[denz13]

Hi all,

I'm currently using a Dell 7520 (i5 3210m) laptop and 2TB USB 3.0 HDD as a temporary solution for XBMC in my living room. It works OK but was only put in as a temporary solution after I sold my A6-3500 ITX htpc. I'm now looking to replace my laptop solution with a purpose built device which can provide lower power consumption & low noise.

My current price point is around £150-200.

So far I've looked at the Chromebox, NUC, ITX builds, Android & Cubox.

I understand they all have advantages and disadvantages but would like some advice on which one would suit me best. Here's my current requirements:

* The chosen device will be used as the main media playback device in the house connected to a HDTV (24/50&60hz capable) and a Dolby (DTS, AAC, etc.) Surround sound system all via HDMI. Audio pass through would be required.

* I plan to still use the external USB 3.0 HDD to store and playback media content.

* Most of my media content is 720/1080p however I'd also like (if possible) the capability to playback 3D and interlaced content.

* Although I've not explored the possibility with my current laptop, I'm due to move house soon to an area without cable (No Virgin Media, I'm in the UK) and instead of using my TVs inbuilt tuner is like to incorporate this into the functionality of the XBMC device.

Based on these requirements what device would be recommended? If possible I'd like to match the playback capability of my laptop with the new device. Obviously I'm by no means limited to the devices I've suggested and would be welcome for other suggestions.

Thanks all in advance!

[Starstream]

NUC is probably the best option for 3D, interlaced video and using the PVR feature of Kodi.

[Matt Devo]

given that you want good deinterlacing, you'll want to skip anything Sandy/Ivy Bridge or BayTrail based, and stick with a Haswell CPU/GPU. Anything that falls into that category will handle the rest of your requirements just fine, so a ChromeBox or i3 NUC would be plenty.

[denz13]

Thanks for the responses, if I was to go for a Chromebox, how much is involved in terms of getting the TV tuner setup? I'm in the UK so probably looking at either free view our freesat.

Does anyone have a recommendation on a good place to buy a Chromebox in the UK?

Is there a preference on which Chromebox to go for at the moment? HP, ASUS, etc. ?

Thanks again for the responses!

[Mark142]

£150 from hp website.

[nickr]

Asus seems to be the preferred one (according to Matt Devo, the local guru).

PVR, you will need to choose a backend. Mythtv works well in the UK with freeview. The mythtv-users mailing list will provide good advice on tuners.

[noggin]

Thanks for the responses, if I was to go for a Chromebox, how much is involved in terms of getting the TV tuner setup? I'm in the UK so probably looking at either free view our freesat.

Does anyone have a recommendation on a good place to buy a Chromebox in the UK?

Is there a preference on which Chromebox to go for at the moment? HP, ASUS, etc. ?

Thanks again for the responses!

My £25 August DVB-T210 works fine with my Chromebox running TV Headend and OpenElec.. Gets me all the Freeview and Freeview HD channels along with a decent EPG. If you want to PVR then you'll need a USB hard drive or network attached storage for recordings. Haswell with the latest VAAPI hardware deinterlacing builds of OpenElec is excellent. i3 Haswell NUC would also do the trick and you could have an internal SATA 2.5" HD if you bought the taller model.

[denz13]

Thanks for the responses, if I was to go for a Chromebox, how much is involved in terms of getting the TV tuner setup? I'm in the UK so probably looking at either free view our freesat.

Does anyone have a recommendation on a good place to buy a Chromebox in the UK?

Is there a preference on which Chromebox to go for at the moment? HP, ASUS, etc. ?

Thanks again for the responses!

My £25 August DVB-T210 works fine with my Chromebox running TV Headend and OpenElec.. Gets me all the Freeview and Freeview HD channels along with a decent EPG. If you want to PVR then you'll need a USB hard drive or network attached storage for recordings. Haswell with the latest VAAPI hardware deinterlacing builds of OpenElec is excellent. i3 Haswell NUC would also do the trick and you could have an internal SATA 2.5" HD if you bought the taller model.

Excellent, sounds like the Chromebox will do the trick for me. Now to decide which one to get, I've seen the HP for £150 and ASUS' varying from £170-200+. Which provides best value for money? I can easily upgrade RAM at a low cost if necessary.

[nickr]

I understand from Matt Devo author of http://kodi.wiki/view/Chromebox and http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=194362 that the ASUS is quieter than the HP and has two ram slots rather than one. I know nothing about the Acer or Dell.

[denz13]

Thanks, would the M004U be a suitable model to achieve my requirements from my original post?

[Matt Devo]

Thanks, would the M004U be a suitable model to achieve my requirements from my original post?

yes

[denz13]

Thanks for the responses, if I was to go for a Chromebox, how much is involved in terms of getting the TV tuner setup? I'm in the UK so probably looking at either free view our freesat.

Does anyone have a recommendation on a good place to buy a Chromebox in the UK?

Is there a preference on which Chromebox to go for at the moment? HP, ASUS, etc. ?

Thanks again for the responses!

My £25 August DVB-T210 works fine with my Chromebox running TV Headend and OpenElec.. Gets me all the Freeview and Freeview HD channels along with a decent EPG. If you want to PVR then you'll need a USB hard drive or network attached storage for recordings. Haswell with the latest VAAPI hardware deinterlacing builds of OpenElec is excellent. i3 Haswell NUC would also do the trick and you could have an internal SATA 2.5" HD if you bought the taller model.

@noggin - Where did you buy your ASUS Chromebox in the UK and for how much?

[teki4u]

How about the 3D playback, is the celeron chromebox enough?

[Matt Devo]

How about the 3D playback, is the celeron chromebox enough?

it is, for all 3D playback modes which XBMC currently supports.

[cncb]

How about the 3D playback, is the celeron chromebox enough?

it is, for all 3D playback modes which XBMC currently supports.

The Wiki says that that the Chromebox (the hardware) can't handle 3D blu-ray/MVC. Is this also the case for the i3 versions?