given up on htpc
#1
Hi, just to say looking at all the posts on this forum who share the same problems, poor picture quality etc, I have now given up on htpc and have gone back to my trusted popcorn hour box and a freeview box both with superior picture quality, I could not care less about menus etc, bye!
Reply
#2
well mine works great, as have all the others I've set up.

What you don't see, is the 1000's of people that have no real issues, and have to reason to ask for help.
Reply
#3
Surely the quality of the output is directly proportional to the quality of the input, and the quality of the componentry used to process it?
I am no longer active in these forums. Replying to, or commenting on, anything I have said in these forums is a waste of your time.
Reply
#4
(2014-07-16, 08:22)premolas Wrote: Hi, just to say looking at all the posts on this forum who share the same problems, poor picture quality etc, I have now given up on htpc and have gone back to my trusted popcorn hour box and a freeview box both with superior picture quality, I could not care less about menus etc, bye!

Well, thanks for sharing. Bye!
Reply
#5
Btw - i had breakfast 5 mins ago - just fyi...
AppleTV4/iPhone/iPod/iPad: HowTo find debug logs and everything else which the devs like so much: click here
HowTo setup NFS for Kodi: NFS (wiki)
HowTo configure avahi (zeroconf): Avahi_Zeroconf (wiki)
READ THE IOS FAQ!: iOS FAQ (wiki)
Reply
#6
Yeah - some others still drive by stagecoach cause they don't trust the "horsepowers" in a real car ...
First decide what functions / features you expect from a system. Then decide for the hardware. Don't waste your money on crap.
Reply
#7
I have to say that, besides the broken LCD support in Gotham (DSPlayer) and random lockups, I haven't much to complain about, to be honest. I'm running it on a Win7 Ultimate x64 SP1 powered by an i7 2600k with 16gb ram and Radeon HD7750 gpu through an Onkyo TX-NR626 amp and both picture and sound are excellent.

I would suggest installing and configuring Klite codec software to get the best from XBMC though.
Reply
#8
Quote:I would suggest installing and configuring Klite codec software to get the best from XBMC though.

xbmc does not use a single codec from your system ... it's all in ffmpeg that xbmc is using. And yeah we obviously don't ship nor code on dsplayer.
First decide what functions / features you expect from a system. Then decide for the hardware. Don't waste your money on crap.
Reply
#9
(2014-07-16, 08:22)premolas Wrote: Hi, just to say looking at all the posts on this forum who share the same problems, poor picture quality etc, I have now given up on htpc and have gone back to my trusted popcorn hour box and a freeview box both with superior picture quality, I could not care less about menus etc, bye!

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
Reply
#10
(2014-07-16, 08:22)premolas Wrote: Hi, just to say looking at all the posts on this forum who share the same problems, poor picture quality etc, I have now given up on htpc and have gone back to my trusted popcorn hour box and a freeview box both with superior picture quality, I could not care less about menus etc, bye!

Well, not sure if you will ever read this, but "I feel your pain." I have flip flopped a couple of times and understand your frustration. Things seem to be getting better and worse at the same time.

As the others have said, not sure what you are looking to gain by your post (except maybe a little venting...) Anyone who has used any type of complicated electronic device has experienced frustration at one point--it not working properly, inadequate documentation, quirky behavior, etc.

The key is to use whatever makes you happy and works for you. I definitely think set-top boxes in many ways are simpler to set up, but often offer fewer capabilities and can cost more.

Two differences in my experience were that the popcorn box was not more reliable than my current XBMC setup nor the Dune player it replaced. I would often have to restart the popcorn for no particular reason. It terms of picture quality, this is much more difficult to address. At times I feel the XBMC setup looks better, and other times not. The Dune was a much more consistent picture without the ability to output at different resolutions and refresh rates easily. However, setup took no more than a couple of minutes and never needed any adjustment.

Good luck and hope you are happy!

B.
Reply
#11
My setup has been working great a trouble free since I set it up over two years ago. I admit it was a big learning curve for me, but I enjoyed it as a fun project and we have since canceled our cable and never looked back.
Reply
#12
I just had a nice cup of tea......just saying....bye.
LG OLED55BX6LB, Zidoo Z1000 Pro (ZDMC 20.2 Arctic Zephyr 2 Resurrection), Yamaha RX-A3060, Polk Signature Fronts & Centre, Wharfedale D300 Atmos surrounds, Heco Victa Prime Sub 252A, DSPeaker Antimode 8033 Cinema
Reply
#13
How did you go from:
(2012-05-20, 20:54)premolas Wrote: Hi, i am new to this forum but would just like to say i have tried a few skins in the past but this is exactly what i was looking for, it just ticks all the boxes for me especially in looks, it just looks so classy! thanks for all your hard work!!

To:

(2014-07-16, 08:22)premolas Wrote: Hi, just to say looking at all the posts on this forum who share the same problems, poor picture quality etc, I have now given up on htpc and have gone back to my trusted popcorn hour box and a freeview box both with superior picture quality, I could not care less about menus etc, bye!

Were your poor picture issue's to do with streaming plugins? What was the quality like of any media you downloaded?
Reply
#14
(2014-07-16, 08:22)premolas Wrote: Hi, just to say looking at all the posts on this forum who share the same problems, poor picture quality etc, I have now given up on htpc and have gone back to my trusted popcorn hour box and a freeview box both with superior picture quality, I could not care less about menus etc, bye!

Well I've got XBMC, Sky+HD and freeview. I can't watch any of the music channels on the sat box simply because of the amount of compression used on them - talk about blocky !! As a test, I found a movie showing on one of the HD channels that I already have, and flicked between the two sources (sky & xbmc). Now, the satellite picture isn't bad at all, but compared to XBMC being fed with a decent Blu-ray rip, the difference is like putting a thin translucent piece of plastic over the screen when on the sat version. Probably why 90% of our entertainment is now via XBMC, 8% via sky and 2% freeview.

Ditch XBMC in favour of an inferior solution - errr.......no !!!

On a side note, it's time for a cup of tea, and some nice buttery toast Big Grin
Learning Linux the hard way !!
Reply
#15
If you ever read is can you post your htpc set-up , eg ( win 7 32 or 64 , intel i3 4130 or Amd A4 , motherboard , ram ?or acer revo ,nuc i3 or what ever your using ) . I have found that xbmc is not for the plug in and play guy but the plug in and play guy can be helped if he or she is willing to help themselves . I've been using xbmc since eden , at first it was challenging as it was new but if you look how far it has come since then it's a lot easier for the plug in and play guy to use now .
Reply

Logout Mark Read Team Forum Stats Members Help
given up on htpc0