[noggin]

Looking into a box as well that does hd audio. Narrowed it down to a nuc and a Lenovo q190. I'm not computer savy and was wondering if there are nucs I can buy that has everything in it?

Keep an eye out for deals on the Acer Revo RL80 with the Celeron 1007U in it as well. Ebuyer in the UK were selling them for £99 after cash back at one point (and that included 2GB RAM, 500GB HD, WiFi+Bluetooth, GigE, USB3.0 ports etc.) and you could install a CIR module internally (though voiding the warranty) for peanuts that would give you full IR remote (including power on and off) Runs OpenElec very well - including HD Audio bit streaming and decent de-interlacing of 1080/50i content (useful for Live TV, and if you watch interlaced Blu-rays and DVDs)

Once the new Celeron 2955U Asus Chromebox arrives, I expect some people will get OpenElec running on it pretty quickly!

[Mark142]

if you are after a Revo type box like noggin describes you could consider the zotac zbox id18. Is the same CPU as the revo Celeron 1007U can be bought for £95 and pretty much same spec but is a barebones. so you need to add RAM and HDD if required.

2Gb Ram can be bought for £15 and 120Gb SSD for £50. I am considering this myself as i can no longer get another revo

[ripmaster]

Thinking of getting the ouya but is this not an android device so arent android tv boxes the same

[Mark142]

the ouya has its own android skin, so while it is android under the hood it will not look like the typical android screen. Also XBMC works very well on Ouya and has excellent support. Install the latest Gotham beta version.

[ripmaster]

So is the ouya as good as they say im not interested in the gaming side have a ps4 for that just want xbmc.What pros and cons are there with the ouya i havent had a single good comment yet about an android or linux box so think i will have to give these a miss

[Ned Scott]

So is the ouya as good as they say im not interested in the gaming side have a ps4 for that just want xbmc.What pros and cons are there with the ouya i havent had a single good comment yet about an android or linux box so think i will have to give these a miss

Pros: Easy to set up, has good support, 1080 out of the box without firmware updates, good performance for the price.

Cons: doesn't currently do MPEG2 in 1080 very well, but that's mainly just a live TV/PVR concern. If you have an audio receiver and are picky about audio formats, avoid Android all together, including the OUYA. OUYA can do multichannel output, but you might have to fiddle with stuff to get it to work. Currently no volume control on the OUYA, so you would have to control it from your TV or audio receiver (This is likely something that can be fixed in a software update, I hope).

I like the OUYA and I have one that I use all the time, but I would also look at the ODROID-U3. With case, cable, shipping, etc, it will be at or lower than the price of the OUYA and with a bit more power.

[ripmaster]

God the choices are never ending now looking at odroid u3 seems great specs for the price but read on some forums of problems with xbmc running smoothly not that i think it will be 100% perfect what do u expect for free

[ozkhan1]

God the choices are never ending now looking at odroid u3 seems great specs for the price but read on some forums of problems with xbmc running smoothly not that i think it will be 100% perfect what do u expect for free

I know what you are saying, man. I have wasted a lot of time trying different boxes and I can tell you from experience, the most painless, headache free way is OE on a cheap PC. Most people recommend NUCs or Brix barebone or Zotac, etc.

A little pricier but a lot better than these dime a dozen boxes. I would say the additional dollars you spend are a fair bargain considering all the headaches and low performance pains you are going to save yourself.

[tennisbgc]

So is the ouya as good as they say im not interested in the gaming side have a ps4 for that just want xbmc.What pros and cons are there with the ouya i havent had a single good comment yet about an android or linux box so think i will have to give these a miss

Pros: Easy to set up, has good support, 1080 out of the box without firmware updates, good performance for the price.

Cons: doesn't currently do MPEG2 in 1080 very well, but that's mainly just a live TV/PVR concern. If you have an audio receiver and are picky about audio formats, avoid Android all together, including the OUYA. OUYA can do multichannel output, but you might have to fiddle with stuff to get it to work. Currently no volume control on the OUYA, so you would have to control it from your TV or audio receiver (This is likely something that can be fixed in a software update, I hope).

I like the OUYA and I have one that I use all the time, but I would also look at the ODROID-U3. With case, cable, shipping, etc, it will be at or lower than the price of the OUYA and with a bit more power.

under cons you should also add that vc-1 doesnt play well

[Ned Scott]

>using VC-1

[ripmaster]

I would like to thank you all for your advice and help i think i have narrowed it down to an odroid u3 and a mini neo x7.What exactly will i need to order if i buy the odroid to run xbmc ie is it just board case and psu.

[arunah]

What is the consensus on the Mini neo x7? This is what I am thinking of buying. Thanks

[tonystheman33]

Get the gbox mx2 i dont care what else else says its a killer deal and has everything one could ever want. and best of all its very affordable.. Well worth it.i use it and wouldn't trade it for everything else. simple to use and easy to set up and has hdmi port and dual core processor. Everything one could want what more could u ask for

[MuziTao]

You can consider VidOn.me Android Blu-ray Box AV200.

It has the built-in xbmc and support lossless 1080P 24Hz output. Just $120 now.

[Ned Scott]

You can consider VidOn.me Android Blu-ray Box AV200.

It has the built-in xbmc and support lossless 1080P 24Hz output. Just $120 now.

WTF is "lossless 1080P"?