[activate]

Considering the issues people including myself have encountered in getting xbmc setups to work with atv2, I thought it would be useful to have some positive examples of working setups. This maybe handy for those with similar equipment. By a successful/working setup, I mean one which meets or exceeds expectations as per the stickys.

I must say that although I did plenty of reading in order to improve and tune my setup, most of the improvements simply came from the progress of the builds, especially the nightlies. A thanks to those contributing.

Intro:
I regard mine as a neat/minimalistic setup without compromising output, i.e. 720p, (plays 1080p files) and provides Digitial audio.

Previous issues encountered:
1. Stuttering & buffering of supported formats.
2. Slow scraping.
3. Slow fannart loading.

Hardware:
1. Atv2 version 4.1.4 ; xbmc nightly 240811 (running 4.1.3 with the recent nighties also achieved the same)
2. iMac intel duo core 2 ghz (2008) - Lion using Media master (http sharing). (running leopard with smb sharing achieved the same) (snow leopard caused some issues - downgraded back to leopard)
3. WD Elements 2 TB connected to iMac via usb 2.0 - Contains all the content.
4. Airport Extreme 2nd gen.
5. Samsung 720p plasma, late onkyo dts, digital receiver.

Network:
ATV2 <----Ethernet----> Airport Extreme
IMAC <-----Wifi----------->Airport Extreme (distance approx: 3 rooms non-brick walls)

Wifi: Forced to 5ghz using n only.
Airport utility settings: Channel 149; Multicast rate: 100%; Wide channels selected; Transmit power: High

Skin:
Using Rapier beta versions and currently RC1.

Previous skins that have delivered good performance for me have included Transparency, Night, Confluence.

Testing:
I haven't done any problem specific testing, although I was wondering if I should at one stage. Its simply whether I am able to stream a high bitrate file of choice smoothly.

File used:
Lord of the rings 1, size 24gig, format: mkv, 1080p, dts 5.1 audio.

Successful scenarios whilst streaming this file:
1. Normal safari browsing the internet on the iMac.
2. Using Skype on the iMac.
3. Simultaneously streaming the same file to xbmc installed on iPad2. XBMC froze/crashed only if I seeked on either playback.

Future potential improvements:
1. Connecting Imac via ethernet to Airport extreme.
2. Moving content from the external drive on the iMac to a NAS device.

Suggestions welcome!

[BaronBaron]

I'd buy a nas to store your files and connect it to the atv with a lan cable, they go for less than $100

[regnets]

Intro:
Very Simple Setup doesn't need 1080p Playback. Watch TV with TVHeadEnd installed on Server. No other devices Connected to my TVs apart from ATV2s

Previous issues encountered:
1. Slow scraping.
2. Very slow fanart loading
(i never got the buffering issue...)

Hardware:
1. Atv2 version 4.1.4; xbmc nightly ??0811
2. Atv2 version 4.1.4; xbmc nightly ??0811
3. Macbook Late 2008; xbmc nightly ??0811
4. N36L Microserver with Ubuntu (SMB-Shares, Central Thumbnails, Central mySQL Database)
5. WRT610 Wireless N Router with DD-WRT
6. 2 UE40C600 LED TVs, Old 5.1 Sony AV-Receiver

Network:
ATV2 <----Wifi----> WRT610N
ATV2 <----Wifi----> WRT610N
N36L Microserver <---- Gbit ----> WRT610N
MacBook <---- Gbit ----> WRT610N

Wifi: Forced to 5ghz using n only

Skin:
Confluence (couldnt find any other (in my opinion) fast skin)

Testing:

Files used:
Several HD-Movies 1080 AC3 5.1 Sound filesize between 7 and 34 GB.

Successful scenarios whilst streaming one of these files:
1. Normal safari browsing the internet on the iMac.
2. Using Skype on the Macbook.
3. Simultaneously streaming the same file to other XBMC device (iPad/iPhone/ATV2/MacBook)
4. Create Online Backup (Crashplan)
5. Watching TV (TVHeadend) on other XBMC device (iPad/iPhone/ATV2/MacBook)

Future potential improvements:
Clean up libraries

Notes:
The scraping on ATV2 is still slow.
Fanart loading over network is slow (2-8 seconds)
I've got a bunch of tweaks in my advancedsettings (fanartheight/thumbnailsize)
The whole setup is stable. The ATV2 are the only devices connected to my TV. I throw away all my VCRs Satellite Tuners and DVD Players.
TV is watched via TVHeadEnd Server and TBS6981 Tuner Card on Ubuntu Server.

Any questions? Feel free to ask .

[Ozymandyaz]

Intro:
I have a moderately complex installation, but it is intended to be "friends and family" accessible, i.e. "It just works." I have an ATV2, and ATV1 (Crystalbuntu) and multiple Windows installs all running nightlies. All installs share one MySQL database and use the same thumbnail folder using path substitution. All scraping is done from Windows. The database is hosted on the Synology. All devices have librtmp 2.4 support.

Current minor issues encountered:
1. Slow scraping from ATVs, so all scraping is done in win.
2. Slow fannart loading on ATV2. Not bad, but slow.

Hardware:
1. ATV2 version 4.3 (8F455) ; xbmc nightly 08152011 (Last nightly from Keith)
2. Synology DS110j with 2TB shared via SMB (have not yet converted to NFS)
3. D-Link DIR-615 WiFi router and acting as the switch connected to ATV2 AND ATV1
4. ATV1 running Crystalbuntu
5. Multiple windows clients running Nightly (081311)
6. ATV2 >> Toshiba HD CRT via HDMI using only stero sound
7. ATV1 >> Panasonic 50" Plasma via Componant - HDMI ports died =(

Network:
ATV2 <----Ethernet 100mbps----> D-Link DIR-615
ATV1 <----Ethernet 100mbps----> D-Link DIR-615
Synology <----Ethernet 1gbps ----> D-Link DIR-615
Windows <----WiFi "n" ----> D-Link DIR-615


Wifi:
2.4ghz WiFi n @~50mbps (I cannot recommend the d-Link...)

Skin:
Default confluence horizontal

Testing:
Most of my testing was centered on the MySQL install. Had to go nightly to get good support. No video playback issues at all. I play all h.264 video in MKV and MP4/M4V containers @720p. I also have some HD and SD AVI files (xvid/divx.) For the ATV2 I have re-encoded the AVIs to H.264 MP4 files via handbrake to fix some colour space issues. Currently the ATV2 has 'duller' colour for AVI with a greenish tint. It may be better then it was in 10.0-7 (Less green?) but I still see a difference so I have just re-encoded these videos. Mostly kids stuff anyway, I only watch 720p MKVs myself and they all look great.

Files/streams used:
TV Shows in MKV @ 1.3gig/hour, format: mkv, 720p, 5.1 audio with stereo only output. (Great!)
Canada on Demand plugin to watch the Daily Show in HD via CTV

Successful scenarios whilst streaming this file:
No issues have been encountered. The Synology NAS is great. ATV2 is stable and responsive.
Canada on Demand works great (as do streams that need the new LibRTMP 2.4 update)

Future potential improvements:
I would like to add a soundbar so that Audio can be played without the need to have the TV on. We just do not have an optical capable set of speakers. Overall this is a relatively cheap and very usable solution. Friends and non-technical family are amazed at how easy it is.

[activate]

@BaronBaron: I agree with you in moving the content to a NAS, especially if the library grows. I get double minded simply because its all working as it is.

@regnets: Would you mind sharing your advanced settings file. I'd be interested to see the tweaks that you have found useful. Thanks.

@ Ozymandyaz: Its good to hear that you don't have any issues using the synology with the atv2. This was what I was toying with purchasing.

[Ozymandyaz]

@ Ozymandyaz: Its good to hear that you don't have any issues using the synology with the atv2. This was what I was toying with purchasing.

I am very very pleased with the Synology. It's inexpensive and has been running quite well for about two years now. I use the DS110j witch is a low end unit but it's still got enough horse power to run the NAS and my XBMC database without missing a beat. We have even had a few power outages this summer and it has survived all of them with no troubles.

[regnets]

Here are my advancedsettings:


<advancedsettings>
<videodatabase>
<type>mysql</type>
<host>10.0.0.253</host>
<port>3306</port>
<user>xbmc</user>
<pass>xbmc</pass>
<name>xbmc_video</name>
</videodatabase>

<musicdatabase>
<type>mysql</type>
<host>10.0.0.253</host>
<port>3306</port>
<user>xbmc</user>
<pass>xbmc</pass>
<name>xbmc_music</name>
</musicdatabase>
<pathsubstitution>
<substitute>
<from>special://masterprofile/Thumbnails</from>
<to>smb://xbmc:[email protected]/Thumbnails</to>
</substitute>
</pathsubstitution>
<gui>
<algorithmdirtyregions>1</algorithmdirtyregions>
<nofliptimeout>1500</nofliptimeout>
</gui>
<fanartheight>540</fanartheight>
<thumbsize>256</thumbsize>
</advancedsettings>

[Ozymandyaz]

Here are my advancedsettings:


<advancedsettings>

<gui>
<algorithmdirtyregions>1</algorithmdirtyregions>
<nofliptimeout>1500</nofliptimeout>
</gui>
<fanartheight>540</fanartheight>
<thumbsize>256</thumbsize>
</advancedsettings>

What kind of improvement do you see with the thumb and fan art settings? I may give this a try as well since the TV with the ATV2 is kinda small so thumb quality is not really important.

[dan1son]

Previous issues encountered:
1. Slowwww Scraping
2. No auto repeat menu (I HATE THIS!)
3. buffering with Samba on 1080p files.

Hardware:
1. Atv2 version 4.2.2; xbmc nightly (last before official nightlies); internal 802.11n 2.4ghz
2. Atv1; Crystalbuntu (august update); old BCM*00012 card; WET610N bridge 802.11n 5ghz
3. Revo R1600; Ubuntu 10.10 Git build (updated periodically, currently yesterday); wired through DirecTV DECA ethernet over coax system.
4. AMD Athlon X2 Nvidia GT 240 (my gaming desktop) gigabit to router
5. Dual core Atom server (fileserver, mailserver, subsonic server, etc.) gigabit to router

Network:
D-Link Simultaneous dual band gigabit router plugged into DECA system which feeds home theater. Wireless for everything else. Files are mounted with NFS in the OS except the ATV2 and gaming box which are SMB.

Started trying NFS on the ATV1 last night directly to see how it goes... seems fine so far.

I've found streaming over 2.4ghz or 5ghz to simultaneous devices on the same band causes too much congestion, so I've split my devices up over them for streaming. The rest of the devices in the house (wii, laptops, phones, etc.) are all on the 2.4ghz band due to the range. They still don't interfere with the ATV2 during streaming.

Skin:
Confluence on ATV2
Refocus on ATV1
Aeon (the lightest one... can't remember what it is) on the Revo
Refocus on the desktop.

Testing:

Files used:
Many, mostly 720p blu-ray rips and tv shows. Some 1080p

Successful scenarios whilst streaming one of these files:
I can successfully stream a 720p file easily to all 4 xbmc machines at the same time (even 1080p to one or two of them) with no interruption of network access on any of the other machines. It's extremely common for my family to be streaming 2 things at the same time while someone is gaming, browsing, etc. on a laptop or desktop.

I can also easily stream HD from the DVR in the home theater over DECA to another DirecTV receiver while streaming 1080p to the Revo in the home theater without any interruptions.


Future potential improvements:
Auto repeat menu items, speedier scraping. More stability with remote SQL.

Notes:
I don't currently use SQL for my library so they're all independent (I have a script on my server I run which updates them all remotely when I add files). Stability has been an issue with that in the past, although I haven't tried it in several months. I'll probably use it once Eden comes out and all of my builds are the same.

I use DDS fanart and dirty regions whenever possible. They both make things noticeably more responsive.

I also use the Android XBMC remote for music playback almost exclusively. Gives a great interface without the TV requirement.


I have nothing but amazing things to say about XBMC. It continues to blow people away when they see it, even though I've had it for a few years. It's used as much as the DirecTV system we have in the house and rarely ever faults us.

The ATV2 was bought to be thrown into our babies room so my wife could watch our library while feeding him in the middle of the night. I have since swapped it with the ATV1 that was in our bedroom, even though it "only" outputs 720p and the TV is 1080p. With Netflix/MLB on the ATV2 it just fit us better in the bedroom than in the babies room.

I'm more than happy to answer any questions about my setup.

[Cribe]

Intro:
Simple setup with 2 ATV2. One in living room and one in bedroom. Mainly used for watching movies and series

Previous issues encountered:
1. Problem with SMB from Airport Extreme (stuttering 720p)

Hardware:
1. ATV2 version 4.3; XBMC 10.0.9
2. ATV2 version 4.3; XBMC 10.0.9
3. Mac mini G4; used as fileserver and for MYSQL
4. Airport Extreme MD031LL/A
5. MacBook Pro Early 2011


Network:
ATV2 <----Ethernet----> AP Extreme
ATV2 <----Wifi----> AP Extreme
Mac mini <---- Ethernet ----> AP Extreme
MacBook <---- Gbit ----> AP Extreme

Skin:
Confluence

Testing:

Files used:
Several 720p .mkv movies and SD .avi movies

Successful scenarios whilst streaming one of these files:
1. Streaming simultaniously to both ATV's
2. Streaming to ATV's and downloading/surfing on MBP

Future potential improvements:
Use shared database with MySQL

HELP!
Is there anyone out there who's familiar with SQL.
I have followed several guides ( http://lifehacker.com/5634515/how-to-syn...-the-house , http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.p...c=11473.15 , http://iluvatv.wordpress.com/2010/10/23/...os-x-xbmc/ )

I have successfully installed MySQl on the Mac mini.
I have tested the SQL as per Lifehacker's guide
I have removed the sources and cleaned up my databases on both ATV's
I have re-added my sources and scanned them, but I don't get them to sync. (tried bookmarks and to stop the movie aprox 15 min in and pick it up in another room but that didn't work)

Whats the next step? Can I somehow try to see if the ATV's (or another computer) can connect to SQL db on the Mac mini?