ASRock Core 100HT-BD : Bringing HTPCs to the Mainstream Market [UPDATED : Noise Issue]
by Ganesh T S on July 19, 2010 9:34 PM EST- Posted in
- Home Theater
- Arrandale
- ASRock
- Media Streamer
- Core i3
- HTPC
Our piece on media streamer platforms indicated that we were in the process of assembling a test suite of media files. With the help of feedback from readers and some members from AVSForums, we managed to assemble a set of 44 test files covering various HTPC scenarios for v1.0.0 of the AnandTech Media Streamer Test Suite. Weights have been assigned to each stream based on how frequently one might encounter them in a home theater setting. The table below indicates the various aspects tested by each file, the assigned weight for the stream, and the score obtained by the Core 100 HT-BD depending on the success it had with playback.
ASRock Core 100HT-BD AT Media Streamer Test Suite | |||||||
File Name | Aspects Tested | Max. Score | Core 100 Score | Notes | |||
64.AC3.m2ts | H.264, AC3, M2TS |
8
|
8
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
002-480i30.MPEG.ASF.dvr-ms | ASF, DVR-MS |
2
|
2
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
003-1080p24.WMV9.WMAPro.6Ch.wmv | WMV9, WMAPro |
8
|
8
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
004-1080p60.x264.8ref.mkv | 60 fps L5.1 H.264 |
8
|
7
|
MPC-HC | |||
005-1440x1080i30.SonyAVCHD.m2ts | HD Camcorder Clips |
10
|
10
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
006-1080p24.x264.16ref.mkv | L5.1 H.264 |
8
|
7
|
MPC-HC | |||
007-1080p.x264.DTS.6Ch.mkv | DTS |
10
|
10
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
008-DTS-HRA.8Ch.m2ts | DTS-HRA Bitstreaming |
8
|
8
|
MPC-HC | |||
009-TrueHD.6Ch..m2ts | TrueHD Bitstreaming |
8
|
8
|
MPC-HC | |||
010-1080p24.x264.AAC.mp4 | AAC, MP4 |
8
|
8
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
011-FLAC.6Ch.ASS.Subs.mkv | FLAC, ASS Subs |
8
|
8
|
VLC | |||
012-1080p24.Vorbis.ogg | Vorbis, OGG |
4
|
4
|
VLC | |||
013-352p25RV40.RACook.rmvb | Real Media |
8
|
8
|
VLC | |||
014-1080i25.AVC.AC3..MPEG-TS.trp | TRP |
2
|
2
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
015-360p24.XVid.12LanguagesSRT.Subs.mkv | UTF Subs |
8
|
8
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
016-1080i30.MPEG2.HeavilyInterlaced.ts | Deinterlacing for MPEG-2 |
8
|
7
|
VLC* | |||
017-1080p24.TrueHD.PGS.Subs.mkv | PGS Subs, TrueHD Bitstreaming from MKV |
12
|
12
|
MPC-HC | |||
018-480p.TVCapture.wtv | WTV |
4
|
4
|
Windows MC | |||
019-240p.H264.AAC.m4v | M4V |
8
|
8
|
MPC-HC | |||
020-1080p30.x264.AC3.m2ts | H.264, AC3, M2TS |
10
|
10
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
021-442p30.DivX.AAC.mkv | DivX in MKV Container |
8
|
8
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
022-DVDISO.iso | DVD ISO |
10
|
10
|
VLC | |||
023-BluRayISO.iso | Blu Ray ISO |
10
|
10
|
Virtual Clone Drive + PDVD | |||
024-1080p24.x264.DTS-MA.7Ch.mkv | DTS-MA Bitstreaming from MKV |
4
|
4
|
MPC-HC | |||
025-720p24.x264.DTS-MA.6Ch.mkv | DTS-MA Bitstreaming from MKV |
4
|
4
|
MPC-HC | |||
026-1080p24.VC1.AC3.mkv | VC1 in MKV |
10
|
10
|
MPC-HC | |||
027-1440x576p25.WVC1.wmv | WVC1 |
8
|
8
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
028-720p60.WVC1.WMA3.6Ch.wmv | 60fps WVC1 |
8
|
8
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
029-1080p60.AVC.AAC.MP4 | HD Camcorder Clips |
10
|
10
|
Windows MC | |||
030-272p.VP6.MP3.FLV | VP6 in FLV, MP3 |
10
|
10
|
VLC | |||
031-854x480p30.H264.AAC.flv | H.264 in FLV |
10
|
10
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
032-1080p.VP8.Vorbis.webm | VP8, WebM |
10
|
10
|
VLC | |||
033-480p24.MPEG1.mpg | MPEG-1 |
4
|
4
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
034-1080p24.xvid.avi | HD Xvid, AVI |
10
|
10
|
MPC-HC | |||
035-672p30.DIVX.MP3.divx | DivX |
10
|
10
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
036-720p60.MPEG2.m2v | MPEG-2, M2V |
2
|
2
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
037-1080p30.MPEG2TS.ts | TS |
2
|
2
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
038-1080p25.AVC.AAC.6Ch.MOV.mov | MOV |
10
|
10
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
039-1080p24.RV40.Cook.rmvb | HD Real Media |
8
|
6
|
VLC** | |||
040-Anamorphic.MultAud.MultSubs.mkv | Anamorphic, SSA Subs |
10
|
10
|
MPC-HC | |||
041-1080p24.VC1.DTSHD-MA.m2ts | VC1 in M2TS, DTS-HD Bitstreaming |
6
|
6
|
MPC-HC | |||
042-1080p24.VC1.TrueHD.AC3.m2ts | VC1 in M2TS, TrueHD Bitstreaming |
6
|
6
|
VLC | |||
043-1080i30.H264.HeavilyInterlaced.ts | Deinterlacing for H264 |
8
|
7
|
VLC* | |||
044-1080i30.VC1.HeavilyInterlaced.ts | Deinterlacing for VC1 |
8
|
6
|
MPC-HC | |||
Total |
328 out of 336
|
**: For perfect playback, the CPU was overclocked to 2.24 GHz (FSB at 140 MHz) using ASRock's OC Tuner program from within Windows
Programs such as PowerDVD 10 Mark II and VLC use their built in codecs. For files played back through MPC-HC, the order of preference for the decoding filters which had to be tried out for successful playback is given below:
Audio
1. ffdshow Audio Decoder (Passthrough enabled for all formats in the Mixer section). [ Refer to Damian's excellent guide on how to achieve bitstreaming using ffdshow ]
Video
1. MPC-HC's internal splitters
2. H.264 Decoder :
2.1. Microsoft DTV-DVD Video Decoder
2.2. MPC-HC's internal MPCVideoDec
3. VC-1 Decoder :
2.1. Andy's Modified Clarkdale VC-1 Decoder
2.2. WMVVideoDecoder DMO [ Doesn't use hardware acceleration ]
Fortunately, the Core i3-330M is more than powerful enough for HD VC-1 decoding. The ArcSoft TMT VC-1 decoder also works quite well (inferred from the very low CPU usage observed while playing back VC-1 Blu-Rays), but it is not straightforward to use the decoder in MPC-HC.
Ideally, we expect HTPCs to score a perfect 100 in the media streamer test suite. However, Intel's stubbornness in opening up some key driver APIs and some sloppy drivers have resulted in a slight slip up. The ASRock Core 100HT-BD scores 97.62%, which is much higher than what many other media streamers can claim. We will use this score as a reference while evaluating media streamers and HTPCs in the future.
107 Comments
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GreeneEyez - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Have fun bitstreaming HD audio from the Mac Mini or playing back Blu ray disks/ISOs...ganeshts - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
GeorgeH,It is not possible for any home built mini-ITX box to be within the power envelop of this unit.
This uses an Arrandale processor which isn't available for purchase by the general public.
Further, as you rightly observe, the MacMini has worse specs, but looks better. Companies like ASRock provide the best bang for the buck, and in this pursuit, industrial design takes a back seat. However, things are going in the right direction, and I am sure the execution next time around will be much better from all perspectives.
softdrinkviking - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
i need a tv tuner in or connected to my htpc.you say that the 100HT-BD's chipset cannot support an internal TV tuner, but that it has a smaller power envelope than a chipset which can.
in that case, you would also have to factor in the extra power used by your external TV tuner box.
you would also have to compare the cost of that box versus the cost of a tuner card.
if all things are equal (you break even), then the all-in-one solution (a beefier htpc) would be the obvious choice.
tmservo - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
As others mention, since the MacMini doesn't do Bluray, and doesn't bitstream DTS-MA or DD-HD, it's not really a great HTPC. It's LPCM support also troubled, and it doesn't matter since it doesn't do Bluray. The MacMini simply isn't a very good HTPC at all. It might compete against something like an ION.. except you can get an ION with BD at 1/2 the price. Apple has to give up rejecting the "bag of hurt" that is bluray, because as long as they keep their phobia of it, they aren't in the HTPC market at allComputer Bottleneck - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
It will be interesting to see your future evaluation of the AMD IGP in the HQV 2.0 benchmark.As far as this product goes I really liked reading your technical explanation of how Asrock integrated what is basically a laptop mainboard into the Mini-ITX form factor.
alaricljs - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Can I suggest in that HTPC centric features chart that under SPDIF you specify optical/copper instead of just yes/no?ganeshts - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Thanks for your suggestion, alaricjls.The SPDIF is optical, and I will update the article shortly.
dbone1026 - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Hey Ganesh,Excellent job with the review. Honestly I am surprised by some of the comments regarding an expansion slot, which to me defeats the whole purpose of ASRock making this HTPC in such a small form factor. Aside from USB tuners I know many people who use network tuners (i.e HDHomeRun) so in many cases there is no need for any sort of internal tuner. If want to strap on multiple tuners then why not just a MicroATX or ATX case as that is not the intention of this ASRock..
I honestly think the biggest challenge with the ASRock 100HT is the price. Newegg has it listed at $649 (without BR drive) and no O/S. The mini-ITX HTPC I built which was only slightly larger and was easily $100 less with better specs (using core i5). Hopefully we start seeing prices drop soon.
jabber - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
I've been rolling out the dual core Atom ones for small office/home PCs. The customers love them over the old big black/grey boxes.Low power and small desk presence are a big win.
Very nicely made too.
Built about sixteen of them and not one issue so far.
erictorch - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
The core i3-330m processor is available for ordering from www.superbiiz.comIf the reviewer reads this comment, can they comment on whether AHCI support is available in the BIOS menus? This is necessary to get the full performance out of a SSD. A lot of laptop bioses don't have AHCI selectable.