[mpednault]

Alright, so I haven't messed around with Kodi since it was XBMC on my hard modded (Xecuter 3CE chip) original Xbox back in 2006!!! A LOT has changed since then! Anyhow, here is my list of gear that will be in an AV closet for my dedicated Home Theater:

Denon AVR-X1100W AVR
Dell ChromeBox (2955U CPU)
Samsung BD-H5900 Bluray Player
Epson 8500UB 1080p Projector (in the HT obviously)
Harmony Smart Control
Seagate 4TB External USB Drive (have a question on where this should be placed and how it should be connected/shared)
Netgear WNDR4500 - N900 Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Router with ReadyShare and DNLA (in my living room on the second floor)
Dell XPS13 Laptop with External Bluray Drive (for ripping, it's in my office)

I have SEVERAL questions about my configuration of all of my gear that I'm hoping you guys can help with...

My plan is to set up the ChromeBox to dual boot Kodi+ChromeOS and I'm going to attempt this by following the ChromeBox EZ Setup instructions. I've been doing research on how to get my Harmony Remote to control everything through IR and control Kodi through Bluetooth (so I don't have to add an additional IR blaster and assumed faster response).

Since my ChromeBox will be set up to dual boot, will I need to use a keyboard instead of my Harmony remote in order to select the OS at startup? My plan is to leave the ChromeBox on 24/7, but I'd like the ability to go back to ChromeOS if I want. If I will need a keyboard to do so that's not a problem, since I'm sure it will be a rare occasion that I'll want to use ChromeOS.

I'd like the ability to ALSO use my iPad to control Kodi. Should I use the Harmony Control App or should I use the Official Kodi Remote?
The Harmony App will allow me to control all of my devices, but the Kodi Remote is probably better for controlling and displaying Kodi info such as album art, etc. Maybe I'll use both apps...

Since all of my saved media will be stored on my Seagate USB External HD, should I connect it directly to the ChromeBox or can I access it through my wifi while it's connected to my router? It has Netgear's ReadySHARE feature but I'm not so sure I want all my stuff cloud-based. I'd rather just keep it local to my home... I'm wondering of the performance of this type of connection and will obviously want the most reliable and highest performing solution. The ability to access the files on the external USB from my other devices isn't critical, but if I can, it would be preferred. I've got two iPads, an Xbox One and two AppleTV's throughout the rest of the home so having access to those media files would be awesome, including by Kodi in my HT.

I obviously want the highest resolution of both audio and video for my system. My projector is capable of projecting a movie in 1080p (both 2.35:1 and 16:9 aspect ratios) and my AVR can put out 7.2 Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio. Will the Kodi-box I'm building be able to produce those resolutions with ease? Can/does it upscale video?

Anyone here have a two zone AVR and have used a Kodi device in the Main Zone while listening to Pandora (or other source) in Zone 2?

[Tinwarble]

Since my ChromeBox will be set up to dual boot, will I need to use a keyboard instead of my Harmony remote in order to select the OS at startup? My plan is to leave the ChromeBox on 24/7, but I'd like the ability to go back to ChromeOS if I want. If I will need a keyboard to do so that's not a problem, since I'm sure it will be a rare occasion that I'll want to use ChromeOS.

For dual booting, yes you'll need a keyboard.

I'd like the ability to ALSO use my iPad to control Kodi. Should I use the Harmony Control App or should I use the Official Kodi Remote?
The Harmony App will allow me to control all of my devices, but the Kodi Remote is probably better for controlling and displaying Kodi info such as album art, etc. Maybe I'll use both apps...

Up to you really. Depends on what you are wanting to do......either/or or both. Most of the time though you shouldn't need anything more than the physical remote.

Since all of my saved media will be stored on my Seagate USB External HD, should I connect it directly to the ChromeBox or can I access it through my wifi while it's connected to my router? It has Netgear's ReadySHARE feature but I'm not so sure I want all my stuff cloud-based. I'd rather just keep it local to my home... I'm wondering of the performance of this type of connection and will obviously want the most reliable and highest performing solution. The ability to access the files on the external USB from my other devices isn't critical, but if I can, it would be preferred. I've got two iPads, an Xbox One and two AppleTV's throughout the rest of the home so having access to those media files would be awesome, including by Kodi in my HT.

Again, up to you. It just a matter of what will be the most convenient. The better solution though would be to get a dedicated NAS (which is not really "cloud-based", since it's no different than sharing files on a PC with another PC on your local network).

[Soli]

It might sound like a chore to have to use a keyboard to boot into chromeos, but if you're going boot to chromeos, you'd need that keyboard to type in your password anyways...

[mpednault]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Yeah I hadn't thought about needing the keyboard for ChromeOS anyhow! Ha! Will any USB or Bluetooth keyboard work with it?

And I think connecting my external USB drive to my router in effect turns it into a NAS. I mean it can't transcode or anything, but I don't think I'll need it to anyhow.