[kirby]

I'm looking to build/buy a fanless front-end/extender box to run XBMC on Linux, possibly openELEC. I don't need an optical drive, I don't need it to transcode, I just need to to render the UI without trouble handle whatever add-ons, and playback dvd, blu-ray or ATSC content that will be shared via SMB. I need just enough drive to boot from (I'll go with an mSATA or 2.5" SSD, maybe a USB stick).

I've identified a few possible cases like the Streacom or the HD-Plex. What I'm wondering about is the platform. I'm considering either an Nvidia ION w/ Atom or Ivy Bridge w/ the Intel integrated GPU.

With the ION, I'm comfortable enough with nvidia under Linux to be pretty sure this will handle the video output, but I'm concerned about the UI being responsive.

With the Ivy Bridge (probably an i3), I doubt I'll have any UI troubles, but I don't know how well supported the Intel HD GPUs are under Linux. Also it'll generate more heat and even if the case I pick can handle it, it's one more thing to worry about.

Any advice or suggestions?

[teaguecl]

I have an ION 330 (see my sig) and I like it a lot. However... I don't think I would recommend an ION if your building a new machine in 2012. It's a little weak. The UI is not sluggish at all, but sometimes you need more CPU horsepower than the Ion can provide. A few examples:
- I use XBMCbuntu, and trying to view video in a browser doesn't work well at all.
- It's very rare, but sometimes I run into a file that uses a non-vdpau compatible codec. Ion doesn't have enough oomph, so I have to re-encode it with handbrake
- same as above with some of the streaming plugins. If it doesn't work with vdpau, then it stutters.
- I use the TVGuide plugin along with a HDHomerun tuner. This combination can bog down video playback. HDHomerun by itself works fine.

I love my ION, but I built it in 2010. For the reasons listed above, I would go with something with enough CPU power to decode 1080i HDTV if I were building today. Plus, in the last two years it's become much easier to build a fanless machine! As for booting, SSD's are great, USB drives are OK, and PXE boot sounds cool but I haven't tried.

I know that's not helpful in suggesting specific hardware - but I hope it is helpful nonetheless.

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With the Ivy Bridge (probably an i3), I doubt I'll have any UI troubles, but I don't know how well supported the Intel HD GPUs are under Linux. Also it'll generate more heat and even if the case I pick can handle it, it's one more thing to worry about.

You might be surprised at how the Intel GPU's are doing under linux these days. If you search the forums, there has been a lot of improvement in that area recently. You're right to be concerned about heat - it's a big problem. Any energy your system uses will result in heat. You need to dissipate that heat into the ambient air in the room. So you need to do the following:
- use as little power as you can. Get enough system to do what you need, and no more. Undervolt the CPU if you are comfortable with that. Eliminate unnecessary parts (video card, hard drive)
- dissipate the heat over a large area. Use a picoPSU so it's heat is external to your case. Get a case with aluminum fins on the outside (see my sig). Don't put your HTPC in a closed cabinet - it needs exposure to the ambient room air.

[kirby]

Thanks for the reply.

I'm not so worried about random files or transcoding, it would be rare enough to get something that's not a standard thing I could accelerate that I'm ok doing it. My backend file server already serves as a transcoding box. After I watch a blu-ray a few times, I'll shrink it.

I hadn't thought about streaming, I don't do much of it now, but imagine I would want to. Also I'll be looking for something like the TV Guide add-on, I've got a couple of HRDRs from a SageTV setup (that's what I'm migrating from).

So it sounds like I should try an i3 Ivy Bridge with its integrated graphics and an or just a USB stick. I'm already setup to use gigE, so I won't need wireless. I think the 5 series from HD-Plex should be able to handle that thermal load. I'm not putting this in a rack or anything, it'll be in an open TV cabinet, but there's no explicit airflow like fan or anything.

[thethirdnut]

I'd go for an i3 + NVidia solution.

My Atom 330 + GT240 plays well, however, the i3-540 + GT430 does have a more fluid feel to it. IMHO at this point I don't see point in going back to 2 year-old Atom solutions unless cost is only motivation.

My $0.02.

[zxz0O0]

I use i3 2125 with XBMCbuntu (built 2 weeks ago) and it runs without any problems. Playing my 1080p movies from NAS flawlessly.

[kirby]

I'd go for an i3 + NVidia solution.

My Atom 330 + GT240 plays well, however, the i3-540 + GT430 does have a more fluid feel to it. IMHO at this point I don't see point in going back to 2 year-old Atom solutions unless cost is only motivation.

My $0.02.

I agree that i3 + Nvidia card solves the horsepower problems. Because I want fanless, I'm trying to avoid a separate video card. Really, the only reason I'm considering the ION is the nvidia integrated graphics combines with low power.

[discmeister]

I'm kind of in the same boat, Kirby. I don't want to run Windows because I consider it an overhead I don't really need. I want to run OpenELEC or XBMCBuntu. Thing is, my current set-up - Athlon X2 plus GeForce G210 (passive) - has had me totally frustrated with various versions and mods of OpenELEC and XBMCBuntu because of nVidia and network glitches. I'm basically desperate to just have a nice Sandybridge/Ivybridge set-up, where there's a CPU, a mobo, RAM and an SSD, and nothing else. PSU will be a 120W PicoPSU (the one that can cope with different voltages) and a 19V 6.3A power brick outside the case - fanless.

I don't want to play 3D 1080p or do any gaming - just want to watch 720p or 1080p encoded movies and television, and listen to MP3s or FLACs. I want a nice slick UI, regardless of whatever skin I'm using. And that's about it.

I'm very close to pressing the button on a basic G530 set-up, but have recently started looking at base i3 3220 Ivybridge CPUs as a (more expensive) alternative because, well, if I build the system and then find it stuttering to the point where I have to put the G210 back in there, I'm going to cry...

If any of my research can help, I'll be glad to share my thoughts and frustrations!

Discy

[b0ssman]

i got a g620 on a h77 board. Up until recently i used a geforce 210 with it because my projector didnt like the onboard intel grafics.

I now have a tw-3200 projector and removed the geforce 210 and using openelec it runs very well. (i havnt tried interlaced).

[Robgue]

Why not the Pivos Xios DS? The linux beta works really well right now even in beta. It does everything you need and will be much cheaper.

[kirby]

Why not the Pivos Xios DS? The linux beta works really well right now even in beta. It does everything you need and will be much cheaper.

"the Linux beta" of what? There's a beta of Linux running on whatever hardware is in this Android box? Or is it a beta of OpenElec? or XBMCbuntu? I'm coming from a SageTV system with a Sage HD300 extender, so the idea of a way-smaller than itx embedded box is exciting, but I'm concerned that the UI and other features will be sluggish.

[teaguecl]

Why not the Pivos Xios DS? The linux beta works really well right now even in beta. It does everything you need and will be much cheaper.

I don't know much about this box. I couldn't tell if it was fanless or not, but 10/100 ethernet might be a problem. I have 100mb at home and it's fast enough to stream uncompressed blu-ray, but gigE is important so some people. It's an ARM A9 processor, which to be honest scares me. It might be a great machine, but I don't want to be first in line - I'll wait and see on something like that.

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Why not the Pivos Xios DS? The linux beta works really well right now even in beta. It does everything you need and will be much cheaper.

"the Linux beta" of what? There's a beta of Linux running on whatever hardware is in this Android box? Or is it a beta of OpenElec? or XBMCbuntu? I'm coming from a SageTV system with a Sage HD300 extender, so the idea of a way-smaller than itx embedded box is exciting, but I'm concerned that the UI and other features will be sluggish.

I think he meant to say the "Android beta" of XBMC.

[Robgue]

It is fanless.

10/100 ethernet is more than enough for any type of video xbmc can play.

The A9 is good enough for most things assuming the poster wants an appliance like experience. They want a "frontend".

There are 2 versions of xbmc for the xios. There is an alpha android xbmc version. I'm not currently using this version.
The version I was referring to was the linux version. This is an image that boots directly into xbmc. No android anything. It is pretty stable for a beta currently.

Most of the video plugins work. Hulu, espn, etc.

Some heavier skins may give you issues but even that should be tweaked as development matures. I'm using the default, Confluence.

It's in beta but very usable. Functionality can only get better.

[kirby]

It is fanless.

10/100 ethernet is more than enough for any type of video xbmc can play.

Completely agree about the 10/100. BD maximum bit rate is supposed to be 54Mbps. Assuming good connection to a reasonable switch, 100Mbit is fine. My SageTV extender is 10/100 and I've got had no problems for over two years.

The A9 is good enough for most things assuming the poster wants an appliance like experience. They want a "frontend".

There are 2 versions of xbmc for the xios. There is an alpha android xbmc version. I'm not currently using this version.
The version I was referring to was the linux version. This is an image that boots directly into xbmc. No android anything. It is pretty stable for a beta currently.

Most of the video plugins work. Hulu, espn, etc.

Some heavier skins may give you issues but even that should be tweaked as development matures. I'm using the default, Confluence.

It's in beta but very usable. Functionality can only get better.

Thanks for the followup. I was looking for an appliance type experience, but after digging into XBMC just a little, I'm discovering that my mental model is wrong. With SageTV, the server does all or most of the hard UI work. With XMBC, there is no "server" (except for a file server), but that means what I call a "extender" may have to do more work than I'm used to. That's not meant to say one is better, it just means I need to think differently. I think I'm going to look at a front-end with some more horsepower as my first trip into XBMC land. It should give me more flexibility. For other TVs, I'll be looking at things like the device you posted.

[teaguecl]

There are 2 versions of xbmc for the xios. There is an alpha android xbmc version. I'm not currently using this version.
The version I was referring to was the linux version. This is an image that boots directly into xbmc. No android anything. It is pretty stable for a beta currently.

Most of the video plugins work. Hulu, espn, etc.

Thanks for the info, very interesting device. Do you know about Netflix on this device? I'm assuming the Linux version is a no-go, but I've been optimistic that the Android version might be able to support it.

[Robgue]

Yeah different strokes for different folks. That's the great thing about xbmc now. So many options including arm/android based ones.

The android version does support Netflix. It has some issues right now with ICS that need to be worked out. Picture quality, maybe something else. I don't want to pretend to know as I have been using the linux image. I'll play with the android version once they release a beta though. That should be pretty interesting once that development moves along. I'm dreaming of the old xbox xbmc with emulators, netflix, etc. That would rock pretty hard. Patience.