Advice on building an ultracheap Multimedia Streamer

rosboy

Hey guys.

I was torn between posting this here or over in the PC building & modding, but thought this would be the most appropriate.

I currently have and Xbox (old model) with XBMC running on it in my living room. I stream content to this from the PC in my bedroom. I love the way XBMC downloads all the content information for the TV shows & movies. It makes for a great multimedia experience. The only problem is the quality of the picture. I find it isn't near as sharp as if I played the same content on the same TV through my DVD player (on a USB key). I would also like to be able to play HD content (although this is not vital) and be able to surf the internet.

I'm considering building a very basic Multimedia streamer. I don't need a DVD player in it, I alrady have a decent one. I just want somethign that will connect to the internet and stream my video content. I'm thinking on installing Linux with XBMC running on it, or maybe Boxee.

I would like to make it as small as possible (mini-ITX if possible), and more importantly as cheap as possible. The cheaper the better.

I'd appreciate any help ye could give on recommending parts or good suppliers of parts.

Thanks.

rosboy

I'm thinking of maybe of using this motherboard: Intel MB Boxd945gclf/mitx 945gc Ddr667 Atom. Probably wouldn't be capable of HD, but would it be OK for SD content and light web browsing?

stephene

This NVIDIA ION mini-ITX board could be worth waiting for...

Not sure how cheap it will be though

Stephen.

rosboy

Thanks Stephene. Looks good. perhaps a little expensive for me though

There are two versions of Zotac’s Ion, the ION-ITX-A-U and the ION-ITX-B-E. The more expensive “A” model ships with a dual-core Atom 330 processor, a mini-PCIe WiFi card and an external DC power supply. The “B” model comes with a single-core Atom 230 processor, no WiFi and requires a standard power supply. They are priced at $189 and $139, respectively, from etailers. Add another $10 for retail pricing.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3562&p=2

BrookieD

try an Apple TV with XBMC installed. Very easy and cost 200 yoyos deliverd from ebay.
I got mine last week and must say streaming from my iomega media server is just the muts nuts.
only downside is trying to find the time to burn 250 odd dvds into the server.

Ron DMC

BrookieD wrote: »

try an Apple TV with XBMC installed.

I suggest you try Boxee. Even better than XBMC.