[animersmasta]

All the information I've been finding is from 2009.
I've been practicing my use on xbmc to get used to it so when i get an htpc. I can hook up to my TV through an hdmi and transfer all my files and organize it and stuff.

So, I'm pretty low on money. I have around 230 dollars to play with.
Like when the Acer Revo Aspire 3610 was all the rage. Everyone got it and made videos for it on youtube and it was the only htpc i saw and it looked pretty good. I'm not familiar at all at Ubuntu (i'm planning on switching to ubuntu on one of my desktop computers so i can practice all that "SUDO" stuff. Haha I've been on windows all my life. 2 years ago we got a mac. So I got used to that. So I never learned stuff like that.

I want an htpc that can:
1.Watch video-ts's of DVD rips. (with the dvd menu and all) (even though im pretty sure any htpc can do that)
2. Eventually I want to be able to watch 1080p
3. I want to be able to have a pretty good skin while it would show no sign of it being delayed. Aeon or Alaska. (if not i'll use http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=65895 "
RAPIER" I heard its light weight but very appealing)
That's all.

I kept thinking that the old Acer Revo Aspire 3610 is still a bang for the buck.
I'm a complete noob at building pc's I have no experience at all. So I don't think I could build one.

[jitaroo]

If your fairly competent with computers you should be fine. I was just like you, had no idea about Linux when I got my zotac mag (I'm assuming the acer is also an ion, so it should be pretty much the same experience). There were some things that I found out later that were supposed to be easy to figure out but I didn't find that way. For exampe if you follow the guide to installing xbmc on ubuntu it tells you how to make it auto start into xbmc. What I didnt know was how to get back into ubuntu. Apparently wht it does is makes a new "session" where ubuntu only loads xbmc and related tools. It won't load up thte ubuntu gui. To get back to that you need to quit (not shut down) xbmc and then wait for the login page to come up. After that on the bottom, before logging in again you can pick a session.

Are you planning on using xbmc live or xbmc in ubuntu? Both can do 1080p just fine, but with a ubuntu instillation it makes it easier to configure things for the computer. Are you also planning on getting sound out through hdmi? If you are don't install xbmc live, its way easier to get hdmi sound to work from ubuntu. There are lots of guides out there for hdmi sound, but the only thing that worked for me in the end was removing pulse audio. Just keep that in mind. If you get any more questions feel free to pm me, I think I know exactly how overwhelmed you might be feeling switching to ubuntu, but it's worth it!

[jhsrennie]

I have a Revo 3610 running Windows 7 and XBMC runs very well on it, even playing 1080p videos. Having said that, I use the Confluence skin and I've heard it said that the more, erm, glamorous skins can stress the Revo a bit. At your price range you'll struggle to find anthing as good, though obviously spending more will get you a more powerful system.

JR

[animersmasta]

Are you planning on using xbmc live or xbmc in ubuntu? Both can do 1080p just fine, but with a ubuntu instillation it makes it easier to configure things for the computer. Are you also planning on getting sound out through hdmi? If you are don't install xbmc live, its way easier to get hdmi sound to work from ubuntu. There are lots of guides out there for hdmi sound, but the only thing that worked for me in the end was removing pulse audio. Just keep that in mind. If you get any more questions feel free to pm me, I think I know exactly how overwhelmed you might be feeling switching to ubuntu, but it's worth it!

I was thinking of xbmc live. Now that you described how it is with ubuntu.
I'm leaning over for ubuntu. .
And yes I was thinking of getting xbmc giving sound on hdmi

[X3lectric]

I wouldn't buy Acer (especially in UK because they have the worst or non existent support ever) but Any including the one you mentioned, Dual core ION system should be fine, ultimately getting it to work perfectly especially using XBMC-LIVE or XBMCBuntu installs will require some amount of tinkering, and user perseverance.

But this is ok if you want to learn something.

[jitaroo]

I was thinking of xbmc live. Now that you described how it is with ubuntu.
I'm leaning over for ubuntu. .
And yes I was thinking of getting xbmc giving sound on hdmi

If your doing HDMI sound then I recommend xbmc on ubuntu and not xbmc live. Also, don't forget to enable nvidia drivers after installing ubuntu, they're not enabled by default on ubuntu.

Oh, and I'm running the Aeon Nox theme on mine and it's performance is pretty good for me.

[animersmasta]

After reading Jitaroo's post.
I think i'm going to buy a zotac mag
Is this the one that you'd reccomend me to buy.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/ZOTAC-MAG-HD-N...sContainer
Just making sure. xD

Why are these different in cost?
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?h...CCIQ8wIwAg

[vexation]

I bought an Acer R3700 (s'not that much different to the 3610, slightly better CPU and ION2?) last week and have been tinkering with it every day since.

I've been using XBMC for a few years now but almost exclusively on more powerful PC's with C2D CPU's and dedicated GPUs where XBMC has easily shone, even on XP/Win7

Firstly, the R3700 is fully capable of streaming 720/1080 even over a wireless connection as long as you're using DXVA/VDPAU. The 'good skin without delay' might be a different story tho.

The R3700 has been a... trial... for me. I have to admit, I'm torn between platforms for the R3700.

On the one hand, there's the ease of use of Windows 7.. it's so simple to set up and if you ever want to hop on Chrome / Firefox or anything else, it's just a few clicks away.. The performance of the machine in general is fine BUT the XBMC interface itself can 'stick' quite a lot during transitions regardless of skin, even worse when there's a movie playing in the background. It's just not quite as responsive as I'd like and the only thing I can attribute that to is the Atom processor not being up to par. I tend to stick to Confluence and Transparency but I tried a bunch of different skins and nothing felt completely fluid to me.

On the other hand, you have XBMC Live or your own custom Ubuntu install.. this tends to be a fair pain to set up and is further complicated by Ubuntu Natty being out now but not officially supported yet.

Regardless of if you go XBMC Live, XBMCFreak, Ubuntu Minimal w/ your own setup... one way or another, you'll run into problems (wireless issues, display modes on X etc) and it will take you a while to 'perfect' your setup BUT when you finally get there, the system will sit there and work like a champ, tends to be a lot more responsive than W7/XBMC.

In an ideal world, I'd grab a unit with a better CPU (Celeron Dual-Core or a newer AMD) but with an ION chipset, stick an SSD in it and go with Ubuntu Minimal / OpenELEC (not much experience with OpenELEC but I'm hoping they go from strength to strength) and never look back - I was googling a few days ago and it looked like there were a few MITX builds like that for around the £250-300 mark.. I'd be willing to pay the extra £100 if it meant complete satisfaction with the GUI. Can't find those pages in my history tho

Oh, and I discovered XBMC Commander for the iPhone/iPad yesterday.. it's a while since a geek toy made me grin from ear to ear but once you've got everything setup.. controlling XBMC from your phone (seeing thumbnails from your movie/tv library and being able to select a show on your phone and watch it play on TV) is the most satisfying nerdiest thing I've done in a while.

[animersmasta]

I bought an Acer R3700 (s'not that much different to the 3610, slightly better CPU and ION2?) last week and have been tinkering with it every day since.

I've been using XBMC for a few years now but almost exclusively on more powerful PC's with C2D CPU's and dedicated GPUs where XBMC has easily shone, even on XP/Win7

Firstly, the R3700 is fully capable of streaming 720/1080 even over a wireless connection as long as you're using DXVA/VDPAU. The 'good skin without delay' might be a different story tho.

The R3700 has been a... trial... for me. I have to admit, I'm torn between platforms for the R3700.

On the one hand, there's the ease of use of Windows 7.. it's so simple to set up and if you ever want to hop on Chrome / Firefox or anything else, it's just a few clicks away.. The performance of the machine in general is fine BUT the XBMC interface itself can 'stick' quite a lot during transitions regardless of skin, even worse when there's a movie playing in the background. It's just not quite as responsive as I'd like and the only thing I can attribute that to is the Atom processor not being up to par. I tend to stick to Confluence and Transparency but I tried a bunch of different skins and nothing felt completely fluid to me.

On the other hand, you have XBMC Live or your own custom Ubuntu install.. this tends to be a fair pain to set up and is further complicated by Ubuntu Natty being out now but not officially supported yet.

Regardless of if you go XBMC Live, XBMCFreak, Ubuntu Minimal w/ your own setup... one way or another, you'll run into problems (wireless issues, display modes on X etc) and it will take you a while to 'perfect' your setup BUT when you finally get there, the system will sit there and work like a champ, tends to be a lot more responsive than W7/XBMC.

In an ideal world, I'd grab a unit with a better CPU (Celeron Dual-Core or a newer AMD) but with an ION chipset, stick an SSD in it and go with Ubuntu Minimal / OpenELEC (not much experience with OpenELEC but I'm hoping they go from strength to strength) and never look back - I was googling a few days ago and it looked like there were a few MITX builds like that for around the £250-300 mark.. I'd be willing to pay the extra £100 if it meant complete satisfaction with the GUI. Can't find those pages in my history tho

Oh, and I discovered XBMC Commander for the iPhone/iPad yesterday.. it's a while since a geek toy made me grin from ear to ear but once you've got everything setup.. controlling XBMC from your phone (seeing thumbnails from your movie/tv library and being able to select a show on your phone and watch it play on TV) is the most satisfying nerdiest thing I've done in a while.

I'm really scared now :'(

[vexation]

I'm really scared now :'(

That wasn't my intention... Don't be. I'm lying in bed, watching 1080p video streamed wirelessly from another xbmc box downstairs and controlling it via my iPhone (which can control my xbmc machine both downstairs and upstairs and shares the same library)

I'm just very fussy and rather than concentrating on the good points (of which there are too many to mention whether you go Ubuntu/XBMCLive/Windows 7) I concentrate/point out the bad.

They're a great bit of kit. I just always want more

[animersmasta]

That wasn't my intention... Don't be. I'm lying in bed, watching 1080p video streamed wirelessly from another xbmc box downstairs and controlling it via my iPhone (which can control my xbmc machine both downstairs and upstairs and shares the same library)

I'm just very fussy and rather than concentrating on the good points (of which there are too many to mention whether you go Ubuntu/XBMCLive/Windows 7) I concentrate/point out the bad.

They're a great bit of kit. I just always want more

That sounds pretty cool :O.
Are they both acer revos. :O
. Thanks for the headsup though

[Hudson_Hawk04]

running on a revo 1600 with 2gb ram and crystal hd card on ubuntu works like a charm, less the fact that I have yet to figure out how to get my logitech harmony 650 remote to work with it, using ipod touch for now with soulmote

[animersmasta]

running on a revo 1600 with 2gb ram and crystal hd card on ubuntu works like a charm, less the fact that I have yet to figure out how to get my logitech harmony 650 remote to work with it, using ipod touch for now with soulmote

Whats the crystal hd card for? is it expensive

[animersmasta]

running on a revo 1600 with 2gb ram and crystal hd card on ubuntu works like a charm, less the fact that I have yet to figure out how to get my logitech harmony 650 remote to work with it, using ipod touch for now with soulmote

Whats the crystal hd card for? is it expensive

[jitaroo]

vexation couldn't have said it any better. Don't be scared, it's amazing once you get it set up, its just going to take a bit of effort to set up. The PC you linked is the one I have. At first I was running windows 7 on it and just playing files from mediaplayer home cinema. Then I moved and my tv went further back, so I had to get something with a bigger interface. Installing ubuntu itself isn't that hard. I'm sure you can still find a copy of 10.10 somewhere, and then follow guides on the internet.