[Arse4life]

Hello all,

I'm planning on upgrading to a CN62 chromebox. Does this box have wifi 802.11ac? Getting mixed spec reports on different sites. I'm sure there are Chromebox users here who have this box an would appreciate any help.

Thanks in advance!

[Matt Devo]

What's the best file system to use for an external USB disk (it's a 500Gb 2.5" HDD connected with a USB-to-SATA adapter). Currently it's ExFAT (not sure why I chose that at the time, I read a lot of conflicting info on what's the best file system to use)

Should I use ext4 instead? Ideally I'd like to be able to also use that disk for Windows... how good is LibreElec's NTFS support (read and write)? I know I can install utilities to read ext4 on Windows, but not all my PCs have that installed

I wonder if ExFat can cause the freeze problems I'm seeing (but would be weird that recording is never affected), so I'm tryin gto eliminate all possible sources of problems

ExFAT should be fine and is really your only option for read-write on both Windows and LE

Hello all,

I'm planning on upgrading to a CN62 chromebox. Does this box have wifi 802.11ac? Getting mixed spec reports on different sites. I'm sure there are Chromebox users here who have this box an would appreciate any help.

Thanks in advance!

all the Broadwell-based Chromeboxes do, they all use the same Intel 7260 AC + BT4.0 module. You can also retrofit this module into an older Chromebox for $20 or so (or whatever the going rate is on Amazon/Ebay). I did on my CN60.

[robca]

What's the best file system to use for an external USB disk (it's a 500Gb 2.5" HDD connected with a USB-to-SATA adapter). Currently it's ExFAT (not sure why I chose that at the time, I read a lot of conflicting info on what's the best file system to use)

Should I use ext4 instead? Ideally I'd like to be able to also use that disk for Windows... how good is LibreElec's NTFS support (read and write)? I know I can install utilities to read ext4 on Windows, but not all my PCs have that installed

I wonder if ExFat can cause the freeze problems I'm seeing (but would be weird that recording is never affected), so I'm tryin gto eliminate all possible sources of problems

ExFAT should be fine and is really your only option for read-write on both Windows and LE

I found an unused 100Mb 2.5" HDD at home, formatted with NTFS, connected to my Chromebox with another USB-to-SATA adapter. Used "cp" from SHH to copy a few files, then I played them using the Video function (not TV/Recordings).

I played ~8 hours worth of recorded content (most of it on fast forward), with no hard freeze. A few times the fast forward playback seems to freeze for a second, but then restarts just fine by itself (as opposed to freezing for 7-10 seconds, then aborting back to the menu). Definitely a massive improvement: I was never able to play this much before without problems

At this point I need to eliminate the potential problems: ExFAT or the USB-to-SATA adapter. I doubt that TV/Recording playback is any different from Video/files playback, so that almost surely is not a factor. I'm still puzzled about the fact that recording never seems to be impacted, but the issue seems to be the external disk at this point (confirming the fact that nobody else has problems playing those same videos, thanks again for your tests, Matt)

NTFS seems to work (cp copies fine, doesn't seem to be slow)... is there any reason why you are saying that ExFAT is the only option? Would it be a problem using NTFS for the disk I use to record TV?

[amcfarla]

Celeron ASUS Chromeboxes are $129 at Amazon right now. https://www.amazon.com/Asus-CHROMEBOX-M0...+chromebox

[darby427]

so this may seem like a dumb question.. but if I am planning on running kodi stand alone.. is it possible to restore the chromebox back to factory down the road?

[Matt Devo]

NTFS seems to work (cp copies fine, doesn't seem to be slow)... is there any reason why you are saying that ExFAT is the only option? Would it be a problem using NTFS for the disk I use to record TV?

depends on how your DVR is set up - I didn't think Linux has decent write support for NTFS

Celeron ASUS Chromeboxes are $129 at Amazon right now. https://www.amazon.com/Asus-CHROMEBOX-M0...+chromebox

there's also the Broadwell Celeron 3205U 4GB Lenovo Chromebox for $120 shipped via Newegg on ebay that comes with a free BT speaker

so this may seem like a dumb question.. but if I am planning on running kodi stand alone.. is it possible to restore the chromebox back to factory down the road?

of course, just use my Firmware Utility Script to restore the stock firmware, then reload ChromeOS using the recovery media (can be created from any PC). I go back and forth all the time on my dev box when testing

[Matt Devo]

Wiki updated to include Broadwell-based models, and better enumerate differences between models

(yes, I know, it's long-overdue)

[darby427]

matt - many thanks! lenovo chromebook working like a champ - so nice to have DTS-MA again! Dont know why I didnt do this earlier. Next step is to get the harmony working.

[Matt Devo]

matt - many thanks! lenovo chromebook working like a champ - so nice to have DTS-MA again! Dont know why I didnt do this earlier. Next step is to get the harmony working.

Been using a Harmony One for many years with a MCE IR receiver, love it. The Hub works great in BT mode as well

[lovemachine]

Has anyone heard any info regarding plans for Skylake/Kaby Lake based chromeboxes? The Googles (oh, the irony) turn up nothing aside from rumors from last Summer. It seems if someone wants x86 4K/h265 native hardware, the NUC/Brix boxes are the only options.

[Matt Devo]

Has anyone heard any info regarding plans for Skylake/Kaby Lake based chromeboxes? The Googles (oh, the irony) turn up nothing aside from rumors from last Summer. It seems if someone wants x86 4K/h265 native hardware, the NUC/Brix boxes are the only options.

I'm not aware of anything in the pipeline for a near-term release. I wouldn't expect anything before Spring 2017 at the earliest. But the Apollo Lake NUCs won't likely be out before then either.

[Arse4life]

all the Broadwell-based Chromeboxes do, they all use the same Intel 7260 AC + BT4.0 module. You can also retrofit this module into an older Chromebox for $20 or so (or whatever the going rate is on Amazon/Ebay). I did on my CN60.

I was able to find this Intel 7260 AC My Chromebox M004U might like this.

I think I'll still get the CN62 seeing as this box will support android apps.

[Matt Devo]

I was able to find this Intel 7260 AC My Chromebox M004U might like this.

I think I'll still get the CN62 seeing as this box will support android apps.

that's the one I'm using. You'll be quite happy with the CN62 for sure

[sh33p]

Anyone else having issues with 5.1 audio output after updating to LE? Tried also the latest by Milhouse, same issue, can hear only on two front channels

Sent from my LG-H815

[Matt Devo]

Anyone else having issues with 5.1 audio output after updating to LE? Tried also the latest by Milhouse, same issue, can hear only on two front channels

nope, works fine here, though I think THD passthru is still hosed in the current builds. Check your audio output settings / selected audio track etc. Also, support for Milhouse's pre-beta builds is in that thread - this one is for hardware/setup issues.