Kodi Community Forum

Hello,

I have been combing the forums to try and help me make a decision on hardware/software combinations, what to buy, etc. There are a lot of posts here, lots helpful, but almost impossible to look through them all. So I finally decided to make an account and ask for some help!

First, I came from Boxee. I loved that little guy, but after the support was dropped and they stopped updating it, my collection continued to grow, Boxee got sluggish when things started getting into the thousands of media files.. I decided to convert my old HP laptop into an XBMC machine running overtop of Windows 8. This worked, for the most part, however it was also buggy. I blame the laptop and Windows, it would randomly change which display it was displaying on, adjust the resolution, sometimes the IR wouldn't pick up without a reset...

From what I gather from reading here, a NAS is the best way to go for my storage needs. I currently have three 3TB WD Green drives in a Probox USB 3.0 enclosure and it may also be part of my problem. My desktop, at times, struggles to pick up the drives and I have to power cycle the enclosure to get it to work properly. I have been considering a Drobo or Synology NAS enclosure, I like the features a Drobo has, especially the 5N, and it comes in a bit cheaper than the Synology. My first question: are all NAS enclosures that expensive? Is there a cheaper alternative?

I am considering using OpenELEC. I have limited experience in Linux, but am willing to learn and not afraid of time consuming setup processes. Basically, I want an appliance. I loved how I could turn my Boxee on and there it was, ready to go. I currently have my Windows setup to skip loading explorer.exe and simply run Xbmc instead directly after logon. It works, but again, it seems like it has issues. I know OpenELEC has some hardware limitations. Mostly I just want to be able to watch 1080P video with 5.1 audio through HDMI. I want to be able to navigate the menus quickly, I absolutely cannot stand lag.

I have been considering either Intel NUC or an ACER VN2620G-UC887L. I am not sure which is better, I am hoping somebody can give me some advice here as well. Price is a factor, I don't want to get too expensive, but something under $350 would be ideal.

I have also considered an AppleTV2. But the problem is I don't know if I will be updating my storage method before or after (possibly months after) I get my new HTPC box.

The last thing I am wondering is if it is possible to use a USB 10/100/1000 Mbps ethernet adapter with a NAS setup and still enjoy 1080P without stuttering? I am looking at the Intel NUC Red that doesn't include an ethernet port, and instead, a Thunderbolt port. Or, alternatively, would it be possible to use a Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter with OpenELEC?

TLDR;
Best HTPC that does 1080P video without menu lag for under $350
Best way to do a NAS setup .. Drobo/Synology worth it
OpenELEC or Linux distro
AppleTV2 worth money/time
USB to Ethernet adapter with NAS possible
Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter with OpenELEC

On the htpc end, I recommend Openelec... Since over the years I have gotten comfortable with Linux, OE, was a breeze for me... I cannot visualize what it would be like for a newbie... but my guess is that it should not be hard. While not a dedicated appliance like a Boxee Box... the experience is close to it.

I runt an htpc using a Zotac ID 80.... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6856173034 I use Openelec Ion Build 64 bit... Frodo.

Just add ram and a small laptop hard drive (or small SSD)... No problem running Aeon Nox skin with additional bells and whistles...

I have an unRAID server... which is a homemade server... and can be significantly cheaper than Sinology or Drobo, but with a steep learning curve.... Lots of tutorials and a very active and friendly forum.

I recommend this device. If you are going to use xbmc, you can run it from android. It has Android 4.2 Quad-core 1.8Ghz 1080P with Wi-Fi (Silver) and no latency . Also you can do VPN too. I would recommend using VPN with xbmc, paired with www.hidemyass.com
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl-wcltgI0M
http://www.satechi.net/index.php/satechi-tv-box-silver
thanks
Brian

Client side, I'd just drop a cheap as chips e350 board into a cheap case, add ram and a usb stick you might even have lying around - it will be cheaper than a prebuilt solution, and now Openelec can do HD Audio on AMD. Found nothing it can't play yet. 1080p and H-SBS 3d are fine. Even does bluray if you have a drive.

I hang three drives for total 4tb storage off a Pogoplug running archlinux - cheap, silent, low power and versatile.

Check out the NUC with the 847 cpu. Good deals out there right now. It has an Ethernet port. Add memory and a usb flash drive with openELEC and you are in business.

(2013-12-03, 14:31)nikc0069 Wrote: [ -> ]I hang three drives for total 4tb storage off a Pogoplug running archlinux - cheap, silent, low power and versatile.

+1, I have a pogoplug E-02 flashed with Arch Linux, w/ 2x 3TB external HDDs, and get about 25-30MB/s over SMB on a gigabit switch, which is plenty for HD movies streaming to my R Pi. Which reminds me, I need to look into NFS...

Theoretically, you could just plug your enclosure into a $20 pogoplug (look on Ebay) and turn it into a NAS device.

Thanks for all the help so far!

I decided to go with an Intel NUC, the Corei3 version.. 4GB of RAM, 32GB SSD, and a MCE IR adapter.

As for the NAS, still haven't decided. I'm going to try sticking with my enclosure for a bit, I do believe that this thing is my main problem. It's power saving/standby mode doesn't really work very well. I had no idea that the Pogoplug existed. This is an interesting little thing

Any opinions on Drobo enclosures?

The cheaper alternative to a NAS enclosure is to build your own media sever. You can easily build your own for $350 not including the drives. Check out unraid or FlexRaid. I use both and would recommend unraid for a media server.

Alright, so if I was to go with a custom media server, I don't have the room to store that upstairs in my electronics closet. It's a little too small and already a bit warm with my PC and other devices running in there.

My Internet comes in downstairs, into a modem, then directly to my router upstairs via Cat5 which is running behind drywall and through the floor. From the router all my devices are connected. I only have one Cat5 running from the modem downstairs to the router upstairs. Is there a way I can have a media server downstairs with the modem and have it connected to the router? Which is the best way to accomplish something like this? I thought at first maybe having the media server do some sort of Internet connection sharing to the router?

Personally, I would add a DD-WRT based router to the mix (or, ideally, two). So your connection would look like


Not sure what the capabilities of your existing router are, but if you can somehow have some type of 'client bridge' mode on router #2, that would solve the problem.

At my place, I have one simultaneous dual band router directly connected to my modem, and 3 different routers running 'client bridge' over a wireless 5GHz backbone to the primary router. All running DD-WRT. Same concept for you, except you have an ethernet cable instead of using wireless.

Ah, perfect.

Thanks so much for everything guys