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ClayM
Senior Member
Posts: 139
2012-05-13, 19:33
Ok, need a cheap one, preferably prebuilt / mini for the bedroom.
Only needs to output 720p
Doesn't need storage outside of running XBMC (have a NAS)
Really nice if there's an IR device attached
Don't need Wifi
Any recommendations?
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eskro
Posting Freak
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2012-05-13, 19:44
(This post was last modified: 2012-05-13, 19:44 by eskro.)
cant go cheaper then APPLE TV for now
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2012-05-14, 02:32
(This post was last modified: 2012-05-14, 02:39 by Dougie Fresh.)
Do you need an optical drive?
Have you considered a custom build or barebones? The ASUS E35M1-I is a OpenELEC recommended motherboard -- it would be pretty cheap and quick to build a system with one of those.
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Watch out for ATV2 if you have high bitrate MKVs. You're only displaying 720P, but you still have to read/decode those 1080P files. I'm not sure what the cutoff is for bitrate, but I know ATV2 will choke on MakeMKV untouched bluray rips.
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I would take a look at one of the newer zotac models.
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2012-05-14, 22:01
(This post was last modified: 2012-05-14, 22:19 by dtviewer.)
I usually would have made the same recomendation as Eskro, but Apple TV2's that are jailbroken are now going for insane prices.
Matter of fact I am going to put mine up on ebay because they are selling for more than the cost of building a nice HTPC.
(And my HTPC in the livingroom is a joy to use compared to the AppleTV2. Thanks to the posters on this forum for the recomendations on the build!)
A jailbroken untethered apple tv2 can go for between $2-300 on ebay right now.
A nice A4 or A6 HTPC will run about the same.
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2012-05-16, 18:04
(This post was last modified: 2012-05-16, 18:05 by ragedogg69.)
What is funny, you can get a used original AppleTV on ebay for <$100 and run crystalbuntu on it quite well at 720p. If you wanted to play 1080p file just pop in a crystal HD card for <$50.
This is the easiest and cheapest way I have found for XBMC that can play nearly anything, or atleast until all those tiny ARM devices come out running some form of XBMC.
Theater: The PS4/XBONE killer running Kodi 17.3
3D Movie Box: Raspberry Pi running
LibreElec 8.0 Alpha BROKEN
Family Room: "
A6-Pack" running Kodi 17.3
Whole House: FireTV running Kodi 17.3