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2012-03-25, 23:30
(This post was last modified: 2012-03-25, 23:43 by ClausG76.)
Hello
I was thinking about trying out a mediacenter solution, connected to my livingroom lcd, via my hd-audio surround reciever. I have been looking at 3 mini barebones.
1 Zotac zbox so ID12 / Shuttle xs35v2. Both Intel D525
2 Shuttle xs36v. Intel D2700
3 Zotac zbox AD02-E Amd E-350.
They are listed in price order.
I would like to get some recommendations about what to buy for a Xbmc live setup.
Maybe it would be obvious to just get the most expensive. But i would like to be sure to get the product, with the best support and compability. And also the best buy for the money.
I'm going to use it to watch 1080p24 mkv's and some dvd isos. Stream flash videos from the internet. And last, i would like to be able to run some emulators, like amiga, c64 and old mame.
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2012-03-26, 07:20
(This post was last modified: 2012-03-26, 08:47 by ClausG76.)
Thanks
I can only get the non plus version where i live, and its cost a lot more. My reciever has a decoder dts-hd and dolby true hd. So passthrough would be fine. will a limux version be able to passthrough hd. And hd audio isn't top priority, since don't use it that much.
I was under the impression, that the gpu in the 3 systems is more than capable of 1080p playback. During my research, i read some negative things about the intel Gma 3650 gpu, that is built in to the intel d2700. People didn't like that it was a sgx545 based chip. But isn't the other gpu's in the same class?
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I just noticed that intel doesn't have linux graphics drivers for the atom D2700. So that takes it out of the consideration.
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Thanks again. The Xstreamer you mention, will be available to me in april. Is there any advantages in bitstreamin the audio instead of letting my Denon reciever decode the signal?
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Zotac ZBOX-ID80 have gt520 graphic
If you want to build something yourself, then Zotac is coming out with a motherboard based on Atom D2700 and gt520 graphics
I use Intel D2700DC motherboard and except from lack of drivers for linux it´s great and boots really fast. Using W7 Pro + Xbmc on it
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Thanks.
I'm not in a hurry. I was looking for an upgrade for my Ac Ryan playon HD mini. It plays ok, but i miss something more to play with, and the abillity to stream flash videos of the internet. The apple tv2, Boxee box and Ac Ryan Veolo was the first thing i looked at, but then the Atom/Ion devises came to my mind. I can get a Atom D525, for the price of Veolo or Boxee box.
I have a passion for playing oldschool games using emulators. The Veolo has the power to do that, but isn't perfect for media playback. (24 hz not supported) I know that ubuntu will run the emulators i need, it did with my old Amd 3800x2. And have been watching Youtube videos of emulators launched fro Xbmc. The rest of the family is going to use it also. So i think it would be easier if it boots directly to xbmc, like on Xbmc live installed on a hdd.
There is a thread about xbmc levels. The Zotac zbox AD02 is mentioned as being able to bitstream HD-audio.
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The Shuttle is silent. The Zotac systems are apparently noisy.A better version of the Shuttle would be the XSGS35 v3 which has AMD 7xxx graphics.
Philip
