[Hedda]

SD-card does not equal SATA-SSD or mSATA.

SD-card = Secure Digital http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital

SSD = Solid-State Drive http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid-state_drive

NAND = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_memory

SD (Secure Digital) card should not be used as storage for the operating-system, caching, logging, or any other operations that require a intense amount of read and writes.

You will want to use either embedded-NAND/SATA-SSD/mSATA, or a mechanical hard drive, or a combination of the two for the operating-system partitions, and any partitions used for caching or logging.

Best value is to keep a smaller embedded-NAND/SATA-SSD/mSATA for the operating-system partitions, and any partitions used for caching or logging that need fast read performance and is access often, and a cheaper mechanical hard drive for any large media mass storage, such as the users movies, music, and pictures.

This is why Hybrid harddrive sulutions are becoming more and more popular http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_drive as they combine the best of both worlds in order to offer the best value for your money.

For Linux based embedded systems there are also several hybrid software solutions such as bcache, dm-cache, and Flashcache
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bcache
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dm-cache
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashcache

[aeropriest]

Thanks again Hedda

We got our final design, please check below images and below demo of EzeeCube build with photos support in default Confluence skin and EzeeCube
skin

[RockerC]

That looks like quite a large main box/case/chassi, wondering if you are sure that it couldn't support a larger 3.5-inch hard drive instead?

Think that I would prefer a quad-core model with open-bay hard drive slot for a 3.5-inch hard drive, instead of 2.5-inch hard drive, cheaper and larger hard drives.

You can get a 2TB 3.5-inch HDD for the price of a 1TB 2.5-inch HDD today, or a 4TB 3.5-inch HDD for the price of a 2TB 2.5-inch HDD.

[aeropriest]

This is actually pretty small 14x14x4cm, 3.5 is defiantly good idea and we tried that however the cooling requirements shoots up and that means need a fan etc.

For techy users, there are plenty of boxes out there already, most recent one from Lenovo. This is suppose to be for people like my mother-in-law

[aeropriest]

So what is latest at EzeeCube..

We have our first prototype done running our port of XBMC on our hardware, we are going to boot it from NAND flash in linux and run XBMC off the hard-drive. Audio pass through and video de-interlacing supported

[nickr]

No audio pass through or video de-interlacing could be supported in this version due to cost and resource constraints

Well that screws it for most xbmc users sorry.

[aeropriest]

hope it would appeal to users who have't used XBMC yet due to whatever reasons (not many are DIY experts or setup and config the whole thing) hope we could provide that iPhone experience for XBMC

[nickr]

hope we could provide that iPhone experience for XBMC

Now you really are trying to discourage people aren't you!

[Saner]

hope we could provide that iPhone experience for XBMC

Now you really are trying to discourage people aren't you!

---

I think its a good idea (the whole XBMC pre-built PC thing) , but given the examples shown in this thread of cheaper alternatives it may be worth really pumping aspects that the competition dont offer, so maybe you could pay for the licences (if that is what's holding it back) and really push that aspect in your sales pitches

[Hedda]

Please add integrated cheap IR receiver as per http://stephan-rafin.net/blog/2014/01/06...-receiver/

And also remember to wire CEC to the HDMI port too, it's no cost, and don't simple forget like Ouya did!

No audio pass through or video de-interlacing could be supported in this version due to cost and resource constraints

Huh? I think you must just have mistakenly misread what "audio pass-through" and "de-interlacing" actually means here, so maybe you are mixing those up with something else?

Neither "audio pass-through "and "de-interlacing" cost any extra royalty money for codec licenses, and as I understand it both those features are already working in Stéphan Rafin a.k.a. wolfgar's port of XBMC for the Freescale i.MX6 platform

Just checkout http://stephan-rafin.net/blog/ and https://github.com/wolfgar?tab=repositories and http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=161793

Full liveTV support (with support for hardware deinterlacing)

Support for HDMI/SPDIF/Analog sound outputs (including passthrough for HDMI and SPDIF)

If you use wolfgar's port of XBMC for Freescale i.MX6 as a base then both these "audio pass-through "and "de-interlacing" features should work without you doing anything else than simply enabling them.

The "audio pass-through" feature also know as bit-streaming is needed to pass along a Dolby Digital / AC3 or DTS audio-stream to your external audio-receiver via HDMI or SP/DIF without first decoding it, and thus letting your external audio-receiver decode that Dolby Digital / AC3 or DTS audio-stream instead. Hence it will be the manufacturer of the audio-receiver that will pay for the Dolby Digital / AC3 and DTS codec licenses.

The "de-interlacing" feature does not require a codec license, and the feature is usually used to de-interlacing 480i, 576i, and 1080i MPEG-2 videos that are normally recorded or streamed broadcast television.


[EDIT]: Why reinvent the wheel? Why not just use fork either OpenELEC or GeeXboX and use one of those as abase for your Linux OS firmware build? Both OpenELEC and GeeXboX are now working on Freescale i.MX6 platform support and already have experimental version under development that you could use as a base.

[aeropriest]

Thanks again Hedda
- IR receiver is working (not gona ship remote with version one)
- CEC is working
- slide down remote in iOS/android app working


Been a while since my last update, Was busy working with Stephan to get the build going and now we have a working build for our board, first prototype ready (photos would be coming soon), website is live at (you can see the working prototype here) www.ezeecube.com and free iOS app is live on app store (just enable UPnP and Webserver on your XBMC and you should be able to control and browse content from the app) (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ezeesync...28382?mt=8)

Thinking of going indiegogo soon, would be offering a dual core, 1 GB RAM, 1TB drive, internal power supply, qi charging transmitter version along with following stackable accessories

-2TB hard drive
-CD ROM
-Wireless router

With this users should be able to get rid off many unwanted devices around your TV and clean up your setup.

[nickr]

Android app?

[aeropriest]

Working on android

[aeropriest]

Latest update: we are almost ready with our campaign, should be going live on indiegogo in couple of weeks, below is the link. First 100 units should be available only at $179 so please do stay tuned.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/your-...51875#home

Also please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions about the campaign, please help us spread the word, let you friends know about it. If need a pre-order of only 500units to go production.

Thank you for your continued support

[noggin]

Earlier in this thread, aeropriest, you stated no deinterlacing and no audio passthrough. These are both deal breakers for many of us. However as other i.MX6 builds have both de-interlacing and audio passthrough (legacy, not HD) I wondered if this had since been rectified.

If not then the Cubox-i looks to be a better bet for many of us - though the design of your box is interesting, and having an internal HD is an advantage for those who don't use servers for their media storage.