Hi folks,
since ages I'm building and running HPTCs in my home. And I'm reading lots of discussion boards concerning this topic... many discussions in the communities are around building/finding the perfect HTPC. Of course many flavours exist, one of them is the "mini HTPC", essentially a small networked thingy, e.g. for running XBMC accessing some home server or NAS.
Now Intel leaped a huge step forward introducing the NUCs. Tiny, energy saving, powerful... the right direction for the perfect 'thin HTPC'.
As an HTPC consumer you need at least:
- Video: high end vieo graphics; efficient video decoding, Clear Video HD, true 24p, etc
- Audio: high end HD audio supporting latest DD and DTS formats, at least using pass-through hdmi
These are the basics... at especially the i3-NUC supports them with its HD4000. However, it would be nice to see advanced video technology also for cheaper Celeron-based NUCs.
But as an HTPC consumer you woule also need/desire:
- IR remote control. Hey Intel, why is this cheap stuff not included? At least a CIR header would be ok... it's on all Intel multi media boards, why not on NUC?
- Analog Audio out, i.e. an 3.5mm stereo jack. Hey Intel, you ever heard of standard head phones? Not everyone wants to buy high end BT stuff.
- USB 3.0. This is already in the the chip set. Hey, why don't you expose that? It's state of the art.
Summary:
Build a Celeron (or i3) based NUC with advanced video graphics, IR/CIR (RC6 compatible), USB 3.0, analogue audio for a reasonable price.
THAT's IT!
Hint: look at the OpenELEC project (openelec.tv). Make sure your device supports that OUT OF THE BOX and you will earn LOTS OF MONEY.
Just my 2 cents,
Diddle.
PS.: no offense, me and lots of other people are really and desperately seeking for such a killer device!
With NUC you are almost done... there's not too much (and nothing expensive) left!