Most value for money clients?
#1
Hello,

I have a server in my basement storing all my movies, music etc . When I was single it used to feed my Core 2 HTPC, that pc however is being used by one of my spouses kids Wink

So we now have 4 TV's, 2 that are used most.

I'll need atleast 1 permanent client (livingroom) and 1 that might be able to be moved around.

I've been looking at prebuilt ION boxes, though I have a few issues;
I'd probably run windows 7 and am worrying about performance?
Also costs of 2 clients is a bit much currently


Then I noticed Popcorn Hour A200 which is relatively cheap, and apparently getting a rich ui sometime in the future, is there anything prebuilt in this price range? I'd prefer xbmc to be honest, but money is not in abundance.

Anyone have any input?

Built 1 mini-itx system with a core i3? purchase a prebuilt ion? settle for 1-2 popcorn hours at the time being?

Thanks
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#2
Acer Revos with XBMC Live. Once you lose the price of Windows, things get more affordable.
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#3
Don't buy the A-200. It's flawed by desgn!

The casing is made out of plastic without vent holes (only on the bottom were it's useless), so it get's very hot inside and the small fan it contains has to spin very fast (noisy!) to keep the main chip from overheating.
There are plenty of reports of dead A-200 on the PCH forum, likely due to overheating.

If it has to be a PCH, get a second hand A-100 or A-110.
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#4
Ramshackles Wrote:Then I noticed Popcorn Hour A200 which is relatively cheap, and apparently getting a rich ui sometime in the future, is there anything prebuilt in this price range? I'd prefer xbmc to be honest, but money is not in abundance.

Anyone have any input?


Thanks


I'm not going to tell you not to buy a A200, but Syabas's track record is pretty bad. The hardware is good, but fixing issues with playback takes forever and might never get fixed. I have a A100 and there still is rewind issues.

They have promised stuff in the past and took forever to put it out. Just recently they said the Popbox was going to have netflix and now they are releasing it without it.

Plus all the browsing you have to do to get to files is annoying. They don't put multiple locations under one library like XBMC does.

My two cents...
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#5
BORIStheBLADE Wrote:I have a A100 and there still is rewind issues.

Well actually even XBMC has an embarrasing rewind issue, that has been known for way over a year and nobody appears to have solved it yet (I swear, if I had enough coding skills I would look at fixing that myself):

[DVDPlayer] Pressing Rewind Fast Forwards Video - http://trac.xbmc.org/ticket/5462

Don't get me wrong I love XBMC, but I'm a realist so I know XBMC isn't perfect either (yet).
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#6
ion_man Wrote:Well actually even XBMC has an embarrasing rewind issue, that has been known for way over a year and nobody appears to have solved it yet (I swear, if I had enough coding skills I would look at fixing that myself):

[DVDPlayer] Pressing Rewind Fast Forwards Video - http://trac.xbmc.org/ticket/5462

Don't get me wrong I love XBMC, but I'm a realist so I know XBMC isn't perfect either (yet).


I agree, XBMC isn't perfect either. They have come out with multiple new devices and still haven't addressed stuff wrong with old hardware. That is what bothers me the most.

I'm just pointing out stuff that he might not realize.
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#7
Thanks for all your advice people Smile I'll consider the Revo but doesn't seem availability is great in denmark Smile

Are there other contenders than PCH then? Or are all the networked media players garbage compared to xbmc? Big Grin
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#8
Ramshackles Wrote:Thanks for all your advice people Smile I'll consider the Revo but doesn't seem availability is great in denmark Smile

Are there other contenders than PCH then? Or are all the networked media players garbage compared to xbmc? Big Grin

I only have experience with the PCH range, but all hardware media players are quite limited compared to a real PC with XBMC, they use very slow cpus so they normally can't run good looking GUIs or do much besides playing media as implemented by the manufacturer.
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#9
Ack, I'll have to purchase one unit at a time then Smile

I think I'll be looking at prebuilt atom + ion units, was exploring building myself but the cost of the unit seems to go over that of a prebuilt box.

So, not having any experience whatsoever with atom + ion, are there any recommendations?

Requirements:
1. Must play 1080p perfectly
2. Must have wifi, haven't got cables in the entire flat yet.
3. Must be able to sleep and wake without issues
4. Preferably run W7 since I have zero knowledge of linux

I would weigh silence higher than size and look, optical drive is not a must but a nice to have.

Been looking a Zotac Mag, Asrock, Revo, Giada, PoV and Foxcoon (Without ram and hd).

Any system that's just the current top gun for htpc? Prebuilt that is, Apple is way over my prize limit, the Revo is cutting it close in denmark Smile
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