[Cuddly Cannibal]

Hello,

I've been poking around on the forums for about a month now trying to digest the greatness that is XBMC and I must say I am impressed, interested, and somewhat overwhelmed. I cannot believe the power of this thing, so it only seems fitting that I come to the people who know what they are doing for some friendly suggestions.

Well, I've built a few computers and done my fair share of messing about on the computer, but for the most part a lot of the terminology thrown around on these boards is somewhat foreign to me. Does anyone have a dictionary of sorts or just a list of terms that are important/helpful?

I am also in the market for a setup then. I want something that is small and quiet that I can hook an external HD up on and have all of my media in one spot without creating a network or anything. I'm trying to stay under $400, but am willing to spend more if need be. These are the three that I am interested in, but would love to hear your guys' suggestions:

1. http://www.amazon.com/eMachines-ER1402-5...=de_a_smtd

2. http://www.amazon.com/Acer-AspireRevo-AR...239&sr=8-1

3. http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Ideacentre-...239&sr=8-4

Once I buy one, it seems like there are gobs of resources around to help setup everything you could dream of, but I'm sure I'll need plenty of help with that as well. I'm guessing the wiki is the best place to figure out how to configure everything?

I'm also getting a harmony remote somewhat soon, (still deciding between the 900 and the 1100 thoughts appreciated!) how easy are these to configure to work with XBMC and a set top box? I'm assuming since these seem to be the be all end all of universal remotes the setup is not that tasking of a process.

This is the last question for now, I swear. How hard is it to use a PS3 remote to control emulated games, and is it possible to take advantage of the wireless function on the controller or does it need to be plugged into a UBS slot?

I really appreciate you all taking the time to read my post. Like I said before, while I did some research on my own I still need some guidance. I also attempted to use the search function for what I could, so don't get too mad at me if all this has already been answered somewhere else. Thanks!

[bmcclure937]

Awesome!! Glad to have you as part of the community

My advise it to take time to learn and understand things to the best of your ability. I admire that you have taken time to read the forums and come up with an educated opinion before posting your thread. You are already off to the right path...

I understand your preferences and it seems an ION-based nettop solution will be your best bet. I like that Acer Aspire Revo 3700. There are many different solutions at that price point that will meet your needs.

As for Harmony Remote... I clearly recommend the Harmony One. You do not want the 900 because it uses RF. The Harmony One is the same without RF.

This is the best advise I can provide for now. I hope others will contribute to this thread and help you out!

[paul s]

I have the Zotac ZBOX ID-11 which is similar to the Acer Revo. A very capable ION PC, and as far as I know the Acer Revo and the others you have listed are very similar. What made me choose the Zbox over the Revo was that I wanted an optical out port on the PC, which the version of Revo at the time didn't. If optical is important to you then I'd advise checking.

I use mine with a Harmony 885, and bought a standard MCE remote for the IR dongle and the Logitech software mapped the commands across for me. bmcclure937 assumes that you don't want the RF version of the remote, maybe you do as long as you understand the difference. The RF version drives IR blasters that can be placed in cupboards or in a position that is line of sight for your equipment, but it means that your remote doesn't need to be line of site (if that's teaching you to suck eggs then I apologise!). However the 900 is different from the One in that the 900 has the coloured buttons (R,G,B,Y). I don't know what else you have to control but my satellite receiver uses these commands quite frequently which was my main reason for choosing the 885. You can always map the screen soft keys to be the coloured keys but I preferred hard keys, which was another preference over the touchscreen version of the remotes.

I can't help you with the PS3 bit though, I haven't go that far myself