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From which Group do you belong!?
#1
Group #1
* has a non-HDTV
* wants to play SD movies (DivX, XviD)
* wants to play DVD movies

Best Served By?
* Xbox 1



Group #2
* HDTV possess HDMI ports
* wants to play SD movies (DivX, XviD)
* wants to play DVD movies
* wants to play 720P movies
* wants to stream 720P Netflix movies

Best Served By?
* AppleTV2



Group #3
* HDTV possess HDMI ports
* wants to play SD movies (DivX, XviD)
* wants to play DVD movies
* wants to play 720P movies
* wants to play 1080P movies
* wants to stream 1080P Hulu content

Best Served By?
* AppleTV1 + BCM70015
(sole way for playing 1080P via purely Component HDTV's)
(Hulu requires Bluecop's XBMC Hulu add-on or the use of a Linux distro)



Group #4
* HDTV possess HDMI ports
* wants to play SD movies (DivX, XviD)
* wants to play DVD movies
* wants to play 720P movies
* wants to play 1080P movies
* wants to stream 1080P Hulu content
* wants to stream SD Netflix movies (Windows only)

Best Served By?
* Zotac ZBOX HD-ND02-U
* Zotac ZBOX HD-ID11-U
* Zotac ZBOXHD-ID40-U
* Zotac ZBOXHD-ID33BR-U
* Zotac ZBOXHD-ID34BR
* Zotac ZBOXHD-ID36BR3D-U
* Shuttle XS35GT
* Shuttle XS35GT-V2
* Giada CUBE-N3-D2WS
* Giada CUBE-N3-D2OB
* Giada CUBE-N3-D2WB
* Giada CUBE-N3-D2OS
* Foxconn NT330i-A-W-AE-QB
* Asus EB1012-B0010
* Asus EB1012P-B0320
* Jetway HBJC600C99-352W-BW
* Jetway HBJC231C98-525-B
* Jetway HBJC600C99-52W-BW



Group #5
* HDTV possess HDMI ports
* wants to play SD movies (DivX, XviD)
* wants to play DVD movies
* wants to play 720P movies
* wants to play 1080P movies
* wants to stream 1080P Hulu content
* wants to stream 1080P Netflix movies (Windows only)

Best Served By?
* eSkRo's Builds (Make Sure to Read the Q&A)
* Zotac ZBOXHD-ND22-U



Group #6
* HDTV possess HDMI ports
* wants to play SD movies (DivX, XviD)
* wants to play DVD movies
* wants to play 720P movies
* wants to play 1080P movies
* wants to stream 1080P Hulu content
* wants to stream 1080P Netflix movies (Windows only)
* wants to Bistream HD-Audio

Best Served By?
* eSkRo's Builds (Make Sure to Read the Q&A)
* Zotac ZBOXNANO-AD10-U
* Zotac ZBOX-AD02-U
* Zotac ZBOX-AD03BR-U
* Zotac ZBOXNSX-AD11-PLUS-U
* Zotac ZBOX-AD04-U
* Zotac ZBOX Blu-ray AD05
* Foxconn NTA350-0H0W-B-A-NA
* Jetway HBJC200C85-350-B



Group #7
* HDTV possess HDMI ports
* wants to play SD movies (DivX, XviD)
* wants to play DVD movies
* wants to play 720P movies
* wants to play 1080P movies
* wants to stream 1080P Hulu content
* wants to stream 1080P Netflix movies (Windows only)
* wants to Bistream HD-Audio
* wants to play 3D 1080P movies

Best Served By?
* eSkRo's Builds (Make Sure to Read the Q&A)
* Zotac ZBOX-ID82-U
* ASRock CoreHT 231B
* ASRock CoreHT 252B
* ASRock COREHT-S 241B
* ASRock Vision 3D 137B
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#2
Great post, thanks. What about the Acer Aspire Revo series? I assume group 3? I was thinking those were the most commonly used htpc's for xbmc
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#3
Currently 3, but switching to 6 soon for 3D
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#4
zero1130 Wrote:What about the Acer Aspire Revo series? I assume group 3?

yes they are...
but even tho they are often used as HTPC systems,
i decided to not include them because to my knowledge,
they all come pre-configured with windows and a keyboard and mouse,,,
and they are pricier to a point where i believe its not so worth it,,,
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#5
I'm a group 3. I want to be group 4 to pick up Netflix streaming - but I refuse to use Windows.
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#6
Well I picked up this EEE box EB1012P(I hope at least group 3) w/4gb and dual core

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...246wt_1055

seemed like a great deal so I jumped on it.

*edit* - just saw its group 3.. still seems like a good deal @$275
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#7
My main Theater fits Group #3 or higher. It's served by an Acer AX1301-U9052 (Athlon II X2 215, 4gb DDR2-800, Geforce 210, 750gb HDD). That said, since it's connected to a 720p projector with no immediate plans to upgrade to a 1080p projector, I could very happily use an ATV2 as client with no notable loss of functionality.

Three other displays/clients around the house fit Group #3 proper... two are serviced by ATV2 and one by a P4 + 8400GS HTPC cobbled together from spare parts. I've had no problems with playback of 1080p h.264 MKVs in the 8-10gb range on either client. Personally, I would add low/medium bitrate 1080p h.264 videos to Group #2 and add high bitrate 1080p or BD-Rip to Group #3 to differentiate.

I think a P4 + DXVA/VDPAU Video Card HTPC should be added to Group #3. While I'm a big ATV2 evangelist, there are times when a P4 HTPC with capable video card makes more sense... mainly when either the PC, Video Card, or both are already laying around the house. Also, when XBMC and physical disc playback from the same device is preferred or required.

Also, the ATV1 + Broadcom isn't the only way to get 1080p playback over component. There are plenty of video cards with component video outputs which will work in HTPCs ranging from a cheapo P4 to a high-end Core i7. It's not always easy to to get component video working 100% correctly, usually due to over-scan on CRT based displays (both direct-view and RPTV), but it's not a herculean task either.
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#8
I'm in group 4 and I guess I picked the right PC because I have a Zotac ZBOXHD-ND22-U. Big Grin
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#9
Group 5 as far as my multimedia needs for both my builds , the Zacate fits into the Group 5 category, and my Core i3 fits into group 6 as far as the capabilities, but i don`t use 3D content.
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#10
** GROUPS UPDATED **

thx
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#11
Group #5 here. It's all I need....
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#12
Beer40oz Wrote:Group #5 here. It's all I need....

not into HD-Audio Bitstreaming or 3D?
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#13
Nope... if I ever do I just need to change my GPU. 3D I hate... dizzyyyyyyyy....
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#14
yeah,,,
e-z fix,,,
any Radeon HD 5xxx series will do HD-Audio Bitstreaming,,,
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#15
Group #6

Thanks for this great post I'm gonna build it my own Tongue
Media player: Xtreamer Ultra 2 XBMC v13 RC 1 Gotham, iPhone 4s & iPad mini Retina
LCD: Sony KDL-46HX920 - Receiver: Onkyo TX-R577 - Speakers: Mission e34 5.1 & MS10 - Remote: Harmony Smart Control
Router: Asus RT-N66U - NAS: Synology DS1512+ 15 TB - PC: Intel I7 @4.5 Ghz HD7950 3GB
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