[jglenny]

Hi,

Heard of xbmc for a while but never really got round to looking at it properly until now. Figured as I was moving house I would set it up in my mancave... (and if successful maybe the rest of the house).

I have downloaded it to my laptop fine and while it can be a little clunky and slow I can use it and it looks great. If I had it plugged into the TV with a remote I could just leave it on and be able to play my locally stored files as well as a few add ons I have found.

I would like a dedicated piece of kit for it though. The laptop cant quite handle it plus it is not ideal etc etc, it was more of a test before I spent any money. Looking at what to get is where I am getting confused.... I have read a lot of threads and people are recommending anything from android sticks to full blown servers to specialist media boxes. Surely the simplest solution (for me anyway) is to buy a PC of decent enough spec (or build one myself), get a remote for it (if this is possible) and set it up the same way I have with my laptop?

Seems simple enough but then I read threads of people backing up onto servers, having 10 HD's etc....

[noggin]

Yes. Many of us split the server requirement from the HTPC requirement. If you don't need the server bit (i.e. a large store for your media) and are happy to play from external USB drives (or just have a small amount of media that can be stored on a relatively small drive) then you just need the HTPC bit.

You can either build your own - or look at some of the barebones or small PCs (NUCs, Brixs, Acer Revos, Lenovo Qs etc) if you want something that basically just works. If you don't need Windows-specific stuff like Netflix etc. then OpenElec is a great fit (and means no need to buy Windows)

You could look at the Android solutions - but most of us prefer the x86 approach (particularly if you want support for frame rate switching which Android doesn't support).

[jglenny]

Thanks for the reply, OpenElec looks perfect for what I need. I though a couple of TB was a large store but after reading here it seems not!!

My only question with an external usb drive, would it lag and slow things down?

[calev]

Thanks for the reply, OpenElec looks perfect for what I need. I though a couple of TB was a large store but after reading here it seems not!!

My only question with an external usb drive, would it lag and slow things down?

No. Especially if its usb3.0. usb 3.0 has a faster transfer rate than most hard drives' read rates. Even over a 2.0 port I have never noticed a difference.

[jglenny]

Found this on Amazon, £150 without storage and system. On top of this I would just need,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0074...uctDetails

SSD 30gb - £30
External HD for my media.
OpenElec - Free

Only downside is it isn't wi-fi so I would need to have the internet wired up for streaming (which might be better for speeds anyway). And it only has USB 2.0 but if you are saying you haven't noticed a difference.....

[nickr]

Forget wifi if you can possibly wire it.

USB 2.0 is fine. It has 10x the throughput of bluray bitrates.

[noggin]

Thanks for the reply, OpenElec looks perfect for what I need. I though a couple of TB was a large store but after reading here it seems not!!

My only question with an external usb drive, would it lag and slow things down?

USB2.0 drives are fine for real-time playback of Blu-ray video (and I've got higher bitrate stuff that also plays fine). The only real advantage of USB3.0 drives for media is if you are using them for backup or need to copy large amounts of data between drives.

And avoid WiFi if you are interested in decent bitrate HD. Whilst it can work in some situations (and 802.11ac is a major improvement), wired connections work far better, as do the better power line adaptors (though in the US Powerline has issues with the split 2x110V / 220V stuff that we don't have in Europe).

[jglenny]

Thanks again everyone you have helped me a lot.

I will need to wait until move in to my new house to see if if going wired is practical. Anyone got any other recommendations/links to other units similar/cheaper/better than the one I posted? UK based.

[noggin]

If you can't go wired - seriously look at power line converters rather than WiFi (unless you are in the US)

[LazerBlue]

If it's a brand new house, you could do like I always do and sneak in right before the drywall goes up and run the wires. Then you just have to cut the box once you sign on the dotted line.

[jglenny]

When I say new house I don't mean new build just new for me.... We should complete in three weeks or so.

I have no clue what you mean by power line converters so I will google that now and find out!!

[noggin]

When I say new house I don't mean new build just new for me.... We should complete in three weeks or so.

I have no clue what you mean by power line converters so I will google that now and find out!!

I'm guessing you might be a fellow Brit from talking about completing a house purchase? Powerline converters let you send Ethernet networks over your domestic mains cables. They can work well - particularly if you have decent house wiring - and the 500Mbs models are usually good enough for Blu-ray streaming, and much more reliable than WiFi.

(The US has a different mains system - where a 220V feed is used for ovens, dryers etc. but also split into two separate 110V feeds for the house. Powerline doesn't work well across the two 110V feeds - only on the same one - but the US has more coax for cable TV - so MoCa which is Ethernet over coax is a good replacement the other side of the pond)

[jglenny]

Hi Noggin

Yes I am a fellow Brit and I can't believe I have never heard of these powerline converters!! They seem ideal, I remember 10 years ago or so drilling holes and running an ethernet cable round the outside of the house so I could have internet in my bedroom at the parents house.

I have now been looking at a gigabyte box but I just cannot decide what to get..... I won't be touching wifi so the box I posted up earlier looks ok.... I don't want to sped £200 and not be happy or want/need to upgrade a week or so afterwards.

[jglenny]

Double post sorry but I have also seen this.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00DP...=computers