All of the previous generations of the NUC are very capable home theater PC's, as Intel continues to improve on the on board graphics the Skylake NUC is the best choice for today's HTPC.
There are a few applications available today to turn your NUC into a HTPC and I chose KODI as my test application. KODI on the NUC supports up to 4K resolution along with KODI has a lot of 4K content available.
The Skylake NUC might be best at home in this configuration as a HTPC, it comes with the needed VESA bracket to mount to the back of a flat panel display, it has Wifi, IR, Display Port, 7.1 multi channel audio and Bluetooth devices.
Kodi with OpenELEC is a bootable solution if you do not wish to run under the Windows OS, this option boots extremely fast.
If you want to receive digital TV channels, you can adapt USB DVB modular tuners. Record, schedule or play a channel will be easy with this system. Depending your location and sign type (satellite, cable, terrestrial) you may opt for different tuners (DVB-S2, DVB-C/T/T2 and ATSC) or you can just download IPTV services from several add on developers for free. The add-on IPTV services usually do not have all the channels working but this is not a deal breaker as you can always find the channels you want in different add-ons.
Kodi on the NUC support touch screen, mouse, universal remote, joystick and game pad input devices. Going completely wireless is possible and lag free.
You can also configure Miracast to stream to other devices from your NUC. This is nice if you wish to wirelessly stream to your TV, cell phone or other devices that support Miracast.
KODI on NUC supports many of the popular "picture" sites like Imgur and Picasa for easy browsing from gallerias or custom searches.
KODI on NUC supports Music Videos from Vevo, MTV, and many other services.
KODI on NUC also supports programs for Facebook, torrent, TV guide, weather, Hulu, Netflix and more.
Your NUC can be a complete home theater PC in a very small yet powerful package.
There are a few applications available today to turn your NUC into a HTPC and I chose KODI as my test application. KODI on the NUC supports up to 4K resolution along with KODI has a lot of 4K content available.
The Skylake NUC might be best at home in this configuration as a HTPC, it comes with the needed VESA bracket to mount to the back of a flat panel display, it has Wifi, IR, Display Port, 7.1 multi channel audio and Bluetooth devices.
Kodi with OpenELEC is a bootable solution if you do not wish to run under the Windows OS, this option boots extremely fast.
If you want to receive digital TV channels, you can adapt USB DVB modular tuners. Record, schedule or play a channel will be easy with this system. Depending your location and sign type (satellite, cable, terrestrial) you may opt for different tuners (DVB-S2, DVB-C/T/T2 and ATSC) or you can just download IPTV services from several add on developers for free. The add-on IPTV services usually do not have all the channels working but this is not a deal breaker as you can always find the channels you want in different add-ons.
Kodi on the NUC support touch screen, mouse, universal remote, joystick and game pad input devices. Going completely wireless is possible and lag free.
You can also configure Miracast to stream to other devices from your NUC. This is nice if you wish to wirelessly stream to your TV, cell phone or other devices that support Miracast.
KODI on NUC supports many of the popular "picture" sites like Imgur and Picasa for easy browsing from gallerias or custom searches.
KODI on NUC supports Music Videos from Vevo, MTV, and many other services.
KODI on NUC also supports programs for Facebook, torrent, TV guide, weather, Hulu, Netflix and more.
Your NUC can be a complete home theater PC in a very small yet powerful package.