[12pc]

Hello, I have read hundreds of posts in this forum trying to figure out what to do, I am very confused now, in the end I just thought that asking an opinion wouldn't hurt and could be useful for other users that have my same questions:

I have:

PC: ASROCK ION 330 (the oldest version, not the HT version)

OS: WINDOWS XP PROFESSIONAL 32 bit (not the media center version)

TV: PANASONIC TX P42S10 connected to the PC through HDMI

My questions are:

1) Which XBMC should I install?

I am not sure which one will work out better for me, considering that I have win xp pro and asrock 330.

• XBMC LIVE? (in this case would this guide work for my older version of the ASROCK 330?)
  
  
• XBMC FOR WINDOWS? (is there a specific guide in this forum regarding XBMC for WIN XP and ASROCK 330?)
  

2) Which remote should I buy?

I'd love a remote that would work straight out of the box but I don't mind a little configuration. I read a lot about these remotes, usually posts by win 7 or vista users, but I really need WIN XP users to tell me that they actually work:

• AVS Gear HA-IR01SV seems to have problems with XP PRO, needs a lot of fixing as seen here
  
  
• Hauppauge Media Center Remote Control Kit as seen here not sure if it works with WIN XP
  
  
• Asus Remote Control Windows XP Vista 7 Media Center as seen here, has anyone tried it? Does it work with WIN XP?
  

Thank you very much for your help, I really apreciate it.

[>>X<<]

If you want hardware decoding for HD content using XP your only choice is the DSPlayer branch of XBMC

For remotes you should look here

http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Rem...ol_Reviews

Personally I would go for the HP remote if your using XP Pro SP3 then all you need to do is install a reg file, or any of the others that use the reg file

[12pc]

If you want hardware decoding for HD content using XP your only choice is the DSPlayer branch of XBMC

For remotes you should look here

http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Rem...ol_Reviews

Personally I would go for the HP remote if your using XP Pro SP3 then all you need to do is install a reg file, or any of the others that use the reg file

Thank you very much for your reply X

DSPlayer branch of XBMC? What's that? Sorry, it's the first time that I read this.

I have already read the link you sent me, almost all the reviews say that the remotes aren't tested on windows xp.

I am using WIN XP PRO service pack 2, will it be the same?

[12pc]

I just read about the DS player on this thread:

[WINDOWS] DSPlayer GPU assisted video decoding

so should I install the latest verison of XBMC first, and the DS player after?

[>>X<<]

For the HP your need SP3 cant say if that's the same for the Hauppauge why not just upgrade to SP3

No you don't need to install xbmc first but I would wait for the next build of DSPlayer as the current one isn't working with XP, previous versions worked fine with XP so either wait for the next one or ask which previous version was working

Edit: Just noticed there's a new build Rev28622 but have not tested this under XP Rev28511 was the one that didn't work

[12pc]

not sure I understood how the two work with each other, anyway can I install XBMC 9.11 for windows right now, test it a bit and install the DSplayer later when it has been fixed/updated?

[>>X<<]

You can do that but theres no hardware decoding in 9.11, I just tried DSPlayer latest rev and its still not working

[jhsrennie]

If you install Windows 7 instead of XP the next version of XBMC (and the latest development build) does hardware acceleration, so 1080p videos will play fine even with an Atom processor.

Re the remote: buy an official Microsoft MCE remote on eBay. You just need to run one .reg file to make it work with XBMC. See http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Usi...in_Windows for the details.

JR

[12pc]

You can do that but theres no hardware decoding in 9.11, I just tried DSPlayer latest rev and its still not working

sorry for the newbie question, what do you mean by "there is no hardware decoding"? do I need to install something else than xbmc 9.11 for win?

[>>X<<]

sorry for the newbie question, what do you mean by "there is no hardware decoding"? do I need to install something else than xbmc 9.11 for win?

Asrock Ion can only play 720p and 1080p when the graphic processor does all the work (Hardware decoding) under windows that's DXVA which has to be supported in the software, 9.11 doesn't have this but the nightly builds of windows do but its DXVA 2 which is only supported in Vista and Win7

DSPlayer supports DXVA 1 which works under XP

If you don't use Hardware decoding then the CPU has to do all the work, the atom 330 just isn't powerful enough for 720p and 1080p video

Linux has hardware decoding (VDPAU) which is already implemented in XBMC which is why most people run XBMC Live or XBMC linux on their Asrocks

If you don't want to view 720p or 1080p content then it doesn't matter

[User 63881]

Hi. Any model of Logitech Harmony remote would be perfect choice to use it within whole home theatre system.

[12pc]

Asrock Ion can only play 720p and 1080p when the graphic processor does all the work (Hardware decoding) under windows that's DXVA which has to be supported in the software, 9.11 doesn't have this but the nightly builds of windows do but its DXVA 2 which is only supported in Vista and Win7

DSPlayer supports DXVA 1 which works under XP

If you don't use Hardware decoding then the CPU has to do all the work, the atom 330 just isn't powerful enough for 720p and 1080p video

Linux has hardware decoding (VDPAU) which is already implemented in XBMC which is why most people run XBMC Live or XBMC linux on their Asrocks

If you don't want to view 720p or 1080p content then it doesn't matter

wow thank you very much, I totally ignored all of this!

Right now I don't view 720p and 1080p content, but I guess I willl in the future.

so in the end I think I'll do this:

I install XBMC LIVE and keep WIN XP PRO (I don't want to change my OS right now)

and in the future:

I change OS, install Windows 7 and install XBMC for WIN.