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From which Group do you belong!?
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Definitely no HD audio bitstreaming in GMA3150.
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(2013-01-08, 17:15)PobjoySpecial Wrote: I'm pretty sure that's a negatory.

I don't think the GMA3150 supports audio bitstreaming.

Thanks. Whats the minimum needed for hi res audio?
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(2013-01-09, 09:55)PobjoySpecial Wrote: On what? Windows? Linux?

Windows: AMD E350, Intel NM70

Linux: Intel NM70, nVidia ION2, Pivos XIOS (soon, supposedly)

Keep in mind these aren't necessarily the minimum for a fluid user experience. Windows will need mid-level AMD Llano or Intel Sandybridge. Linux may be passable with the above.

Thanks. I'm more interested in Linux, probably a lightweight version like openelec, but I can do Ubuntu too.
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I am looking for as close to a prebuilt system as possible that suits my needs. I am pretty confident I will be choosing one of the zotac units, I am basically debating between all of the ones in the group 6 list as well as the ZBOX-ID82-U in group 7. I want to pick one and settle on it as my plan is to make a few copies of it for friends and family after I set it up as it will contains our entire collection of family videos (lots of 1080p ones) and photos. I want to have identical hardware in each unit. Some of the units in group 6 seem to not be sold anymore or are at least difficult to find online. Whatever I get I want it to still be easy to get another new one in 6 months (newegg or amazon preferred).

So here are the contenders
Zotac ZBOXNANO-AD10-U
Zotac ZBOX-AD02-U
Zotac ZBOX-AD03BR-U
Zotac ZBOXNSX-AD11-PLUS-U
Zotac ZBOX-AD04-U
Zotac ZBOX-ID82-U

I plan on running linux on it, hopefully openelec although I haven't used it yet, maybe under ubuntu, or possibly another distro, looking for max stability and easy updates. My current install is on a desktop running ubuntu precise with 4gb ram with frodo rc3 using the unstable xbmc repo, and although I get the occasional lock up and I have to kill xbmc.bin manually, overall it is a great experience, I run in standalone mode.

The preassembled units all seem to come with 2GB ram (will 2gb of ram be enough for xbmc to do everything smoothly and snappily? all add-ons as well?) and either 320GB drive or 64GB SSD neither of which is enough for my 900GB collection. So I would have to either tack a usb drive on each one, or put a new 1TB 2.5" internal drive in each one (if I do this I might as well go for a barebones unit). My concern with a usb drive is there will be multiple usb devices connected, at minimum an IR receiver, and possibly an external blu ray drive, and in the long term maybe another usb drive if more storage is needed. Running under linux will I run into problems with my mount points changing if these devices are disconnected and reconnected by accident or when moving the unit?

I've read in some places that amd 350 models sometimes have trouble with high quality flash video. I definitely want enough power that all flash playback is very smooth.

The Zotac ZBOX-AD03BR-PLUS-U is interesting because of the onboard blu ray. Have all the blu ray linux bugs been ironed out? It seems they will play fine using makemkv from what I have read. Will they also rip nicely on linux using swiss army knife or another plugin? Would the ZBOX-AD03BR-PLUS-U be able to rip a blu ray and simultaneously be able to play another 1080P movie from the hard drive smoothly? Would any of my considered models be able to do that if I use an external blu ray?

However the Zotac ZBOX-AD03BR-PLUS-U does not seem to come as a barebones unit if I decide to go with a new 1TB internal.

Some of those units have S/PDIF optical audio out and some do not. Does that provide better quality than the audio coming over the HDMI? Some people may have a receiver that does not have HDMI, but it does have S/PDIF, so if I don't get a unit with S/PDIF I imagine they will be forced to run analog audio to their receiver... correct? Does the S/PDIF run well under linux and will it provide noticeably better quality than analog?

Sorry to blather but I have a lot of considerations in my mind lol. Anyone want to make a recommendation for me based on my concerns and intended uses? I suppose I am also open to non-Zotac options, but barebones is the minimum for me, and completely preassembled is preferred, I don't want to be hooking up motherboards and processors. And of course, as long as it can do all I want, minimum cost Smile
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I have been doing research on which way to go (build or buy) for the past two or three weeks. I really want to get the new Intel i3 with the 4000 graphics. So, I picked some components I think will work, but I would really like someone with more experience to tell me if I will have any conflicts with these. I have heard of memory chips, PSUs and other components blocking others. Obviously, I am very new to this. So, any input is appreciated.

If it matters, I'd be in the #6 group - no 3D movies, but lots of 1080p movies stored on a Synology NAS DS412+. I'll be accessing the files over WLAN. Here are the components in my shopping cart as I type:

Crucial 64GB SSD
Kingston Technology HyperX 4 GB Kit (2x2 GB Modules)
Gigabyte LGA 1155 DDR3 1600 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Motherboard GA-H77N-WIFI
Antec ISK 300-150 Black Mini-ITX Desktop Computer Case 150 Watt Power Supply
Intel Core i3-3225 Dual-Core Processor 3.3 GHz 3 MB Cache LGA 1155 - BX80637i33225

I don't think the Antec case can take another fan, so I did not include one of those. The total so far is $434. If I bought a pre-built, I was looking at the Zotac ID83, but I can't find prices on that yet. So, I don't know how much I'm saving. But, if there are not issues with this combination of components, I'm gonna move forward with these and be happy.

Please let me know if I have forgotten any components in the list. One thing I still have to solve for is a BluRay Drive to rip my movies. I will either buy an external one and plug it up to my laptop or see if it makes sense to include a drive in this build. If you have thoughts on which would be the best route, I'm open to that as well.

Great forum and great thread!

Thanks for all the useful information. I would not be this far along without you.
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Not seeing my group here at all. Undecided

Basically, I have SD, but want to be able to play my HD files without re-encoding them (I have other HD devices, also, I plan to upgrade my SD projector to HD someday).

I have an 1024x768 VGA projector -- it has an adapter that does VGA to component, so I can hook-up hi-def things like Xbox 360 via the analog cables -- but it's certainly not a hi-def projector -- at any rate. It can do hi-def resolutions, it just down samples them to 16:9 displayed on 1024x768 (i.e. 1024 x 576, vertically centered), though the computer down samples much better -- and either way, it looks much sharper than any SD TV I've ever owned (partially, because it's progressive-scan, of course).

In the meanwhile, you can just say I have an SD-TV, with VGA -- certainly no HDMI -- but I want to be able to play 1080p (etc) -- so that I don't need to re-encode all my media (again, I plan to upgrade to HD, and I have 40" HD in the bedroom).

Currently, for the projector, I'm getting by with an ATOM 330 (Intel Chipset) w/ a PCI (not PCIe!) ATI HD 55xx accelerator (it has HDMI output for when the time to upgrade comes) -- it seems to be able to play pretty much everything but 1080p Hi10p files -- but I can re-encode those and they play fine. Though, I want to look into what other things I can do with it. :-)
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What category would you say the Acer Revo RL100 falls into?

Specs are

AMD Athlon II Neo K325 Dual Core Processor
Windows 7 Home Premium Edition
3GB RAM
640GB HDD
3D Blu-Ray Ready Drive
Integrated NVIDIA ION Graphics
HDMI
Includes Acer Wireless Magic Pad
Integrated TV Tuner
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How about Intel NUC? Which group does it fall into?
Thanks
Raspberry Pi-B with Raspbmc
i5 iMac 21.5"
Macbook Pro
LG PA75U Projector with 113" DIY screen
iPhone 5S/Kodi
Denon AVR S500BT with Klipsch Reference series 5.1 setup
Amazon Fire TV with SPMC
Asus M004U (Coming Soon)

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(2013-03-12, 00:19)freak1 Wrote: How about Intel NUC? Which group does it fall into?
Thanks

The i3 NUC will do everything in Group #7
The Celeron 847 NUC is a strong Group #6, possible #7 if SBS 3D is ok (it's been shown to work in the Intel NUC thread).
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(2013-03-12, 02:49)Dougie Fresh Wrote:
(2013-03-12, 00:19)freak1 Wrote: How about Intel NUC? Which group does it fall into?
Thanks

The i3 NUC will do everything in Group #7
The Celeron 847 NUC is a strong Group #6, possible #7 if SBS 3D is ok (it's been shown to work in the Intel NUC thread).

Sounds perfect Smile I'll go with Celeron now.
Was in a bit dilemma which one to go with celeron or i3.
I guess I can build complete Celeron NUC with the $$ that I can spend for a barebone i3.
Else, any suggestions please?
Raspberry Pi-B with Raspbmc
i5 iMac 21.5"
Macbook Pro
LG PA75U Projector with 113" DIY screen
iPhone 5S/Kodi
Denon AVR S500BT with Klipsch Reference series 5.1 setup
Amazon Fire TV with SPMC
Asus M004U (Coming Soon)

Image
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(2013-03-12, 03:54)freak1 Wrote: Sounds perfect Smile I'll go with Celeron now.
Was in a bit dilemma which one to go with celeron or i3.
I guess I can build complete Celeron NUC with the $$ that I can spend for a barebone i3.
Else, any suggestions please?

Windows or Linux/OpenELEC? Windows 7 + XBMC with the internal player is a no-go with the Celeron 847. It's reported to work fine with Windows 8. I've personally tested the Celeron 847 with a different brand motherboard and it works brilliantly with OpenELEC. There's a long thread all about the Celeron 847 (albeit in mini-ITX form not NUC form) you might want to take a look at.
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I'll take a look into that thread. And I'm planning to use as WIN 8 + XBMC. Will it be perfect?
Thanks for all the info Dougie Smile
Raspberry Pi-B with Raspbmc
i5 iMac 21.5"
Macbook Pro
LG PA75U Projector with 113" DIY screen
iPhone 5S/Kodi
Denon AVR S500BT with Klipsch Reference series 5.1 setup
Amazon Fire TV with SPMC
Asus M004U (Coming Soon)

Image
Reply
(2013-03-12, 05:53)freak1 Wrote: I'll take a look into that thread. And I'm planning to use as WIN 8 + XBMC. Will it be perfect?
Thanks for all the info Dougie Smile

It is reported to work. I have not tried it myself to say for sure. Worse comes to worse, you'd have to configure an external player for XBMC. I tried Windows Media Player and it played 1080p MKVs very nicely so it's just a matter of having a player that supports DXVA for GPU acceleration because the Intel 2000 HD GPU played everything I threw at it.
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