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I12crash · 2011-09-04, 19:39

I'm running a Server in my bedroom closet running Server 2008 R2. I'm looking for the best way to stream HD content through XBMC to living room and bedroom TVs. I've thought of apple tv 2, but I'm not sure it'll be able to handle it. I have an old Acer Revo that I used to use as a main HTPC, but without a Gigabit Lan Port it is sucking. What I'm asking is what would be the best (and cheapest) box to have play media streamed from my home server?

eskro · 2011-09-04, 20:00

and why do you think the AppleTV2 wouldn't handle!?

I12crash · 2011-09-04, 20:05

I don't think the apple tv 2 will handle it because I'm told it will only do 720p.

eskro · 2011-09-04, 20:09

true, it'll only output to 720P...

so you want a 1080P capable HTPC correct?

I12crash · 2011-09-04, 20:15

Yes, I've thought of waiting for the Apple TV 3. Rumors are that it'll do 1080p, but I'll need to wait for a jailbreak and xbmc build then. Does the Apple TV 2 do 720p well? If that is the case I may just use that for a few of the rooms temporarily.

T800 · 2011-09-04, 22:54

The AppleTV2 does 720p fine although it is a slow machine (menu wise).
Not having a gigabit LAN port shouldn't make any difference, blu-ray streams fine over 100Mbit.

**gabbott** · 2011-09-04, 23:04

I12crash Wrote:I have an old Acer Revo that I used to use as a main HTPC, but without a Gigabit Lan Port it is sucking. What I'm asking is what would be the best (and cheapest) box to have play media streamed from my home server?

Does it just have FastE (100mb)? That should be plenty for streaming 1080P content.

I12crash · 2011-09-04, 23:12

Hmm. Well I tried streaming a 720p movie today, and it was terrible. I hooked up to my laptop and streamed from the server through the laptop, and it was better but not perfect.

**gabbott** · 2011-09-04, 23:19

Sounds like you have an issue of some sort, but I wouldn't go with the assumption that it is that the box lacks a gige port. One of my systems is only on a 100 Mbit connection and streams all sorts of media (720p and 1080p) without issue.

I12crash · 2011-09-04, 23:22

Well, I just checked the line to make sure I got everything crimped correctly; it's not the problem. I'm running Win 7 on the Revo. I'm thinking of trying xbmc live. Maybe Win 7 and HD streaming is too much for the little Revo?

**gabbott** · (This post was last modified: 2011-09-04, 23:27 by gabbott.)

I12crash Wrote:Well, I just checked the line to make sure I got everything crimped correctly; it's not the problem. I'm running Win 7 on the Revo. I'm thinking of trying xbmc live. Maybe Win 7 and HD streaming is too much for the little Revo?

What model revo? I have 2 1600s and run xbmc live on them with great results. I'd think windows would work as well but I've always run linux on them. I'd give xbmc live a try. You could also try openelec, even eaiser to setup (I just prefer xbmc live because there are some things on the OS I like to tweak).

Also, on your revo go into the bios and see how much ram is allocated to the gpu. If you have over a gig of ram you can set that to 512mb. But start with trying xbmc live or openelec before we get too ahead of ourselves.

I12crash · 2011-09-04, 23:26

It's a 1600. I have a total of 3GB of RAM, and have the drivers that recognize the ION LE as an ION. I'll give Live a shot and report back. Thanks for the help thus far.

**gabbott** · 2011-09-04, 23:31

I12crash Wrote:It's a 1600. I have a total of 3GB of RAM, and have the drivers that recognize the ION LE as an ION. I'll give Live a shot and report back. Thanks for the help thus far.

Ok, give that a try, for video streaming from a local network, the 1600 is plenty capable. Again, since you have 3gig of RAM, definitely make sure you allocate 512meg to the GPU in the BIOS.

I12crash · 2011-09-10, 02:23

Ok to make a long story short, I tried xbmc live with no luck getting xbmc to run. After multiple methods on the forum I ended up dbanning the 1600's drive. I then installed openelec. I got everything working as it should, but I still have 720p movies buffering. Any other suggestions? My cable is cat 5e, and it is no longer than maybe 60 feet. The server is running a dual core Pentium @ 3.06 Ghz with 4 GB of RAM and running Windows Server 2008 R2. Any help would be appreciated.