[DuMbGuM]

I'm actually shopping around for a ZBOX and this build is what I think I want but I am a bit of a noob so bear with me. I want to build one as an XBMC media player, my video files are on a NAS. Does the SD card hold both the OS and XBMC app? I don't intend to stream video from the card at all, so will a smaller cheaper (but still fast) SD card do? Please advise and thanks in advance.

I guess after that, all I need is a remote.

I went the OpenELEC route to try and get the maximum performance out of these componants. I wouldn't advise another SD card but it's up to you, if it works OK then great but Sandisk generally seem to have better R/W speeds than similar compeditors from what I saw, it's pretty good value for the one I listed considering an SSD will set you back a lot more money (I will probably upgrade to one later to store my music on).

You go through these steps to copy the OpenELEC setup onto a USB stick from your desktop and simply insert it in the ZBOX, boot off the USB and it will install the software on the SD card of your new machine.

I also stream video from my Syno NAS over Wi-Fi N and was surprised to find that they start almost instantly (720p, 1080p) and playback smoothly without having to buffer, unlike the Apple TV I had previously.

[saiga6360]

Awesome! I got all the components you recommended from Amazon and used up some gift cards, looks like money well spent.

Do you use a remote to operate your Zbox? I have never plugged in an IR remote to a PC before so it would be great if you can recommend one that works well with this setup.

Thanks again.

[DuMbGuM]

Awesome! I got all the components you recommended from Amazon and used up some gift cards, looks like money well spent.

Do you use a remote to operate your Zbox? I have never plugged in an IR remote to a PC before so it would be great if you can recommend one that works well with this setup.

Thanks again.

Cool! We are build buddies now. :p

I'm just using the XBMC Remote app on my Android phone right now, I have the wireless X360 controller for Windows but it doesn't seem to work correctly in OpenELEC yet.

There's a list of supported ones here, I think I will try the Flirc it seems to be pretty popular.

Or else maybe the HP IR reciever and harmony remote, I think you will find those listed in eskro's sticked thread.

Edit:

Okay, decided to go for the Flirc and Harmony One, seems like it should work okay from looking at the OpenELEC forums. I knew I would cave some day and get a Harmony remote :p Pretty reasonable price on Amazon UK though.

[eskro]

Flirc + Harmony = Perfect!!

make sure to read my little guide at the flirc forum
about how to setup your harmony before
using flirc!

[Watter]

strongest ZOTAC model --> ZBOX ND22

No question. ND22 is the best ZOTAC model right now.

However... Other models will work. If you find a particularly good deal on an Atom/ION model like the ID40/41, then you can get an extremely workable solution. I ran across a place selling the ID40-PLUS (ID40 with 2gb memory and 250gb HD included) for $150 each. I picked up 2.

One runs Windows 7 and even with only 2Gb memory, it works just fine. If you load a really heavy skin on it then it will bog down a bit in the menus, though.

The other runs Openelec. Let me tell you, Openelec is slick. The number of things that just work out of the box is fantastic. There is a minor issue with the current version of the product where some ION machines occasionally drop frames. It's not a hardware issue as previous versions of Openelec (most notably RC1) work perfectly. Some folks don't even notice it but for others it's kind of annoying.

A key thing for both boxes (win 7 and Openelec which is Linux) is the remote receiver. Don't compromise in this area. Get a MCE compatible one as described by eskro in his stickied hardware post in this forum. I have two of the HP models and they work beautifully. If you search for some of my other posts you find that i wasted nearly a month screwing around with other receivers like USB-IRT, Flirc, and one not-so-compatible MCE one. Dont' be like me. With a good receiver, you'll have no problem putting the machine to sleep and waking it up with most universal remote (I use a Harmony One).

[Watter]

A key thing for both boxes (win 7 and Openelec which is Linux) is the remote receiver. Don't compromise in this area. Get a MCE compatible one as described by eskro in his stickied hardware post in this forum. I have two of the HP models and they work beautifully. If you search for some of my other posts you find that i wasted nearly a month screwing around with other receivers like USB-IRT, Flirc, and one not-so-compatible MCE one. Dont' be like me. With a good receiver, you'll have no problem putting the machine to sleep and waking it up with most universal remote (I use a Harmony One).

Whoops! I just saw eskro's post about flirc. You can take flirc off my list of "difficult to get working" list above, then. I still stand by my statement that the true MCE compatible receivers like the HP are excellent, though.

[hömma]

With a good receiver, you'll have no problem putting the machine to sleep and waking it up with most universal remote (I use a Harmony One).

Great to hear! Looks like I have a new project!

[DuMbGuM]

Flirc + Harmony = Perfect!!

make sure to read my little guide at the flirc forum
about how to setup your harmony before
using flirc!

Excellent ^^

I'll take a look now, thanks!

[saiga6360]

The ND22 I ordered should be arriving today and I can't wait to get started on it. Stupid questions tho, the Openelec build I should use I think is for ION build? 32bit or 64bit?

Thanks in advance.

[toineb]

The ND22 I ordered should be arriving today and I can't wait to get started on it. Stupid questions tho, the Openelec build I should use I think is for ION build? 32bit or 64bit?

Thanks in advance.

You will need the generic and not the ion build

http://www.openelec.tv/find-help/documen...zbox-nd-22

You should also read this

http://www.openelec.tv/forum/27-hardware...dware-page

[saiga6360]

Thanks! That was much needed and now I think I am all set preparing. Now where the heck is the UPS guy?

So I finally got my ND22. I installed the 1x4GB RAM SODIMM and plugged everything in. I installed the Openelec generic build from a flash drive to the CF. The only issue I have is there is a long wait on the Zotac ZBox splash screen before it boots up to Openelec. Is this normal? Any way to get rid of it, fast boot?

Nevermind, the delay went away after subsequent reboots. Now to figure out how to power on the device with the HP MCE remote.

[saiga6360]

Sorry to bump this up but has anyone figured out how to power up the device using the HP MCE remote and the usb receiver?

[distracto]

I set one up for my inlaws and found this thread very useful: http://openelec.tv/forum/41-supported-ha...plus#13904



here is an excerpt for the "power on" with remote:

Suspend, and resume from suspend. There’s only one thing to do here. In System > Power Settings, change the shutdown command from “Shutdown” to “Suspend”. That’s it. There’s nothing else to do here. It just works. I know, I know. I’m as surprised as you are. When I clicked power on my Harmony One (configured for MS Media Center Extender as described above) and the ID40 went to sleep, my eyebrows went up. When I then clicked my XBMC activity on the remote and the ID40 powered up along with my TV and receiver, I honestly couldn’t believe it. No bios tweaks. Nada. In Linux!!!! Seriously, I’m still stunned about this. I had waited to do this last because I felt it was going to be the most difficult things to get working and I even thought that it might be the deal killer because it wouldn’t work at all. I’m just tickled with the fact that this worked with no effort on my part. This alone make the ID40 a high recommendation.

[MidnightWatcher]

Lets say I give up on DTS-HD and just wan't a strong model booting up XBMC and play mkv. 1080p files with no problems. Which model is best then?

+1 for Zotac ND22. Set the fan speed to 50% in the BIOS, and set it to allocate 512MB for the GPU and you're all set.

[saiga6360]

I set one up for my inlaws and found this thread very useful: http://openelec.tv/forum/41-supported-ha...plus#13904



here is an excerpt for the "power on" with remote:

Suspend, and resume from suspend. There’s only one thing to do here. In System > Power Settings, change the shutdown command from “Shutdown” to “Suspend”. That’s it. There’s nothing else to do here. It just works. I know, I know. I’m as surprised as you are. When I clicked power on my Harmony One (configured for MS Media Center Extender as described above) and the ID40 went to sleep, my eyebrows went up. When I then clicked my XBMC activity on the remote and the ID40 powered up along with my TV and receiver, I honestly couldn’t believe it. No bios tweaks. Nada. In Linux!!!! Seriously, I’m still stunned about this. I had waited to do this last because I felt it was going to be the most difficult things to get working and I even thought that it might be the deal killer because it wouldn’t work at all. I’m just tickled with the fact that this worked with no effort on my part. This alone make the ID40 a high recommendation.

Thanks for that tip, it certainly brings me closer and I am surprised how easy it is but there seems to be a problem. When I do suspend and wake up the device after a few seconds it works fine but not for longer periods. I am going to search around for a fix, maybe I need to tweak the bios, but feel free to offer solutions. This has been a great thread!