What is the best OS and computer box for XBMC if money no option?
thanks
Lou
thanks
Lou
2009-05-12, 20:24
the one I'm building... send $10 million USD to my paypal account.
PM me for details
PM me for details
2009-05-12, 21:09
stumble on this 1 when i was surfing the web today by coincidence
Acer Revo
youtube with xbmc live
review on gizmodo.com a gadget side
Acer Revo
youtube with xbmc live
review on gizmodo.com a gadget side
2009-05-12, 21:40
Livin Wrote:the one I'm building... send $10 million USD to my paypal account.LOL
PM me for details
2009-05-12, 22:08
2-7offsuit Wrote:Money is no option? Um... Linux?correct me if i am wrong but this is no longer a reason
a quote of a dutch website :
there is since a view weeks hardware-support within XBMC(in Linux thanks to VDPAU.
But can someone think of a better OS for lotagu?
2009-05-13, 02:13
I started on Linux and switched to Windows XP and am much happier. I am a huge Linux fan but the Alsa driver bugs drove me crazy. I also kept loosing my IR. I also had issues upgrading the Nvidia drivers. When I switched to XP all the issues went away. I also found several high bit rate Blue Ray rips that would not play on Linux but played fine on XP.
2009-05-13, 16:24
gquiring i need also to say i was specifically talking about the new
Acer Aspire Revo with new stable xbmc build 9.04.
From what i understand like i already said this don't have much problems.
they are also talking about Revo in this topic.
Acer Aspire Revo with new stable xbmc build 9.04.
From what i understand like i already said this don't have much problems.
they are also talking about Revo in this topic.
2009-05-15, 17:37
I would have to say a very simple XP install with as little service and other usless (from XBMC point of view) started and installed as possible.
Maybe even have a look at the new Nvidia ION chipset for Atom processors. Assuming Nvidia's claims of smooth fullHD playback with an Atom processor are true this will be a wonderful system certainly because it is completely passively cooled.
Of course if you are looking to drop even further in price (139,- euro is the advise retail price for these boards with CPU) then you should start looking at a second hand PC, as long as you have a decent GPU in there that does HD acceleration you should be fine. Both AMD and NVidia have been making cards that do this for quite some time now so you should be able to find quite a few in second hand PC's. The processor will not make a huge difference as long as the GPU oes most of the decoding work so don't worry to much abou that. A bit of memory will help a lot so try and go for a 2GB setup or at least make sure that you can plugin some extra memory if you do happen to find some spare cash in your pocket as it won't do if you have to chuck out 4x256MB of memory just to upgrade to 2GB.
Other then that the only thing left is disk's depending on your collection of material you will need any where from a few hundred MB to many TB worth of storage space to store all the movies, photo's and music...
Of course Linux will take away the need for a XP license and as such reduces the cost, but most people will sell you a second hand PC with the XP license on the little Microsoft sticker on the case... so you can get it practically for free. The reason for me advising XP over Linux is that under Linux you can only get the video acceleration on NVidia cards and from what I see about this on the forums it is not yet as good as it is under XP.
Making it not the poor mans operating system of chooice if you want fast, and most likely to work cheap video acceleration.
Maybe even have a look at the new Nvidia ION chipset for Atom processors. Assuming Nvidia's claims of smooth fullHD playback with an Atom processor are true this will be a wonderful system certainly because it is completely passively cooled.
Of course if you are looking to drop even further in price (139,- euro is the advise retail price for these boards with CPU) then you should start looking at a second hand PC, as long as you have a decent GPU in there that does HD acceleration you should be fine. Both AMD and NVidia have been making cards that do this for quite some time now so you should be able to find quite a few in second hand PC's. The processor will not make a huge difference as long as the GPU oes most of the decoding work so don't worry to much abou that. A bit of memory will help a lot so try and go for a 2GB setup or at least make sure that you can plugin some extra memory if you do happen to find some spare cash in your pocket as it won't do if you have to chuck out 4x256MB of memory just to upgrade to 2GB.
Other then that the only thing left is disk's depending on your collection of material you will need any where from a few hundred MB to many TB worth of storage space to store all the movies, photo's and music...
Of course Linux will take away the need for a XP license and as such reduces the cost, but most people will sell you a second hand PC with the XP license on the little Microsoft sticker on the case... so you can get it practically for free. The reason for me advising XP over Linux is that under Linux you can only get the video acceleration on NVidia cards and from what I see about this on the forums it is not yet as good as it is under XP.
Making it not the poor mans operating system of chooice if you want fast, and most likely to work cheap video acceleration.
2009-05-15, 20:24
I don't know why we keep talking about dropping the price and Ion when the guy said money was no option. While the GPU would display video wonderfully, I'm guessing the atom chip is going to choke on the hi-res rendering of the beautiful skins available to an XBMC user. While there's nothing wrong with using the low res skins designed for the xbox and apple Tv, those simply aren't the ideal solution in a "money is no issue" kind of way.
If money is no issue, you want rock hard driver support, an extremely fast CPU, an audio card that can pump out 5.1 or 7.1 sound, something that works almost completely out of the box.
Unfortunately, this doesn't exist.
Linux, regardless of what people say, ALWAYS has video card problems and alsa-related sound problems. If money is no option, one should not HAVE to fiddle with these things to get a good setup. Conversely, Linux has excellent IR support and an out of the box remote control experience.
Windows DOES have excellent video card and surround sound support. For most people, these things work right out of the gates or else require an install that needs nothing more than a simple "OK" click a few times. Windows would be the obvious method of choice, except you have to train whatever remote you want to use. It doesn't simply work out of the box.
I have no knowledge of the Mac, though my understanding is that it is very similar to the Windows experience in terms of driver support. Obviously, this wouldn't be the case for a hackintosh, but the nicest mac mini should work very well, as should any of the really expensive 8-core style Macs. The down side is, once again, remote support, which allows for a grand total of about 5 button presses. I assume that's been resolved by this point, but I don't know how.
Finally, there's the original xbox. While the thing is great for dvd rips and playing games, and its remote support is the best bar none, it is terrible for HD of any kind.
So there's the answer. There really isn't a best platform at this time. If the Ion platform standardizes enough to where a Live install would simply work, right of the box, that may be your best option, but that doesn't exist yet. In the mean time, I'd probably recommend a Windows install combined with learning a little about EventGhost, unless you happen to like fiddling with Linux.
If money is no issue, you want rock hard driver support, an extremely fast CPU, an audio card that can pump out 5.1 or 7.1 sound, something that works almost completely out of the box.
Unfortunately, this doesn't exist.
Linux, regardless of what people say, ALWAYS has video card problems and alsa-related sound problems. If money is no option, one should not HAVE to fiddle with these things to get a good setup. Conversely, Linux has excellent IR support and an out of the box remote control experience.
Windows DOES have excellent video card and surround sound support. For most people, these things work right out of the gates or else require an install that needs nothing more than a simple "OK" click a few times. Windows would be the obvious method of choice, except you have to train whatever remote you want to use. It doesn't simply work out of the box.
I have no knowledge of the Mac, though my understanding is that it is very similar to the Windows experience in terms of driver support. Obviously, this wouldn't be the case for a hackintosh, but the nicest mac mini should work very well, as should any of the really expensive 8-core style Macs. The down side is, once again, remote support, which allows for a grand total of about 5 button presses. I assume that's been resolved by this point, but I don't know how.
Finally, there's the original xbox. While the thing is great for dvd rips and playing games, and its remote support is the best bar none, it is terrible for HD of any kind.
So there's the answer. There really isn't a best platform at this time. If the Ion platform standardizes enough to where a Live install would simply work, right of the box, that may be your best option, but that doesn't exist yet. In the mean time, I'd probably recommend a Windows install combined with learning a little about EventGhost, unless you happen to like fiddling with Linux.
2009-05-15, 20:48
natethomas Wrote:I don't know why we keep talking about dropping the price and Ion when the guy said money was no option.
Because his phrase "money is no option" doesn't make any sense.
2009-05-15, 21:14
2-7offsuit Wrote:Because his phrase "money is no option" doesn't make any sense.
"Money is no option" is an American phrase commonly used in movies in the 1980s to indicate an unlimited price point. A non-slang phrase would be "The best system, regardless of price." Or, "I want to spend LOTS of money, if it means my system will kick butt."
2009-05-15, 21:38
2-7offsuit Wrote:Because his phrase "money is no option" doesn't make any sense.
And "Best OS" does? All this will start is yet another OS pissing match. You only get opinionated responses and fanboyism from the people who would actually be bothered to reply to such a question.
2009-05-15, 21:51
althekiller Wrote:And "Best OS" does? All this will start is yet another OS pissing match. You only get opinionated responses and fanboyism from the people who would actually be bothered to reply to such a question.
I got the impression he was looking for opinions, thus opinionated responses would make sense. Also, I thought I did a relatively decent job weighing pros and cons without leaning in any one particular fanboy direction.
On the other hand, I ultimately concluded there was no "Best OS," so I guess my answer wasn't worth much.
