[agender]

Based on what I have read, the haswell based i3 will have basic support or 4k, while I think i5 has even better 4k support. While broadwell(5th gen) according to intel it has full 4k support, with the i5 being the best. Most of this all has to do with the gpu. The haswell i3 uses a 4400(or is it 4600) gpu if I am not mistaken with the i5 can be the 5000 gpu, and broadwell i3 5500 gpu and broadwell i5 6000 gpu. In simple terms i3/5 core gpu are better for gaming(with the 5000 and 6000 being a little better) and a are less taxed when playing video files.

[hdmkv]

I notice a difference going from Chromebox, or even Fire TV, to RPi2. UI/library navigation feels a little slower. But, actual video performance (I'm on Kodi 15 development builds) seems mostly fine, except for the network bitrate limit I noted.

[Bri1270]

Thanks guys. I'm not into 4K at all at the moment and likely won't be for a while. Not unless they make an 80" true 4K set that's both HDCP 2.2 and HDMI 2.0 compliant for under $3K(USD). I truly despise HDMI/HDCP for so many reasons, but I digress.

For all intents and purposes, the 2957U Zbox does everything I need it to do. Kodi 14.1 is responsive, all of my files play (albeit I'm having issues with some HDDVD rips resuming play after I've stopped them midway through).

I just can't help but think that building something bigger, stronger, faster would be better. However, all indications are that the improvements wouldn't be in orders of magnitude as it relates to cost, so I would be rather let down if I were to go and dump $500-$700 into a build only to see marginal improvement.

Part of my problem is cabin fever and boredom from being stuck in the house for this ridiculous winter. If spring would get here I might be able to stop obsessing.

[mpmp]

Hey Bri,

The bad news is that spring won't be here for some time.

The good news is you have plenty more time to be able to obsess.

[mrjezza]

Hey all,

I searched the thread trying to find discussion about the nexus player (searched "nexus") and absolutely nothing came up.

That was kind of surprising given it's x86, has AC wifi, comes with a nice remote already, and is about half the price of the chromebox.

Geekbench shows similar multi-core performance but Nexus Player single core is about half, which I guess makes sense given it has double the cores.

Can someone explain why it's been completely glossed over? Thanks!

[CoolKeith]

Would the 3th gen mobile based(not low powered based) Asus VivoPC VC60 be a good choice? Sure the cpu is 3rd gen, but is the mobile variant and the U variant we generally see in this size so power and gpu will be a bit better no? Or would a 4th gen Y variant with a nvidia 820 gpu be better?

Anyone?

[anillilani7]

Hi everyone.

I'm in the process of setting up my CB using the wiki for standalone OE.

I just took out the write-protect screw, and noticed a sort of rattling type notice inside the box, but I'm not sure if I remember that being there before. Did anyone else notice this?

ALSO: Does anyone know what 2 sized USB drives I would need in order to:

A) "backup the current/stock firmware to an external USB drive; it is highly recommended" and
B) Install Openelec from the other USB?

Thanks

I think my question was missed lol. Help please? Also what can I do with these USB drives after I'm done?

[agender]

Thanks guys. I'm not into 4K at all at the moment and likely won't be for a while. Not unless they make an 80" true 4K set that's both HDCP 2.2 and HDMI 2.0 compliant for under $3K(USD). I truly despise HDMI/HDCP for so many reasons, but I digress.

For all intents and purposes, the 2957U Zbox does everything I need it to do. Kodi 14.1 is responsive, all of my files play (albeit I'm having issues with some HDDVD rips resuming play after I've stopped them midway through).

I just can't help but think that building something bigger, stronger, faster would be better. However, all indications are that the improvements wouldn't be in orders of magnitude as it relates to cost, so I would be rather let down if I were to go and dump $500-$700 into a build only to see marginal improvement.

Part of my problem is cabin fever and boredom from being stuck in the house for this ridiculous winter. If spring would get here I might be able to stop obsessing.

To be fair I built my broadwell based i3 device for under $500 with tax, and you can build an Haswell based i3 for about $100 less(as I've seen those start at $195 at my local Frys, though it's the smaller model without the 2.5 drive support) and seen the i3 Haswell Gigabyte Brix starting at $235 now. But, yeah cpu isn't going to be that much faster, though gpu will be a little better.

[Bri1270]

Thanks guys. I'm not into 4K at all at the moment and likely won't be for a while. Not unless they make an 80" true 4K set that's both HDCP 2.2 and HDMI 2.0 compliant for under $3K(USD). I truly despise HDMI/HDCP for so many reasons, but I digress.

For all intents and purposes, the 2957U Zbox does everything I need it to do. Kodi 14.1 is responsive, all of my files play (albeit I'm having issues with some HDDVD rips resuming play after I've stopped them midway through).

I just can't help but think that building something bigger, stronger, faster would be better. However, all indications are that the improvements wouldn't be in orders of magnitude as it relates to cost, so I would be rather let down if I were to go and dump $500-$700 into a build only to see marginal improvement.

Part of my problem is cabin fever and boredom from being stuck in the house for this ridiculous winter. If spring would get here I might be able to stop obsessing.

To be fair I built my broadwell based i3 device for under $500 with tax, and you can build an Haswell based i3 for about $100 less(as I've seen those start at $195 at my local Frys, though it's the smaller model without the 2.5 drive support) and seen the i3 Haswell Gigabyte Brix starting at $235 now. But, yeah cpu isn't going to be that much faster, though gpu will be a little better.

Yeah I could definitely build one for less than what I stated, but if I'm going to do it, I'm going to make sure it has everything I want. I usually try to buy once/cry once. In this case, the Zbox was my first foray into HTPC and Kodi/Xbmc, so I was a little tentative. I didn't want to jump in head first only to discover it wasn't really my thing.

[Bri1270]

Hey Bri,

The bad news is that spring won't be here for some time.

The good news is you have plenty more time to be able to obsess.

We're getting there...hopefully not much longer.

[nickr]

It feels like bloody autumn here, so it must be spring there.

[Ezaum]

I'm looking for a WDTV replacement, mostly because of the GUI, and I'm almost on board with the Amazon Fire TV because I need Netflix.
Does Kodi on FireTV suport digital audio output via HDMI? In the first page of this thread there's a warning for firetv regarding HD Audio. Is that warning only for 7.1?
I have a receiver and need the audio to be passed through to it.

[Philmatic]

Hey all,

I searched the thread trying to find discussion about the nexus player (searched "nexus") and absolutely nothing came up.

That was kind of surprising given it's x86, has AC wifi, comes with a nice remote already, and is about half the price of the chromebox.

Geekbench shows similar multi-core performance but Nexus Player single core is about half, which I guess makes sense given it has double the cores.

Can someone explain why it's been completely glossed over? Thanks!

Android is what kills it. A Chromebox with Linux gives you waaaaaaaay better performance, and only for $20-$40 more than a Nexus player.

[Tinwarble]

Hey all,

I searched the thread trying to find discussion about the nexus player (searched "nexus") and absolutely nothing came up.

That was kind of surprising given it's x86, has AC wifi, comes with a nice remote already, and is about half the price of the chromebox.

Geekbench shows similar multi-core performance but Nexus Player single core is about half, which I guess makes sense given it has double the cores.

Can someone explain why it's been completely glossed over? Thanks!

It hasn't been "glossed over", apparently you just didn't search hard enough.

http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=...xus+player

[mpmp]

So I finally got my Asus Chromebox (ACB) and had a chance to begin to set it up last night. I did the disabling of the write protect screw, no problem. I hooked the device up to my desktop Samsung 23" monitor via HDMI cable and then I attempted to put it into developer mode as explained in the instructions here:

http://kodi.wiki/view/ASUS_Chromebox

So I had inserted the paperclip into the hole left of the SD card slot and pressed the recovery button. I then powered up the device and removed the paperclip. I had the usb mouse that I use on the desktop plugged into the ACB. Screen is blank. I moved the move around to try to awaken the monitor ... no go. I thought ok, it won't work with the USB mouse. I went to get my keyboard/fly mouse remote which I use on my Minix X7 upstairs to try that. Device shown here:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/New-2-4GHz-Mini-F...566e294a47

Repeated the above process and met with the same results ... no display from ACB to the monitor. I thought ok ... let me get my Logitech K400 wireless keyboard and give that a whirl:

http://www.amazon.ca/Logitech-Wireless-K...0+keyboard

Repeated the above process and once again met with the same results ... no display from ACB to the monitor.

So, either all the devices I tried don't work with the ACB or I have a dud straight out of the box. This may be a rather simplistic conclusion but per my knowledge I don't know what else the problem could be. Due to my unfamiliarity with the ACB, the chrome operating system, and Linux I have no idea what to expect from the ACB box behaviour. What am I doing wrong / what else should I be trying to get this to work?

Thank you very much in advance.