Newbie Question! (sorry)
#1
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Hey Guys

Just trying to get my head around all the PVR/HTPC/SAN streaming stuff. Basically reaching a lot i came accross XBMC and installed it on my Desktop pc and it looks great! Lots of mod's to change its funcationality which is good.

Now the delemma i have is how can i stream XBMC to my TV downstairs? I used to use the default xbox 360 media centre to stream to my TV but its clunky and a bit slow and cant have an xbox in every room of my house plugged into the TV.

Now without plugging my pc via HDMI into my TV what are the cheapest ways i can get XMBC on my tv? Are there small reciever boxes(media extenders?) that have a small harddrive that can have XBMC installed on and stream too? a bit like apple tv devices? Is it possible to have a device which boots straight into XBMC without navigating windows ?
i think this is the part im struggling to get my head around the most, or does XBMC have to be installed on OS, windows etc? Guess what im after is a really cheap HTPC with no harddrives that i can stream to from my desktop, plugged into my TV.

Sorry if what i wrote is confusing just trying to stream from my pc to my tv with this beautifull program and not spend too much money!

Cheers


p.s. I've seen you can buy old original Xbox's and install XBMC4XBOX on it that may be a cheap option, or is the quality pretty rubbish due to the Xbox being an old bit of kit?
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#2
I think your cheapest option would be the ATV2, but be aware of the processing limitations this little box has. There are also getting harder to come by, it seems - the new ATV3 has been released, and while slightly more powerful, there's no jailbreak for it and it's not looking good.

Take a look at this thread - was basically asking the same question about cheapest XBMC:

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=127423

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#3
Great thanks for the help, do you need to have a MAC to use ATV2? I've noticed a lot of the commands appear to be mac commands to install it? If all i'm playing is DVD rips is the quality of ATv2 much different to if i use an old Xbox with XBMC on it?

cheers
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#4
Not - no need for a MAC to use the ATV2. The commands are run on the ATV2 after you jailbreak it - it really is a simple process, so don't let it scare you off.

Can't speak of the comparison of DVD rips on the ATV2 vs the old XBOX - never ran it on the XBOX. Someone else might be able to comment on that.
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