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Idiot's Guide to Chromebox & NUC
#31
I bought the 2820 nuc, opened it and put in memory and hard disk, then installed the new xbmcbuntu and updated the system.

The ir that was included picked up my rc6 remote, no configuration needed.
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#32
(2014-04-20, 03:29)McButton Wrote: File compatibility for the Fire, since Ouya has some troubles. I'll pass on the fire. It's too new, and I don't want more inconsistencies. Chrome ordered. Still checking NUCs. Can't find one with specs I like better than the 2820... Which is still not available.


well the FireTV and Ouya are both Android based, and the Android version of XBMC is definitely behind the rest (esp Linux). If you want the optimal XBMC experience, it's going to be running linux of some sort
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#33
Matt, in what sense the xbmc on android lags behind the linux one?

For those who are using NUC, are you able to power it on using the mce remote? Or do you keep it running all the time? Thanks for the previous responses
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#34
(2014-04-20, 19:31)squarecut1 Wrote: Matt, in what sense the xbmc on android lags behind the linux one?

supported video formats for hardware decoding, overall polish.
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#35
(2014-04-20, 19:31)squarecut1 Wrote: Matt, in what sense the xbmc on android lags behind the linux one?

In addition to the points others have made - HD Audio bit streaming (Dolby True HD, DTS HD MA/HR), Dynamic output refresh rate changing based on content (vital for those of us in Europe with 50, 60 and 24Hz content in our libraries)
Quote:
For those who are using NUC, are you able to power it on using the mce remote? Or do you keep it running all the time? Thanks for the previous responses

Yes. I can power it on with my remote. However it appears to switch itself on as well. Haven't had time to check if this is a BIOS setting or an issue with OpenElec. (Windows 7 on the same devices stays shutdown)
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#36
Power on/off and Suspend/Resume using MCE remote (OpenELEC), never experience inadverted on/off.

Is there any chart or thread compiling all the platforms, or atleast the most popular, pros and cons?
 
  • Intel NUC Kit DN2820FYKH ~ Crucial DDR3L SO-DIMM 4GB ~ SanDisk ReadyCache 32GB SSD ~ Microsoft MCE model 1039 RC6 remote
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#37
Is there a guide listing all the buttons of a MCE remote that correspond to the different operations in XBMC? For someone who has never used a MCE remote, it would be very useful.
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#38
(2014-04-21, 17:38)squarecut1 Wrote: Is there a guide listing all the buttons of a MCE remote that correspond to the different operations in XBMC? For someone who has never used a MCE remote, it would be very useful.

here you go: https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/blob/master...remote.xml
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#39
McButton, I was in your EXACT position four weeks ago. I know nothing about Linux and wanted XBMC. I ended up with a NUC34010WYKH, 8gb of ram (in case I wanted to run windows on it) and a 60gb Kingston SSD drive, an Intel mini PCI slot Wireless-N/Bluetooth card and an HP MCE remote, a WD My Cloud 3TB NAS server. I'm a network engineer by trade and fully understand how to get computers connected and talking but my only exposure to Linux was setting up a Raspberry Pi Minecraft server for my daughters. Not going to lie you, not knowing anything about Linux and messing with this stuff can be a bit challenging at first but thankfully the internet is VAST and you can find what you need even if you don't what you are looking for - for the most part.

I ended up running Generic X86 64-bit OpenELEC 3.95.6. You also need to be running version 25 of BIOS and have WAKE on LAN turned off in BIOS to avoid a problem with powering on/off your NUC with a remote.

I'd like to tell you that my install of OpenELEC XBMC onto my NUC was without incident but that wasn't the case. I'm happy with it now though and have now moved onto struggling with navigating within XBMC to get what I want when I want it and how I want it.

My first problem with my install was my remote wouldn't work. You basically have to unload the module that processes the remote signals and restart it with these two commands.

Code:
echo "#!/bin/sh" > /storage/.config/autostart.sh && chmod +x /storage/.config/autostart.sh
modprobe -r nuvoton-cir && echo "auto" | tee /sys/bus/acpi/devices/NTN0530\:00/physical_node/resources && modprobe nuvoton-cir

After you have verified that your remote works, you need to make it permanent by SSHing to your Linux box (using Putty.exe) and adding it to the autostart.sh file so that the change is automatic after a reboot. I used nano to do this. So type "nano /storage/.config/autostart.sh" on the NUC command line after you SSH to it. On your install when it asks if you want to activate SSH, respond "yes"!

Generally, the newer your hardware is, the more troubles you will have with a Linux install. This is due to driver support not being up to speed yet. Stick with hardware that is a year or older and stick with popular CPUs and Graphics GPUs as they have the better support. You don't need high speed hardware to drive TV video. You just need a supported GPU (Graphics processor) and CPU, about a 1gb of ram and 16gb of SSD or HDD storage. While watching a 1080p 40mbit high def test video called "Birds", my NUC is consuming less than 5% CPU and using 781mb of my 8gb of memory. If you plan on streaming high DEF 1080P video, make sure you connect to your NAS with an eithernet connection or are really close to your Wireless-N router. Wireless is way less than optimal for streaming high DEF content. Not saying it won't work as I got it to work but my NUC had to be real close to the wireless AP to do it.

I had some problems with my SD (standard Definition) MPEG-2 DVDs that I ripped with MakeMKV (expect to get to know this utility really well!) It would pixelate when I played an SD movie. Turns out I had to turn off hardware acceleration for MPEG2 video content. See my thread on OpenELEC.

And.... Your research is just now getting started. After you get your hardware all sorted out and running like you need it, you will be onto your XBMC education, your ADD-On education, your "skin" education, your video format education, your content manipulation eduction, your NAS education and so on. This really never ends. But after playing with XBMC for a couple of weeks (EVERY NIGHT), I'm starting to get comfortable with the menus and navigating within it. Get the AEON NOC Skin! If you don't know what that means, you will eventually.

Good luck and PM me or post here if you need more of my NOOB perspective. And... Once you get your Chromebook figured out and working like you want it, send me the "deets" on setting one of those up. I'd like to have one for my bedroom.
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#40
Win! Good info. I have XBMC down. Easy stuff. It's everything else. I'm sure I'll run into everything above. It's good to have a detailed reference. Well done!
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#41
(2014-04-20, 19:31)squarecut1 Wrote: Matt, in what sense the xbmc on android lags behind the linux one?

For those who are using NUC, are you able to power it on using the mce remote? Or do you keep it running all the time? Thanks for the previous responses
I can power mine off/on with the remote. You have to be running BIOS 25 and have WOL (Wake on LAN) turned off and the IR sensor turned on (if your NUC has an IR Sensor).

(2014-04-20, 16:52)Kib Wrote: I bought the 2820 nuc, opened it and put in memory and hard disk, then installed the new xbmcbuntu and updated the system.

The ir that was included picked up my rc6 remote, no configuration needed.
I have alerts for every site that sells those in hopes that I can snag one some time in the future. The perfect cheap box from what I have read.
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#42
I picked up an ASUS Chromebox today after reading this forum, and other items on the web. I like the unit and it seems promising. That said, I am 1 part scared and 1 part exhilarated about modifying it to run XBMC. I had the same feeling a while back when I bought the XIOS DS, but those are working nicely.

I plugged the Chromebox in, and was quite impressed with it. One irritant was the inability to resize the screen to fit my HDTV. That is a simple software, which XBMC does quite well. They should fix that.

I wanted to say thank you to all of you who have put these tips and guides together. I am going to put my Chromebox on the operating table tomorrow and I will share the results.

I do have a question. With my XIOS DS the system boots straight to XBMC, which is ok. Will that be the case with the Chromebox, or will it boot to a desktop from which I can run XBMC? Thank you.
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#43
(2014-04-22, 03:11)SirStreamalot Wrote: I do have a question. With my XIOS DS the system boots straight to XBMC, which is ok. Will that be the case with the Chromebox, or will it boot to a desktop from which I can run XBMC? Thank you.

it can do either, but running straight OpenELEC is cleaner. I've written up instructions for both methods in the wiki (link in sig). Post in the ChromeBox thread if you have any specific questions Smile
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#44
Probably of no use but the 2820 NUCs are in stick in Australia if you're desperate:
https://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?mai...s_id=26495

They are totally awesome. Bought one for my xbmc-a-go-go holiday machine (http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=189144) - and then on the strength of that bought another for my parent-in-laws new xbmc box to replace an ASRock ION 330. Much faster, quieter, power on off is completely reliable etc. Perfect little box really!
Addons I wrote &/or maintain:
OzWeather (Australian BOM weather) | Check Previous Episode | Playback Resumer | Unpause Jumpback | XSqueezeDisplay | (Legacy - XSqueeze & XZen)
Sorry, no help w/out a *full debug log*.
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#45
I started the process as per Matt Devo's wiki, which is great. I used the paper clip and got the "white screen". It says "Chrome OS is missing or damaged" and has an orange exclamation mark. Is that the right screen? I tried CTRL-D from the wireless keyboard but it did not work. Is this the right screen? Do I need a wired keyboard? Sorry for the most basic questions but I am trying to make this happen.
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Idiot's Guide to Chromebox & NUC2