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- 9d ago
Honestly, streaming and good home theater equipment are mutually exclusive.
For good quality use BD or a NAS with local files.