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
Network Streaming Performance - Netflix
The drivers for the Intel HD 4000 enable hardware accelerated decode and rendering for Netflix streams in Silverlight on Windows 7. The Windows 8 Netflix app has been a bit of a mystery where it is not readily evident as to whether hardware acceleration is present or not, and whether it is being really utilized. In this section, we will take a look at how Netflix behaves on Windows 7 and Windows 8. The ISP at my location is Comcast, and unfortunately, there is no access to the Netflix 5 Mbps Super HD streams yet.
Netflix on Windows 7
On Windows 7, Netflix needs the Silverlight plug-in to be installed. We played back our standard test stream using Internet Explorer.
The Silverlight plug-in attempts GPU acceleration and enables it on our system. Manual stream selection is available. The maximum playback quality has a bitrate of 64 kbps for the audio and 3 Mbps for the video.
We will take a look at the efficiency of the system while playing back the stream towards the end of this section.
Netflix on Windows 8
On Windows 8, Netflix is streamed through a Metro app. Fortunately, the same debug shortcut keys used in the Silverlight version work here too. A nice add-on touch is that the manual stream selection and playback statistics OSD can be made to appear simultaneously.
It is not immediately evident as to whether hardware acceleration is being utilized or not. However, the aspect which stands out immediately is the fact that the video playback bitrate can go as high as 3.85 Mbps. Audio still remains at a lowly 64 kbps. Hopefully, a future update to the Netflix app can provide us with the soundtracks available on specialized media streamers.
Netflix Power Consumption - Windows 7 vs Windows 8
While the Silverlight plug-in OSD helpfully reports that GPU acceleration is being taken advantage of, it doesn't indicate the efficiency in any way. On the other hand, the Windows 8 app doesn't report GPU acceleration status at all. To determine the actual efficiency of Netflix playback, we recorded power consumption at the wall for both scenarios over a 10 minute interval during the middle of the stream.
The graph presents some very interesting results. With Windows 8, the system consumes much less power and the stream is also of higher quality. GPU acceleration in the app makes the streaming more than 30% efficient when compared to the Silverlight version. Compared to Windows 7 Silverlight, the Netflix app is efficient by approximately 35%. Windows 8, by itself, seems to consume less power too. Considering these results, if Netflix forms any part of your HTPC usage scenario, it is a no-brainer to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 8.
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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.