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wasn't hoping for validation, just wanted people's thoughts and I appreciate yours. Haven't bought the Android one.
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ok sweet, probably what I'm going to do, Cheers!
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Would there be a Kodi-capable box which fulfills these requirements?
- HD Audio, Both DTS-HD and TrueHD (an absolute must)
- Plays blu-ray rips in full 1080p (Menu's aren't important to me)
- Supports USB hubs/USB splitting (I don't have or want a NAS (too expensive for me at the moment), so I have a Mediasonic 4-bay enclosure on my Dune Base 3, each detecting as a separate drive. so I really want to be able to expand my storage space as I need it)
- Acts like a NAS so I can rip movies straight to the box (like I can with my Dune Base 3)
3D Playback is not a 'must' for me. It's 'nice to have'..but I don't have a 3D TV...
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2015-05-23, 01:47
(This post was last modified: 2015-05-23, 01:49 by megamawax.)
OK, so after reading through 49 pages, I get that the chromebox is awesome and that I should just get that and be on my merry way. However, I'm wondering if this is actually overkill for my purposes - is something less expensive that would suit my needs just fine. I have a really old tv, probably 15-20 years old, and I'm probably not likely to upgrade it until my kids are a tad older (though I'm sorely tempted to get an LED projector). So, I don't need to worry about streaming HD quality video. In fact, my blu-ray player works just fine for streaming the videos that I store on my NAS. We do watch a lot of Netflix, but my Wii has a fabulous app and interface for that, so I don't need something else for streaming Netflix. I also don't really need something to play video games. I have cables running from my desktop computer down into the basement and up into another room that has an older projector if I want to play games on something larger than my monitor. And if I really wanted to, I could easily run cables from my computer to my tv (I can even use a streambeam kit to transmit (miracast) from my computer to my tv, though it's a bit laggy when it comes to internet video). What I'm really looking for is a device that will smoothly stream internet content - basically all the stuff beyond Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and Youtube (though I wouldn't mind a better youtube app than the one that's on my blu-ray). If I can use it to play live tv, all the better. If I can use it to record programs onto my NAS, all the better. It has to have a user-friendly interface because I won't be the only one operating it (though even if I were the only one using it, I'd probably want a clean, easy to navigate front end), and it needs to either support or come with a remote that works well. I'd also prefer something that's not too fiddly or requires a bunch of other additional components. The chromebox is really more than what I'd like to spend, but if it really is vastly superior to anything else within $30-$40, I could probably live with that. Also, while I mentioned that my tv is old, I do have an HDMI to RCA converter box that works just fine, so HDMI requirements are not an issue (not sure if anything that would work also doesn't require HDMI anyway). Additionally, if it's easy to move around to other tvs (I have a smaller HD tv in my bedroom with HDMI ports), that would also be a plus.
Thanks so much for any advice that can be provided.
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nickr
Retired Team-Kodi Member
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What about a raspberry pi2?
If I have helped you or increased your knowledge, click the 'thumbs up' button to give thanks :) (People with less than 20 posts won't see the "thumbs up" button.)
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Yeah man... you basically have two options. The Pi2 will work perfectly for your needs, the Chromebox is the other option but is overkill for you.
Living Room: ASUS Chromebox / OpeneElec 5 / Kodi 14.2
Bedroom: Amazon FireTV Stick / Kodi 14.2
Home Office: Amazon FireTV Stick / Kodi 14.2
Windows Server: Intel Core i3-2100T / 8GB Ram / 48TB / MySQL / StableBit DrivePool on Server 2012 R2 Standard
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2015-05-23, 02:57
(This post was last modified: 2015-05-23, 03:00 by megamawax.)
My only concern about the Pi2 is that I then either have to figure out all the bits I need to put that together like some kind of craft project or I have to look at all the bundles I see on eBay and elsewhere and figure out which included items are good quality versus junk so I can determine which listing is a good deal. And after all that, is the cost of the Pi2 with the necessary components going to end up costing me almost as much as a chromebox, which I presume has everything already there except a keyboard or remote?