[NBAJ2K]

I've had a makeshift setup for awhile now with XBMC loaded on my Windows PC. I have it setup so that I can select XBMC on my Harmony One remote, and it will automatically run XBMC on my Windows PC, and move the window over to my television. It's worked for awhile, but seems to have issues often, so I decided its time for a separate set top box so I don't have to worry about that.

I was contemplating either ordering a XIOS DS or Raspberry PI (the new 512 mb board) and loading XBMC on that. I'm hoping if possible to use a skin other than the basic Confluence theme if possible (doesn't have to be anything to crazy if its too laggy). I was originally interested in XIOS because of the Android support, but have read that the Linux version is much faster and more stable, so for now that's what I would use, especially since it would boot right into XBMC. Should I have any issues using the box to accessing files from my External USB that's attached to my Windows PC? I wouldn't think so, but I have never messed too much with anything Linux based before.

The other option I was considering was to buy a Raspberry PI. Obviously it is a lot cheaper, so that in itself would cause me to think that the XIOS would provide much better playback. I'm hoping to play HD MKV files if possible, since that's what most of my files are. If playback would be the same between the 2, I'd probably settle for the cheaper Raspberry PI for now. ($35 instead of $114). I would then purchase another box probably in the future when the Android Builds are more stable.

Ideally I'd like to build an HTPC that is easily upgradable, but I don't have the money to do so, hoping to spend under $150 for right now.

Is there anyone that could lend some assistance, or provide an alternate suggestion if there is a better solution? I apologize if this is a ridiculous comparison, just trying to make sure I make the best choice. I saw something about an Oval Elephant Android box as well, but I'm not sure if it makes sense to throw that into the mix since the Android builds are currently based on Pivos Xios DS.

Thanks in advance!

~J

[Vaevictus2]

remember - for $35 you *can* get a raspberry pi. Remember this though:

No case
No wifi
No power supply
No hdmi cable
No SD card

and I am not sure but I think you have to buy a codec pack for it for all the different video types support.

Add in all those peripherals and it will be closer to $75

The xios is more powerful and will probably offer less lag in the gui than the pi

disclaimer: I own neither a raspberry pi nor a xios

[NBAJ2K]

remember - for $35 you *can* get a raspberry pi. Remember this though:

No case
No wifi
No power supply
No hdmi cable
No SD card

and I am not sure but I think you have to buy a codec pack for it for all the different video types support.

Add in all those peripherals and it will be closer to $75

The xios is more powerful and will probably offer less lag in the gui than the pi

disclaimer: I own neither a raspberry pi nor a xios

Thanks for the input, I was thinking the same thing. Raspberry PI seems to be inexpensive, but once you factor in the additional items you have to buy, the price definitely goes up. If the Xios DS is that much more powerful, probably makes more sense

Does anyone know if the XIOS DS would make the most sense then for the price, or if there is another alternative out there that would make more sense? Since the builds are being made for the XIOS, I would think that would be the better option. I could buy it and use Linux on it up until a stable Android build comes out for it. For those that have experience using it with Linux, does it seem to be pretty smooth when playing files over the network?

I currently have my USB harddrive (with all my media) directly connected to a PC on my network. I wish I could just plug it straight into the XIOS DS and have my PC download to straight to it, but I know I can't do that. I'd want to share it with the AppleTV2 in the bedroom with XBMC anyway.

Thanks,

~J

[Ned Scott]

$75?? no way.

Case - old (cleaned out) jar of peanut butter - FREE

Wifi - wifi sucks. Regardless of what player you go with, I strongly recommend a wired connection over wifi for smooth 1080 playback every time.

Power supply - Easy enough to get the micro USB cable and a USB power supply from a place like meritline.com for $3 for both

HDMI cable - Often on sale at meritline.com for $1 (and meets HDMI standards!). If not on sale, $2-3

SD card - $5-10


That being said, get the Pivos :D

[NBAJ2K]

$75?? no way.

Case - old (cleaned out) jar of peanut butter - FREE

Wifi - wifi sucks. Regardless of what player you go with, I strongly recommend a wired connection over wifi for smooth 1080 playback every time.

Power supply - Easy enough to get the micro USB cable and a USB power supply from a place like meritline.com for $3 for both

HDMI cable - Often on sale at meritline.com for $1 (and meets HDMI standards!). If not on sale, $2-3

SD card - $5-10


That being said, get the Pivos

Thanks! So should the Pivos easily outperform the Raspberry Pi 512mb in terms of less lag and better playback of HD media ? I may wait for Black Friday to see if it goes on sale for 99 again. Is Linux XBMC on the box definitely the way to go?

-J

[Vaevictus2]

linux definitely from what I've read.

Im waiting for mine to be delivered then i'll get linux xbmc straight on it.

one thing as well - pivos are sponsoring xbmc development so in buying one you are indirectly giving to the cause

oh and you get a remote with the pivos, that's another 10$ you save.

[NBAJ2K]

linux definitely from what I've read.

Im waiting for mine to be delivered then i'll get linux xbmc straight on it.

one thing as well - pivos are sponsoring xbmc development so in buying one you are indirectly giving to the cause

oh and you get a remote with the pivos, that's another 10$ you save.

Thanks for the info. I'll be using the Harmony One, so that won't matter too much. But the difference in response is key, so I'll probably pick up a Pivos

[Dan13l]

I've just sold my Raspberry Pi on ebay.

It's a cute idea - the cheap, tiny component that can act as your XBMC device, but in practice it doesn't work.

The UI is extremely laggy (this was using the latest versions of various distrubutions), playing a video from my network took several seconds (as many as 15 sometimes) to spring into action. This was using ethernet.

If you're on a really tight budget, or in love with the idea of the RasPi, then great, good luck to you, go for it. But if you're used to any reasonably performant media streaming solution, the Pi isn't the way to go.

I'm waiting for the Euro launch of the Xios and then I'm ordering one of those. Everything I've read and seen suggests that's the way to go for an appliance based XBMC solution.

Oh, and one other thing: using the Harmony remote is fine, but you'll need to at least get an IR receiver for the Pi.

[Kael]

Right now for XBMC? I'd go with the XIOS DS. In the near future? There's a Geniatech AV1200/etc supposed to come out soon (Nov 9th, I hear) for $100ish that features dual-core.

If you can hold off a little longer, you can still preorder the Ouya for $99 (shipping March '13). That will probably blow these out of the water quality control wise. There was an XBMC blog post about working with the Ouya team to bring XBMC to it since it's based on the Android and is completely open. Comes with a nice wireless controller for emulator action as well.

I went the Ouya route for my main TV system, it'll replace an AMD-based HTPC (Win7) probably. For my garage system (has to be Android based for the Dish Network app) which will play mainly DVD or less (it's a gym setup), I just went with a $59 MK808. The Dish Network app needs the extra power and a lot of the kinks were worked out in the MK808 (heat-sinks, ventilation, and better wifi antenna's). Saves me from having to pay Dish monthly for another box.

[lrusak]

I honestly didn't really enjoy the XIOS DS, I actually prefer my RPi over it. Especially considering the price, $35 vs $120.

[RealDealNeil]

Right now for XBMC? I'd go with the XIOS DS. In the near future? There's a Geniatech AV1200/etc supposed to come out soon (Nov 9th, I hear) for $100ish that features dual-core.

If you can hold off a little longer, you can still preorder the Ouya for $99 (shipping March '13). That will probably blow these out of the water quality control wise. There was an XBMC blog post about working with the Ouya team to bring XBMC to it since it's based on the Android and is completely open. Comes with a nice wireless controller for emulator action as well.

I went the Ouya route for my main TV system, it'll replace an AMD-based HTPC (Win7) probably. For my garage system (has to be Android based for the Dish Network app) which will play mainly DVD or less (it's a gym setup), I just went with a $59 MK808. The Dish Network app needs the extra power and a lot of the kinks were worked out in the MK808 (heat-sinks, ventilation, and better wifi antenna's). Saves me from having to pay Dish monthly for another box.

Any idea if Ouya stays at $99 after launch? It should - it's an attractive price point for marketing. I want to wait until it launches to make sure it's solid, although the buzz could sell it out quickly.

[NBAJ2K]

I honestly didn't really enjoy the XIOS DS, I actually prefer my RPi over it. Especially considering the price, $35 vs $120.

Thanks for the feedback, what made you like it better?

[frogger23]

I also have a RPi and a Xios DS.
For many of my 50Hz Files the Xios DS is unusable. The refresh rate of the device is fixed at 60 Hz and audio ist out of sync.
Also the RPi has CEC-Support, so you can use your TV-Remote (depends on your TV).
At the moment the RPi ist the better choice for me.
But I hope that the Xios ist getting well soon, because it looks nice and I think it has potential.

[NBAJ2K]

Right now for XBMC? I'd go with the XIOS DS. In the near future? There's a Geniatech AV1200/etc supposed to come out soon (Nov 9th, I hear) for $100ish that features dual-core.

If you can hold off a little longer, you can still preorder the Ouya for $99 (shipping March '13). That will probably blow these out of the water quality control wise. There was an XBMC blog post about working with the Ouya team to bring XBMC to it since it's based on the Android and is completely open. Comes with a nice wireless controller for emulator action as well.

I went the Ouya route for my main TV system, it'll replace an AMD-based HTPC (Win7) probably. For my garage system (has to be Android based for the Dish Network app) which will play mainly DVD or less (it's a gym setup), I just went with a $59 MK808. The Dish Network app needs the extra power and a lot of the kinks were worked out in the MK808 (heat-sinks, ventilation, and better wifi antenna's). Saves me from having to pay Dish monthly for another box.

Ouya is definitely the route I want to end up going, as I figure/hope by the time its out the XBMC Android port will be working pretty well. I should just place the order for that now, since the release date for the newer orders is already pushed back to April 2013. Honestly I could really care less as of now about the gaming component of the box, but XBMC is what that would be for

I found the the Geniatech AV1200 you were talking about
http://www.geniatech.com/pa/atv1200.asp

The specs definitely seem to be better, but will the XBMC build support be there as it is for the Xios DS since that has the official XBMC builds being written for it? I'm assuming I wouldn't be able to run the smoother XBMC Linux builds at this point on the box. I do like that it looks like it supports external hard drives.

~J