A Budget Home Theater & PC Setup: 4K, HDR, UHD Blu-ray, and More
by Ganesh T S on December 26, 2017 8:30 AM ESTNetflix Streaming
We have been using Netflix's El Fuente test clip to evaluate the Netflix streaming capabilities of various HTPCs. Though it does have 4K streams at bitrates of up to 16 Mbps, it doesn't have a HDR version. Our search for a suitable test stream ended with Season 4 Episode 4 of the Netflix Test Pattern series.
The TCL 55P607's Roku platform has a Netflix app. It was able to play the 16 Mbps 4K Dolby Vision version along with Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 audio that was sent back to the receiver using the ARC feature.
Netflix 4K Dolby Vision HDR Stream in the TCL 55P607
Note that the SMPTE text in the boxes are related to the HDR metadata. As we shall see further down, the non-HDR versions of the clip have blank white boxes in that space.
The NVIDIA SATV's Netflix app plays the HDR10 version of the clip, as evident from the stream information detected by the TV.
Netflix 4K HDR10 Stream in the NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV
Our test clip is not suitable for bringing out the advantages of dynamic metadata / Dolby Vision, but, suffice to say that the SATV's Netflix HDR capabilities are compatible with every HDR TV currently in the market.
On the PC front, we have Netflix's 4K HDR working with the natie Windows Store app as well as the Edge browser. We evaluated with the Windows Store app, and the HDR version played back in all three PCs.
Netflix 4K HDR10 Stream in the Windows 10 Netflix Store App
The Windows 10 Netflix playback provides extensive insight into the available streams as well as current playback status. Note the (hevc, hdr, prk) entry corresponding to the Video Track in the debug OSD, as well as the ST.2084 boxes. Playing back the same clip with the desktop in default non-HDR mode plays back the 16 Mbps 4K stream without HDR. Note that we only have (hevc) in the Video Track codec entry, and the ST.2084 boxes are completely blank.
Netflix 4K non-HDR Stream in the Windows 10 Netflix Store App
We also tracked the power consumption of the various playback devices while streaming the HDR version. Similar to the YouTube case, we graph the TCL 55P607 Roku app separately since it involves the display power consumption also.
| Netflix Streaming - Power Consumption | |||
Similar to the YouTube streaming case, we find that the most power efficient of the lot is the ASRock Beebox-S 7200U.
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Bullwinkle-J-Moose - Thursday, December 28, 2017 - link
Quote from edzieba....."That's... not how things work. At all. Adding an S/PDIF cable is not going to magically allow transport of audio streams that:
a) Are too high bitrate for S/PDIF (which cannot even carry 5.1 LPCM)
b) Were developed decades after the S/PDIF standard "
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You seem to be forgetting that "I make the standards for MY Home Theater Setup" / Not You!
I was designing multi-channel Audio Systems before "your" alleged standards existed
You are once again thinking you must use what the market dictates, even when the market standard is pure CRAP!
I build for "MY" standards which seem to be considerably higher than yours
gerz1219 - Tuesday, December 26, 2017 - link
By that logic, why even bother adding an AVR? You could just use the built-in TV speakers.The point of this article is to lay out what equipment is necessary to enjoy all the latest home theater formats and features. Keeping your old 720p plasma from 2008 is always the "budget" solution for people who don't need the latest and greatest. That's irrelevant in the context of this article.
Gasaraki88 - Wednesday, December 27, 2017 - link
You obviously don't know anything about new technology. TOSLINK is not going to pass Dolby Atmos and DTS:X from the TV to the receiver.So get out of here.
Bullwinkle-J-Moose - Friday, December 29, 2017 - link
"You obviously don't know anything about new technology. TOSLINK is not going to pass Dolby Atmos and DTS:X from the TV to the receiver."-------------------------------------------------------------
LOL, I obviously do
I created better standards than Dolby ever did and was doing it before Dolby ever created their very first surround format
I simply choose to get better audio imaging accuracy through carefully matched drivers, hybrid crossovers and components and custom circuitry
I could easily encode audio to the vast majority of new technology "Standards" you ramble on about but can easily surpass the imaging accuracy of others by using a higher standard........
My own!
But for a "BUDGET" Home Theater system, I cannot personally make a better speaker than the JBL LSR305
and I DO NOT need an AVR if I will not be using the pseudo Standards of others
Tell me, if the "New Technology" you speak of is the "Standard" that everyone must use, then what EXACTLY is NEW and why so many "Standards" ?
Reflex - Friday, December 29, 2017 - link
I can't wait to try all the content coming out in the BJM standard!Bullwinkle-J-Moose - Friday, December 29, 2017 - link
"I can't wait to try all the content coming out in the BJM standard!"---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It may be a long wait
Much of the best tech fails in the audio market
Blatant Lies, slick/false advertising and pseudo standards usually win in the marketplace
Does that make them better?
Reflex - Friday, December 29, 2017 - link
It's just not important. The content is being mastered in Dolby Atmos. It's reasonable to build a system that supports that so that I don't miss out. No clever component choices nor ideal speaker placement can change the fact that if I'm running a setup that isn't Atmos capable it won't generate Atmos effects when I play back such content. And quite frankly Atmos is the biggest leap in audio I've seen since 5.1 first hit.I'm glad what you have works for you. If that's all you need there is nothing wrong with that. For myself after trying Atmos at a friend's I wanted it at home and it was well worth the upgrade.
JSStewart - Thursday, January 4, 2018 - link
Hokey smokes, who cares what a stupid moose troll thinks?I will go with the squirrel any day.
wiyosaya - Friday, January 5, 2018 - link
It's called technological progress.wiyosaya - Friday, January 5, 2018 - link
or even DTS HD-MA or Dolby TrueHD