Looking for Help
#1
Hello everyone. I'm a recent joiner, but I've read a bit in looking for answers and support, and thank you all. That said, I am looking to replace a poor excuse of a living-room media player and network media storage. To explain: my current setup consists of two mid towers, one for storing/sharing media, and the other for streaming on TV. The former is a rather old Core Duo system in a mid-tower with five sata 2 drives of varying sizes totaling 4TB, with a 700W psu, running win 7 and bit torrent. The second is an old Core i3, a low-profile vga card, 4gb ram and an 80 GB sata 3 drive, with a 450W psu, running win 7 and xbmc. The real pity is that the two of them sit side by side - and I'd have sought another solution if these were not given to me freely. That said, there are far more elegant devices which might serve as replacements, from what I have seen. I was hoping to keep the price less than 250 USD, if possible, but might spend more if it includes significant storage is included. I would prefer to stick with xbmc for ease of use. What I list below are things I'm debating between, but I am open for new ideas.

G-Box Midnight MX2 (http://www.amazon.com/G-Box-Midnight-MX2...26&sr=1-1&)
-Looks simple and helpful, but does nothing to replace the storage. The cost might allow pursuit of an NAS solution.
-Have read mixed reviews regarding 1080p playback

Micca EP950 (http://www.amazon.com/Micca-EP950-Digita...2&sr=1-25&)
-Provides chance to add storage (up to 4TB at some point)
-Lacks xbmc support from what I know
-Native interface lacks web browser and certain other plugins, to my knowledge

Kdlinks HD720 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CHDS...devices-20)
-Storage and media player
-No xbmc or web browsing

ASUS chromebox (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IT1WJZQ#productDetails)
-xbmc support, web browsing, various computer functions, Celeron or i3 processor, support for 4k
-Not sure if storage can be replaced

OUYA (http://shop.ouya.tv/products/ouya-console)
-xbmc, web browsing
-No known storage expansion (at least nowhere near my needs)

ODROID (http://www.hardkernel.com/main/)
-Variety of options, minimalistic
-OS and setup more involved
-Pretty configurable

So my priorities as a replacement are a media player - especially for MKVs with subtitles in 1080. Additionally, I tend to use the current system for light web browsing, internet radio, and sometimes for watching livestreams/speedruns. SD card capability and bluetooth a definite plus, but not a priority. Likewise, SNES/PSP emulation support is a good thing. I'm looking for input as I've only ever built/worked with mid to full ATX systems, primarily running windows, but have experience with ubuntu.

I know it is a lot to ask of strangers, but I am completely unsure of how to continue. I feel I can simply ask for any and all help any of you are willing to offer me on this. Thanks.
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#2
I'm assuming you want to run XBMC still, so like you said you don't want the Micca, Kdlinks etc. In general you should try and separate media playback and storage devices, the way you have set it up now is the right way.

I'd suggest you continue to use the Core duo box as a storage server, you could replace the cpu with the i3 cpu and mothjerboard and get faster cpu and likely better networking and maybe Sata3 depending on which motherboard is in the newer pc. Replace the hard drives with bigger ones to get more storage and use the current ones as backup. Move the server to another location, it doesn't need to be next to the player.

For playback devices, 2 classes of device are recommended -

1. $100 budget - Avoid MX2, Ouya etc. The best Android player currently is Amazon FireTv, or possibly the newer Tron S89/Minix X8, there are threads on both here. These are much faster.

2. $200 budget - Chromebox or Intel N2820 NUC, out of the two I prefer Chromebox. It has everything you need, sd card/Bluetooth etc, is low power and you can definitely use it for light gaming/browsing as well.

This will get you up and running, and if you want you can build/buy a better server later on, although honestly a Core i3 is plenty enough.
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#3
(2014-06-08, 23:03)MrCrispy Wrote: I'm assuming you want to run XBMC still, so like you said you don't want the Micca, Kdlinks etc. In general you should try and separate media playback and storage devices, the way you have set it up now is the right way.

I'd suggest you continue to use the Core duo box as a storage server, you could replace the cpu with the i3 cpu and mothjerboard and get faster cpu and likely better networking and maybe Sata3 depending on which motherboard is in the newer pc. Replace the hard drives with bigger ones to get more storage and use the current ones as backup. Move the server to another location, it doesn't need to be next to the player.

For playback devices, 2 classes of device are recommended -

1. $100 budget - Avoid MX2, Ouya etc. The best Android player currently is Amazon FireTv, or possibly the newer Tron S89/Minix X8, there are threads on both here. These are much faster.

2. $200 budget - Chromebox or Intel N2820 NUC, out of the two I prefer Chromebox. It has everything you need, sd card/Bluetooth etc, is low power and you can definitely use it for light gaming/browsing as well.

This will get you up and running, and if you want you can build/buy a better server later on, although honestly a Core i3 is plenty enough.

Thanks for the input! That should all be doable. The i3 computer that is currently connected to the TV supports sata3, but only has four ports, and switching them around should not pose significant difficulty. I was unsure if combining the two into one posed significant benefits in speed or savings. Given the suggestions, I'll likely side with the Chromebox as well. I have some bias toward ASUS, but it also seems to have more than enough features I am likely to use to make up for the price difference. Is a NAS enclosure worth considering? Or a USB enclosure? I didn't mention it, but I should have - I only have one TV, though I suppose keeping the server would allow guests to access the media as well. Thanks again for the input.
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#4
Yes, that server can easily handle multiple clients. Typically you would keep the server in a separate room, with wired connection to router, and attach/expand more storage as needed.

You want to setup the server so that it can serve multiple clients while sharing the database. There are multiple ways to do this -

1. with MySql setup (look in XBMC wiki)
2. Install MB3 (www.mediaBrowser3.com) on server, use XBMB3C on XBMC client to access it
3. Install Plex (www.plex.tv)) on server, use PlexBMC on XBMC client to access it

#2 and #3 use a proper server with many other benefits like streaming to phone/internet clients, centralized management. You can try all 3 and decide which you like best. Also don't forget when you get Chromebox to redeem its offers (100GB Google Drive for 2 years) before you wipe it.
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#5
i have read that having the two together is not recommended but i have one server that i have been wanting to buy for a while and that will work for both things you want in one single device:

Lenovo ThinkServer TS140 - It used to be in the $280 range

Complete specs: http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/servers/thi...#techspecs

Memory
Up to 32GB / 4 slots (UDIMM)

Media Bays
Up to 2 x 5.25"

Storage Controller
Integrated ThinkServer RAID 100 (0/1/10/5)

Disk Bays
Up to 4 x 3.5" fixed
Up to 4 x 2.5” fixed

Maximum Internal Storage
Up to 16TB (3.5" SATA)
Up to 4TB (2.5" SATA)
Up to 1.92TB (2.5” SSD) Requires conversion tray

Network Interface
1 x Integrated Gb Ethernet (shared with AMT)

Also my humble opinion don't go for the Asus Chromebox if you don't want to get your hands dirty. As i see you want to be able to browse and such so OpenElec would not be for you, you will have to install Ubuntu and set that up. But i tell you is too many things that you will have to solve, tweak and whats not. I own one and honestly i regreat of having one.

Right now im waiting for my Tronsmart Vega to arrive and see how that goes, i have far more expectatives with that device also it would be way better as i want to be able to do many other things like play games , browse the web, etc all without complicated installations and configurations.
I am using plex media server on my Asus Chromebox and that is what i mainly use, XBMC not as much, (i need it to download subtitles lol) as some of us (owners of the device) have to deal with ocasional freezing issues within XBMC.

So to sum up if the Vega does the job well (I KNOW IT WILL as i dont have fancy and complicated encoded videos), ill sell the Asus Chromebox and buy a NAS (or a server that i can make it a NAS with FreeNAS or better software) where i can install Plex Media Server (PMS) in it and go with it.
My XBMC/Kodi folder: addons, skins, addon/menu backgrounds & more
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#6
Thanks very much for the help - I fiddle around in the configuration to determine the best fit (though I've used Plex a bit before with good results). To location of the service is likely to remain the same, as it is fairly centralized and close to the our router. Both the chromebox and the Tronsmart Vega look good, so I'll have to decide about them. The chromebox certainly seems to have more power, but the Tronsmart has a lot of nice setup - though I worry about pre-installed widgets and further support for an import device such as that.
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#7
both have good support but the vega has much more. The support support for the Asus Chromebox is provided by @matt, he's the only one that provided the script which is meant more for OpenElec rather than Linux as he uses OpenElec only. If you want linux support or like some of us waiting for the freezing issue to be solved (apparently intel devs have to fix it) you'll have to wait, it's been more than a month and meh still waiting. Time is money as we say in my country, i really got tired of it.

I hope to get my vega this week, will install bob finless 1.6 ROM or the MINIX port and i know i should be happier with it. I'll post my results
My XBMC/Kodi folder: addons, skins, addon/menu backgrounds & more
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#8
Thanks for the idea guys. I am in no rush, so I'll keep researching these options. I think the main contenders now are the chromebox and the Tronsmart Vega, though I think it goes back to the 100 USD vs 200 USD price point issue, as well as an ease of use issue. I'll have to think a bit more on what exactly my goals are.
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#9
Hi Veronica,

If you are able to, please post whether the Vega can bitstream HD audio codecs, as I've read that this is not possible in Android at all. I know it can passthru DD/DTS signals but not sure about HD audio.

Also the Android based devices have the advantage of runnign any Android app/game so it offers a lot more possibilities.
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