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CamAE · 2013-09-22, 10:25

Hi guys,

New here and new to htpc. I'm after the cheapest media player that does the following:
-Hdmi video out with analog audio RCA out for connection to old 2 ch amp and PC monitor. I'm after decent sound quality.
-Plays anything that's thrown at it using some variety of XBMC.
-Stable
-Local hardware decoding, not transcoding on a sever then streaming (sorry if this isn't the right terms, new to this) Currently use TVersity to a XBOX360 but sick of not being able to fast forward content that's being transcoded. And all that codec BS! So no raspberry Pi
-No requirement for Wifi or BT, using EoP adapters.
-Will share external HDDs over the network from an old laptop (is this the best idea?)
-Silent running
-Oh and Cheap! <$200?

I've concluded the only option is a Jailbroken AppleTV 1st Gen (RCA audio) with the Broadcom Crystal HD BCM970015 (to play 1080P content). What are your thoughts? Will this do what I want? Is there any other options? My understanding is that Openelec doesn't support USB sound cards and if I was to go this route I would need a windows based full blown htpc?

Thanks

Cam

joelbaby · 2013-09-22, 11:40

Geniatech ATV1200 and ATV1800 worth a look. ATV1200 has its own thread.

CamAE · 2013-09-22, 13:45

(2013-09-22, 11:40)joelbaby Wrote: Geniatech ATV1200 and ATV1800 worth a look. ATV1200 has its own thread.

Thanks, sounds like they're abit of trouble to setup. Unsure if I want that frustration, how would the AppleTV 1 compare?

CamAE · 2013-09-23, 01:15

What about a box that has S/PDIF Optical out then using one of these: http://http://www.parts-express.com/pe/s...er=230-120

However so far from what I can see (http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=94199 OpenELEC builds 5 and 6) are going to blow my budget out of the water. Any cheaper options with optical?

joelbaby · 2013-09-23, 03:49

If you use a normal headphone cable split into RCA red & white at the other end, would that work in your amp?
This would give you more options.

CamAE · 2013-09-23, 03:56

That's what I'm currently doing with a laptop and SQ is horrid! Hisses during the quiet moments and I would like to use it to stream music. Best solution would be a USB sound card but from my understanding these aren't support in OpenELEC, so I would need a full blown HTPC with win 7 to support a USB sound card? (I know I could use this with the laptop I'm currently using, but the laptop is just a temporary solution)

joelbaby · 2013-09-23, 06:46

I think you need to ask yourself how much is that amp really costing you?
You have to spend $30-$50 for an HDMI to RCA converter or a USB sound card in order to retain it. This is also money wasted, because nobody will want to buy the box off you.
Either that or you get an ATV 1, or Geniatech ATV1200. The problem there is the ATV 1 is slow, and the Geniatech will take some fiddling (you'll need to ask on the thread if the RCA outputs work right). There's a few people on here no longer using their Apple TV's if you search the threads.
Either way you end up with 'not the best' solution.

Maybe the $200 can grow a bit more, to make these possibilities:

- Look on gumtree for a second hand 5.1 receiver with HDMI inputs
- Get a Celeron based HTPC like the X-26 and use the HDMI output for sound.
- Save more and get an i3 HTPC

Second hand audio equipment should be cheap to get. Its one of the biggest things people waste their money on, and then take to pawn shops. That's why I suggested gumtree.

I picked up an i5 Sandy Bridge laptop for $280 not long ago. Thrift is the name of the game for you it seems, so why buy new..

nickr · 2013-09-23, 07:45

Most PCs have crap soundcards in the analogue department, which is why most people want digital audio out and let a decent amp decode it to analogue and play it.

But if you have hiss I would suspect your cabling first.

But openelec does support USB audio as far as I know, it's XBMC on raspberry pi that doesn't.

~~Ned Scott~~ · 2013-09-23, 07:50

ATV1 really isn't slow. It might not be able to handle heavy skins gracefully, but it's still faster than most Android boxes out there. If you can get your hands on an ATV1 in good condition and for a fair price, and slap a BCHD (wiki) inside, then it's an excellent HTPC.

CamAE · 2013-09-23, 08:53

It's a vintage amp (from gumtree Wink

), they don't make them like they use to and neither do they make AV receivers with as good a SQ as a dedicated 2 channel amp. This is for a bedroom setup where I have no need for surround/multi-channel sound and will occasionally stream music, so I'm going to stick with it.

From Nicks post above and this thread I'm feeling confident USB soundcards are supported. So I'm going to get one of the X-26 run OpenELEC and give a cheap Behringer UCA222 a go, reasonable solution? Took allot of searching to find info on USB soundcards and OpenELEC

nickr · (This post was last modified: 2013-09-23, 10:13 by nickr.)

I haven't tried the analogue out on my x-26, but you could always buy the x-26 and try the analogue before getting the behringer. I am not an audiophile, so don't ask me for a test!

lukasnmd · 2013-09-23, 16:24

You will pay 4 times more in your solution then in a RasPi + Codecs [50 USD max].

Why?

nickr · 2013-09-23, 21:37

Raspberry pi analogue out is not worth a pinch of ....