Custom media player

Wingsgb

Wingsgb

Wingsgb

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Joined
18 Dec 2011
Posts
27
I have a media server distributing my 5tb of media to the relevant Smart TVs or media players that I have around the house but the problem i have is that most*metadata is not displayed anywhere and it's up to the renderers. Title is used and some of the metadata is used for browsing for content via different categories (Genre, Actors, Series, etc). This intern just displays a list of files.*

So instead of splashing out on more of these smart TVs and expensive media players it makes sense to build a little custom box for each tv and run xbmc on them. That way I will have a clean layed out GUI with all the metadata for my collection.*

As I said above I already have the server so these custom players don't need to be a high spec with big storage. They just need to have the below key features if anyone can help me out;
Cheap :)
Small case
Low power
Low storage
Hardware to run xbmc and play *most files with a decent sound output.
LAN/ wireless
Av video output and or HDMI
Remote control for navigation.*

Let me know if I'm missing anything out and thanks for reading

Gray
 
Thanks for the reply, I was looking at around 300 so they are in my price range.

I paid over 240 for my current media player which I'm not happy with although it plays everything I throw at it.
 
arad85 said:
How cheap is cheap?

Acer Revos or Shuttle XS35GT2 run xbmc very well...
Click to expand...

After looking on the two above manufactures website i don't think the revo is what I'm after.*

I do like the look of the XS35GT though, reasonably priced aswell gives you the option to not have the OS to cut down on costs. One thing I forgot to mention is the capability to play 3D content files.*

Is it possible to use a tv like controller instead of a keyboard/mouse once setup
 
Wingsgb said:
I do like the look of the XS35GT though, reasonably priced aswell gives you the option to not have the OS to cut down on costs. One thing I forgot to mention is the capability to play 3D content files.*
Click to expand...
Sorry, I don't have any experience with 3D files. The chipset in the GT2 is an Nvidia ION2. Have a look on the xbmc.org forum for 3D support - I think it's quite limited for the moment.

Not sure how you connect up your TV to any surround, but make sure the hardware is capable of streaming any audio you want to play as well (I only output 2 channel LPCM so I haven't done a lot of investigation there either).

Wingsgb said:
Is it possible to use a tv like controller instead of a keyboard/mouse once setup
Click to expand...
Yes. I use a £12 USB MCE remote from ebay. I also have another similar system which uses a Gyration 2.4GHz controller. Both work well (albeit with a little fiddling under Linux). You can easily (once you know how as it's in a config file) customise xbmc to get the keys to do what you want them to do on the remote.
 
If you are prepared to wait a few months for supply issues to be resolved the Raspberry Pi can run XBMC @ 1080p and meets your other requirements (extremely cheap). I'm not sure if the audio outputs will be what you are after though.
 
Is your 3D content disc's, ISO's or SBS files?, XBMC does SBS files fine (just set your TV to side by side 3D) and looks great too
 
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