Getting the Best out of an Ivy Bridge HTPC: Windows 8, madVR and More..
by Ganesh T S on January 20, 2013 3:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Home Theater
- Intel
- HTPC
- Ivy Bridge
- Windows 8
- Passive Cooling
Concluding Remarks
Our experience with a passive Ivy Bridge HTPC has brought to fore many interesting aspects. On the surface, Windows 8 doesn't have any capabilities to tempt users to upgrade. In fact, the removal of Windows Media Center and presenting it as a separate $10 upgrade has actually served as a deterrent for many HTPC users. I would strongly suggest HTPC users relying on WMC (irrespective of the OS) to move on to other platforms. However, a few days of using Windows 8 as our primary HTPC OS has completely altered our opinion.
Overall, Windows 8 seems to be a very efficient OS (in terms of boot time as well as power consumption). GPU acceleration for video decode and playback is very well integrated and acts in an effective manner for all types of streaming services (including Netflix and YouTube). Not only do we get higher quality material delivered to the Netflix app, the power consumption during playback is actually a full 15 W lower. XBMC and JRiver MC18 work without issues on Windows 8.
The Intel HD 4000 GPU is quite capable of madVR with the default scaling algorithms as long as it is paired with DDR3-1600 DRAM. On our system, we were able to get madVR working without issues. The DXVA scaling feature of madVR enables users to get good scaling quality in a power efficient manner, thanks to the hardware scalers in the HD 4000 GPU. Of course, the GPU is going to struggle with advanced scaling algorithms. We will cover that (along with 4K decode and display performance) in the third and final installment of our HTPC series. The concluding piece will pit the latest passive HTPC GPUs from AMD and NVIDIA against each other and provide readers with the insights on what exactly they have to offer over the Intel HD 4000 GPU.
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clarkn0va - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link
Mediaportal (I hadn't heard of it until your post) seems to really play up the fact that it's "free" and "open source" on their web site, and yet it only runs on a non-free OS. XBMC, meanwhile, runs great on Linux.Of course not everyone cares about software freedom, but some of us certainly do, which is why I'm sticking with XBMC for now.
guidryp - Sunday, January 20, 2013 - link
" I would strongly suggest HTPC users relying on WMC (irrespective of the OS) to move on to other platforms."What other platforms.
The only reason anyone I know uses WMC is for recording with a Tuner. I have an HTPC and I use it for this reason alone.
There really is no free alternative for EPG based Tuner recording.
I see ZERO reason to consider Windows8. Win7 Home Premium comes with WMC and if you actually need WMC this is the sane choice while it is available.
Bob Todd - Sunday, January 20, 2013 - link
Very true about zero competition for people who use this for TV/DVR purposes (including me). It's probably worth posting this again even though someone else already brought it up.http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/featu...
If anyone thinks they may ever want to run a HTPC on Windows 8 you can get yourself a free WMC key until the end of the month. Doesn't hurt to grab one and stash it away just in case.
guidryp - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link
It is not free.First you need Windows 8, if you are not already there.
You also need Win8 PRO, which is more expensive than Win7 Home Premium.
Stick with win7.
amdwilliam1985 - Tuesday, January 22, 2013 - link
I bought windows 8 pro over the weekend for $39.99.Yes it is windows 8 pro not just windows 8.
amdwilliam1985 - Tuesday, January 22, 2013 - link
I bought it from Microsoft site, no special deal, no discount site, no special coupon.Just bought it from Microsoft official site for $39.99 with no tax.
guidryp - Tuesday, January 22, 2013 - link
But that is an Upgrade price.So you are paying the price of Windows 7 + $40.
So obviously it is $40 more than Windows 7.
lummoz - Sunday, January 20, 2013 - link
As mentioned before MediaPortal is a free (open source) alternative that allows for EPG based TV tuner recording while being a lot more flexible than WMC. It was originally forked from XBMC so it looks pretty fantastic as well.http://www.team-mediaportal.com/
jeffkibuule - Sunday, January 20, 2013 - link
Doesn't support CableCard.guidryp - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link
I tried MediaPortal and it's TV-Tuner recording is a MESS.I had better luck getting MythTV working under Linux. Pulling EPG from the DVB info worked in MythTV, but never really got it working in MediaPortal. Not that it is all that useful for guide recording anyway.
So I still maintain there is no credible EPG-Tuner recording software to WMC.