[pierrepoulpe]

Hello everybody!

I recently got a 1080p projector. With it came the question of the source...
Until now I was using the box supplied by my ISP. The trick is that it's now 7 years old and support only 1080i hdmi output.

My first attempt was to use a raspberry pi + xbmc dedicated distro (tried openelec, raspbmc, xbian, raspbian+xbmc)
- xbmc is the way to go, smooth, simple, supports nfs, excellent!
- rasp pi runs smoothly my 1080p files, I can't believe this tiny 40€ thing can do that.
- I like rasp pi, it's cheap, small, and use (and warm) only a few watts
BUT...
Audio output is pure crap. I thought, no problem, I have a decent USB sound card (http://www.behringer.com/FR/Products/UCA202.aspx), just to plug in, and it'll work...
Ooops, I learned that rasppi xbmc build doesn't support alsa nor pulse audio => http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=146646
There is a kind of hack : http://forum.stmlabs.com/showthread.php?tid=1052
It works.... bad. Lot of pops and glitches... Tried the option "dwc_otg.speed=1" but it doesn't start anymore.


Ok, which alternative? a full pc? Sure it'll work fine.
But it cost hardly less than 200€.

My question : which alternative between the 40€ rasp pi that works fine but the lack of usb audio support, and a x86 pc @ 200€?
In absolute, it's not that 200€ is expensive for a pc, but It's 5 times more expensive than rasp pi. Can't believe there is not an alternative between...

PS : I looked at apple TV 1 on the local used market, too hard to find.
PS2 : My audio amp is a stereo amp more audiophile oriented than home cinema, no hdmi input, no way to change that.


Thanks for your inputs,

[PatrickVogeli]

An Intel NUC with the Celeron 847, 2GB of ram and a 16 msata ssd should be a little more than $200 and be plenty to run openelec

[pierrepoulpe]

I just saw intel NUC. I think I'll buy that if I put a 200€ bill on the table.

But I thought about my old x86 server, which I replaces by a low power ARM NAS. Currently in the closet...
It's an old (2007) and low end sempron 1150, the mobo have a pci express port.

If I put a recent graphics card with HDMI output, will it play full HD videos smoothly? After all, rasp pi CPU power is quite low, and it works fine with hardware decoding.
And which GPU would you advise? (no game, just h264 1080p decoding and hdmi output)

The case is big (ATX), but it'll be the cheapest way to go.

[PatrickVogeli]

If you are only looking to play up to 1080p non 3D files, anything from an Nvidia 210 will work. Starting with the 430, it also add HD audio bitstreaming capabilities(DTS-MA and Dolby True HD).

I would guess a nvidia 610 or 620 will be pretty cheap, low power consumption (and thus, cooler and also quieter) and should have everything you could need (1080p, 3D and HD audio bitstream).

The thing where I can't really help is if you have HD interlaced material (like 1080i). In that regards, I think you will need something a bit better (nvidia 630 maybe?). But if I you only play SD and bluray rips, you shouldn't worry about that

[pierrepoulpe]

I'll abandon the current source which outputs at 1080i, but my projector is brand new and supports 1080p (optoma HD 131x).
Ok, I get this old computer tomorrow (currently at my parents-in-law's), borrow the G210 from my desktop computer, and see how it deals. If it's ok, I'll post here average CPU usage during playback for such a slow CPU, and buy a video card, probably a GT210 as it cost only a few euros more.

Thanks,

[awp0]

Just out of curiosity, what device are you playing the sound through? Safe to assume it's not an HDMI-enabled receiver? RPi sound quality through the headphone jack is indeed crappy. But it should be excellent through HDMI.

[pierrepoulpe]

PS2 : My audio amp is a stereo amp more audiophile oriented than home cinema, no hdmi input, no way to change that.

Cambridge audio 640A, and a pair of handcrafted speakers
http://hifi-reviews.com/amplifiers/cambr...v2-review/

[awp0]

Hah, I suppose I missed the PS2! Sorry. Nice amp though!

[DrowningApe]

Ouya? Even at euro prices it shouldn't run too high.

[ssks]

Ouya? Even at euro prices it shouldn't run too high.

If you can wait until June...

[Jaswinder]

Are you referring to video shows XBMC can use in a default install or through plugins? Examples?

[idioteque]

Second hand Mac mini 2009 ?

all in about 200€

[pierrepoulpe]

If it's ok, I'll post here average CPU usage during playback for such a slow CPU, and buy a video card, probably a GT210 as it cost only a few euros more.

It runs perfectly well!
In the mean time I found a movie with some scene where raspberry were way too slow, and the same scene runs perfectly on the new system.
So : sempron 1100 LE (monocore, 36€ CPU in 2007), 1GB ram, Geforce 210 => cpu load between 20% and 50% during 1080p playback.

I ordered a GT610 for 30€ (the 210 was borrowed from my desktop), and it'll do the trick.

I installed openelec, which run fine, but doesn't detect an old sound card I would like to recycle (M Audio 2496 audiophile). xbmcbuntu detect it, so I'm currently installing xbmcbuntu

Thanks for your inputs,