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+--- Thread: Suggest xbmc client setups (/showthread.php?tid=200910)
Suggest xbmc client setups - rmilyard - 2014-07-29
Hello all,
I currently have an Intel NUC i5 Haswell PC for my Home Theater HTPC. It works great! I use it with our Epson 3D projector on 100" screen. I have Pioneer SC-1522-K AVR providing us with 9.2 surround sound and we LOVE it!
I have 2 Lenovo IX4-300d NAS drives in my network closet providing us our media. I have 1 just for all my Bluray and 3d Bluray .iso files. Also is running MySQL to keep database here. I use TMT on the NUC to play them externally via XBMC. The other NAS is hacked running Sabnzbd, Sick Beard and Couchpotatoe. This NAS is where I download stuff to and provides us our TV shows and stuff from CP.
Well my wife loves the setup (after not happy with the $$). She now would like to add 1 or 2 clients. I was thinking about cheaper NUCs but would like to spend less. Right now I am trying out Amazon Fire TV with XBMC. It's ok. Seems to be fine with TV but when playing back Blurays seems to lag some. I am not sure if this is the hardware or the fact Amazon only put 10/100 NIC in these. Seems like should have had 10/100/1000.
Anyone have some suggestions?
RE: Suggest xbmc client setups - Topken - 2014-07-29
There is always the ASUS Chromebox if you don't mind OpenElec
RE: Suggest xbmc client setups - rmilyard - 2014-07-29
(2014-07-29, 18:54)Topken Wrote: There is always the ASUS Chromebox if you don't mind OpenElec
I had one I never opened and returned it to try Fire TV. I don't mine OS as this will basically be a XBMC box.
RE: Suggest xbmc client setups - Topken - 2014-07-29
That is basically all OpenElec is is XBMC ontop of the linux kernel
RE: Suggest xbmc client setups - voip-ninja - 2014-07-29
(2014-07-29, 18:36)rmilyard Wrote: Hello all,
I currently have an Intel NUC i5 Haswell PC for my Home Theater HTPC. It works great! I use it with our Epson 3D projector on 100" screen. I have Pioneer SC-1522-K AVR providing us with 9.2 surround sound and we LOVE it!
I have 2 Lenovo IX4-300d NAS drives in my network closet providing us our media. I have 1 just for all my Bluray and 3d Bluray .iso files. Also is running MySQL to keep database here. I use TMT on the NUC to play them externally via XBMC. The other NAS is hacked running Sabnzbd, Sick Beard and Couchpotatoe. This NAS is where I download stuff to and provides us our TV shows and stuff from CP.
Well my wife loves the setup (after not happy with the $$). She now would like to add 1 or 2 clients. I was thinking about cheaper NUCs but would like to spend less. Right now I am trying out Amazon Fire TV with XBMC. It's ok. Seems to be fine with TV but when playing back Blurays seems to lag some. I am not sure if this is the hardware or the fact Amazon only put 10/100 NIC in these. Seems like should have had 10/100/1000.
Anyone have some suggestions?
The problem with FTV is that it does not have hardware decode support for VC1 and probably 1/4 to 1/3 of your BD ISO images are in VC1 format. You can either re-encode them or you will want to get a box that has full hardware support for VC1 plus HD audio formats, etc.
Cheapest options to do this and get good performance would be Celeron based Haswell NUC or Chromebox.
RE: Suggest xbmc client setups - rmilyard - 2014-07-29
(2014-07-29, 20:03)voip-ninja Wrote:(2014-07-29, 18:36)rmilyard Wrote: Hello all,
I currently have an Intel NUC i5 Haswell PC for my Home Theater HTPC. It works great! I use it with our Epson 3D projector on 100" screen. I have Pioneer SC-1522-K AVR providing us with 9.2 surround sound and we LOVE it!
I have 2 Lenovo IX4-300d NAS drives in my network closet providing us our media. I have 1 just for all my Bluray and 3d Bluray .iso files. Also is running MySQL to keep database here. I use TMT on the NUC to play them externally via XBMC. The other NAS is hacked running Sabnzbd, Sick Beard and Couchpotatoe. This NAS is where I download stuff to and provides us our TV shows and stuff from CP.
Well my wife loves the setup (after not happy with the $$). She now would like to add 1 or 2 clients. I was thinking about cheaper NUCs but would like to spend less. Right now I am trying out Amazon Fire TV with XBMC. It's ok. Seems to be fine with TV but when playing back Blurays seems to lag some. I am not sure if this is the hardware or the fact Amazon only put 10/100 NIC in these. Seems like should have had 10/100/1000.
Anyone have some suggestions?
The problem with FTV is that it does not have hardware decode support for VC1 and probably 1/4 to 1/3 of your BD ISO images are in VC1 format. You can either re-encode them or you will want to get a box that has full hardware support for VC1 plus HD audio formats, etc.
Cheapest options to do this and get good performance would be Celeron based Haswell NUC or Chromebox.
Just picked up Chromebox to try out.
RE: Suggest xbmc client setups - Ned Scott - 2014-07-30
ECS LIVA
It's basically a fanless NUC with 2GB of RAM soldered in (more than enough for an HTPC) and embedded 32GB storage. $150 after a $15 rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856501007
This might just replace the NUC as my go-to recommendation.
RE: Suggest xbmc client setups - voip-ninja - 2014-07-30
(2014-07-30, 00:12)Ned Scott Wrote: ECS LIVA
It's basically a fanless NUC with 2GB of RAM soldered in (more than enough for an HTPC) and embedded 32GB storage. $150 after a $15 rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856501007
This might just replace the NUC as my go-to recommendation.
That is pretty compelling. I wonder if it has the headers for IR.
RE: Suggest xbmc client setups - .:B:. - 2014-07-30
How good is the Bay Trail Celeron? I read it was pretty weak compared to the Sandy/Ivy Bridge or Haswell Celerons... Especially the GPU part?
RE: Suggest xbmc client setups - rmilyard - 2014-07-31
So I am trying out Asus Chromebox I got for $169. Not to bad right now.
RE: Suggest xbmc client setups - voip-ninja - 2014-07-31
(2014-07-30, 23:51).:B:. Wrote: How good is the Bay Trail Celeron? I read it was pretty weak compared to the Sandy/Ivy Bridge or Haswell Celerons... Especially the GPU part?
The Bay Trail NUC is down to about $130 at Newegg. Supposed to be very capable and has the same video support as the more powerful guys.
RE: Suggest xbmc client setups - noggin - 2014-07-31
(2014-07-31, 16:56)voip-ninja Wrote:(2014-07-30, 23:51).:B:. Wrote: How good is the Bay Trail Celeron? I read it was pretty weak compared to the Sandy/Ivy Bridge or Haswell Celerons... Especially the GPU part?
The Bay Trail NUC is down to about $130 at Newegg. Supposed to be very capable and has the same video support as the more powerful guys.
Apparently not. The Baytrail Celeron GPU only has 4EUs which can limit scaling quality, when compared to the 10EUs on the Haswell Celerons. It also can't handle software YADIF 2x deinterlacing which the Haswell Celeron stuff can. For 1080p and 720p stuff it should be fine. But when you add an SSD/HD and RAM it isn't hugely cheaper than the Chromebox, though it can accept a SATA HD and has integrated IR, and remote power-on which is a great feature.
If you are looking for a good remote solution for the Chromebox I'm getting good results with the new PS3 BT+IR remote, which works fine so far for me with the integrated Bluetooth in the NUC.