[sampson]

Hello, I'm looking for some assistance in choosing a new rig and figure this was the best place to start.

I currently have a Zotac ZBox ND22-U. I've owned it for about 4 years and I'm just fed up with it. It has "b/g/n" wifi but it's absolutely abysmal. Only going a short distance (the bedroom directly above), I can only achieve about 1-3 Mbps while my Macbook Pro in the same room/position can obtain 70-75 Mbps. I've attempted a few fixes over the years but I'm just done with it. I'm ready to move on. (Seriously, please don't recommend wifi solutions/tips...I've tried it all.) I've read through the stickies here about hardware and picking the right Kodi box, but I'm a bit out of touch these days and most of that goes over my head, sorry.

My current home theater area looks like this. You can see that asshole Zotac Zbox in the left slot. That's where the new machine will need to go as well. That slot is a bit thin so whatever the new machine is, it will need to be no more than than 4 1/8" tall.

I'm very familiar with Kodi on Windows and I'm comfortable with the new machine being Windows based as well. I enjoy the versatility that a Windows machine offers should I need to find a random stream of something online, but if there's clearly a better choice then I'm all ears. 95% of the machines use will be for Kodi related viewing.

Needs:
Absolutely must have good wifi. I might go into "hulk-smash" mode if I get a new machine and the wifi isn't awesome. (Ethernet connection is not an option.)
Easily 4K capable.
Remote. I have a Windows remote right now that I like and can carry over to a new rig, but anything that isn't Windows must have a remote.
No more than 4 1/8" high.
Budget: $500 seems reasonable but honestly, the most important thing here is to get a versatile, fast machine.

[wrxtasy]

Hulk Smash Mode...

You mean like this....
Please give us a $$$ figure.

[sampson]

Hulk Smash Mode...

You mean like this....
Please give us a $$$ figure.

HULK PIC

Yes!

I have a pretty open budget honestly. $500 seems plenty reasonable but again, whatever it takes I'm ok with.

[wrxtasy]

You need something with:
802.11ac 2x2 MIMO 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi like the nVIDIA Shield.

Does you WiFi Router support 802.11ac dual band MIMO WiFi ?

[sampson]

Don't believe so. My wireless router is an Apple Airport Express A1392 which appears to only do a/b/g/n. Although the "n" should be just fine. Again, my Macbook Pro is getting 70-75 Mbps.

However, I will be getting both a new modem and a new router in the coming months as our local fiber network gets rolled out. (very exciting, by the way). Most likely I'll be getting an Airport Extreme which does do "ac".

[wrxtasy]

Just for a bit of info here, I have this setup:

iMac server (b/g/n dual band MIMO) WiFi <-> 5th Generation Airport Extreme ( b/g/n dual band MIMO) WiFi <-> b/g/n dual band WiFi WeTek Core (no MIMO) in the same room as the Extreme Router

Yes N is fast enough to keep up with 40Mb/s Bluray streaming, with a decent buffer configured in advancedsettings.xml, if everything is in the same room or with only 1 wall or floor for the WiFi signal to passthrough.
Dual Band MIMO for WiFi use with more difficult setups.

Really the WiFi router is the key ingredient, and situational placement of it in the home. An external antenna on a Kodi client box helps if you have marginal WiFi signal strength from your WiFi router.

So where is the WiFi Router situated in your home ?

[AirJunky]

I'm just getting on the forum & am in a similar spot as you.... Been doing this a while with some success, but ready to upgrade. I get movies, tv shows & PPV fights with some searching, but have never felt it was easy enough to cut the cable. I currently run Kodi on a Streamsmart S3 that I've owned for 2 or 3 years. It's connected via WiFi thru a Linksys EA6400 WAP. I pay for 50mb broadband & usually manage 20 -25 mb at the Streamsmart box. Sometimes I need to reboot the modem, router & SS box to get close to that. Usually any speeds over about 12 or 14 mb will work.

I've seen opinions in this forum that the Streamsmart devices are way too expensive ($350 - $500 now days). While I agree that's steep, they do deliver a pre-configured HTPC & pretty descent support. Their new Facebook group is great support by not only admins but fellow users. Recently I found another similar device called Thorstream, which seems to be almost exactly like the SS S4....similar hardware, Android, update wizard, support, etc. At a $300 price. SS also offers an S5, which is even faster.

I use an Intel NUC with Win10 as my workstation. I think an HTPC could be setup using either the NUC/Win10 or the Droid platform. The beauty of Snapstream or maybe Thor is they do all the setup for you. They have a simple update wizard already setup. And they will hold your hand if you need it. Definitely worth a look.

Good luck

[sampson]

Really the WiFi router is the key ingredient, and situational placement of it in the home. An external antenna on a Kodi client box helps if you have marginal WiFi signal strength from your WiFi router.

So where is the WiFi Router situated in your home ?

*sigh*

On the floor of the office.

Cell phones get great signal and run fast. Laptops get great signal and run fast. 5 yr old Kodi rig in the bedroom (next room over) gets great signal and runs fast. The Zbox, notorious for its shit wifi, has...shit wifi. It has had shit wifi in this house, shit wifi in the apt before this one, and shit wifi in the apt before that one. It. Sucks.

[wrxtasy]

So basically its the very old ZBox that is the issue, as you have said previously your Macbook Pro gets a decent 70-75 Mbps from the Apple Router that can do dual band a/b/g/n connectivity, which should be fine for Kodi. In fact any box that can do dual band N WiFi connectivity would do the job.

Well with money to burn it appears, do you want Android, with a bunch of 4K/1080p DRM Streaming apps and Kodi or be limited to 4K at up to 30Hz which all the current Intel Hardware output ?

At the moment 4K is only worth it for DRM streaming from Netflix of Amazon, due to UHD Blu-Ray copy protection mechanisms. So bugger all content available, even home ripping you own 4K is impossible.

[sampson]

Well with money to burn it appears, do you want Android, with a bunch of 4K/1080p DRM Streaming apps and Kodi or be limited to 4K at up to 30Hz which all the current Intel Hardware output ?

Can you expand on this a bit?

[deaded]

What about the Nvidia Shield? Only $200 and it does everything you want.

[sampson]

What about the Nvidia Shield? Only $200 and it does everything you want.

Very cool. Just did a lot of reading up on that and watched some videos. I could get the 16GB version w/ remote for $250 and drop in one of my spare mem cards for room to grow. I do have some concern about not having a proper browser but it looks like that can be circumvented.

[nooryani84]

For anything other than mobile devices I can't stress enough one should always use a wired connection if possible. Is it not possible to route a network cable down to your PC? Will be cheaper than $500

Edit: I just saw the specs on the Zotac. I would have a look at the Intel NUC and Gigabyte Brix. Those will give you full PC experiences without hassle. If you want 4k 60hz with the new skylaje nuc u just use a mini displayport to hdmi adapter
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9867/club3...20-adapter

[sampson]

For anything other than mobile devices I can't stress enough one should always use a wired connection if possible. Is it not possible to route a network cable down to your PC? Will be cheaper than $500

My house is old and the coax comes in to the office (luckily). The room where the new machine will go is in the basement living room. I would need to run ethernet out of the office, across a hallway and down the basement wall. Not happening in this old finished home. I've already considered air return ducts as well as I hoped I could run the cable through there but that isn't an option either. I even tried a Powerline but since that basement only has 2 electrical outlets and the only one remotely close is directly behind the mounted tv, the tv doesn't sit flat. It also covers both the outlet plugs. Thus I tried the Netgear version since they make one that offers a plug, but it really want even close to fitting even in my recessed outlet. The only option would be to put a Powerline all the across the basement and run 100ft of ethernet around the ceiling, but that doesn't seem like a good solution to me at all. I'd love to be hard-wired and put this problem to rest for all time, but I just don't see how.

[nooryani84]

You haven't considered drilling through the floor just to be done with it once and for all?

Edit: The reason I mention it os because wifi is a best-effort technology. There is no guarantee unless you can remove all interference maybe.