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Thanks diapason, music is my main aim before anything else (sat listening to Stevie Ray Vaughan acoustic live as i type). I currently use my Acer and LG disc drive to rip to HDD using dbpoweramp and play through the Squeezebox. My PC and Squeezebox are connected to my Arcam amp and Kef floorstanding speakers. I was generally happy with the set up until i moved to a new smaller listening/viewing room. It's a lot smaller than my old room and i am a lot nearer to the set up. The big Kefs feel overwhelming and i wanted to swap them for something smaller, possibly active speakers. One thing that had become an annoyance with the Revo was that it's a bit slow and this was brought home when i purchased a DVB 2 tuner for HDTV, which my PC can't handle smoothly, so i thought maybe it's time for a rethink on my set up.
Been off the scene for a while renovating my house, so i thought i'd have a scout about the internet. Things have moved on a lot in that time. Android and Chrome seem to be taking over and i quite like Chrome, so it seemed the way to go 'til my other half pointed out that without windows, there would be no downloading and everything is app based. No app, you can't do it. She would also like to keep Windows for other stuff but has her own set up in her office, so that is not a sticking point for my set up.
Having slept on it, i am ok with the set up i have PC wise, so maybe i just need to get a faster PC or try to speed up the one i have. Wouldn't know how to go about that but i'm sure i could figure it out. Still not sure it would handle HDTV though. So maybe a seperate box like the Wetek to handle that side of it would suffice. Anyway, i'm waffling again.
Does your NUC handle the audio playback side of things and if so, what's the sound quality like? The Squeezebox sound is amazing but it can be a buggy frustrating experience. I wouldn't be opposed to losing it if there's an easier option with comparable sound. I have access to a couple of laptops and can rip on those if need be.
My wish list is music playing/streaming, streaming films and tv shows followed by live tv for the odd times they have something worth watching but with the ability to watch it when i want and finally, i really need a web browser of some sort. I am self employed and need to order stuff, do banking and accounts etc etc. I could do all this elsewhere on different devices, but i like to do everything in one place, on my sofa listening to tunes. Suppose a lap top could take care of all that.
I want to simplify and downsize everything. Thought it would be a breeze but it's anything but at the moment.
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flekz
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To add my 2 cents, I've found that chucking yourself in at the deep end and researching and tinkering gets a much better result that settling for something 'out of the box' (not that I have tried all options out there).
If you have the time, its great fun setting everything up how you want it. Sure its frustrating too at times but the internet has always helped me resolve any issues. Its not for everyone though, I appreciate that.
My setup - N2830 NUC + 64GB SSD + 4GB RAM + Logitech K400 wireless keyboard. This lot only cost me £165 and it runs OpenElec and Windows7 beautifully (I have a dual boot setup). Took me a long time to set up, with several hitches along the way, but I have enjoyed the process and I am constantly tinkering and adding things to make it even better.
Devices
- NAS: Synology DS212, 6TB, MySQL
- HTPC: Intel NUC N2830, 2.4ghz, 4GB RAM, SSD, Win 7 & OpenElec (dual boot) / Kodi 15.2
- PC: Lenovo M92P, 3.2ghz, 12GB RAM, Win 10 / Kodi 17.4
- Laptop: Acer 5750G, 2.9ghz, 8GB RAM, SSD, Windows 10 / Kodi 15.2
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stefcon1, I use the NUC for music purposes (via Kodi) but not in the audiophile system. I'm a dinosaur there and I'm still using a Wadia CD player. I haven't compared the sound quality of the NUC to the CD player, but it suits my needs fine. I have read elsewhere that some others don't find Kodi as good sonically as some other options for music, but I can't comment on that. It is, however, extremely convenient in terms of use since I can use a remote control or an app on the phone, and artwork is downloaded automatically and can be displayed on the screen, etc. etc.
I'm inclined to think that you might feel more comfortable just installing Windows on a NUC or similar and getting on with your life. I enjoy the tinkering and I'm with flekz as regards the deep end because it's worked well for me, but I know not everyone feels the same way. However, when I think of "simpler" I don't think of Windows, so you may end up tinkering anyway!
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2015-01-30, 16:31
(This post was last modified: 2015-01-30, 16:33 by stefcon1.)
Thanks for all your useful replies guys; very helpful.
So having spoken to my partner and her daughter, both of whom are better with computers than me but only conversant with Windows, the general consensus is that if i get stuck and want any help, unless it's Windows, i'm on my own. So with this in mind and the fact that i only really know Windows systems, i'm going to stick instead of twist. I know Windows is heavy and uses a lot of resources but it's what i know. I've spent the last 2 years working my doo-dahs off, getting ready for semi retirement and right now i just want to relax, watch a film, listen to music or whatever without any hassle. I may feel differently after a while when i start getting bored,which will happen.
So, with this in mind, how do i achieve this with my annoyingly slow computer that struggles to run HDTV from a usb tuner. Can i upgrade it easily and is it worth doing so? I don't mind buying a new unit and have had a look at the NUC on Amazon, which has very mixed reviews ranging from utter rubbish to the best thing ever. People moaning about having to change the bios and it won't do this, that and the other function. I suspect those are the people like me, who don't know how to tweak things.
The other question i have is about getting windows onto a barebones unit. The Revo came with it pre-installed and i don't think i have a disk,so can it be ported to a new unit from this one?
I also like the dual booting idea, so i can have a play around with other systems like openelec or ubuntu, which looks interesting. If i do get a new machine, can i re-purpose the Acer, for instance as a NAS attached to my router. Suppose i could just use it for trying other stuff on.
Finally, if after a bit of snooping around, if i find i don't want a barebones unit and want something more plug and play, can anybody recommend something like the Revo i could look at, which is faster. Also wondering if i ought to go a bit higher spec to make things a bit more future proof and handle everything i want to do with room to spare, i3 or i5 ? I don't mind spending a bit more as i want good performance and am happy to pay for premium performance having spent a small fortune on high end HIFI over the years.
Sorry for all the very long posts. I want to get it right.
Many thanks, this is a good forum.
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Given all that, then, I think a NUC with pre-installed Windows would be what you're after. You can technically port your Win7 licence over, but it may be more hassle than it's worth for an OS that's already reached end of mainstream support (patches will still flow until 2020, though). I think Win10 is intended to be a free upgrade from 8.1, so that may be of interest to you.
There are similar systems - I think the Brix is one? - so that's what you're looking for. The price will go up quickly, however: a Windows-capable system (licensed, enough RAM) with a decent processor (i3+) is likely to be heading for £400 at a guess.If you buy barebones, you'd have to buy an aftermarket Windows licence, and that'll be the thick end of £80 for a full version (half that if you wanted to delete Win7 and re-use the key as part of an upgrade).
Upgrading the Revo... yes, you could try SSD... yes, you can put in more RAM... no, you can't upgrade the CPU, nor the graphics with any sense, so it's probably a dead end unless disk/memory access is your problem. The HDTV issue may be a driver problem, of course, so you could spend £100 on upgrades and simply get to a bug that little bit faster (SSDs are very worthwhile, that said - my upgrade of choice on several systems).
As a final vote for OpenElec, though - I very, very rarely do anything at an OS level on OE. It's not necessary: it's a single image that contains just enough operating system to run Kodi, and that's about it. The fact that it's running a variant of Linux... well, so is my Panasonic TV, and my Android 'phone, but that doesn't mean that I ever really interact with the operating system*. It may even support your TV tuner better, although you'd have to learn a different PVR backend (tvheadend and VDR come bundled, I think).
* Okay, that's only partly true, as I've used a command line on my 'phone more than a few times - but that says more about me than the 'phone!
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Right, once again folks, thank you, it's all much clearer now. May as well have a look at the upgrade root first to see if that will work. Could you recommend a tutorial of the process. There is no end of youtube vids and articles on 'tinterweb about the subject so i'm sure i'll cope but a recommended guide is always preferable.
If that doesn't work, think i'll turn the Revo into a vortexbox type rig and use it just for music and buy a diferent unit for the other stuff.
Will leave you all alone now.................................for a while anyway.
Thanks.
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Which exact Revo is it? I have a later model so I don't want to assume.
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Cheers, will give it a bash.
Why not the RAM out of curiosity?
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You can upgrade the RAM, but it might not be the night and day boost the SSD will be. I think SSDs are like going from the 20th century to the 21 century. A generational difference.
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Good point Prof, I always forget that lol.
