Shuttle DH110 review
6. Audio and Video tests
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Although the Shuttle DH110 ha been designed to be used for commercial applications, its small size combined with its HDMI output could make it a potential solution for using it as a media player as well.
The box has two digital audio/video ports to drive two independent screens: 1) DisplayPort 1.2 supports 4096x2304 @ 60Hz and 2) HDMI 1.4 supports 4096x2304 @ 24Hz. Both outputs support Ultra HD / 4K resolution video, Quick Sync Video and Clear Video HD technology.
For our Audio/Video compatibility tests we used the following setup:
TV: Panasonic 55CMX710E (4K +3D capable) with the latest firmware installed
A/V Receiver: Yamaha RX-V775 (7.2 capable) with the latest firmware installed
Wifi Router: TP-Link VR200 (802ac,b,g,n) with the latest firmware installed
We used several audio/video files from KODI Wiki. We also used the latest K Lite Codec pack and the Kodi platform.
According to its specs, the HD 530 supports full H.264, H.265 8/10 bit, VP8/9, VC-1, AVC hardware decoding, along with HD video plus multi-channel digital audio via a single cable. We connected the Shuttle DH110 to our Yamaha RX-775 A/V receiver through an HDMI cable.
Note that in order to get automatically proper display scaling, we had to set the resolution to 3840x2160x23p. The 4096x2160x23p produced wrong scaling and we had to drop the horizontal scale to 50% under the Intel display properties. Under Windows 10, it looks like the only 3D capable resolution was the 1920x1080p. The device locked at 23.975 fps with any video playback software we tried.
In order to get HD Audio you need to make some settings first. At the Media Player Classic (part of the K Lite Codec) you need to set the external filters . In KODI, you'll have to set audio to WASAPI HDMI of the TV Display and at 7.1. At the same time, you'll have to enable all the corresponding modes of your A/V Receiver.
Audio HD Tests (Shuttle DH110) |
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|---|---|---|
| HD Audio | K Lite Codec 12.3.0 | Kodi 16.1 |
LPCM 5.1
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PCM 2.0 at A/V Receiver | PCM Passthrough (7.1 at A/V Receiver) |
LPCM 7.1
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AAC 5.1
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AAC 7.1
|
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Dolby AC3 5.1 |
Yes | Yes |
Dolby Digital
Plus 5.1 |
Yes with some audio drops | |
Dolby Digital
Plus 7.1 |
Yes | |
Dolby True HD 5.1
|
Yes TrueHD at A/V Receiver | Yes (TrueHD at A/V Receiver) |
Dolby True HD 7.1
|
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Dolby True HD 7.1 Atmos
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DTS-HD HRA 5.1 |
DTS-HR HI-RES at A/V Receiver |
DTS-HR HI-RES at A/V Receiver |
DTS-HD HRA 7.1 |
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DTS-HD MA 5.1 |
DTS-HD MSTR at A/V Receiver | DTS-HD MSTR at A/V Receiver |
DTS-HD MA 7.1 |
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DTS:X 7.1 |
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As you see above, the audio compatibility was perfect. With KODI we easily got HD-Audio pass through along with a perfect audio playback; with the Media Player Classic you only get PCM 2.0 with AAC/LPCM formats. So using KODI is highly recommended.
Video Bitrate Tests
For this test we used a test file available at this page. The player was tested with up to 400Mbps files using all the possible sources:
| Maximum Perfect Playable File with Media Player Classic | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| USB | LAN (1GBit) | Wifi (802ac) | |
| Jellyfish H264 files | 250 | 250 | 120 |
| Jellyfish H265 files | 110 | 110 | 90 |
Based on the Intel HD 530 graphics engine, the Shuttle DH110 maxed up to 250Mbit H.264 files. What you will not get is support for 10bit H265 files, as we experienced an unstable video playback. So you'd better connect the device through LAN (1Gbit) or even Wifi, as long as your system supports the 802.11ac mode (5GHz). Generally, the results here are good.
4K Tests x264 (AVC)
| Shuttle DH110 4K H264 Files | ||
|---|---|---|
| Test Clips | K Lite Codec 12.3.0 | Kodi 16.1 |
| 4K 10-bit H.264 video sample @ up to 160 Mbps | Jerky playback | jerky playback |
| 4K-HD.Club-2013-Taipei 101 Fireworks Trailer (AVC, High@L5.1, 29.970fps, 2 Channels AAC, 100mbps bitrate) | Yes | Yes |
| 4k_QHD_RoastDuck_30p (AVC, High@L5.1, 29.970fps, 2 Channels AAC) | Yes | Yes |
| big_buck_bunny_4k_H264_30fps (AVC, High@L5.1, 30 FPS, 2 Channels Mp3) | Yes | Yes |
big_buck_bunny_4k_H264_60fps |
Yes | Yes |
| Ducks Take Off [2160p a 243 Mbps] | Yes | Yes |
| linkin_park_ultra-hd (H264, 50-60fps) | Yes | Yes |
| NoiseRed-25fps-SlowMotion-120mbs (AVC, High@L5.1, variable FPS) | Yes | Yes |
| Ducks Take Off [2160p a 243 Mbps] | Yes | Yes |
Sony_Alpha_7R_II_video-test-4K (H264, up to 30fps) |
Yes | Yes |
| Snow Monkeys in Japan 5K Retina 60p (Ultra HD) (2160p 30fps) | Yes | Yes |
| BluRay 1080p AVC DTS-HD MA 7.1 x264 file (AVC, High@L4.1, 6 000 Kbps, DTS-HD MA 8 Channels) | Yes | Yes |
| [1080p][16_REF_L5.1][FLAC_5.1]Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu BD OP | Yes | Yes |
The Shuttle DH110 showed perfect playback capabilities with most H.264 encoded files. The only issue we saw was a problematic playback with a 4K 10-bit H.264 video sample @ up to 160 Mbps.
4K Tests x265 (HEVC - 8 Bit)
| Shuttle DH110 4K H265 Files | ||
|---|---|---|
| Test Clips | K Lite Codec 12.3.0 | Kodi 16.1 |
Astra-11112_H_22000-Fashion TV UHD Demo 42.6 Mbps bitrate (8Bit HEVC) |
Yes | Yes |
| Beauty_3840x2160_120fps_420_8bit_HEVC_MP4 | Yes | Yes |
| DivX-HEVC-UHD-4k_QHD_RoastDuck_30p | Yes | Yes |
Fifa_WorldCup2014_Uruguay-Colombia (8Bit HEVC) |
Yes | Yes |
| Hispasat-10730_V_30000-Hispasat 4K HEVC 65.3 Mbps bitrate (8Bit HEVC) | Yes | Yes |
| Sintel_4k_27qp_24fps_1aud_9subs (8Bit HEVC) | Yes | Yes |
| LG Demo DolbyVision Comparison | Yes | Yes |
The system also showed a great compatibility with the H265 videos we tried, and had no problems with all the 8bit files. However, due to a limitation of the Intel HD 530 engine, the DH110 cannot playback 10bit or 4K VP9 videos properly.
We also tried to get 3D playback using both the Media player classic and KODI, but we encountered many problems...
Overall we are pleased with the performance of the Shuttle DH110 combined with the Intel i3-6100 processor.
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