Spec Me A HTPC (i think)

[Assassin_012]

hi,

basically i want a reasonable setup (not sure if this is called an HTPC) which allows me to do basically anything from listening to music, watching movies to streaming the internet (like YouTube)

after trying out XBMC on my PC, i was stunned by how it looks. and its a must have!

ive did some research and many people said getting the Acer Revo with XBMC on windows 7 is the best choice...and will play 1080p.

well..i def want this setup to be future proof. but not sure how much it would cost overall. maybe a decently cheap setup could do?

so, the TV. i want a decent TV obviously, but there are so many makes and i dont know where to start =/

the media player, or nettop (i think) ...which is the Acer Revo. but not exactly sure on which model is the best choice. or is there better?
il be playing files like .MKV .RMVB .AVI etc. (mostly asian movies xD)


so the budget:
TV - depends really on size.
MEdia/Nettop - max around £200

just to let you know. this is the first time im ever doing this so im a bit of a noobie. not exactly sure on the prices of these products. but correctly me if i get things wrong xD.

the reason i want this is because it may be worth the point. instead of spending a small amount on a WDTV for films. whereas if i could get this, i feel its more beneficial in life and il use it more.

anyways please help out xD

feel free to mention any other hardware, as it may help =)

Thanks

 

[Assassin_012]

I have to admit I really like the simplicity of basic XBMC, but I've not yet managed to use the stock version, either Windows or Linux as my only player, as I found occasionally there are files it really just doesn't like (juddering, dropped frames or artifacts etc when other players have no issues), it seems the video decoding and output engine is one of the next points of call for a revamp due to this; I don't think the built in CPU decoding is even multi-threaded at the moment, there was a hack in an older version, but as its no longer compatible with FFMPEG, it' not in Dharma,and unfortunately being multi-platform, it's built around FFMPEG, rather than the more windows orientated (and perhaps better in some ways) FFDShow or similar.

Windows+MPC-HC /w CCCP is probably more reliable. The hardware in the ION is also quite underpowered, and it'll have no chance if the recent slow shift towards Hi10p gains momentum, so unless your budget is extreme, much as it has some very good points, I'd look elsewhere - you mention futureproofing in your OP, and the Ion isn't that, infact right now, no hardware accelleration is (as the current chips only support 8bit which is the current standard), so you need to consider the possibility of a CPU with enough oomph to do the decoding by itself.

Currently I'm using a custom HTPC, with Win7, XBMC (one of the DSPlayer builds not standard) and controlling it via my Android phone. This works reasonably well over the vast majority of files, but still isn't perfect. Luckily the dual playback engines means I can get around the largest brunt of issues

Edit:
I notice you mention around £200 on the media box. I'd consider looking down the second hand route to see if you could perhaps get a semi decent setup

so basically, this isnt really the best time to get an HTPC?
since i want it to be future proof =/
or should i just get an ATV or WDTV like others have said? until later for any release of some better media/nettop?

PS: im starting my first year at uni like in sept. im not really sure if i should be get this xD

 

[Assassin_012]

I'm looking at the AMD Fusion chipset at the moment, as it looks like a fantastic little bit of kit. Assassin, the Zotac ZBox AD03 (with bluray player) or 2 (without) looks great. AD02 is within your budget but no bluray.

well i dont need bluray...so the Zotac ZBox AD02 will do.

checked around online about it...looks pretty gd. good reviews too

but for around £180....u sure its worth the money? compared to ATV2 and WDTV 1080p?

 

[Assassin_012]

Yes, because with it being a PC you've got the ability to add extra codecs etc as they're needed. You're not stuck waiting for someone else to write/convert them.

I've just built a system using a ZOTAC Zbox AD02. (£169) I stuck an OCZ Vertex SSD (£60) in there and 8gb DDR3 (£42).

It's mounted on the VESA mount holes on the back of TV, runs Win7 x64 with XBMC on top.It outclasses the Revo 3x00 series.

It has so far handled everything I've thrown at it.

I don't shut it down, I just suspend it to S3 sleep. It is then woken using an MCE remote (£15);

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4guTQEpqylA

I considered a boxee box, but wanted something can browse the web / play flash movies on other streaming sites.

thanks for the info.

but can this connect to my CRT TV? if so how? (just wanna see if i can save the money from buying the new TV)

but if not, then this will be my setup:
-zbox with windows 7 and XBMC
-TV (not decided yet) xD
-MCE Remote (and keyboard? for youtube streaming?)

problem is. how would i be able to connect to the internet? wirelessly?
because my router is downstairs, and therefore i dont have an ethernet cable long enough to connect it via ethernet port

also, since im not gonna upgrade it or anything yet, would it cause any slowdowns (laggy when using XBMC)? can it handle windows 7?

now that others have mentioned the boxee box, im not sure what to get now. boxee is £179.99

what should i do!! =S

BTW, also realised we've almost completely missed your request on TVs, all I'll say here is the current Panny range are rated well across the board, both LCD and Plasma.

do u mean the panasonic TVs? right? ..never used these terms before xD
but i heard samsung TVs are quite good too
any ideas on both comparisons?

 

[Assassin_012]

I've no idea what TV you have, and so no idea how to connect it to it. I binned my 36" CRT shortly before buying my new TV and the zbox. I didn't want the hassle of trying converters, wasting money etc when I could get a decent 40" Samsung panel for £350.

XBMC has a youtube plugin, so you can browse via that. You can get away with just using the remote if you want. But I do like having an RF Keyboard/Trackpad as well.

What do you mean by 'not upgrade it'? You can't really upgrade it, it comes barebones - so you need to buy some RAM and an HDD anyway.

Laggy? Not really too sure what you mean there, but no - it doesn't 'lag'. Handles Win7 fine, why wouldn't it?

It has WiFi built in.

i c...so il def need a TV then =) saves the hassle..

what? 0.0? Zbox 2 comes barebones? so then if i were to get the same ram and HDD, it will cost overall around £270???? for the box?
no way....thats gone way over my budget...

what about the boxee? is that the same too? do i need to also get a internal HDD? with RAM?
also, is the boxee customizable? like XBMC?

Yep sorry, I meant Panasonic. They tend to get referred to as Panny a bit by other owners as it's shorter.

Samsung TVs tend to look nicer, but Panasonic tends to make the better TV imo, from my experience they also tend to last longer.
Panasonic tend to make the best consumer range Plasma's on the market right now, better than both LG and Samsung, it's a closer thing with LCD, plus there's more competition in the LCD market

lol..your right, did a search on panny TVs..they do look crap xD
also, how comes they all look the same?

il prob go for an LCD or LED TV =/
any chance of helping me find one? from my search results all pannys look the bloody same =/
maybe i suck at searching xD
just want some nice looking glossy type =)

also. would u consider me getting a monitor? with freeview built in? (obviously around 32-40" or somthing if there is 1 like that xD)
i heard its better and cheaper too
any ideas?