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2013-10-22, 23:26
(This post was last modified: 2013-10-22, 23:29 by Programie.)
hmmm... looks interesting. But then I could not use a real HTPC case like the Lian-Li PC C37.
And I also want to add a display and an IR sensor. I think that would not be possible using NUC, right?
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noggin
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What OS are you running on your MacMini? 9400M should be OK for most HD stuff - it's the same chipset as ION isn't it? Could be that a switch of OS improves things.
I have a home-built Core2Duo 9400 system that runs fine with Blu-ray 1080p and 1080i content as well as 1080i Live / Recorded TV under Windows and Linux.
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I'm using Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and XBMC Frodo.
But I'm not going to build a new HTPC just because of the choppy video playback. It's also to have a better looking HTPC case, a LCD Display showing some XBMC information like the current playing video, an IR remote control and some other media center features.
So in my case, the normal solution using standard hardware would be the better solution, right?
If so, should I use a dedicated graphics card or use the integrated graphics chip of the CPU?
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I have headed down that path with bigger cases that look like traditional AV gear a year or so back. Having built a couple more HTPCs based on the NUC I have gone to a third which will replace the main HTPC. Rather than a HTPC which looks like AV gear I am now moving to a small form factor that can be hidden behind the TV.
The clincher was realising that we had not used the optical drive in months. The only loss in the NUC is that I will not have optical audio out to my AVR (Which is old enough not to have HDMI inputs) and that means for music I need the TV to be switched on to stream to the AVR via it's optical output. I am not too keen on that but it is not something we do all that often so it does not bother me enough to do anything about it.
If you skip to the end of that NUC thread you will find a couple of pages of me having issues with a Celeron NUC and BD content. In case you do not read right to the end it was eventually resolved by using an Openelec build. I think that the issue was an underlying one within the Ubuntu OS which might have been resolved with drivers, but given OE just worked straight out of the box there was no value in putting more effort into getting a full OS to do the job. These boxes are purely a HTPC for us so no need to have a fully fledged OS behind XBMC.
OE also has one setting I have not seen in XBMC proper as well. The ability to delay the start up of XBMC to wait for ethernet to be up and running, without that I was finding that the TV add on was beating the network and not updating on start up.
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hmm... But I think there is no support for IR out of the box?
And I really love the standard HTPC design. The Intel NUC is just a Box like the Mac mini. It does not really look like a HTPC. But I want the look of a HTPC (The AV Receiver look).
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Not yet. No idea how well it will be implemented but the new Haswell NUC has IR integrated. I am using CEC to control one and FLIRC to control the other as that TV does not support CEC.
Out of the box install of Openelec supported waking the NUC up from sleep with any remote button that was mapped in the FLIRC reciever (In a full ubuntu install waking it up with the FLIRC was proving tricky) and it means the NUC can be hidden away around the rear of the TV with the FLIRC poking out on a USB extension cable valcroed to the bottom of the TV. I have just bought a cheap harmony remote to drive both the TV and XBMC with one remote.
On a side note, I used to have a harmony remote a couple of years ago which I never replaced when it died (I don't have to control as much gear now) I would have to say that the harmony setup over the net is a lot less flexible than it used to be. I was hoping to add two devices to it and then map buttons as I see fit but it is not flexible enough to do it that way any more. Unless there is an advanced mode hidden away somewhere.
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noggin
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2013-10-23, 01:19
(This post was last modified: 2013-10-23, 01:20 by noggin.)
I've built HTPC-style units (four on various occasions) - and still have an i5-3570K build under my main AVR. However for a neat, low-cost, fully HD capable device, my Acer Revo RL80 is taking some beating. Particularly with the addition of an internal CIR receiver that gives it IR control - including power-up and resume from the remote (even from a cold start)
In the UK £129 after Cashback gets : Celeron 1007U, 2GB RAM, 500GB HD, 2 x USB3.0, 4xUSB 2.0, GigE, 802.11n (inc 5GHz) WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI and DVI output, as well as Analogue In/Out and Toslink audio out. (Adding a CIR receiver - basically a TSOP and a header - was a doddle.)
Runs OpenElec Intel build like a champ - and Aeon Nox runs pretty smoothly. Full HD Audio bitstreaming out of the box, and has played all my BD Folders, as well as DVDs so far. It's bigger than a NUC, and doesn't look like an HTPC. But it is cheaper than a lower-powered Celeron 847 NUC and better speced. Not as much fun as building your own - but zero stress - and adding the IR header is a little bit of hacking still!
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Why do you want to go from a Mac Mini form factor to a much bigger HTPC case that's the size of a receiver? Trust me, front LCD display is useless, you can get a lot more info using the XBMC remote on a phone/tablet. And saving space is much more beneficial.
