[stabbz]

I have an Acer Aspire One (netbook, windows 7) connected to my TV with XBMC installed on it. I have it pull media content from my desktop over wifi, and it works seamlessly. However when I try to play 720p video, it lags pretty badly. The framerate drops heavily and the video becomes choppy. I've tried a physical connection instead of wifi, but I still get the same results. Is there any solution?

[poofyhairguy]

Acer Aspire Ones (I have an older D150 model myself) lack the raw power for most HD content.

The only real way to add that power is if you have a newer model than mine that comes with an empty Mini PCI slot for wireless 3G support. You can use that slot instead to add a Broadcom Crystal HD card which allows for 1080p playback in XBMC.

[stabbz]

I have an Acer Aspire AO533, don't know how much older model it is from the D150. Is adding a HD card the only option?

[poofyhairguy]

Is adding a HD card the only option?

Yep, pretty much. The Intel GPU on that model (and mine) is worse than what Nvidia shipped as low end in 2004 (so its worthless for HD video) and that Atom CPU is less powerful than many Pentium 3s (so it too is worthless for HD movies). Netbooks as designed are really meant to be just a bare minimum for internet browsing.

The Broadcom chip is basically a dedicated decoder- like what a Blu Ray player has built inside to play the disks. So it doesn't need a powerful GPU or CPU, hence why it is the best option. Honestly it is due to a lot of hard work from XBMC developers that allows superweak netbooks the option to play HD stuff.

Looking in Google that IS a newer Acer Aspire One with 3G support. You will have to check, but I bet you have an empty slot on the bottom. Here is the card you need:

http://www.eworldsale.com/ews_product_8832_53151.html

After you install the card install the needed Window's drivers:

http://www.broadcom.com/support/crystal_hd/

Then tell XBMC to use the Crystal HD as a decoder. As a side note that decoder card also work in Linux and OSX (which is awesome as Aspire Ones make great Hackintoshes).

[stabbz]

Alright Ill check it out. Thanks for the help!