XBMC without HTPC?
#1
Hello everyone,

This is my first post.

First I would like to thank everyone for their time and dedication to this wonderful community of technical geniuses.

I have been researching the web for a couple weeks now trying to find an effective way to stream my local movie/tv files via USB cable to either a set-top box or directly through a smart TV without the need of an HTPC, NAS or a Laptop.

The only experience I have with something like this is with an old modified PS3 console system that I installed a program called Showtime on (Showtime is based on XBMC). I was able to connect my USB drive with all of my movies to my PS3 and run the Showtime program which would automatically seek and retrieve the cover art and metadata for each movie I have on the USB hard drive. I want something like this for my bedroom TV but without the need for an extra hardware i.e.; a server or laptop.

The thing is I want to set this up without running a HTPC, NAS, or other related server hardware. Is this possible yet? I read about the Apple TV jailbreak that runs XBMC but I am not sure if a HTPC, or server is required for it to run or not. I have also saw some videos about the Raspberry Pi and the OUYA, but I am not sure if I can just connect my USB drive to it and run XBMC movies on it locally. If either of these small set-top like devices plays movies via XBMC without the need for a server please let me know.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Michael
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#2
Xbmc doesn't need a server to run and every version will work with movies stored on a USB drive (
hardware depended of course).
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#3
You can use your existing devices (Apple TV / Rapberry Pi) without the need of an additional server or other hardware.
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#4
ATV, Raspberry Pi, and OUYA would actually be considered HTPCs in this situation ;)
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#5
(2013-09-02, 07:30)teeedubb Wrote: Xbmc doesn't need a server to run and every version will work with movies stored on a USB drive (
hardware depended of course).


(2013-09-02, 07:40)mrmojo Wrote: You can use your existing devices (Apple TV / Rapberry Pi) without the need of an additional server or other hardware.

This is so nice to know. Thank you two so much for your help. Any suggestions for a device that has decent processing power and minimal slowdown?

(2013-09-02, 07:48)Ned Scott Wrote: ATV, Raspberry Pi, and OUYA would actually be considered HTPCs in this situation Wink

My mistake. Please excuse my noobness.
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#6
(2013-09-02, 07:50)TheWalkingDead Wrote: This is so nice to know. Thank you two so much for your help. Any suggestions for a device that has decent processing power and minimal slowdown?

What is your budget? Where in the world are you? (Different countries have different economic considerations (for example in NZ is cheaper for me to import a Celeron small box no name PC from china than it is to buy a NUC locally, in the UK another poster worked the difference out to be a couple of quid)
If I have helped you or increased your knowledge, click the 'thumbs up' button to give thanks :) (People with less than 20 posts won't see the "thumbs up" button.)
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#7
(2013-09-02, 07:56)nickr Wrote:
(2013-09-02, 07:50)TheWalkingDead Wrote: This is so nice to know. Thank you two so much for your help. Any suggestions for a device that has decent processing power and minimal slowdown?

What is your budget? Where in the world are you? (Different countries have different economic considerations (for example in NZ is cheaper for me to import a Celeron small box no name PC from china than it is to buy a NUC locally, in the UK another poster worked the difference out to be a couple of quid)

Oh wow, I see your point. I'm located in the USA and my budget is up to $200.
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#8
Most people these days would suggest an Intel NUC - celeron or i3 depending on budget.

But as the new Intel chipset (Haswell) is coming out "real soon now" many people would also say "wait".

If you want to play with XBMC in the meantime, you clearly have a PC and it should be able to run XBMC for you to play with and see if you like it.

EDIT: 2 more things

1. Welcome to XBMC forums!

2. In making any recommendation I am assuming you have a relatively modern TV with HDMI in.
If I have helped you or increased your knowledge, click the 'thumbs up' button to give thanks :) (People with less than 20 posts won't see the "thumbs up" button.)
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#9
Dont get android, for that price you can get a small x86 computer which is way more powerful, feature rich and mature.

Check out the intel celeron NUC, theres loads of positive talk in the hardware forums about them.
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#10
(2013-09-02, 08:34)nickr Wrote: Most people these days would suggest an Intel NUC - celeron or i3 depending on budget.

But as the new Intel chipset (Haswell) is coming out "real soon now" many people would also say "wait".

If you want to play with XBMC in the meantime, you clearly have a PC and it should be able to run XBMC for you to play with and see if you like it.

EDIT: 2 more things

1. Welcome to XBMC forums!

2. In making any recommendation I am assuming you have a relatively modern TV with HDMI in.

Thank you for welcoming me to the XBMC forums.

I will conduct research on the Intel NUC and on the upcoming Haswell line as it sounds like it may be a suitable device for my needs. And yes I do have a PC and a Smart TV with HDMI inputs so I will also test out XBMC to see if I like it. But as long as it is able to aggregate the movie file data that I have stored on my external HDD then I am happy. That's all that I want.

(2013-09-02, 08:35)teeedubb Wrote: Dont get android, for that price you can get a small x86 computer which is way more powerful, feature rich and mature.

Check out the intel celeron NUC, theres loads of positive talk in the hardware forums about them.

I will go check out the hardware forums now. Thanks.
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#11
10 months later and I just want to thank each and every one of you who helped me. You guys really changed my entertainment life by helping me. Thank you!
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