[spoiler]

I've been away from the XBMC scene for a couple of years, I still have a box running it however I am not aware of what is the best small hardware options that have now come out so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I am looking to spend $300-500 on a newer device similar to the Xtreamer2, I thought that would have been the perfect machine BUT I am seeing complaints when I google around about support and stuff, not sure what sort of support one needs after they purchase and if its a wifi problem I am not worried so much about that as I will be running whatever unit I purchase in wired mode.

I am basically looking for something in small form factor that can small ALL file formats without stuttering or any excuses for crappy playback, of course HDMI output which I imagine is a given and of course Digital Audio via toslink or spdif. Basically want to have a player that is full modifiable and upgradeable just like any normal XBMC build, I want to be able to use whatever skin or build I choose of course.

I'm still open to purchase the Xstreamer2 and was not sure exactly what the complaints are about I just get a negative vibe when I hear people mentioning it so I am not sure if thats a signal to stay away or if perhaps their problems are not that big of problems or something that would affect me.

I also do not want to build yet another HTPC and would prefer a small power mini-htpc or something if possible, a low powered unit with all the features is even better!

Any advice on models I should consider purchasing is greatly appreciated, thanks!


***I should also mention I have a NAS so I do not necessarily need lots of storage space on the unit and would prefer to have a snappier unit with SSD than one with a sluggish gui because I am running a slow hard drive.

[joelbaby]

I am basically looking for something in small form factor that can small ALL file formats without stuttering or any excuses for crappy playback, of course HDMI output which I imagine is a given and of course Digital Audio via toslink or spdif. Basically want to have a player that is full modifiable and upgradeable just like any normal XBMC build, I want to be able to use whatever skin or build I choose of course.

If you want full flexibility, then you need to make a small, power efficient HTPC. An x86 based solution is the only one which will give the most flexibility for build and OS.

I would do:

Mini-ITX Motherboard (so you have the SPDIF)
Intel i3-4130 (or i3-4130T) CPU
No graphics card - use the onboard HD4400 graphics.
60GB SSD will hold any OS you choose, plus the xbmc thumbnail library.
4GB RAM is max you need if you install a heavy OS like Windows.
Power it with a Pico PSU.

Look at www.ecosmartpc.com for ideas for boxes.
This thread also has someone building a small PC and running power consumption tests: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid...light=4130

If you have any VC-1 encoded files (a very uncommon file format), then either: make room for an nvidia GT 610 card, or turn off hardware acceleration when you play them. I have over 2000 files and not one of them is VC1.

If you can do without SPDIF, and can use HDMI into your AV Receiver for sound, then get D34010WYK NUC.

If you want to have a fun experiment, which what should be very capable hardware then look at Cubox-i2Ultra for about $110. A very powerful machine and 3W power consumption, and SPDIF. However, you will be limited to Geexbox XBMC build for now - but it should run with any skin.

[War-Rasta]

You can look at the Zotac ID83 http://www.zotacusa.com/zbox-id83.html which is in that price range. I have one running Linux Mint KDE Edition and it's been great for XBMC. The Intel HD4000 GPU on it is more than capable of 1080p processing without stutter and I haven't found a skin that doesn't run smoothly on it. IT comes without a har drive or RAM but those are pretty easy ot install. You put an SSD in there and it'll fly!

Zotac also has some other boxes yo ucan look at if you want a little more power.

[spoiler]

Thanks joelbaby for the quick reply, I am trying my best to avoid having to build a pc if I can help it though appreciate the info and HDMI idea will be fine actually as I have a video switcher that can breakout the digital audio from the HDMI source to analog if I ever need it.

I want to for sure use a SSD I think as when I was at the CEDIA show last summer I seen some boxes running normal hard drives and when scrolling and moving through menus it *seemed* the SSD versions were a lot more fluid and moved quickly.

I definitely want to make sure I have thumbnail support for my movies, because I have a large NAS and about 500+ DVD I archived years ago and also have some BD rips so I want nice cover art for all of them, my music cover art doesn't matter so much as its all embedded in my Apple Lossless files and I already have a excellent audio server.

I can definitely do without SPDIF and took a look at the D34010WYK NUC but just to confirm when I search and find it on Amazon the price is affordable and people are recommending NOT to use OpenElec with these things and thats fine with me I can use Windows 7 or whatever else someone recommends to run the best with it.

I'm not really looking to experiment, already have a HP Pavillion with lotsa ram and runs XBMC fine and I also have and older 2007 Mac mini I am sure I can convert to run half decent but honestly right now I am looking for a small powerful machine basically already built and ready to rock in the $300-400 Range of price...if it comes with a HD and I have to later swap that out with a SSD for better speed I can do that no problem either.

I am basically looking for small form factor with the best video quality I can get in the small size and snappy and responsive menus with the full ability for me to later upgrade XBMC to use any version I choose if I need too.

Thanks again joelbaby for the recommendations as its appreciated after being away for awhile now, anybody else that has similar hardware recommendations I am open to hearing them.

---

You can look at the Zotac ID83 http://www.zotacusa.com/zbox-id83.html which is in that price range. I have one running Linux Mint KDE Edition and it's been great for XBMC. The Intel HD4000 GPU on it is more than capable of 1080p processing without stutter and I haven't found a skin that doesn't run smoothly on it. IT comes without a har drive or RAM but those are pretty easy ot install. You put an SSD in there and it'll fly!

Zotac also has some other boxes yo ucan look at if you want a little more power.

Thanks War-Rasta, who do you recommend to purchase them from? Looking for best pricing and reliability if I was to order one...I'm totally open to running Linux Mint KDE Edition, so are you simply running Linux Mint and then run the Linux version of XBMC or do they all have specific builds for each Linux version? I guess what I am saying is when new XBMC versions are released is the version you have running a standard Linux version and gets updated just like the Windows and OSX versions?

Thanks for the info!!

[joelbaby]

I can definitely do without SPDIF and took a look at the D34010WYK NUC but just to confirm when I search and find it on Amazon the price is affordable and people are recommending NOT to use OpenElec with these things and thats fine with me I can use Windows 7 or whatever else someone recommends to run the best with it.

If you don't need SPDIF you have more possibilities.

I wouldn't say people recommend NOT to use OpenElec. I would say ... people had to muck around a bit after the 1st week that the NUC was released (early December). This is because some Openelec config settings had to be changed. This turned the NUC Hardware thread into an OpenElec support thread, which is reflected by the current posts inside it. It's full of "How do I do X in Software Y" rather than Hardware discussion.

If you go NUC route you need: D34010WYK + mSATA SSD (not 2.5") + 4GB 1.35v DDR3 SODIMM (note the lower voltage)
Technically you are 'building' an HTPC... but its very simple to plug 2 components inside a box.

NUC is tiny, and it has an IR sensor built in. Very low power: 5Watts in use(?) from memory.

D34010WYKH - will have room for 2.5" SSD (releasing soon) - H mean "High".

DN2810FYK - will have a new Celeron processor and be half the price of i3 model (releasing soon) + space for 2.5" SSD.
http://hexus.net/tech/news/systems/60085...s-q1-2014/

Existing Celeron processors suit most people: but not full stacked frame 3D (like you get from an uncoverted BluRay rip where it sends 2 frames at once to TV), but it will play ripped 3D Side By Side (SBS) content. Celeron will play many Hi10P Anime, but not Hi10P films (do they even exist?).

Nobody knows how much faster the new Celeron N2810 processor will perform compared to the old ones because it only exists in a few laptops at present. But...worth waiting for if in no hurry because maybe it will be fast enough to do the full 3D.

The Zotac Zboxes are also worth a look. The model numbers confuse the heck out of me.

[nixxonexxo]

Keep it simple and get a Mac Mini. It starts at $599. Close enough to your budget but worth the extra dollars.

[spoiler]

I agree I own Mac's, I have a 2006/2007 I could re-purpose but not sure its powerful enough...have not tried and just took away from the wife a couple of nights ago and gave her the old laptop so she could somewhat also be portable. The NUC option wouldn't be that much cheaper after SSD and RAM...I'd have to check the mini price with SSD to see if its affordable, too bad my old one wasn't just a bit faster.

[joelbaby]

Keep it simple and get a Mac Mini. It starts at $599. Close enough to your budget but worth the extra dollars.

Mac Mini: i5 + 4Gb RAM + 500Gb normal hard drive = $599

i3 NUC + 4GB RAM + 60GB SSD = $290 + $50 + $70 = $410
New Celeron NUC + 4GB RAM + 60GB SSD = $250
The i3-4130T in the NUC is faster than the i5-3210M in the Mac.

Does XBMC on Mac Mini support HD Audio?
Does a Mac Mini have native hardware support for 23.976 fps?

For some reason the Mac Mini is selling 2 year old chips at a premium price. I think Apple also pay a premium to Intel for not having the "Intel Inside" sticker on the outside of the box.

Edit: And there's a slight size difference between the two which may be imperceptible to some: http://www.technikblog.ch/wp-content/upl...UC-003.jpg

[spoiler]

Touche' , I was thinking about the mini before bed but wow I didn't realize the NUC were that small!!

[bluray]

Or this little guy- Acer Revo RL80-UR22 Desktop (Black). It should make a powerful XBMC box, and it is ready for XBMC out of the box....

[nixxonexxo]

Keep it simple and get a Mac Mini. It starts at $599. Close enough to your budget but worth the extra dollars.

Mac Mini: i5 + 4Gb RAM + 500Gb normal hard drive = $599

i3 NUC + 4GB RAM + 60GB SSD = $290 + $50 + $70 = $410
New Celeron NUC + 4GB RAM + 60GB SSD = $250
The i3-4130T in the NUC is faster than the i5-3210M in the Mac.

Does XBMC on Mac Mini support HD Audio?
Does a Mac Mini have native hardware support for 23.976 fps?

For some reason the Mac Mini is selling 2 year old chips at a premium price. I think Apple also pay a premium to Intel for not having the "Intel Inside" sticker on the outside of the box.

Edit: And there's a slight size difference between the two which may be imperceptible to some: http://www.technikblog.ch/wp-content/upl...UC-003.jpg

You could break down the numbers of all the different hardware but there's more to owning a Mac. You're going to get great support from Apple in the long term. I notice XBMC runs a lot better on a 64 bit processor then a 32 bit processor. You can use an Apple TV remote on the mini as well. The current Mac Mini is 2 years old but it's due for a refresh sometime this year if you would rather wait. However, the great thing about apple products is that they last long and their technology stand the test of times. The current MacBook I own is about 8 years old, in great condition and upgraded to 64 bit Maverick OSX.

[spoiler]

You don't have to convince me about Mac's , I own a MacPro, MBP and ATV I just wasn't sure how well the new mini's ran compared to other hardware. I *don't* need another spare Mac at all and just gave my late 2007 MBP to my fiancé when I upgraded to the new one last year and both my other Mac's run fine.

I also have a working XBMC system on Dell Core I3 3.3 Ghz with 6GB RAM running 64bit Windows 7 and I also have XBMC running on the very first Xbox but I mainly use that for playing roms. The reason I am looking for a smaller system is just that, I want a smaller box for my rack instead of a Dell Tower and something that possibly runs a bit less power...I know the saving won't be alot but I do monitor the power in my house and want things eating less power when possible.

When you are running XBMC on your mini's are you using the OSX build or are you running another build?

[nixxonexxo]

I'm running OSX build 64bit version.

If you're looking for low powered then I would look into Android TV Boxes with Tegra 3 or 4 chipset or those cheap Chinese Rockchip A9 you see everywhere online. These chips were designed for mobile phones with lowest possible power consumption so battery life can last long. On standby these Android Box uses less then 1 watt.

If you're going to build a mini PC running windows, you will be using a lot of power even on standby because PC chips were designed for desktop processing. That's where fans and cooling systems comes in.

[spoiler]

Thanks nixx, I think I will probably avoid the Android boxes or a cheaper version if they at all were to sacrifice quality or possible upgrades...I am already ready thread where people are saying certain boxes can eventually support UHD(Ultra High Definition)...yes I am aware we have really nothing for content but it will come eventually and best to have something that either will work with it or is easily upgraded to handle it...possible with a new video card.

So many choices! I'm a almost thinking for myself personally I just keep using my Dell tower which is powerful enough for now and buy my friend a MacMini/HTPC or whatever and then this fall or when the market has more options then I go and buy something even newer...or buy a used MacMini because someone wants the latest and greatest OR the MacMini is the same cost just more powerful and will support UHD if need be.

Thanks again everybody for all the info and choices, its hard to just hop back in after being away from building machines for years and to be honest since 2007/2008 when by chance I started using a Mac Mini 2006 model I had actually bought for a HTPC as my main system because my PC died and I was converted in days, started out using VMware and then later Parallels and now run all my machines in VM's and even have VM's for Backtrack or Ubuntu or any other shit I need to work with and test instead of buying separate machines. I really have no desire to build machines anymore as I am not a gamer and do not need really anymore power than most stock Mac's come with...they run excellent for all the work I do and if I ever need to run Photoshop or Illustrator they open massive files fine for me..no problems.

Of course before someone says "But you could have just used a PC and VirtualBox and it would have been cheaper"....again I already had the Mac bought and paid for an had lost my contract so I thought I can temporarily use this Mac and low and behold almost 7 years later I am still using Mac and that same Mini is running fine and I only stopped using it yesterday for my wife because I had a early 2008 MBP Pro I wasn't using and felt I could redo it with Mavericks and give her a laptop. The MacMini was upgraded by me with more RAM,a larger Harddrive and has run flawless really since about late February 2007 and I am sure it will run for another 5 years. Also this machine ran 24/7 only going into sleep mode but not actually turning off. For backup of the system I used a MIniStack V3 from OWC

I was using Mac's in the 80's also but try not to reveal my age, also was using all sorts of other shit with green monochrome monitors and programming games from a paperback book...no debuggers like today! ;-)