My new media player just arrived

EvilFranky said:
I'm liking the look of this unit.

What's the power usage like? I looked on their site but couldn't see anything??

It's not 'cheap' so to speak and would appear that you need to buy the controller separately?
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Not to sure to be honest mate. It uses a tiny external power brick, so I cant see it being that much.

And yes you will need a way to control it. You could just a standard usb keyboard to get everything running then use the phone app to control it. There is ios and Android and it works a treat. Or buy yourself the motoroll, Rii keyboard or that HDMI-CEC adapter thing. Ive just ordered one.
 
Well my HDMI-CEC adaptor just arrived. Plugged it in and gave it a whirl. It picked it up straight away. Works with the Panasonic TV remote just fine, the only button I cant seem to find is the 'i' on the keyboard, which when viewing movie art brings up the info on the film, play trailer etc. Shame as thats quite a useful function.

It doesnt work when I use the SKY remote in TV mode at all, which is how I control my TV 99.9% of the time. Going to email support and see if they can advise on the info button, If not I will prob return it as I have a rii mini keyboard that does everything
 
Ringiho said:
I am seriously tempted by one of these after a partially failed project with a RPi.

Have you had any issues with it? Show stoppers mainly :)
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Been using quite a bit and so far im really liking it. The only issues I have with it are;

1: I have the unit in a hi-fi cabinet, with a glass door. The case is solid aluminum and is deigned to act as a heatsink but with the door closed it does get warm to the touch. I was worried about the temps as XBMC was reporting around 80deg. I emailed Pulse Eight this is there response

While users do tend to state that they are concerned by the CPU temperatures, we do not, the CPU has a peak operating temperature of 110degrees, and the case is used as an additional heat sink.​

Not sure on what there saying, I would never let a CPU of mine run that hot. Its defo a case issue as when I remove the lid of the case the thing will sit at 60deg all day long. Im looking at adding a slightly larger silent fan just to put my mind at ease.

2: When some movies start playing I get a click of static through the speakers. Im sure it wont damage the speakers but I turn it down for a second anyway. The next version of XBMC has a totally rebuilt audio engine so hoping that this will go with the next update.


Other then those 2 little issues I dont have anything other then praise for it. For the cash it really is a steal.
 
Thanks for the reply, much appreciated.

At first I was wary of XBMC as I had got used to encouraging Media Centre to play all of my movies but since swapping to it on my RPi and Media Centre machine I've come to quite like it.

I am certainly tempted to replace my RPi in the bedroom with one of these. It looks like a pretty good unit and with my better knowledge of XBMC it is certainly a welcome addition to my home network!
 
Just put Openelec 3.0 beta 5 on it, which is xbmc 12 (frodo) rc1. Installed without a hitch and everything works a treat. No more sound spike when I start a film either.
 
So just to sum up, am I right in thinking:
You can install any OS on this like any normal pc? (Ie Win 7)
It streams or locally plays full 1080p HD without issue?
It comes with the psu?
All I need to provide is ram and a hd?
If you lick it, it tastes of strawberries?


The main reason I ask about Win7 is my current bulky htpc I'm used to using media browser with a remote control phone app...
 
oxygene said:
So just to sum up, am I right in thinking:
You can install any OS on this like any normal pc? (Ie Win 7)
It streams or locally plays full 1080p HD without issue?
It comes with the psu?
All I need to provide is ram and a hd?
If you lick it, it tastes of strawberries?


The main reason I ask about Win7 is my current bulky htpc I'm used to using media browser with a remote control phone app...
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You can install any OS on this like any normal pc? (Ie Win 7)
Correct, cant vouch for how great it is running win7, I use Openelec and it boots in 10 secs off a USB thumb drive.

It streams or locally plays full 1080p HD without issue?
Yes, I have all my films stored on a 4x2tb external drive caddy, connected by USB. I have tested plugging it in to my router and streaming the same content and it worked great like that also. Some of my files are 40gb+ blu ray ISOs as well as the standard 1080p 8gb mkv rips

It comes with the psu?
Yes

All I need to provide is ram and a hd?
Yes, I just stuck a single stick of 4gb in mine, and im using a 32gb Sandisk cruz usb stick for the hard drive.

If you lick it, it tastes of strawberries?
Havent tried so cant comment on this one :p
 
what kind of ram does this take? I notice that the barebones one is back on sale, so i'm thinking getting this plus a stick of 4 gig, a 32gig usb stick and downloading openelec = good to go!

also, which exact version of openelec did you download (there's loads on the site) and am i right in thinking openelec includes xbmc?

thanks
 
snow patrol said:
what kind of ram does this take? I notice that the barebones one is back on sale, so i'm thinking getting this plus a stick of 4 gig, a 32gig usb stick and downloading openelec = good to go!

also, which exact version of openelec did you download (there's loads on the site) and am i right in thinking openelec includes xbmc?

thanks
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On sale again? Where!?
I got paid today and was thining of treating myself :p

*Edit
I've checked their own site, and rainforest. Not sure where you chaps are looking but would love to find out :p
 
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I'm stuck between the Pulse-Eight, the new Popcorn Hour and the Mede8ater boxes at the moment. All i really want it a box to stream from my NAS and that can passthrough DTS-HD. They are all approx the same price once you factor in remotes etc and also important is to look good on the shelf or the wife will moan!
 
People are far from happy with the new popcorn hour a400. Check out the thread on avforums. I nearly bought one, glad I didn't.

Mede8tor 600 is getting rave reviews. Plays anything, the UI is ok but still not as nice as xbmc. If I were you I would get this as the pulse box doesn't pass through dts-hd. Not a problem for me as my amp doesn't.
 
also, is a usb stick fast enough as a os drive for xbmc? i really want nice smooth scrolling through films etc without slowdowns or jerkiness...is a usb stick ok or should i bite the bullet and get a hard drive?
 
Inspired by Kidloco's original post I bought a barebones PulseBox, stuck in 2 gigs of RAM and installed Openelec on a Class 10 SDHC (which I think is slower than a USB 2.0 stick), it's plenty fast enough for me.... :D
 
kidloco said:
Mede8tor 600 is getting rave reviews. Plays anything, the UI is ok but still not as nice as xbmc. If I were you I would get this as the pulse box doesn't pass through dts-hd. Not a problem for me as my amp doesn't.
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Thanks for the advice, looking to get this is think. I really don't like the look of the 1000 model and I'm primarily going to be streaming so the 600 looks perfect.
 
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