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.
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107 Comments
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ganeshts - Thursday, July 29, 2010 - link
Decaff,I will do more research on how to perfect the picture quality testing metrics.
For your second point, we do have a HTPC software article coming up (end of August) :)
Third, we just posted a review of the WDTV Live. Reviews of other boxes are coming up :)
BSalita - Saturday, July 31, 2010 - link
I congratulate Anandtech for holding out a comprehensive HTPC suite to quantify the performance of new gear. The industry has been lax in creating a consensus of how to properly test HTPC gear. I hope other review sites will likewise use this kind of test suite. Let the media server wanabees know what their systems must do to find a minimal level of acceptability. Only by holding out such a thorough test will we finally have the means for raising out of the quagmire of incomplete codecs, firmware and lightweight product comparisons.Hrel - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - link
1. No tv tuner2. No gaming
3. 700+ dollars?!
I agree with everyone else. I really see no appeal in this system. Something without a tv tuner and that doesn't function as a gaming system will never be worth more than 200, maybe 300 if the features were really nice.
I don't understand why people can't just use their laptops/desktops? I use my desktop on a 37" HDTV. Gaming, video encoding, internet browsing, torrenting, youtube, hulu, DVR, 2TB of storage internally in RAID!!!! Seriously, it's baffling why anyone would accept less when you simply don't have to.
vanderwijk - Monday, August 23, 2010 - link
I was very surprised to read that because HDMI port on the unit is 1.3a the maximum resolution is only 1920 x 1080. This would mean that my Dell 2408 would not be supported because its resolution is 1920 x 1200 :(A quick check on WikiPedia shows that HDMI 1.3a is capable of at least 1920 x 1200, so what's the deal here? Is this an error in the review or is it really not possible to display more than 1080 vertical pixels?
blacksun1234 - Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - link
Yes, it can support 1920x1200.blacksun1234 - Friday, September 3, 2010 - link
Dear Ganesh,Can it support BD 3D playback with Samsung 3D LED TV?
mega999 - Sunday, January 16, 2011 - link
Can it support BD 3D playback with Samsung 3D LED TV? -or do I need the new asrock visiond 3d one for that because of it's hdmi 1.4?Regards,
mega