Kodi Community Forum

keep us updated with your progress.
Btw, let us know how long it takes openelec to boot with your configuration.

cheers

Hi,

I'm in Group#6 and new to HTPC. Thank you for all the information it has been very helpful! I'm leaning on a nettop or mini computer such as the ASRock. The problem I'm seeing though is the new ones do not have great reviews to very poor reviews. The ones listed are outdated and not available under the recommended devices for group#6. So I've looked for option and these are what I've seen thus far.
1) Mac mini
2) Giada i53
3) Arctic MC101

The MAC mini would be fine, just not sure about the remote. The Giada seems to have mixed reviews with some saying it does not really perform that well for group#6. The Arctic MC101 - I'm not even sure if that's real or not as I'm not really comfortable on purchasing that from just any website.

Out of the three the MAC mini seems to provide what I need except for the remote. But with the mini computers and nettop devices do they really perform well as even in the case of the MAC mini I've heard negative comments/reviews using it as a true HTPC. So leaning towards these devices vs. a build may seem in the long run the wrong step to make.

Thanks again for your help!

(2012-10-31, 22:49)spassbad Wrote: [ -> ]3) Arctic MC101

From your 3 choices, I'll go for the 3rd choice. You can ord it directly from their website as I suggested it in post #20....

You can buy it without HDD and Windows 7 for $479- MC101 Barebone (A10).....it'll included everything else (AMD Trinity A10 - 4600M, AMD HD7660G, 4GB of RAM, WIFI 802.11n, DVB-T (HD) / ATSC TV turner, USB 3.0, SD card reader, etc)......you can simply install SSD and Windows 7, and it'll be ready of XBMC...

Thanks blueray! I'll check out your previous post as well!

(2012-11-01, 00:26)spassbad Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks blueray! I'll check out your previous post as well!

Arctic are not known for their media player PC, but they are very big company. Here are some of their products- Arctic

I'm a bit confused about getting the right HTPC setup for playing back Hi10P content with xbmcbuntu. Since I'm a lazy person I'm definitely using on of these setups as a base. The question is which one would be sufficient? I already got the info that a core 2 duo or better would be the right choice for the cpu cause the gpu can do nothing with these kind of encodes. If you don't now what I'm talking about think of it like I'm trying to search for a setup which can playback 1080p content without having to rely on vdpau or something similar. Is even the celeron enough since it is a dual core whit over 2 ghz...?

First of all, I'm in group #7. I want to play files from my existing file server and I want to use windows with XBMC on my HTPC. I do not plan to run anything else on the HTPC. I am a somewhat advanced user and I am planning to use network boot with the OS image stored on a SSD drive. The network is gigabit, of course.

After some research, I've come to a choice between Zotac ZBOX ID 82 (i3 2330M with HD Graphics 3000) and Zotac ZBOX ID 84 (Atom D2550 with GT 520M). The first is roughly 100 EUR more expensive than the second.

In addition to the HTPC above, I want to get a 2nd device for my parents in law which are pretty much in group #4. The setup on that side is going to be using a wireless connection for the HTPC to a 802.11N router that is connected to a WAN with a 100 MBit link to my home network; the HTPC will connect via VPN to my network and will play content from my file server. Just for the sake of having a similar setup, I plan to buy the same device as I buy for myself.

I'm posting here because I have a few questions:

1. Does anyone have experience with a network boot setup like the one I mentioned (gigabit network with fileserver hosting the image on a SSD)? Is it good enough or should I expect poor interface responsiveness issues?
   
2. The i3 CPU is roughly 3-4 times more powerful than the Atom CPU. If I got things right, since the GPU is doing most of the work the CPU is not going to have much to do other than the indexing so having a better CPU will not have a major positive impact on my setup. Granted, it's my first HTPC and my experience to XBMC is extremely limited so I might be totally wrong, which is why I figure I would ask here: is there any significant benefit of having the i3 CPU instead of the Atom CPU, keeping in mind that the GT520M GPU is (I believe) somewhat better than the HD Graphics 3000?
   
3. In light of the previous question, is it worth spending some additional 100+ EUR (times 2 devices) on the i3 Zotac?
   
4. Could perhaps anyone with some experience with the Zotac boxes elaborate on the wireless performance, specifically: should I expect 1080p "action" content to stutter with a good 802.11N connection?
   

Hi everyone - first time HTPCer here.

I was wondering if there are any other more recently updated lists with some build-your-own models. I don't need to have the latest & greatest parts, but a lot of the parts listed on the first page here to DIY, are all discontinued or out of stock.

Thanks in advance!

im currently in the works of updating it.

here's the build that will be part of it

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=144230

Hi There,
I'm kinda new to the whole thing, and I found setting up XMBC a dream under Ubuntu 12.04LTS!
I was given 2 Zotac Z-Box Mini-PC's, each with the AMD 64bit Neo Dual Core 1.5GHz CPU, ATI Radeon 3200, 2Gb RAM & 250Gb SATA HDD. I've only been running XMBC for just over a week, and I also use the Android app on both my Samsung Galaxy Ace and Arnova 7G3 which is great when I'm not wanting to watch a movie, I can just log on with these devices and select my music, podcasts or radio stations.
The other Z-Box I'm using for my Amateur Radio hobby, and of course that too is running Ubuntu 12.04LTS!!

I shall spread the word about XMBC, and look forward to the next release....

I have to ask you about bitstreaming CAN Celeron G540 bitstream HD audio or NOT? If can why you didnt update the first post?

Need cheapest configuration for:

1080p
BITSTREAMING HD AUDIO

maybe will just beenough radeon 6450 with any cpu+motherboard

thank you

(2012-11-21, 14:27)selih34 Wrote: [ -> ]I have to ask you about bitstreaming CAN Celeron G540 bitstream HD audio or NOT? If can why you didnt update the first post?

Need cheapest configuration for:

1080p
BITSTREAMING HD AUDIO

maybe will just beenough radeon 6450 with any cpu+motherboard

thank you

Yes, it can bitstream to all the above....

thank you

I've picked out the Zotac ZBOXHD-ID34BR, mostly because it was available at a reasonable price, and I don't feel like piecing together a system right now.

I'd like to confirm that OpenElec will run on this box. If so, I'm going to pull the 250GB drive from it and use it as the cache drive in my unRaid server that I'll be building out of a soon to be replaced PC from elsewhere in the house.

Thanks so much for the all the guides! I appreciate all the work.

(2012-11-25, 06:01)FreeMan xbmc Wrote: [ -> ]I've picked out the Zotac ZBOXHD-ID34BR, mostly because it was available at a reasonable price, and I don't feel like piecing together a system right now.

I'd like to confirm that OpenElec will run on this box. If so, I'm going to pull the 250GB drive from it and use it as the cache drive in my unRaid server that I'll be building out of a soon to be replaced PC from elsewhere in the house.

Thanks so much for the all the guides! I appreciate all the work.

Nice... Zotac ZBOXHD-ID34BR

What type of temps does it get? maybe post up some pics.... it does look sexy and small... a good price too..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6856173007

$259 actually.... $229.00 there is a MIR