[Hedda]

"LIVA" by ECS is an upcoming fan-less Intel Bay Trail based x86 mini-PC that looks promising if it will cost under $200 worldwide:

http://www.cnx-software.com/2014/03/27/e...ail-m-soc/
http://www.fanlesstech.com/2014/03/ecs-l...ni-pc.html
http://www.itmedia.co.jp/pcuser/articles...ws155.html

What is most interesting for XBMC usage is that this price will include integrated 2GB RAM and 32GB solid-state storage:

✓ Bay Trail-M (unknown so far if it will have N2800, N2900 or N3500 Bay Trail SoC)
✓ 1 x Fanless heat sink
✓ 2GB DDR3L
✓ 32GB eMMC NAND Flash Memory
✓ 1 x USB 3.0
✓ 1 x USB 2.0
✓ 1 x HDMI
✓ 1 x VGA
✓ 1 x 3.5mm audio combo jack w. analog mic in and stereo out (Realtek ALC282)
✓ 1 x Gigabit Ethernet
✓ IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n
✓ Bluetooth 4.0
✓ Expansion card possible via M.2 (NGFF) interface occupied by Wi-Fi/BT module
✓ Powered via 5V Micro USB. for up to 15W power consumption
✓ 118 x 70 x 56mm
✓ 190g

It will ship without OS but supports both Windows and Linux, so could be perfect for OpenELEC with XBMC

[teki4u]

It has an Intel Atom Bay Trail-M processor, memory and storage are not upgradable as they are soldered to the main board.

http://liliputing.com/2014/03/ecs-liva-m...p-200.html

[bossanova808]

Ram and HD are enough for OE, and the Bay Trail Ms (at least 2820) do really rather well.

I think this is very promising, especially for those 'extra' xbmc installs ...but the lack of IR is a real shame.

[teeedubb]

...but the lack of IR is a real shame.

And to rub salt in the wound there's only 2 USB ports

[solamnic]

...but the lack of IR is a real shame.

[FishOil]

Status?

[whitebelly]

Newegg is selling this now for $179. Not bad considering 2G ram and "32GB eMMC Storage" included. Would be interesting to see performance with OE installed.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6856501006

[calev]

Its cool but I kinda feel like the asus chrome box is a much better deal since you can upgrade the hdd.

[whitebelly]

^Probably right. I don't thing eMMC is as fast as a good SSD.

[pszab]

Which BayTrail is in it?

[Ned Scott]

ECS LIVA is now $150 after rebate on newegg. AnandTech has also reviewed it recently, including with XBMC (via Windows, I think). This looks like an awesome unit. RAM and internal memory might not be upgradable, but I think there's a huge market of people who wouldn't need to upgrade those.

Some other notes:
* 24hz playback no issue.
* HD audio (at least under windows).
* The wifi/bluetooth chip is actually miniPCI-e, so technically it has one upgradable slot :)

I'm really tempted to buy one.


http://www.anandtech.com/show/8262/ecs-l...es-again/4

[schumi2004]

To bad it doesn't allow me to have optical out or does it?

[Ned Scott]

USB to optical out connectors are fairly inexpensive if you don't mind an extra dongle.

[Philmatic]

The ECS LIVA is $125.99 with free shipping at NewEgg today.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6856501007

Fantastic deal.

[wizziwig]

USB to optical out connectors are fairly inexpensive if you don't mind an extra dongle.

Wouldn't a separate audio card with its own audio clock by slightly out of sync with the the clock used for the HDMI output? If so, you may not be able to achieve the perfect 23.976 results reported with HDMI audio. There would be some dropped frames occasionally to keep them in sync.