What to do with an Eee Box?
#1
Hi, first post.

I've aquired an Asus Eee Box B202. Originally bought for a relative and now surplus to requirements. The thing is it's such a lovely little machine and I'm trying to think of a use for it. I keep coming back to the idea of using it as some sort of media player/HTPC and more importantly keep coming back to XBMC.

I have a growing collection of .mkv x264 1080p movies that from what I've read will cause the Eee Box to have a hissy fit but I'm reading about the Crystal HD mini PCIe cards. Would this be a worthwhile project? I'm looking at replacing my current 'download-run through mkv2vob-stream to PS3' set up.

Any help would be appreciated. This is a new one on me Smile
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#2
Not an intentional bump. I'm being told elsewhere to sell it or bin it. Surely not?
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#3
If you don't need the wireless card built into that box, apparently it can be removed and a crystalhd card can be put in its place. That'd give you full 1080p support.
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#4
Crystal cards rock, but they aren't without limits- the one I got supported much less of my library than my ION box does. I works good, not great. Which is good enough for most.

Considering how expensive Crystal cards have become, selling it to get funds for an ION box might not be a bad idea....
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#5
The CrystalHD supports everything in my library, as does my ION box. If you're not trying to make it decode obnoxiously difficult 1080p encodes it should be perfectly fine. It supports the full blu-ray spec, not sure what else ya need Smile.
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#6
If you can find a CrystalHD for under $30 (they used to sell in masses on ebay for $25 6 months ago) then go for it, otherwise I think spending $60-70 on a CrystalHD is too much.
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#7
In my library of 1000 HD movies, the broadcom setup plays 9 out of 10. Everything within the Blu Ray spec is fine, but scene mkvs can sometimes fight me. My ION box plays everything.

I agree with Ion Man- for $30 a Broadcom is worth it but for twice as much just sell the thing.
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#8
Thanks for the replies everyone. The downside to getting the Crystal HD card is that I can't find one in the UK. They're all either in the US or Hong Kong. By the time I've added on VAT (tax), shipping and import duty it starts to look a little pricey. Still considering it though. I'm trying to keep in mind that the thing cost me nothing Shocked

Does it seem to have a limit when it comes to bitrate? My library is almost exclusively 1080p and for example the last one I got hold of was averaging 15.5 Mbps.
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#9
extravirgin Wrote:Does it seem to have a limit when it comes to bitrate? My library is almost exclusively 1080p and for example the last one I got hold of was averaging 15.5 Mbps.

I believe the limit is around 40Mbps, so any straight Bluray rip should be fine.
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#10
Much appreciated everyone.
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What to do with an Eee Box?0