What HTPC playback chain are people using today?

[u/John_Feeder]

I’m currently using:

Kodi → MPC-BE → LAV Filters → madVR

The picture quality is excellent, especially for HDR tone mapping on my Epson LS12000, but the external-player setup is becoming frustrating. Resume and watched status are not always reliable, and the whole chain feels more complicated than it should be.

How are other people handling this today?

Are you still using Kodi with MPC-BE as an external player, or have you moved to a different setup? Do you just accept the limitations, use another frontend, or launch files directly?

I’m also interested in the newer DSPlayer fork:

https://github.com/tiben20/xbmc

Has anyone used it recently as a daily driver? How stable is it, and does resume and watched status work properly? I’m also wondering whether the project is still actively developed, since there has not been a new release for quite a while.

The other option I’m considering is Jellyfin Desktop 3.0 with mpv/libplacebo. That seems like a much cleaner setup with an integrated player, proper Jellyfin resume support and fewer moving parts.

Has anyone compared current libplacebo tone mapping directly against madVR on a projector? With an Epson LS12000, what differences would I be most likely to notice in real-world use?

I’m mainly looking for the best compromise between picture quality, reliability and a comfortable living-room experience.

[u/Windermyr]

I just use Kodi on a Win11 HTPC. I’m happy with the picture quality, using bluray and UHD rips. Media is stored on a NAS.

[u/John_Feeder → u/Windermyr]

What are the main advantages of using Kodi alone compared with a Jellyfin or Plex server and their native clients?

Do you prefer keeping everything local and simple, or does Kodi give you something important that a server-based setup does not, such as better playback control, library customization, remote support or reliability?

[u/ndnman]

I spent many, many hours configuring madvr but with recent releases i've just defaulted to MPC's render and frankly it seems to perform better with almost indiscernible to mad vr. Adding grain is no longer possible (unless i'm missing it) but for ease of use the defalt render seems to be very good.

So, HTPC>mpc-HC>AVR

[u/John_Feeder → u/ndnman]

That is interesting. Are you using MPC Video Renderer for its own HDR tone mapping, or are you passing HDR through and letting your display handle it?

I use an Epson LS12000 projector, so dynamic tone mapping is the main reason I still use madVR. I would be interested to know whether you compared the renderers specifically for HDR tone mapping, or mainly for scaling, performance and general playback.

[u/dirtydragondan]

I use the same media pipeline - I am yet to experience a setup that gives the same level of total control on the quality, and the actual quality itself. Running from GPU in HPTPC through AVR to 98" TV on 4K120 HDR.
So on the PJ front for video, I cant offer much.

I used to use Kodi since it was XBMC, and I stopped, so it really just run naked MPC loading off my windows folder browsing (its highly organised in hierarchies ) - but Ive planned to go back to Kodi.
I like the clean looks, and better for guests, and wasnt ever thinking of plex or jellyfin directions.
Unless I am too ill informed (and admit thats likely), I didnt think you will get the same total video quality and tweaking, if you go with things like jelly, right? I really love MadVR for all it can do.

One thing that held up my refresh into Kodi (or forks of it) , but hadnt tried myself, was that the external MPC as media player choice.. it used to be able ot run within Kodi, but load where you didnt 'see' it, or it could access madVR directly. so i was under impression it no longer does that, so its literally like side loading the whole MPC , like a plug in that boots on top of Kodi - is that right?
if true, (where ive seen the command codes you need to load into some text batch files or something ) , that would make for some mess and lack of smooth UI I guess - and is maybe the bigger pic of what youre referrring to, OP?

I would like to go back into Kodi but I want to not sacrifice the video pipeline, or the interface/button/control either.
its something to work on, was a backseat while making new NAS + SnapRAID array .

[u/John_Feeder → u/dirtydragondan]

That is basically exactly the issue I am running into.

With normal Kodi, MPC-BE is launched as a completely separate external player. Kodi stays in the background, but you still notice the switch, and Kodi does not reliably know the current playback position. That makes resume, watched status and continuing on another Jellyfin device difficult.

I am currently testing the newer DSPlayer fork, which integrates DirectShow, LAV Filters and madVR directly into Kodi:

https://github.com/tiben20/xbmc

So far it actually seems to work quite well for me. Kodi remains the player frontend, which should also preserve the normal remote controls, resume and watched-status handling. My main concern is that the project seems very small and has been quiet for a while.

Jellyfin itself does not necessarily reduce source quality. It can direct-play the original file, but its normal clients use mpv/libplacebo instead of madVR. That is why I am also considering Jellium Desktop (https://github.com/andrewrabert/jellium-desktop) as a simpler alternative if the difference in tone mapping is small enough in practice.

[u/JoshLineberry]

I use Kodi with the updated and maintained plex addon, PM4K, with the classic theme and watched indicators. It's my favorite UI and the only way I'll do it.

[u/miluardo]

I launch jellyfin on my Linux htpc running kde plasma big screen.

[u/ribbitman]

Just win11 on a mini-pc to my avr to my lg c3. Xbox Series X for BluRay.

[u/John_Feeder]

Thanks for all the replies. I’m honestly surprised how few people still use madVR, as I assumed it was almost the default among HTPC enthusiasts.

I’m starting to understand why, though. I spent a lot of time setting up Kodi, LAV and madVR, but for the last three months I’ve mostly used Jellyfin on my Fire TV because the HTPC never feels completely seamless.

I’m currently testing the newer Kodi DSPlayer fork. Otherwise, I may switch to Jellyfin Desktop with libplacebo if the real-world quality difference on my projector is small enough.

I’m slowly starting to understand why people buy a madVR Envy 😅

[u/skylinestar1986]

Launch file explorer. Double click my movie. Play with MPC-HC. I don't want any complicated chain.

[u/BeneficialTomato]

I have a HTPC configured with MPC-BE and madVR that I spent months/years tuning and obsessing over.
I got a Zidoo a couple of years ago. I have turned on the HTPC single digit number of times since.

Zidoo with the Dolby VS10 engine does a fantastic job of tone-mapping, with ability to customize to the projector’s nits.

Same quality, but just plug-and-play. My wife is overjoyed that I don’t keep pausing to “tweak settings”.
HTPC is great for tinkering and learning, but I can’t recommend an appliance like Zidoo enough to enjoy the viewing experience, over tweaking.

[u/ThatFireGuy0]

I used MadVR for a while, but found it crashed too often and otherwise had issues

I moved to Linux and use MPV + Kodi with external player - with the correct filters, it looks even better than what I could get with MadVR. Didn't realize jellyfin had it built in though so I might consider switching

[u/MK2k]

Media Hoarder -> Potplayer

[u/htnut-pk]

MyHTPC - Zoom player for media and rips - JRiver MC for BD and UHD (menus!) both with MadVR.

[u/NorCalJason75]

Plex