[wrxtasy]

If your considering a Cubox please read this review from a knowledgable owner first:

http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=...pid1923113

[XELOR]

Thanks.

[Ned Scott]

Doesn't that have an old (pre bay-trail) atom CPU? I wouldn't buy that under any circumstances.

This thread was actually necroed from a year ago. The best el-cheapo Kodi device right now is the $40 amazon firetv stick.

Kodi still runs better on such hardware than many Android/ARM boxes, so as long as the price is right and you can actually find them, there's no reason to not consider it. While many people might not notice a difference, and it depends on various factors, those old Atom-based HTPCs probably give much better video quality than the Fire TV (box or stick).

Brand new? Fire TV stick is probably enough for the average person who also has a network share for their local videos. I love mine, despite their shortcomings.

[jjd-uk]

Personally I don't see the point of buying secondhand Revo's at that price when a far superior brand new Chromebox can be got for not much more.

[Ned Scott]

Well, maybe if it was less than $50USD and in good shape.

[nickr]

It is hard to go past the nVidia graphics in ION machines.

[joelbaby]

What is better? CuBox-i4Pro or Acer Revo 3610 for 1080p movies? I have to setup a box for my Dad and wonder whats better?
Revo cost $200CDN

Being the 'knowledgeable' Cubox-i owner that someone referred to in an earlier post, I would say that your choice should be either: RPi 2 or Cubox-i2ex (not the i4Pro).
I would not get an Acer Revo for $200.

RPi 2 rough cost = US$95 made up of: $35 RPi2 + $10 PSU + $10 Micro SD Card + $10 Case + $5 for MPEG2 & VC-1 codec licences + $25 USB wireless Keyboard
Cubox-i2ex cost = US$99 including all the above. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6815580008

Consider also if you need to spend $20 on a USB Edimax 2.4GHz wifi dongle, or if you are OK using Ethernet cable.
The keyboard will be super useful for you when you want to set the thing up.

On either machine I would install Geexbox or OpenElec.
Both of these boxes are tiny, and your father will be amazed at the genius who is part of his family.

Pros and Cons (in no particular order) based on a use case of a person who just wants to watch 1080p movies:

- Both boxes play 1080p absolutely fine.
- Both have a responsive interface
- Both will let you watch 3D movies
- Both offer CEC - which means you can use your TV remote to control XBMC if your TV supports this.
- Both have given me problems with running large portable USB drives. Get a powered USB Hub if this is where your movies are.

- Cubox works better with an HD Audio (if your Dad has a good sound system).
- RPi 2 has pure 23.976 playback (if you have a TV that has this refresh rate). The Cubox does play very well but occassionally some people will notice a frame drop on a 23.976fps movie.
- Cubox has all the leads on the back, so its is neater. The RPI has more flashing lights and a less tidy configuration of leads .. The HDMI & Power cable comes out of one end, but the Network cable comes out at 90degrees on another side.
- If super tidiness is required, both are small enough to be stuck behind the TV
- Although it is less tidy RPi2 has a spring mounted Micro SD slot and cable locations which are easier to plug and unplug. The cubox-i is more fiddly when you initially set up because everything is squeezed together, and you need to unplug the HDMI cable to unplug the Ethernet cable or remove the SD Card (which is not spring mounted). This is more annoying for someone who fiddles a lot. Once it is set up it doesn't matter so much.
- Cubox has an infrared sensor on the front. If CEC is not an option with your TV, then at least you can use an all-in-one remote like Logitech Harmony 650. For $10 you could hook up an IR Receiver on the RPi2 also.
- Cubox has faster ethernet speed, but both are fast enough to read a 17GB 3hour BluRay rip.
- Cubox is about half the size of RPI2
- An RPI2 would probably be quicker to resell second hand if you didn't like it.
- The Raspberry Pi community is gigantic, and will last for many years. The Cubox-i community is smaller but does have some very smart and generous people doing free development for it.

In a few weeks I'll upload youtube videos comparing the two.

Other people will chime in and say "get the Odroid C1 because it does h265" ... but really the h265 format is not going to replace h264 for many years, because so little hardware supports it right now, and it will take time for consumers to replace their existing hardware with hardware which natively supports h265.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I have both. I like both.
Because you were going to spend $200 on a Revo, then you could afford both!
Dad can buy you a 60" TV for doing such a great job.

[Stereodude]

Wouldn't a Chromebox be a better option than spending $200 on used outdated HW?

[noggin]

Wouldn't a Chromebox be a better option than spending $200 on used outdated HW?

Be interesting to know how the Haswell Celeron GPU stacks up compared to the nVidia Ion 2 stuff.

[jjd-uk]

For media centre usage the important thing is hardware decode abilities and I would suspect the Intel GPU as being better this regard, plus a Haswell Celeron will destroy that old Atom in terms of CPU power which is important for GUI fluidity.

[rodalpho]

I have three of these running openelec 5.0.2 and they run perfectly. I use an sql server to link them to the db. I just figured if that little cubox could replace this unit it'd be cool.

Never said it wouldn't work, many thousands of people ran XBMC on those little guys. But with the chromebox available, you'd have to be crazy to get one now.

[looun]

Other people will chime in and say "get the Odroid C1 because it does h265" ... but really the h265 format is not going to replace h264 for many years, because so little hardware supports it right now, and it will take time for consumers to replace their existing hardware with hardware which natively supports h265.

i think SOC s805 have better VPU:
- H.264 MVC ( FULL 3D )
- Video Post-Processing Engine (Motion adaptive 3D noise reduction filter,Advanced motion adaptive edge enhancing de-interlacing engine)
ecc

if KODI support on future this option.

For media centre usage the important thing is hardware decode abilities and I would suspect the Intel GPU as being better this regard, plus a Haswell Celeron will destroy that old Atom in terms of CPU power which is important for GUI fluidity.

i have htpc with ION2 work very well, but at now old PC cost equal new intel BOX(nuc/zbox) with more CPU performance.

[Latinbull]

I'm pretty happy with my Wetek... best if you also want to use a DVB tuner

[musv]

I have also a HTPC with ION2. But there's one issue with that hardware, which I suffer now for more than 3 years.

The whole story is described here.

[nickr]

I have also a HTPC with ION2. But there's one issue with that hardware, which I suffer now for more than 3 years.

The whole story is described here.

Interesting, I have never seen this problem on any setup - I have used an ION1, four ION2, and various machines with nVidia cards including 8400, 220 and 520. On LG, Samsung and Panasonic TVs.