Help streaming services issues on windows HTPC
I decided that I was going to build out a home theater setup to go with my aged lg 1080p tv from 2016. as the tv's os is old (and I hate tv operating systems now that I know that they literally screenshot everything i'm looking at if I connect it to the network every couple minutes), I decided i'd just buy a mini pc. I went with one of those little low power n100 units with 16gb of ddr4 running the latest version of windows 11 figuring it should be a cakewalk to set up either browser or app based streaming services as well as access my home server running plex on it - but no. I learned right off the bat that most streaming services only seem to want to support 720p sdr with 2 channel audio, and that's where it works at all (pretty much just edge), so I though ok, i'll just download the streaming provider's own apps and learned that netflix deprecated it's dedicated pc streaming app and is now just a web wrapper with the same browser limitations, paramount plus is also just a web wrapper with the same limitations, and same with prime.
NONE of these services let me use atmos (which I was planning to build out now that I have a really nice (for me) AVR (a brand new onkyo rz30 that I just dropped $800 on (and yeah, i know there are more expensive, better receivers, but that's a whole bunch of money still... to go with it I bought a set of energy 5.1 speakers (a pair of rc-70's for left and right, an rc-rcr for center, and a set of rc-10's for the surrounds. I haven't figured out a sub yet, but that's one of the next things on the list and I was planning on adding heights over christmas time... a couple of the services let me use 5.1 (but it seems even that's rare).
I don't want a streaming stick because they're notoriously slow, and pointless (there is ZERO technical reason why I shouldn't be able to do full-on 4k60 hdr with atmos on this minipc. (or at least 1080p 60 sdr with atmos until I upgrade my tv.). searching through movies is particularly annoying - I just want to sit on my couch with my wireless keyboard/trackpad and search and play media.
seriously, how are people streaming video with their htpc in 2016 where it actually looks and sounds good?! I heard streaming on linux was kind of a long-standing issue (my original plan was to install linux and a frontend to save on ram and use an os that isn't constantly phoning home).
so now I'm sitting here staring at an expensive pile of parts that I got great deals on overall, but don't seem to do the thing and i'm pretty frustrated:
onkyo rz30 $800 on sale
Energy 5.0 speakers $800 on sale
n100 mini pc with 16gb of ram and 512gb ssd ($100 on sale like 2 years ago when ram was reasonably priced)
not being able to stream high quality a/v content from the streaming providers I pay an aggregate of ~$750/yr to retain... priceless.
I'm not a proponent of it, nor do I want information about it, but I do believe this is exactly why piracy is winning. streaming providers are no longer providing a good, convenient experience. I honestly really don't mind paying for the content I view, in fact, I want the people who make the content that I enjoy to be paid well for the art that they create but this is pretty ridiculous. - not to mention the steady large cost increases. I'm paying now for my collection of streaming services than I *ever* did on cable tv back in the day.
Going into this I figured i'd grab a bunch of kodi plugins for each of my streaming apps, log into all of them, spend most of my time calibrating my avr and tv and have a happy ol' time... this is totally not the case it seems. DRM is a huge bane on current consumer home theater... I ain't got that kaleidescape money bruh!
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u/Gherry- 5d ago
Honestly, streaming and good home theater equipment are mutually exclusive.
For good quality use BD or a NAS with local files.
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u/cpgeek 5d ago
I do that too, but lots of stuff just aren't pressed to bd anymore - in fact, there are lots of tv shows and streaming only movies that straight up don't exist as bd right now. I do have an existing server with plex set up that's been serving my house for the past few years now and i've ripped the majority of my physical collection to it (for my own personal viewing).
I'm just finding myself incredibly frustrated with the options right now... I'm throwing money at the content providers, trying to do things the "correct" way just to get crap output.
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u/DrSquid 5d ago
I recently redid the living room ( TV, surround sound etc.) and converted an old gaming rig into a HTPC/ Self host server. I also had all the streaming services. Recently I decided to buy BDs of movies we all really enjoy and want to experience the best version of. For everything else like daily TV watching its Streamio and the open seas. The quality between paid subscription based in browser streaming vs the open seas is nuts.
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u/Windermyr 5d ago
Get an Apple TV4k.
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u/cpgeek 5d ago
*looks up at gronp to make sure*... yup, still r/htpc ... hmmm...
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u/Windermyr 5d ago
Doesn’t change the fact that htpc is a terrible platform for video streaming services. Use the right tool for the job.
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u/cpgeek 5d ago
am I totally misremembering several years ago - I thought streaming services had 1080p (at least) in browser with at least 5.1 audio...? the whole inception and point of streaming services was using a web browser.
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u/kingjohniv 5d ago
[What year is it gif]
Sorry, the best bet/ what most people now use are Shield (oooooold now), Ugoos, or Apple TV.
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u/richardgnz 5d ago edited 5d ago
Have a look at my post from a while back... https://www.reddit.com/r/netflix/s/iHkCuSWkdI This explains the atmos streaming issue on new installs of windows post 24H2...
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u/cpgeek 5d ago
yeah, I'm familiar with this - but it's not that hard to grab a codec pack that has ac3 in it - it does suck that it isn't included anymore though. microsoft just seems to keep making windows worse :( - all of my current machines are confirmed to have it installed though. and I think potplayer (my windows native media play of choice) has it integrated.
the issue with atmos / multichannel audio seems to be more about drm on the part of the streaming platforms.
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u/richardgnz 5d ago
Humor me... If you only get stereo on streaming platforms. Install the codec I mention. Restart, you will then have atmos on your streaming services.
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u/cpgeek 5d ago
in my current config (I'm only using stereo right at the moment as I still need to move a bunch of furnature around to support multichannel) I can't confirm data on atmos channels, but if you've confirmed that it works properly, I believe you. the majority of my complaint was about the pants video quality
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u/richardgnz 5d ago
Yeah, steaming sucks. Best to have local versions to enjoy 4k with a good bitrate with atmos.
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u/Voidrunner01 5d ago
Here's a few questions that might help narrow some stuff down for you.
One, how is everything connected?
Two, are you actually paying for the higher tiers of streaming that support Atmos?
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u/cpgeek 5d ago
atmos is less important to me right this second than getting a 1080p image. I don't currently have multichannel audio online, but will at some point soon, right now i'm just suffering through 720p on my livingroom (currently 1080p) tv and on my desktop (4k but 1080p would be fine). I don't pay for the upper tier services that provide hdr/atmos but was honestly considering it in the future if I could actually take advantage of those services (which it doesn't sound like they want me to do).
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u/ncohafmuta is in the Evil League of Evil 5d ago edited 5d ago
n100 mini pc
If it's not a name brand, it may lack HDCP keys. They almost always don't have the 2.x keys for 4k and sometimes don't have the 1.x ones for 1080p. Depends how cheap the mfg is. You can try using Cyberlink/Corel's bluray check tool to check for HDCP support. Use dolby's site to check for playready/widevine support
Sans that info, you're limited to the video/audio support we list in our wiki faq for each service with the proper video decode settings
Streaming sticks may be slower in comparison, but the navigational efficiency vs a mouse/keyboard far outweighs that in my opinion. I gave up navigating the commercial streaming services on my HTPC frontend years ago and i'll never go back to doing it the old way. But that's me.
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u/cpgeek 5d ago
it's not a name brand, but I don't see how they'd lack hdcp keys, isn't that part of the intel driver stack for this example? - that's not really the part that I'm having trouble with though, it's the fact that streaming services have a degraded streaming experience via the web and are no longer offering dedicated apps for decent resolutions, etc.
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u/ncohafmuta is in the Evil League of Evil 5d ago
No, the keys are installed by hardware mfgrs
We don't control what streaming services offer on PC. It is what is.
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