Cheapest small 'box' for XBMC?

wiggy · 2010-12-21 21:35

Hi
not sure if this question has already been asked but what is the smallest box I can get to run xbmc eg. Boxee, apple tv size box?
I currently have it running on an acer aspire revolution 3280 ( which is cool ) but I want smaller n cheaper ( for my girls room )
Any ideas?

poofyhairguy · 2010-12-21 21:45

Acer Revos are the golden standard of small and cheap in this community. You can pick from other available ION systems (Zboxes, Shuttles, etc.) but they will all be the same approximate price and size as a Revo.

If you are willing to sacrifice some on the experience you MIGHT be able to get a first gen AppleTV+ Broadcom card for cheaper, but I think the size is the same.

I know what you are basically asking: "What small $100 set top box like the second Gen AppleTV or the WD Live supports XBMC?" The answer to that question is none do- XBMC is the high end when it comes to media players.

wiggy · 2010-12-21 21:53

I noticed that there has been some work on the beagle board not sure if this is still being worked on or even if it's out yet?
If you didn't already know it's a tiny chipset moboard ?
Look about 1/2 to 1/4 the size of the Acer revo

poofyhairguy · 2010-12-21 23:45

The Beagle Board is pretty cool for a tiny server, but it has no hardware built in to play 1080p files. A GSOC was created to port XBMC to the Beagle Board so that XBMC has an embedded future (as it looks like many future media boxen will have the same CPU, etc. as the Beagle Board), but that is not usable by any means:

http://beagleboard.org/project/XBMC/

For the time being, as in the next one or two years, ION systems are the best and cheapest XBMC boxes.

**davilla** · 2010-12-22 00:05

I'd say but then I'd have to start killing people. Smile

hudo · 2010-12-22 00:42

davilla Wrote:I'd say but then I'd have to start killing people.

Please do! Big Grin

TugboatBill · 2010-12-22 01:05

No! There's already too much violence in the world! Laugh

poofyhairguy · 2010-12-22 03:55

davilla Wrote:I'd say but then I'd have to start killing people.

I can't wait for you to prove me wrong yet again!

**jhsrennie** · 2010-12-22 11:03

davilla Wrote:I'd say but then I'd have to start killing people.

A port to the new Apple TV?

JR

Vultures · 2010-12-22 11:24

Old Atom non-ion board (like 230, you can get those very cheap on ebay) + broadcom cristal HD + some memory + (not necessarily) case.
If you use live setup, you probably won't need HDD. Cost will be close to 100 bucks.
Drawback is that it will move kinda slow and you will be limited to simpler skins. But it will play 1080p for sure.

wiggy Member Posts: 90 Joined: Mar 2010 Reputation: 0	2010-12-21 21:35 Post: #1 Hi not sure if this question has already been asked but what is the smallest box I can get to run xbmc eg. Boxee, apple tv size box? I currently have it running on an acer aspire revolution 3280 ( which is cool ) but I want smaller n cheaper ( for my girls room ) Any ideas?
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wiggy Member Posts: 90 Joined: Mar 2010 Reputation: 0	2010-12-21 21:53 Post: #3 I noticed that there has been some work on the beagle board not sure if this is still being worked on or even if it's out yet? If you didn't already know it's a tiny chipset moboard ? Look about 1/2 to 1/4 the size of the Acer revo
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davilla Team-XBMC Developer Posts: 10,399 Joined: Feb 2008 Reputation: 58	2010-12-22 00:05 Post: #5 I'd say but then I'd have to start killing people. MediaInfo : http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net/ Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules.
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hudo Fan Posts: 450 Joined: Feb 2009 Reputation: 5 Location: xbmcmediacenter.com	2010-12-22 00:42 Post: #6 davilla Wrote:I'd say but then I'd have to start killing people. Please do!
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TugboatBill Posting Freak Posts: 787 Joined: Oct 2009 Reputation: 3	2010-12-22 01:05 Post: #7 No! There's already too much violence in the world!
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jhsrennie Team-XBMC Developer Posts: 7,237 Joined: Nov 2008 Reputation: 117 Location: Chester, UK	2010-12-22 11:03 Post: #9 davilla Wrote:I'd say but then I'd have to start killing people. A port to the new Apple TV? JR
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Vultures Member Posts: 81 Joined: Sep 2010 Reputation: 0	2010-12-22 11:24 Post: #10 Old Atom non-ion board (like 230, you can get those very cheap on ebay) + broadcom cristal HD + some memory + (not necessarily) case. If you use live setup, you probably won't need HDD. Cost will be close to 100 bucks. Drawback is that it will move kinda slow and you will be limited to simpler skins. But it will play 1080p for sure.
	find quote