar to do this but I’d need to do some research to confirm.

Edit: Foobar will convert DVDA and SACD ISOs to FLAC

 

[holland123]

Hmmm, the HDR sounds like an extra good thing. Probably going to wait a few and see what you find out, they have 8 units left so i can wait a bit

 

[PK]

Oh boy...I'm concerned that if I wait I'll lose all my momentum...which happened once already over a year ago!

 

[HomerJAU]

Just do it PK!

 

[PK]

 

[PK]

Question: Do I need a Wifi board for the NUC?

 

[HomerJAU]

I’d recommend using wired Ethernet cable if you can. Unless your NUC is close to a wifi access point.

My home theatre gear is 4 walls apart (maybe 15m away - two walls are solid brick) and I had problems streaming HD video. I ran a 1Gbe Ethernet cable and whacked in a 5 port switch (cheap). Then use Ethernet from the switch to connect to the NUC, TV (Netflix, Amazon etc), AVR and added a wifi acces point which serves the rear of my house and yard too.

 

[DuncanS]

I’d recommend using wired Ethernet cable if you can. Unless your NUC is close to a wifi access point.

My home theatre gear is 4 walls apart (maybe 15m away - two walls are solid brick) and I had problems streaming HD video. I ran a 1Gbe Ethernet cable and whacked in a 5 port switch (cheap). Then use Ethernet from the switch to connect to the NUC, TV (Netflix, Amazon etc), AVR and added a wifi acces point which serves the rear of my house and yard too.

A few years ago I kitted out my whole house (yes including the Bathroom!) with twin CAT 6 for Gigabit Ethernet and cabling for DAB, FM, Digital TV, & twin Satellite feeds. I have a good Wi-Fi signal but the wired Gigabit Ethernet is so much better, much lower error rates. On average I can see about 5 other Wi-Fi signals from the surrounding houses.

 

[HomerJAU]

Hey Duncan. You are ready to go then. When are you jumping in with a NUC?

 

[PK]

NUC components on the way!!

 

[LuvMyQuad]

Nice....

 

[DuncanS]

Hey Duncan. You are ready to go then. When are you jumping in with a NUC?

Almost! I need to decide which NUC, and what I also want it to do besides just being a media server. Plus find the time (and the inclination), due to pressures of work. To paraphrase (badly) work is the curse of surround music listening...........but it pays for it!

 

[César]

Hey guys, I'm late to the party but I've been thinking of a couple of topics:
- ISO playback. There's freeware in Windows capable of mounting ISO images as virtual drives and exposing them to the rest of the apps. I guess there should exist too for Linux (I may remember there might be a command line for that), does anybody know?
- External drives support. Instead of having to rip everything, isn't there any way for the NUC to recognise a USB Blu-ray player? I guess it would be a matter of finding the right drivers, am I guessing right?

Thanks!

Edit: Could I save all the hassle using Linux, install windows and be fully compatible with ISOs and external players?

 

[HomerJAU]

Never too late Cesar.

A NUC is just a micro PC and can run Windows and use any USB device that Windows can use. So you could run Windows apps and do something like your suggestion with an external optical disc drive.

The reason I recommend Linux with Kodi (LibreElec) is the ‘little box’ starts almost instantly (like a typical TV set top box) and acts like a typical appliance not a computer. It is small enough not to need much space and silent. One of its best features is instant access to all media. This is a huge advantage over a normal disc based library (including a PC with optical drive).

How much would you pay to buy that system if you could? (You can, you can buy a media player and build it yourself. Not too expensive just requires your time)

Think about this: You turn on the Media Player (and AVR), sit in the sweet spot, select ANY album or song or sequence of songs from your smartphone/tablet (or a remote control using a TV screen) and start listening. While listening, browse or search your entire music library and select another album or track (never leaving you seat, your queued songs play gapless)

By the way, Kodi can play DVDV and Bluray Discs from ISOs. I don’t know whether it will play DVDA or SACD ISOs (I suspect not).

Linux is free. Why pay for another Windows license? (I believe Microsoft is working on a cut down appliance version of Windows which will probably be free too, not sure how far away it is)

I know converting discs is time consuming. Just start with your favourites and build your new file based media library over time. Remember that PCs are multitasking and you can easily convert a few discs while listening to music or while surfing the web, doing your accounts or whatever. It’s not hours of dead/waisted time.

 

[holland123]

that's too funny, so yea there were 8 NUC's left on amazon (us) and now there are 7, I am thinking maybe PK is right, just do it before procrastination sets in...

 

[LuvMyQuad]

that's too funny, so yea there were 8 NUC's left on amazon (us) and now there are 7, I am thinking maybe PK is right, just do it before procrastination sets in...

Once you take the leap and get it all set up you will regret the fact that you didn't do it sooner. Its the biggest bang for the buck I have ever gotten from any audio component.

 

[winopener]

HomerJAU,
specifically, what are the Intel processor/chipset to avoid in order to not have HDMI audio nightmare?

 

[HomerJAU]

My understanding is Intel 7th gen (code named Sky / Apollo / Kaby Lake) all have issues with High Res Audio HDMI pass-through including multichannel FLAC.

It appears the first 8th gen (Gemini Lake) just being released now and next quarter are ok. I know my 5th gen is Ok (The one I recommended in link in my opening post here).

The next version of LibrElec/Kodi (version 9 currently in alpha testing) has a Linux kernel fix for 7th gen NUCs but this would mean using pre release (and possibly buggy) software which is not ideal for new users. Hence my original recommendation to go with the 5th gen NUC if you want full HD audio (FLAC 192/24 and DTS-HDMA, Dolby TrueHD, Atmos etc).

Over next 3 months or so we’ll see definitive test results for the new LibreElec/Kodi release on 7th gen NUCs and all the new 8th gen NUCs released in the wild. But right now it’s either a 5th gen or take a punt on the 8th gen just released with alpha LibreElec 9.

EDIT:
BTW: The NUC model number starts with letters ‘NUC’ then Gen number. So NUC8xxxxx is 8th gen