[rednecs]

Hi All

Looking for some help/input from you guys.

I am thinking of getting the to use as my new media centre. Initially won’t be using for anything apart from Kodi and I am leaning more towards the Brix as it should give a bit more headroom in case of need for more computing power later on. Plus it comes with a Bluetooth/Wifi adapter.

The Intel NUC comes with IR built in, which will be very handy as I intend to use my Logitech Harmony remote to control it and I understand that it can be configured to boot via IR. This seems a much more popular choice and I can’t find much about the Brix.

I am currently using a Raspberry Pi with an HP IR receiver (kind of like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Remote-Control-R...B00AYE6JDO). I intend to have the Kodi kit hidden away, so addition of this IR receiver will not impact the WAF!

My main concern is - Will the Brix work with the USB IR receiver and will that be able to power it on from cold?

Any other reasons why the Intel NUC is better than the Brix apart from being cheaper?

Thanks!

[Matt Devo]

The Haswell-based Brix is "better" than the BayTrail-based NUC (which doesn't include RAM or HDD), the only downside would be the lack of power on from cold. But unless you need the SPDIF output of the Brix, I'd recommend a ChromeBox and just use that IR receiver with it (though check compatibility on the wiki). It won't power on from cold either, but it will from S3/suspend, which uses the same amount of power.

[rednecs]

The Haswell-based Brix is "better" than the BayTrail-based NUC (which doesn't include RAM or HDD), the only downside would be the lack of power on from cold. But unless you need the SPDIF output of the Brix, I'd recommend a ChromeBox and just use that IR receiver with it (though check compatibility on the wiki). It won't power on from cold either, but it will from S3/suspend, which uses the same amount of power.

That is a good idea, will look into the chromebox as well, thanks. I have spare compatible RAM and HDD lying around from a laptop upgrade, so will be cheaper if I can use those in a barebones box.

If I understand the S3/suspend mode correctly, it needs to have power on all the time and you can go in and out of the suspend mode using IR; but this uses less power than the switched on mode?

Don’t particularly need the SPDIF, as it will feed into an AV receiver, so as long as it supports 5.1 over HDMI, is enough for my needs.

[Matt Devo]

That is a good idea, will look into the chromebox as well, thanks. I have spare compatible RAM and HDD lying around from a laptop upgrade, so will be cheaper if I can use those in a barebones box.

If I understand the S3/suspend mode correctly, it needs to have power on all the time and you can go in and out of the suspend mode using IR; but this uses less power than the switched on mode?

Don’t particularly need the SPDIF, as it will feed into an AV receiver, so as long as it supports 5.1 over HDMI, is enough for my needs.

S3 doesn't use any more power than being cold/off, if the latter is also providing minimal power to certain components (eg, USB or CIR) to allow for power on. we're talking effectively no/minimal power consumption here.

[rednecs]

That is a good idea, will look into the chromebox as well, thanks. I have spare compatible RAM and HDD lying around from a laptop upgrade, so will be cheaper if I can use those in a barebones box.

If I understand the S3/suspend mode correctly, it needs to have power on all the time and you can go in and out of the suspend mode using IR; but this uses less power than the switched on mode?

Don’t particularly need the SPDIF, as it will feed into an AV receiver, so as long as it supports 5.1 over HDMI, is enough for my needs.

S3 doesn't use any more power than being cold/off, if the latter is also providing minimal power to certain components (eg, USB or CIR) to allow for power on. we're talking effectively no/minimal power consumption here.

Thanks, that is quite helpful.

[noggin]

Don’t particularly need the SPDIF, as it will feed into an AV receiver, so as long as it supports 5.1 over HDMI, is enough for my needs.

My Chromeboxes are streaming Dolby True HD, DTS HD MA and HR as well as DD 5.1/DTS 5.1 and multichannel PCM into Onkyo amps with no problems in OpenElec. The built-in Bluetooth functionality is also quite a nice fit with the PS3 Blu-ray Bluetooth remote control if you want to avoid any visible IR dongles (though I also have used a Maplin RC6 Media Centre remote - a Rosewill OEM I think - and it worked well)

[rednecs]

That is good to know.

By the PS3 remote, do you mean the standalone remote or the IR to Bluetooth dongle? I’m using a Harmony touch with the IR to Bluetooth dongle, so will be awesome if I can use the same dongle to pass on Bluetooth signals to the chromebox!

[Matt Devo]

That is good to know.

By the PS3 remote, do you mean the standalone remote or the IR to Bluetooth dongle? I’m using a Harmony touch with the IR to Bluetooth dongle, so will be awesome if I can use the same dongle to pass on Bluetooth signals to the chromebox!

no reason why not

[noggin]

That is good to know.

By the PS3 remote, do you mean the standalone remote or the IR to Bluetooth dongle?

I'm using the second generation PS3 BD Bluetooth remote which also has IR functionality for Amps and TVs (so it's a kind of 3 in 1 remote) Not using an IR/BT dongle.

I’m using a Harmony touch with the IR to Bluetooth dongle, so will be awesome if I can use the same dongle to pass on Bluetooth signals to the chromebox!

Don't see any reason why it wouldn't - as long as you can pair it.