[zeiter]

Hello there,

I am really confused on what to buy for my media center. I already have an old rp1, it plays streams and movies well, but then the interface is pretty slow. I was wondering if it wasn't better just to get a htpc. I would also had a 1TB hard drive and store my movies/music there so my wife can access them on her laptop.

I was thinking of getting an amd 5350 cpu or an intel g3220. Now, I have read on the forums and I see most people need some power cpu for deinterlacing problems or HD audio problems. This is something I hate pretty much is suttering. I don't plan on watching live tv (except legal streams from kodi apps) and I don't plan on recording live tv shows. I also saw the 29/59 frame problem with intel. à

For my needs, am I paying too much with an htpc or am I just better getting a rp2? What seems attractive with the htpc is the movie storage for all the family.

So, what configuration would you recommand me if you think it's better that I go htpc ?

Thank you

[katsup]

Are you happy with the Pi1 other than the interface? If so, the Pi2 would be fine for your needs as the navigation is much quicker.

You may also want to read the sticky at the top "Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015)" as it has other suggestions.

[zeiter]

Are you happy with the Pi1 other than the interface? If so, the Pi2 would be fine for your needs as the navigation is much quicker.

You may also want to read the sticky at the top "Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015)" as it has other suggestions.

Hi there,

I am happy with the p1 except that it's slow. Also, it bugs me that it doesn't have it's own ethernet for file transfering if I plug in an external hdd.

The htpc seems like faster for transfering files. I could even use the machine to game a little. I surfed the thread you mentionned and it seems the best way to go is to get a dpgu. I mean, I don't care for perfectly deinterlaced videos, I just wish the stutters aren't apparent. On my rp1, i need to use openelec because all the other kodis give me bad stuttering.

[ozkhan1]

Hello there,

I am really confused on what to buy for my media center. I already have an old rp1, it plays streams and movies well, but then the interface is pretty slow. I was wondering if it wasn't better just to get a htpc. I would also had a 1TB hard drive and store my movies/music there so my wife can access them on her laptop.

I was thinking of getting an amd 5350 cpu or an intel g3220. Now, I have read on the forums and I see most people need some power cpu for deinterlacing problems or HD audio problems. This is something I hate pretty much is suttering. I don't plan on watching live tv (except legal streams from kodi apps) and I don't plan on recording live tv shows. I also saw the 29/59 frame problem with intel. à

For my needs, am I paying too much with an htpc or am I just better getting a rp2? What seems attractive with the htpc is the storage hub for all the family. We don't have money for an htpc + NAS...

So, what configuration would you recommand me if you think it's better that I go htpc ?

Thank you

Just curious, how much do you think an HTPC with large storage would run you? and how is that going to be cheaper than an RPI 2 and .... say a Western Digital 3TB Nas?


I think you are looking at a cheaper than US $200 solution with RPI 2 and a 2-3 TB NAS than building your own HTPC with a large HD.

[zeiter]

Hello there,

I am really confused on what to buy for my media center. I already have an old rp1, it plays streams and movies well, but then the interface is pretty slow. I was wondering if it wasn't better just to get a htpc. I would also had a 1TB hard drive and store my movies/music there so my wife can access them on her laptop.

I was thinking of getting an amd 5350 cpu or an intel g3220. Now, I have read on the forums and I see most people need some power cpu for deinterlacing problems or HD audio problems. This is something I hate pretty much is suttering. I don't plan on watching live tv (except legal streams from kodi apps) and I don't plan on recording live tv shows. I also saw the 29/59 frame problem with intel. à

For my needs, am I paying too much with an htpc or am I just better getting a rp2? What seems attractive with the htpc is the storage hub for all the family. We don't have money for an htpc + NAS...

So, what configuration would you recommand me if you think it's better that I go htpc ?

Thank you

Just curious, how much do you think an HTPC with large storage would run you? and how is that going to be cheaper than an RPI 2 and .... say a Western Digital 3TB Nas?


I think you are looking at a cheaper than US $200 solution with RPI 2 and a 2-3 TB NAS than building your own HTPC with a large HD.

I already have the case, the fans, the hdd, the memory. I would need to buy the cpu + motherboard + ssd...that's about it.

[whitebelly]

I already have the case, the fans, the hdd, the memory. I would need to buy the cpu + motherboard + ssd...that's about it.

You can use your hardware to build a NAS & get the Pi2 (or even an FTV). You need very little in terms of specs for a NAS motherboard/CPU. While an SSD is nice for the OS, you can start with just a decent size HDD and partition it, or even use a USB stick based server OS (like FREENAS) or a choice of linux servers out there. It should cost very little, you might even go find a super cheap used MB on Ebay that matches your memory type/case size. The only spec you really may want to get picky over is Gig Ethernet, but you can add a card later for that if need be. If you save $40 on a cheap MB/CPU, then you pretty much pay for the Pi2.

A server/client setup is the most flexible in the long run.

Also, between the PSU and the case/cpu fans, an HTPC (done cheap) is often noisy. A NAS can be put somewhere where the noise is less of an issue.