I recently got a Zotac AD10 (adding 4gb & 80gb SSD) and went the Openelec route having had no prior experience in XBMC and/or linux. Here have been my experiences so far...
The Zotac boxes seems to be pretty well made, but you will have to look around on the internet if you want help after purchase. The same as almost any hardware (with exception of ATV & Raspberry Pi), you probably won't find solutions to any Openelec questions that are tailored EXACTLY for your device, but you will get something similar that you can generally use. I've also used the forums on here as a resource to help with setting things up.
- Openelec is indeed easy to set up. Now that V2.0 is out, it is very simple to install, just make sure to click the right executable (.bat file), rather than the .exe file in the install package and then follow the instructions on the openelc wiki. The one difficulty I have found is that almost all guides on the internet will relate to the Windows version of xbmc (i am assuming in part because it's easier to capture the actions on the screen using windows software).
- One aspect that I have found very frustrating so far is that since i'm using an external HDD (though I put in my order of some more HDDs today to set up a UnRAID server!), if I disconnect the HDD to add more media, when i've reconnected, it has not recognized the library, and I have to try and re-mount the HDD etc. I am actually pretty poor at doing this stuff so far, I got it working once, and then recently, I disconnected/reconnected the HDD once and since, haven't managed to get the library set up again properly (it just shows files & Add-ons under Videos). So... with that said, my advice would be if you're not connecting to a server primarily, use a USB stick to transfer files over once you have your main library set up. ...Even locating the HDD through the root file system structure of Openelec was a bit difficult initially, I can imagine how this could be much easier in Windows, as the drives are in a more familiar format.
- Make sure to have a spare keyboard & mouse at the ready. I've never used the mouse with it (out of stubbornness), but it certainly helps when getting things setup initially. My remote (Harmony 700) actually recognizes the Zotac box as a device in its library, so that was incredibly easy to get setup to work with the system. My AD10 came with a remote, but the harmony is much nicer and works better.
Only had this for about a month, but still have a few things to work through.
The three areas I have not yet fathomed (and I'm planning to fix this weekend) are:
- Wireless Connectivity to my network
- Bluetooth Keyboard. Allegedly, Bluetooth works with the AD10, but looking online, it seems rather complex to get BT pairing set up, and requires some unusual add-ons and tweaking. The keyboard I have is a
HP TouchPad Wireless Keyboard
- Re-establishing library + HDD sync.
As for the hardware, I have no complaints whatsoever, it's whisper quiet & boots fast.
Best of luck with your purchase!
