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Mass-production of pre-built set-top-box with XBMC for Linux to sell as retail?
#1
Question 
Hi,

is there any pre-built hardware avaiable for use with XBMC ? Or is there even something in the plans?

I mean face it - XBMC is by far and I mean really far the best MediaCenter on this planet! I have been using it on my Xbox since Day 1 and so far it has never failed me - except of course with HD material.

So far I have been struggling to get it to work with a PC, but it was very complicated for me and the results were not good at all. NVIDIA graphics card don't support Audio over HDMI, with my Laptop hooked up over HDMI I can get sound and it works fine except I have some strange bars on fast moving scenes like V-Sync is disabled or whatever. But on both setups I don't have a remote control and so on.

Now there are set-top boxes available for around 200 bucks like "Popcorn Hour". These are slim, don't use a lot of power come with a remote control and so forth - but the software on each thing is not nearly as good as XBMC.

So I really was hoping that some day I can just purchase a pre-built hardware with XBMC.
Does anyone know if any company has plans to do something like this? So far I have found nothing Sad
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#2
No that I know of, but you or anyone else are more than welcomed to make and sell such XBMC for Linux pre-configured boxes as long as you comply with the GPL.

Checkout:
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/selling.html
and
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Com...hTV_System

Note! Team-XBMC will be coming out with the first Beta of a Live version of XBMC in a couple of weeks from now (and a stable version in the end of October), it will have the operating-system embedded and be really easy to install by anyone who wants XBMC in a dedicated set-top-box stype setup.

PS! This have been asked and discussed here in these forums before, I just do not have time to search for those threads just now.
Always read the XBMC online-manual, FAQ and search the forum before posting.
Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules.
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.
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#3
The strange bars are probably caused by Compiz. You must disable it.
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#4
PopCorn uses Sigma Designs system-on-chip. Porting the code to this platform is far from trivial.....we'd better wait for cheap Intel system-on-chip solutions.

-Yuval
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#5
if XBMC will come with its own host OS I wonder how good the hardware support will be - especially with graphics card that have HDMI output.

But I'm really looking forward to it and I hope that some company might start to build really small HTPC's preconfigured with XBMC. If I had more money to spend I would even start my own company :p
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#6
falc410 Wrote:if XBMC will come with its own host OS I wonder how good the hardware support will be - especially with graphics card that have HDMI output.

But I'm really looking forward to it and I hope that some company might start to build really small HTPC's preconfigured with XBMC. If I had more money to spend I would even start my own company :p

If there would ever be a XBMC Set on top box I can bet on that it would probably run linux underneath.
If you have problems please read this before posting

Always read the XBMC online-manual, FAQ and search the forum before posting.
Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules.
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.

Image

"Well Im gonna download the code and look at it a bit but I'm certainly not a really good C/C++ programer but I'd help as much as I can, I mostly write in C#."
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#7
startups rarely rely on the money of the founder... you have to sell the idea to someone with money Smile
Always read the XBMC online-manual, FAQ and search the forum before posting.
Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules.
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.
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#8
falc410 Wrote:if XBMC will come with its own host OS I wonder how good the hardware support will be - especially with graphics card that have HDMI output.

But I'm really looking forward to it and I hope that some company might start to build really small HTPC's preconfigured with XBMC. If I had more money to spend I would even start my own company :p

The hardware support it currently has is pretty good IMO and it's NOT hard to put together a system that will run it successfully. There are vendors building MythTV boxes, I see now reason why a vendor like that couldn't be found as XBMC matures. I suppose one of the hardest things might be legal issues in places like the US where the deCSS code could still be a problem. <sigh>
Openelec Gotham, MCE remote(s), Intel i3 NUC, DVDs fed from unRAID cataloged by DVD Profiler. HD-DVD encoded with Handbrake to x.264. Yamaha receiver(s)
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#9
Just caught this thread and it reminded me of a project I read about on the boxee forums. Certainly sounds like an interesting proposition.

http://www.telematicsfreedom.org/en/proj...-state-art

"The FBOX will be a customization for the italian market of a Media Center box (and related software) developed by our main venture partner on the basis of the largest free/open source Media Center application, XBMC. Working prototypes of the box are ready and available for evaluation, and a US roll-out is expected in January 2009 as financing."

Also looks like the XBMC team is involved - http://xbmc.org/blog/2008/07/21/telemati...ss-survey/
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#10
Sounds great. I really hope we get to see this in 2009 with XBMC!
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#11
Question 
frumpy_uk Wrote:"The FBOX will be a customization for the italian market of a Media Center box (and related software) developed by our main venture partner on the basis of the largest free/open source Media Center application, XBMC. Working prototypes of the box are ready and available for evaluation, and a US roll-out is expected in January 2009 as financing."
Cool but where did you read that exacly?, I do not see that on the page you linked to Huh
Always read the XBMC online-manual, FAQ and search the forum before posting.
Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules.
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.
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#12
I am actually working on distributing a shuttle based system which will run xbmc on top of ubuntu hardy. I plan to have it pre-configured with an IR based remote and hardware capable of running 1080p video w/ 5.1 surround sound. I'll post updates when I get closer to getting the project up and running.

-tret
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#13
If it's quiet and has low power consumption I would gladly buy it!
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#14
Gamester17 Wrote:Cool but where did you read that exacly?, I do not see that on the page you linked to Huh

I found this..

Sounds very cool, i wander why we have not heard more, maybe i just missed it, or is it top secret?

Shorty
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#15
I wondered that, too - especially now that I read Gamester's reply on the subject...
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Mass-production of pre-built set-top-box with XBMC for Linux to sell as retail?0