[EndersShadow]

So I've been out of the XBMC (or should I say Kodi) scene for a bit. I built a HTPC device for my audio stuff but due to circumstances had to sell it and never really got back on the horse till recently.

I searched high and low for a Kodi solution that was cheap, worked right, and did 1080p/Lossless audio. I couldn't find anything, so I went with another solution for a bit. Here's what I've got going on right now so you understand what I'm coming from.

I ripped all my movies to a 3TB HDD. They are all uncompressed with just the movie and the highest audio codec on the disc (DTS 5.1/True-HD/DTS-MA). I have a WD Live TV as its the ONLY cheap streaming device capable of 1080p and lossless audio.

BUT............

I'm running out of space on my drive and I've proved my "Proof of concept" to myself and my wife about how nice it is to have all our movies ripped and accessible 24/7.

So I'm looking to move to a more scaleable setup.

And here is where I am needing help. Last time I was looking and doing stuff the FM1/FM2 was the one to beat as far as GPU was concerned. I was looking at the FM2 A6-5600k APU, but noticed there are some AM1 builds on the market and I'm not familiar with what those are. I also dont know if the Intel HD Graphics have gotten better. So I'm kinda lost there and need some help with the component selection.

So here are some things I am NOT looking for.

1. Not gonna compress my movies.
2. Not gonna use this to rip them. I've got a quad core 9650 system with blu ray drive that is more than capable of ripping the movies. I will transfer them to this system once thats done.
3. I don't game.
4. I dont need Netflix (have a Xbox 360 for that)
5. Not interested in a build that requires a dedicated graphic card.

I am planning on buying the following:

1. SSD for the OS. Likely a Samsung or OCZ 120 gig of some sort. I will be running Windows 7 (so I have driver support for stuff) with Kodi running at startup. Or at least thats the plan for now, feel free to try and change my mind.
2. Corsair 430 watt PSU. Likely NOT modular, but I go back and forth.
3. Silverstone GD04 or GD05 in black. Leaning toward the 05 so I can use the 5.25 bay for another 3.5" HDD. I need it to look at home with my other HT equipment and those cases both do, and also have room for 4 hard drives.

Here are some things I AM looking for

1. Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX form factor
2. 4 SATA connectors. 6 gigs per second would be awesome, but I will take what I can get
3. HDMI out x 1
4. USB 3.0 connectors. USB 3.0 headers would be awesome but not required

So thanks in advance for the help fellas. I look forward to learning some more.

[shabuboy]

My suggestion, get a NAS and separate the data from the Kodi client.
Then just get any client based on your requirements. Popular choices these days, AFTV, Chromebox or Pi2. Oh yeah, and Zotac BI320.

If you choose the correct NAS, it can be years before you touch it again.
With Kodi client, the way things are changing, you might want to try something new very soon


Added: See "Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015)"

[Matt Devo]

agreed - get a nice, reliable, OTS NAS to handle all your storage needs (and optionally run any back-end services), and just buy the cheapest Kodi client machine that fits your needs now, and then replace it in a year or two when you decide you need 4K/HEVC support

[EndersShadow]

Thanks guys.... I think I am doing something "similar" to what you suggest..

My current computer upstairs is being moved from a Antec P182 to a Silverstone GD-07b case. I've got a Intel Q9650 in that setup and wanted the HTPC case (which is huge I know) as that computer will eventually go in my 2 channel gear rack so I needed the new orientation.

Once I've done that, I will be buying 2 internal 4 TB drives to put in that system (on top of the existing drives). One of those drives will be for Kid's movies, another for Non-Kid movies. That much space should free me up for the time being.

I am also going to either hardwire my setup (significantly hard to do given my gear) or upgrade my router to a Wireless N dual band router since both my upstairs computer, and downstairs network bridge can do 5 GHz wireless N. Hopefully if I go with Wireless N @ 5 Ghz it will help keep any drop-outs to a minimum, but we will see...

Doing that will for now allow me to keep the WD Live in the mix, while looking for the right Kodi client....

Alternatively, I've been told to look HARD at PLEX, and with all my movies on one computer, that is a viable option as well though costly for the license.... would work similarly.

[wrxtasy]

HD Audio + Superior Graphics for the $ payed = Chromebox running Openelec / Kodi - just buy the 2GB standard edition that everyone else gets. Even 2GB is overkill just for Kodi.

Chromebox internals + Toslink + Windows 7 = Zotac BI320, the bare bones edition

Then get a NAS, WD Cloud series is very good value.

[aptalca]

I use unraid for my nas. It runs the Plex media server (in a xen Ubuntu vm) and is capable of transcoding multiple streams at once (family members all over the US remote streaming from my server)

As for the main htpc, I was using a box I built with amd a6 with openelec until it died last week. I then bought and set up an Asus chromebox with openelec that works just as well as the a6, while smaller, quieter and uses less power (thanks to Matt Devo's script it was a breeze seeing it up).

I also have some rokus, a Chromecast and amazon fire TVs around the house mainly for Netflix and Plex.

I use trakt for syncing watched status between xbmc and Plex

[EndersShadow]

I use unraid for my nas. It runs the Plex media server (in a xen Ubuntu vm) and is capable of transcoding multiple streams at once (family members all over the US remote streaming from my server)

As for the main htpc, I was using a box I built with amd a6 with openelec until it died last week. I then bought and set up an Asus chromebox with openelec that works just as well as the a6, while smaller, quieter and uses less power (thanks to Matt Devo's script it was a breeze seeing it up).

I also have some rokus, a Chromecast and amazon fire TVs around the house mainly for Netflix and Plex.

I use trakt for syncing watched status between xbmc and Plex

Thanks for mentioning that.. I've been told Chromebox's work quite well as streamers, and I "may" go down this road at some point.

I think what I am going to do is start building the backend first and put that in place and then see what streaming options are out there. I've got enough space in my old computer (going into a SilverStone GD-08 case) to basically make it a computer/server storage setup. Then I need to double check my wireless network can handle the bandwidth. To start with, we'd either be streaming in the bedroom or the living room, but likely NOT at the same time....

In a couple years... who knows.... but the tech is going to have changed too.