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Jonah · 2009-10-04, 08:20

Hi, any advice is appreciated. looking to buy an htpc....

1. run xbmc on windows
2. quiet
3. Local HD video files and stream from Netflix
4. plug in external HD via usb
5. output to my samsung lcd flatscreen
6. dont want to custom build it (this point is flexible depending on how difficult the customization would be
7. given 1-6, as inexpensive as possible

Bonus: recommendations for a good remote

Thanks!

albator1932 · 2009-10-04, 10:16

by HD video you mean 720p or 1080p ?

Jonah · (This post was last modified: 2009-10-04, 18:45 by Jonah.)

albator1932 Wrote:by HD video you mean 720p or 1080p ?

My TV supports 1080p, so I'd like to be able to play that too. Curious to hear your answer for both resolutions though.

EDIT: also, almost all the content I play is regular DVDs or downloaded .avi files, if that helps any. Been doing some more research, how would this work (Acer AspireRevo):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...tedata.com

It looks like that does not come with a wireless card, though. Is that correct?

podiboq · 2009-10-04, 18:36

It wouldn't hurt looking around on this forum and finding this out by yourself. There are many threads covering your question. Like this one for example.

Jonah · 2009-10-04, 18:44

I actually did do that, but all the points in my OP are not addressed in that post, or in any other post I see. So I wanted advice custom tailored to my needs -- isn't that the point of this forum?

vskatusa · 2009-10-04, 20:27

The cheapest solution is to buy Apple TV and use a USB stick to install XBMC and BOXEE (search the forums).

Off course Apple TV will output max of 720P - Which I believe is good enough for most people.

Cost = US$229

Jonah · 2009-10-04, 21:21

For a variety of reasons, I want to stick with Windows. As for XBMC vs BOXEE, I have played around with both for a bit, and I decided to go with XBMC. What would be the advantages of installing both? I don't see anything obvious on this subject when I search....

jmarshall · 2009-10-04, 22:22

For windows, you will need a _very_ fast machine to playback 1080p material, or will need to put up with using an external player, as XBMC has no hardware accelaration on windows.

With linux you can make do with something like the Revo no problem (hardware decoding).

Given that you want to stick with Windows, either buy the fastest CPU you can, or buy something like the Revo and use an external player.

Cheers,
Jonathan

Jonah · 2009-10-04, 23:07

jmarshall Wrote:For windows, you will need a _very_ fast machine to playback 1080p material, or will need to put up with using an external player, as XBMC has no hardware accelaration on windows.

With linux you can make do with something like the Revo no problem (hardware decoding).

Given that you want to stick with Windows, either buy the fastest CPU you can, or buy something like the Revo and use an external player.

Cheers,
Jonathan

Thanks Jonathan. Three questions:

1. When you say using an external player, do you mean that I would configure XBMC to launch using some other player, like VLC?

2. I guess I am not 100% sure I even need 1080p. Typically I am watching compressed AVI files, and sometimes DVD images. Would XBMC handle those okay?

3. I might consider linux; I'm just worried about networking with my windows machines. Is it easy enough to do? What flavor of linux is recommended?

jmarshall · 2009-10-05, 00:34

1. Correct. You lose the seamlessness of things.

2. Yes. AVI is generally never over 720p, these will playback no problems on a Revo.

3. Try XBMC Live. Pop the disk in -> voila!

Jonah · 2009-10-05, 04:11

jmarshall Wrote:3. Try XBMC Live. Pop the disk in -> voila!

Are you saying I should run XBMC Live instead of linux? Ultimately what I want is some sort of normal operating system that I can use to play occassional things that XBMC doesn't support. For example, if I want to play a video on some random site. I could put switch out of xbmc and fire up a browser momentarily. Would this possible with XBMC live?

jmarshall · 2009-10-05, 04:54

Live won't do that, no (or at least it's not designed to do that) - it's a stripped down version of Linux for designed for running only XBMC.

Jonah · 2009-10-05, 07:40

jmarshall Wrote:Live won't do that, no (or at least it's not designed to do that) - it's a stripped down version of Linux for designed for running only XBMC.

so windows with no 1080p is my best bet? either that or a full linux install and then figuring out to how network linux and windows?