[LIVE] HOW-TO install XBMC Live on Acer Aspire Revo - The Complete Guide for Newbies

giovanisp Wrote:sorry about the silly question but... which are the advantages of using the thumb install against installing it on the hard-drive and auto executing it on OS startup? is it much faster? any other?

Good question. Got my Revo AR3610 today, havent turned it on, but this was one of the questions I have. I am a strong Linux user (Redhat Certified Engineer actually). I thought about formatting and installing a Linux distro on it and then XBMC (never installed it, but I'm sure I can figure it out). BUT, I think it is kind of convenient to be able to use it as a Windows desktop on my plasma. It could be nice to go online on my TV. I could also install an X server in Linux and I hope this Revo could run that too? Maybe XBMC Live is the way ot go then I could dual boot. Really all I need is a browser, so I know X can do everything I need, just need to know for sure if the Acer Revo w/ 330 atom 2gb, etc. can handle that, then I will just blow it all away and never look back on using Windows.

nick999 Wrote:Shame this doesn't have an optical sound output - will the live install allow an external USB sound card to be used?

I just bought an HDMI switch from Monoprice that separates out the audio from the HDMI and sends it to an optical and coax output. I have yet to hook it up but the reviews on Monoprice seem favorable and they are reporting it does pass 5.1.

FYI, they don't have many of these in stock and I waited a few months for the one I got so it may not last long.

OTOH, I had a laptop that didn't have optical out and I bought a usb dongle that would work. Not sure about using it with HDMI simultaneously but research may answer.

when playing some mpeg or mp3 i noticed that Revo play too fast

edit your default output device to "plug:hdmi" and not just "hdmi"

burgemaster Wrote:...
4) Installing XBMC Live on the Revo:
As the revo has no optical drive, you will have to buy/borrow a USB Drive. Burn your ISO to a CDR using Imgburn (http://www.imgburn.com/ and then load into the USB drive.
Turn on the Revo and when it is booting press F12 to load the boot menu. Choose your USB Drive.
When XBMC Live boots you will see options to either run it from the CDR or install to the HARD DRIVE or a USB device.

I choose to install to hard drive as there was nothing else worth keeping on the revo drive. Choose your Hard drive, and then Yes to confirm.

** You are confirming that EVERYTHING will be erased from the hard drive / USB stick you have choosen!

After it has installed, your revo will turn off, unplug the USB drive and reboot to XBMC (fingers crossed)
...

hi, what if you do have something worth keeping on the harddrive; can xbmc copy itself to an empty partition ? (there doesnt seem to be a boot menu option for that)
how does one dual-boot/ tri-boot off the same harddrive.

You can't install XBMC-Live onto the hard disk and keep an existing partition (e.g., Win XP). I tried out XBMC-Live initially and it worked pretty well (a test of a Blu-ray rip wasn't perfectly smooth and 5.1 audio over HDMI wasn't working for me), but I wasn't ready to wipe out my Acer Revo's Win XP install, so I then tried out installing Ubuntu Desktop on a separate partition. I had the same problems with judder and lack of 5.1 audio there, so then I tried XBMC for Windows coupled with launching MPC-HC as an external player, and I've been very happy with that. Judder-free and 5.1 audio works fine. All on my 1GB RAM $200 Acer Revo.

I'm about to place an order for an Acer Aspire Revo now, the $199 one. I too would like to keep Windows (at least to begin with) for various reasons. I've been reading a lot about people using MPC as an external player. What does this mean exactly? Does it look any different? Is MPC still integrated into XBMC?

Play from rar is the only thing leaning me towards this versus WDTV Live. Basically, to keep things short, I want it to work as it does on my XBOX with the exception that it can do 720 and 1080p output. Is this a viable option? Is upgrading the ram necessary? I've been reading that a lot of people found it unnecessary.

Re step 1 (Adding another 1GB of RAM) That hasn't been a problem for me with my Revo 3610. I can happily play all 1080p stuff along with killa sample with 256 video RAM. I simply would not be gaining anything by adding another 1GB.

I'm running a current SVN and apart from it breaking after installing the latest Nvidia drivers (190.42 - fixed though so all good) I can happily confirm that everything works fine. I'm just waiting for my HP USB MCE remote to arrive from Kong Kong.

Birtybasset,

Adding the extra gig is for the $199 model most likely, with the Atom 230 and 1 gig of ram. Your unit has the Atom 330 and 2 gigs of ram already right?

Vit

vitreous Wrote:Birtybasset,

Adding the extra gig is for the $199 model most likely, with the Atom 230 and 1 gig of ram. Your unit has the Atom 330 and 2 gigs of ram already right?

Vit

Nope, I bought the £149 Linux 160GB model and it only has 1GB RAm. Plus I can only select a maximum of 256 in the BIOS. AFAIK the only way to unlock 512 is by having 2GB RAM? code is 92.NVDYZ.UI0

Birtybasset Wrote:Nope, I bought the £149 Linux 160GB model and it only has 1GB RAm. Plus I can only select a maximum of 256 in the BIOS. AFAIK the only way to unlock 512 is by having 2GB RAM? code is 92.NVDYZ.UI0

The question is, if you have 4GB can you choose 1GB for the GPU