Best xbmc solution?
#1
Hi,
I have two xbmc setups. One is my old xbox, which is good, but doesn't support 480p and up. The other is an old pc, which doesn't support 720p and is pretty noisy.
I'm looking to replace both of them. What is the best option(easy and cheap)?

I thought about apple tv. Is it good?

thanks
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#2
I think the operative world in your question is 'cheap' and the easy part is dependent on user knowledge and experience. ATV2 looks like a viable choice... but if you hold your breath...(noting most of this stuff is almost on the shelves, but not yet) ATV3, Raspberry Pi or other solutions might offer better particulars. The display you have will ultimately be a big deciding factor in this equation.
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#3
I don't mind shelling out 150 dollars +/-
Hold my breath, why? since jailbreak for atv3 will take few weeks?

Is the apple tv a good solution?
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#4
ATV2 is basically a streaming device, so there is no local storage.. you would need to access your content through lan, connected to your PC or Nas should you have one. The hold your breath options might offer local salvation.. (ATV1 with a braodcom gfx card might be better, but is a kinda regressive move and at the top end of your budget if you think about 2.5" drives) .

A newer PC should be a consideration.
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#5
I don't think it supports 1080p. Or if it does then it only outputs 720p. So it's really only a solution if you're on a tight budget or if your TV is small or only supports 720p.

This is coming from someone who would never, ever buy an Apple product, so take it with a grain of salt.
HTPC 1 - Zotac ZBOX ID80U | 4GB RAM | 64GB SSD | Openelec | Confluence
HTPC 2 - Zotac ZBOX ID41U | 4GB RAM | 60GB SSD | Openelec | Confluence
Server - unRAID Server | 3 x 2TB WD Green HDD, 1TB WD Black HDD (Cache) | Sabnzbd | CouchPotato | Sickbeard
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#6
(2012-04-01, 18:10)Plaguester Wrote: I don't think it supports 1080p. Or if it does then it only outputs 720p. So it's really only a solution if you're on a tight budget or if your TV is small or only supports 720p.

This is coming from someone who would never, ever buy an Apple product, so take it with a grain of salt.

This is correct for the Apple TV 2, but not the new Apple TV 3 (which has yet to be jailbroken so no XBMC for now.)
Set Up
Raspberry Pi running Raspbmc - XBMC 12.2
40" Samsung ES6800 LED Smart 3D 1080P TV
Onkyo HTS3405 5.1 DD True HD and DTS-HD Surround Sound
ReadyNAS Duo with 4TB (2 x 2TB X-RAID) Western Digital Caviar Green using NFS
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#7
(2012-04-01, 18:09)PatK Wrote: ...
A newer PC should be a consideration.

Here's the one I'm looking at for the bedroom HTPC. You'll have to add RAM, a hard drive, and a media center remote.
HTPC 1 - Zotac ZBOX ID80U | 4GB RAM | 64GB SSD | Openelec | Confluence
HTPC 2 - Zotac ZBOX ID41U | 4GB RAM | 60GB SSD | Openelec | Confluence
Server - unRAID Server | 3 x 2TB WD Green HDD, 1TB WD Black HDD (Cache) | Sabnzbd | CouchPotato | Sickbeard
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#8
I actually don't need more than 720p and anyhow I stream my content on one of the pc's.

So atv2 is the way to go or even atv3 if jailbroken? does it actually work good? (my biggest temptation is the price and size of those devices...)
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#9
(2012-04-01, 23:35)LRa Wrote: I actually don't need more than 720p and anyhow I stream my content on one of the pc's.

So atv2 is the way to go or even atv3 if jailbroken? does it actually work good? (my biggest temptation is the price and size of those devices...)

So long as your HD content is H.264, it works great. It can't handle HD content that is Xvid or DiVX.
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#10
(2012-04-02, 02:17)DLeavy Wrote: So long as your HD content is H.264, it works great. It can't handle HD content that is Xvid or DiVX.

Because of processing power? if so will atv3 be able to play hd xvid and divx?

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#11
(2012-04-02, 08:17)LRa Wrote:
(2012-04-02, 02:17)DLeavy Wrote: So long as your HD content is H.264, it works great. It can't handle HD content that is Xvid or DiVX.

Because of processing power? if so will atv3 be able to play hd xvid and divx?

ATV3 has more memory and a better processor, but it's not been jailbroken yet, so no one knows how XBMC will perform on it.
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#12
Get yourself a little APU computer. Here is one on Amazon that is even cheaper then the Atom system that was posted. This as well will need ram, a hdd if you plan on installing an OS. If all you want is XBMC to run, just run it off a flash memory card or USB stick and you can forgo the hard drive. This E-350 APU (which is a hybrid chip with both a CPU and GPU on the dye) can play 1080p. So you will be set into the future with this if you ever start watching 1080p. It also has a PCI express slot, so even if some 1080p playback in the future will not work you could throw in a newer GPU card. While you would not be able to toss in a power sucking beast of a GPU it should be fine with something like a Nvidia Geforce 210.
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#13
Are there other smaller solution with no dvd slot?
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#14
Something like the ZOTAC ZBOX nano AD10 (or PLUS model) would be ideal.
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