[denz13]

FernetMenta is the same true of the N2820 in de-interlacing terms? If so, of the tiny form factor (smaller than ITX) machines around is something based on the 2955 (ignoring the current Intel bug) the lowest level CPU you'd suggest?

Chromebox or Brix 2955U ?

If you are looking at NUCs I guess the i3 is the lowest spec with decent deinterlacing?

I've been looking into this a bit more and the Chromebox looks an interesting option, it isn't readily available in the UK, but can be picked up for approx. £150 via eBay. I know this would mean sacrificing Windows, however this might not be such a bad thing after all.

I'm swaying more towards the NUC/Brix/Chromebox form factor, but have concerns around the de-interlacing and 'Intel bugs'. Of these form factor types, are there any devices that do not suffer from these problems? At the end of the day I'd just like a device that's reliable and doesn't suffer from any quirky bugs as it'll be used by the whole family.

[noggin]

I've got a Chromebox I bought on eBay. De-interlacing using YADIF 2x software and VAAPI hardware decoding is fine. There is the current Haswell Intel VAAPI bug which causes some content to hang the decoder occasionally, and the CPU isn't quite up to software decoding (even multithreaded) and de-interlacing (even Bob) high bitrate 1080i content (think 1080i native Blu-ray). It's great - and hopefully Intel will pull their fingers out and fix the bug (it's apparently also visible in Windows but only as a glitch) The Haswell Celeron 2955U has a much better spec GPU than the Baytrail Celerons apparently - so scaling should be better too.

For £250 you may be able to aim a little higher and find a Haswell i3 based NUC or Brix? That should able to software decode I'd hope - though YMMV. An i5 NUC eats software decoding.

[denz13]

Any recommendations on which NUC or Brix to get? Bearing in mind that I'm aiming for something quiet, and the cost of the ssd (I've got hundreds of ddr3 so dimm lying around)

[Qefx]

I forgot the Zotac NUC name, but this is if you want 4K playback of videos. If you want "more than just multimedia" with a bit of office and browsing than go for the AMD Zotac AQ01.

[noggin]

Looks like the HP Chromebox is shortly going to be available in the UK, and the original price has dropped to £150.
http://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Produc...U&sel=PCDT

(It isn't quite the same as the Asus - as it only has a single RAM SODIMM slot, but some people prefer the design)

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I forgot the Zotac NUC name, but this is if you want 4K playback of videos. If you want "more than just multimedia" with a bit of office and browsing than go for the AMD Zotac AQ01.

Personally I'd hold fire buying anything with 4K in mind. It is likely that 4K content is going to be released in HEVC format - which very few (none?) platforms support with acceleration. Otherwise you'll be left with H264 transcodes rather than native playback?

[denz13]

The Chrome box certainly seems like a decent option.

A little off topic but does anyone know if game emulators would run on this once it's got openelec/Linux/etc?

[Topken]

If The emulator works on x86 based linux then it would run on the chromebox if you install linux as for emularos for openelec I don't know if people have ported any to work on that or not. Older console emulators should work no problem more heavier ones like say PCSX2 or Dolphin won't run for well on the basic celeron chromebox as it doesn't have the CPU power behind it but the more power ones like the i3 should be able to handle lighter games at native.

[askjiji]

check out c1037 based fanless pc. i got one about 3 months back, works flawlessly. paid under $237 including 32GB SSD, 4GB RAM, and FedEx.
here is a video http://youtu.be/drrqf3DiWc0

though just 2 weeks back i bought an intel 3337u based fanless pc. works like a charm. more powerful and future proof.

[noggin]

Though both the 1037 and 3337 processors are Ivy Bridge so will have the 24p Intel bug - which may or may not matter to the OP. The 1037U is a great processor in other regards.

You need Haswell (2955 etc.) or Baytrail (2820 etc.) to get 23.976p without dropped/repeated frames (or altered audio if you sync playback to video refresh) However there is a bug with the Haswell Intel driver at the moment that causes some freezing (but Intel appear to be working on it apparently according to Matt Devo)

[Mark142]

Looks like the chrome box is available at John Lewis for £150. http://www.johnlewis.com/hp-chromebox-cb...mcampid=73

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Without reading the guide in detail how easy is it to install xbmc in the chrome box?

[noggin]

And it's a 4GB model not 2GB - so the HP's limitation of only having a single SODIMM slot (meaning any RAM upgrade will mean replacing the supplied SODIMM) is less of an issue. (John Lewis have the Ethernet spec as 100/10 - my Asus CB is 1000/100/10 so that might be a typo - I don't think the HP differs in network spec?)

2GB is fine for OpenElec - but if you go for Ubuntu and want to do other stuff you might want more than 2GB - so the fact that the HP listed is 4GB is great news?

For £150 including 4GB RAM and 16GB SSD, Wifi and Bluetooth, with HD Audio bit streaming and YADIF de-interlacing of 1080i/576i content, you really can't go that wrong. And no 24p bug. Add £15 for the PS3 Bluetooth remote on Amazon and you have a great little set-up.

When Intel fix the Haswell GPU bug that causes hangs, it'll be perfect. I'd argue it may be better value than the NUC 2820 - though that has SATA and IR built in so does still have some advantages for some.

[denz13]

Now that the Amazon Fire TV is due to be released in October (for £79) is it an option worth exploring? Can I still achieve the goals set out in my Op?

[noggin]

The key limitation with current Android implementations in Europe is the lack of automatic refresh rate switching. Most of us will watch a mix of 25/50Hz (UK TV, DVD, iPlayer etc.), 24Hz (1080p Blu-rays and similar movies) and possibly 60Hz (US DVDs sourced from interlaced content, some Blu-rays etc.) If you care about picture quality and have a reasonable TV you will want your playback solution to switch between 24p, 50p and 60p (*) - which Linux and Windows solutions support, but Android currently doesn't. (In some cases Android boxes are fixed at 60Hz, though the FireTV specs now appear to include 50Hz so at least a manual switch in Android system settings will be possible - but that will get very boring day-to-day)

I'm also not clear how well Android platforms de-interlace - can others advise? (Only an issue if you watch interlaced content - which I do)

[denz13]

Hi again all,
Sorry to drag my old thread up again. I still haven't purchased a mini xbmc build yet and wondered if there have been any further developments in terms of available hardware options or fixes for the previously mentioned Intel bugs?

Also, I'm currently using my i5-3210m laptop as my xbmc media htpc (I know, it's a bit of a bodge job until I decide on a new mini htpc build). I've never noticed any frame drops or poor playback. If be interested to know whether there are any known issues with playback on this CPU as I've never noticed them with the media I've played back.

[trsqr]

Sorry to drag my old thread up again. I still haven't purchased a mini xbmc build yet and wondered if there have been any further developments in terms of available hardware options or fixes for the previously mentioned Intel bugs?

Get a Gigabyte BRIX with 2955U Celeron - that should be the lowest cost NUC-type device that survives of almost anything.