[meimeiriver]

Hello,

I was thinking of getting a Zotac ZBOX for my XBMC setup. The Zotac site is a bit of a complete, uncoordinated mess, though (way too many models, with no clear hierarchy).

The ZOTAC ZBOX IQ01 Plus leaps to mind, but not really sure I really need a quad-core for media play-back. It comes with Intel HD Graphics 4600.

Is anyone using this for their XBMC setup? Or other Zotac ones, perhaps, that can playback/stream HD content nicely?

Thx.

[shedrock]

Trust me when I tell you this. This Zotac Zbox ID88 with 4GB RAM is the perfect choice for XBMC on OpenELEC. I along with a few friends use this and we have absolutely NO issues whatsoever.

I am just amazed that more people don't use this model. I am sure there would be fewer posts in the forums.

Hope this help.

Shedrock

[noggin]

If it is the i3-3220T box, then it's an Ivy Bridge model which has the 24p bug, which will put some people off. Zotac also doesn't have the best name in reliability - though I haven't heard as many complaints recently as I used to. (Stuff just stopped working - and some boxes ran very hot)

[shedrock]

Well, I know nothing of the 24p bug. I use it on OpenELEC and so far so good.

I was reading the following thread:

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=136586

[meimeiriver]

Zotac also doesn't have the best name in reliability - though I haven't heard as many complaints recently as I used to. (Stuff just stopped working - and some boxes ran very hot)

Hmm, that's not very good to hear. And, come to think of, I've heard these complaints about Zotac before. Reviews about the IQ01 seem to be very positive, though (but where can you really find an honest/independent review these days?).

I was also considering the Intel NUC Kit D54250WYKH. Actually has a better GPU too, LOL.

[meimeiriver]

Trust me when I tell you this. This Zotac Zbox ID88 with 4GB RAM is the perfect choice for XBMC on OpenELEC. I along with a few friends use this and we have absolutely NO issues whatsoever.

I am just amazed that more people don't use this model. I am sure there would be fewer posts in the forums.

Hope this help.

Shedrock

That is interesting to know, thx. And a lot cheaper too.

ID88 is a bit of an older model, though (more unreliable? see above). And I tend to stream my own (re-encoded/denoised) Blu-Rays, that often have quite a high bitrate (like 40Mb+) as a result. My PS3, which sadly died, could handle it easily; so the new box cannot have too weak a GPU.

[shedrock]

Well, I stream my own Blu-Rays with a high bitrate as well and I have no problems, at least none that I know of.

[noggin]

Well, I know nothing of the 24p bug. I use it on OpenELEC and so far so good.

I was reading the following thread:

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=136586

Sadly - whilst Ivy Bridge looked as if it were going to be good for 24p, whilst it was possibly a bit better than Sandy Bridge, it still couldn't output the 23.976Hz refresh rate needed for proper "24p" playback without dropping/repeating frames and the consequent micro stutter. Some people don't see this - other people do. Haswell and Baytrail are the first Intel GPU ranges in widespread use that don't suffer from it (no idea about there odder-ball stuff that was bought in)

If you have Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge CPU then you will not get perfect 24p replay on the majority of "24p" content that is actually 23.976Hz (there are SOME 24.000Hz releases confusingly) You can avoid dropped/repeated frames by syncing playback to your display refresh rate - but then audio either has to be decoded and resampled (not an option for DTS HD) or dropped/duped (causing audible glitches)

If you don't see it, you don't see it. If you don't hear it, you don't hear it. If you do - you won't agree that it's perfect. It's why I switched to Haswell for all of my main XBMC boxes.

I doubt that bitrate will be a huge issue - as long as it is within H264 limits for the profile (and 4.1 is what Blu-ray is encoded in I believe)

meimeiriver if you are likely to be sensitive to the 24p bug then the Haswell NUCs are likely to be a better bet for you. You may not need the i5 though.

[meimeiriver]

Well, I know nothing of the 24p bug. I use it on OpenELEC and so far so good.

I was reading the following thread:

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=136586

Sadly - whilst Ivy Bridge looked as if it were going to be good for 24p, whilst it was possibly a bit better than Sandy Bridge, it still couldn't output the 23.976Hz refresh rate needed for proper "24p" playback without dropping/repeating frames and the consequent micro stutter. Some people don't see this - other people do. Haswell and Baytrail are the first Intel GPU ranges in widespread use that don't suffer from it (no idea about there odder-ball stuff that was bought in)

If you have Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge CPU then you will not get perfect 24p replay on the majority of "24p" content that is actually 23.976Hz (there are SOME 24.000Hz releases confusingly) You can avoid dropped/repeated frames by syncing playback to your display refresh rate - but then audio either has to be decoded and resampled (not an option for DTS HD) or dropped/duped (causing audible glitches)

If you don't see it, you don't see it. If you don't hear it, you don't hear it. If you do - you won't agree that it's perfect. It's why I switched to Haswell for all of my main XBMC boxes.

I doubt that bitrate will be a huge issue - as long as it is within H264 limits for the profile (and 4.1 is what Blu-ray is encoded in I believe)

meimeiriver if you are likely to be sensitive to the 24p bug then the Haswell NUCs are likely to be a better bet for you. You may not need the i5 though.

Thank you for your reply!

Since almost *all* Blu-Rays are at 23.976Hz (with, like you say, a very rare true 24.000Hz), I foresee trouble, and should, indeed, maybe just go for a Haswell. Thanks again.

As for bitrate, iirc, H264 supports a max of 62.5Mbps at [email protected] Profile. My PS3 could handle spurts of ca. 100Mbps even (insane 'live' transcoding). Since the PS3 basically contained a glorified Nvidia 7800GTX, I think I should be okay on that front.

[noggin]

Since almost *all* Blu-Rays are at 23.976Hz (with, like you say, a very rare true 24.000Hz), I foresee trouble, and should, indeed, maybe just go for a Haswell. Thanks again.

As for bitrate, iirc, H264 supports a max of 62.5Mbps at [email protected] Profile. My PS3 could handle spurts of ca. 100Mbps even (insane 'live' transcoding). Since the PS3 basically contained a glorified Nvidia 7800GTX, I think I should be okay on that front.

I think as long as you stay "in spec" for H264 4:2:0 stuff (i.e. don't exceed the bitrate and other specs for the profile and level you are encoding at) you should be OK with the Haswell. There are still bugs in the Linux driver being ironed out that cause occasional freezes with VAAPI hardware decoding - but they are being worked on, and depending on the CPU you go for, software decoding is also an option.

[Brimstone]

I own 3 of these boxes and never experienced any 24p issues whatsoever. Zotac is a good brand.