2012-05-10, 22:31
Ran XBMC on my MacBook Pro, as well as my WindowsXP machine that has been collecting dust until I dusted it off to serve as a temporary storage & testing box for my home XBMC-synced setup.
Currently, I have two ATV2's and a Synology NAS with MySQL running. Everything is streamed wirelessly, most times in 720p.
The thumbs are synced via pathsubstitution in advancedsettings.xml.
I'm not a big fan of ATV2, even using the Quartz skin (for improved performance), because I'd really rather use Transparency or some more resource-intensive skins.
Plus, I'm also looking for better performance when rewinding/fast-forwarding - on my Macbook pro, it's generally smooth when rewinding/fast-forwarding, but on ATV2 it's unbearable (very very choppy). Need something more powerful than an ATV2.
I'm looking for some suggestions (builds) that can do the following:
Netflix
Hulu
1080p
Take input from Mohi Leaf Plus (I am assuming HDMI? I will receive the device today and check out what outputs are available)
has a BluRay drive (reading only)
Has a SSD for improved I/O performance
Granted, my library is on my NAS, but I'd like to use BluRay reader drive to rip the DVD/BluRays we purchase occasionally and have the contents sit in our XBMC library on NAS.
Questions:
1) OpenELEC, XBMCbuntu, or XBMC for Windows? Which one of those are better based on my needs above? Depending on answer, will help me determine what size I should get for the SSD drive, correct? I'm comfortable with Linux by the way, have no issue with doing things via command line interface.
2) As I understand it, Frodo will introduce PVR functionalities. If I want to have my HTPC "Frodo/PVR" ready, what additional considerations do I have when I do my first HTPC build?
3) Any negativity associated with having my HTPC also house a Bluray drive? I noticed that almost none of the builds in this forum have any optical drive (DVD or Bluray) attached. Is that because the benefits of having optical drive is not worth it?
4) Mini-ITX or Micro-ATX, does it matter much? I'm eyeing Mini-ITX, I like smaller cases, any big downsides with all my considerations above?
5) is XBMC still not able to play Bluray natively today? I saw this commented in a sticky - What exactly does "natively" mean? Does that mean I can download some addon or driver to make XBMC able to play Bluray movies?
I am sure I'll have more questions but will start with those questions for now.
Currently, I have two ATV2's and a Synology NAS with MySQL running. Everything is streamed wirelessly, most times in 720p.
The thumbs are synced via pathsubstitution in advancedsettings.xml.
I'm not a big fan of ATV2, even using the Quartz skin (for improved performance), because I'd really rather use Transparency or some more resource-intensive skins.
Plus, I'm also looking for better performance when rewinding/fast-forwarding - on my Macbook pro, it's generally smooth when rewinding/fast-forwarding, but on ATV2 it's unbearable (very very choppy). Need something more powerful than an ATV2.
I'm looking for some suggestions (builds) that can do the following:
Netflix
Hulu
1080p
Take input from Mohi Leaf Plus (I am assuming HDMI? I will receive the device today and check out what outputs are available)
has a BluRay drive (reading only)
Has a SSD for improved I/O performance
Granted, my library is on my NAS, but I'd like to use BluRay reader drive to rip the DVD/BluRays we purchase occasionally and have the contents sit in our XBMC library on NAS.
Questions:
1) OpenELEC, XBMCbuntu, or XBMC for Windows? Which one of those are better based on my needs above? Depending on answer, will help me determine what size I should get for the SSD drive, correct? I'm comfortable with Linux by the way, have no issue with doing things via command line interface.
2) As I understand it, Frodo will introduce PVR functionalities. If I want to have my HTPC "Frodo/PVR" ready, what additional considerations do I have when I do my first HTPC build?
3) Any negativity associated with having my HTPC also house a Bluray drive? I noticed that almost none of the builds in this forum have any optical drive (DVD or Bluray) attached. Is that because the benefits of having optical drive is not worth it?
4) Mini-ITX or Micro-ATX, does it matter much? I'm eyeing Mini-ITX, I like smaller cases, any big downsides with all my considerations above?
5) is XBMC still not able to play Bluray natively today? I saw this commented in a sticky - What exactly does "natively" mean? Does that mean I can download some addon or driver to make XBMC able to play Bluray movies?
I am sure I'll have more questions but will start with those questions for now.
