[hcowan]

Hello,

I am not sure whether I should have posted this in this forum or in the general discussion area?

Oh well -- I am debating between either getting an Apple TV2 or a Zoltac (with ION chipset) nettop / mini-computer (or whatever they are called these days).

Originally I was going to get the Zoltac, but after pricing everything out, it will cost me at least $250 (CDN) while I can get the ATV2 for $120 (CDN).

To me it seems like the ATV2 is a much simpler, and cheaper option. Is there any reason why I shouldn't get the ATV2?

I have searched through the forums and read various posts and discussions, but they all seem rather old -- ie: back in January of this year when the first version of XBMC was released for the ATV2.

Have things changed? Are the initial concerns / problems still relevant? For example, I noticed that there was quite a bit of concern regarding speed and processing for the GUI / skins -- navigation of the menus could be somewhat slow and painful.

I also read about the problems of not having access to a keyboard, or a fully customizable remote which again makes navigation difficult.

Of course, the biggest drawback is the 1080p / 720p debate.

For my setup, I have a NAS box that will store and serve up everything. I will be using XBMC mostly for music, photos, and DVDs. I have a few blu-rays, but not much HD content so I am not really concerned about not being able to play 1080p content at the moment.

This setup is for my main TV downstairs, but I can see eventually moving this to the TV upstairs and upgrading in a few years if necessary, so I am not too worried about future upgradability.

So basically, is there any specific issues or concerns that I should be aware of if I head down the ATV road? While I am leaning towards the ATV, I am certainly not sold completely on it so if there are reasons to go the other route I would be glad to hear them.

Thanks so much.

[DuMbGuM]

Would advise you to go for the ZBOX, it's what I'm about to do. The ATV2 is a good cheap option to run XBMC, but chances are you will like me find it to be a frustrating experience at times and wish you had spent a little more cash on something faster.

Can't expect miricles from it though and never did myself, if you're happy doing without 1080p, putting up with some UI lag etc and the hassle of having to jailbreak it, by all means go for it, I would reccommend sticking to Confluence, Alaska or other lightweight skins though, will be very slow at times with a skin like Aeon.

I also have a NAS and will say that stuff streams fine for me over Wi-Fi N with the ATV2, unless I am updating the library or something, it needs to buffer then. Hope this helps somewhat.

[T800]

I agree with what DuMbGuM says, the ATV2 is a nice lower power cheap option but I wouldn't use it as my main HTPC