[driekus]

I have been a long time user of XBMC/Kodi.

I could use some input here. Currently I run Kodi on Ubuntu 12.04 Linux PC (nvidia GFX). Previously had it hooked up by VGA to my TV in the past no problem. The computer is aging but it has more than enough power to handle kodi.

I bought a new TV and hooked up Kodi via the VGA. What I got was video stuttering presumably because the refresh rate was messing things up. Tried to get Kodi to set the refresh rate to no avail. I then tried to connect Kodi through the HDMI port (PC-HDMI) but the picture quality was poor and almost cartoon like. I took the TV back and switched back to the old TV again no problem.

Is there an issue connecting a PC to a more modern televisions or is this more likely to be a linux issue?

I know that VGA is a dead method of connecting to a television (not many TVs have vga any more)

From this I am looking at alternative for running kodi.

My only need is to play 1080p video and have a system that is quiet. I have a Linux server so I would access files through NFS and also have gigabit ethernet wired through my house.

From my reading of the forum, the Chromebox is probably the best solution but want to see if there is other recommendations. From my understanding the Chromebox is designed to be plugged in to a TV like the FireTV but with more power.

Or is it worth looking at some the alternatives like the matricom G-Box?
Recommendations and comments?

[katsup]

http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=94268

[noggin]

Is there an issue connecting a PC to a more modern televisions or is this more likely to be a linux issue?

No issues. I've connected lots of PCs with Intel, nVidia and the odd one with AMD graphics to TVs over HDMI and had no major issues other than getting correct black and white levels in some situations. Some TVs now come with horrific default settings (and these are often different for each HDMI input - so you can set the picture to be watchable for HDMI 1, but when you switch to HDMI 2 for the first time the terrible default settings are there and make pictures look dreadful)

If all you want is 1080p video playback, then the Raspberry Pi 2 running OpenElec is worth a look. Excellent support, low cost and good performance (including proper 23.976Hz refresh rate output to avoid micro stutter on '24p' content)

The Chromebox is a very good solution - but may be more than you need.

[driekus]

Is there an issue connecting a PC to a more modern televisions or is this more likely to be a linux issue?

No issues. I've connected lots of PCs with Intel, nVidia and the odd one with AMD graphics to TVs over HDMI and had no major issues other than getting correct black and white levels in some situations. Some TVs now come with horrific default settings (and these are often different for each HDMI input - so you can set the picture to be watchable for HDMI 1, but when you switch to HDMI 2 for the first time the terrible default settings are there and make pictures look dreadful)

If all you want is 1080p video playback, then the Raspberry Pi 2 running OpenElec is worth a look. Excellent support, low cost and good performance (including proper 23.976Hz refresh rate output to avoid micro stutter on '24p' content)

The Chromebox is a very good solution - but may be more than you need.

Thanks for the input, I will grab a chromebox m004u. I think the Celeron processor is more than enough for what I am doing. The good thing is that I am guessing the chromebox is pretty small and I can take it TV shopping with me.

It just sort of shocked my yesterday how bad the image was through hdmi, wasnt an issue of black and white imbalance but like it had been partially converted to retro 1990s video game format.

A quick question, given that VGA is a dying port. Most TV makers are switching to using a specific hdmi port for the PC. Is this necessary when plugging a computer into a hdmi port?

Another question, for the audio. I am guessing you connect the hdmi directly to your receiver and then output the receiver to the TV?