cheapest / quickest / easiest XBMC setup

Do-more

Stephen - the audio sync is a know issue on the UG802, you will have to wait and hope for a firmware update to fix it.

As for XBMC the problem is that the source code for the Rockchip is subject to non disclosure agreements and so can not be used in the open source XBMC to provide hardware acceleration for XBMC's native video player.

As you have found there are video player's available which will provide HW acc. if you Google a bit you will find that there are builds of XBMC available which have been configured to use an external video player such as MX player. It's not as nice a solution as using the native player but you may find it acceptable.

For anyone looking for a box to use for XBMC there is a crowdfunding project for a totally open Amlogic based set top box running at the moment. It's $99 + p&p but as it will be despatched from Holland all EU duties and VAT are paid. It's just a pity it's a single core rather than dual core chip on board.

From reading the various threads on the XBMC.org forum I feel it is still very early days for these cheap STBs running Android or Linux but development is progressing pretty rapidly both on the software and hardware side. Just as dual core boxes are hitting the market it seems that quad core boxes are not that far away, although if you don't want to use the box for gaming it seems that dual core or even some of the single core boxes are just fine, it's the software/firmware side of things that seems to let the side down at the moment.

I'm going to keep sitting on the fence for the moment until there is good feedback on a nice stable hardware/software combination.

stephendevlin

I think I might sell it on as I have just purchased a laptop with a faulty screen, has a blue ray etc & HDMI so might be a better low powered solution than messing with these units that dont have a decent firmware on the cards,

UG802 - works but with limitations.

Nelbert

Just to contribute (and brag slightly) I got a Zotac AD12, 60gb SSD and 4 gb of RAM for less than €340.
I know it's a bit more than some folks would pay but within 10 minutes I had OpenELEC installed and building the library from my mediaserver. Remote control on the iPad for it along with AirPlay and other features just make the whole lot awesome.

It boots to the main XBMC menu in around 10 seconds using the Wake On LAN function of the XBMC remote app on the iPad.

Would happily pay the same again for each tv I add and am currently investigating the whole shared MySQL library thingy to see if it's worth the effort. Far more fully featured and impressive with the remote app than the WDTV Live which we relegated to the bedroom.

WAF is quite high with the AirPlay and Remote App helping greatly in that regard.

RUCKING FETARD

^^^Netbook probably be better and cheaper.

stephendevlin

Nelbert wrote: »

Just to contribute (and brag slightly) I got a Zotac AD12, 60gb SSD and 4 gb of RAM for less than €340.
I know it's a bit more than some folks would pay but within 10 minutes I had OpenELEC installed and building the library from my mediaserver. Remote control on the iPad for it along with AirPlay and other features just make the whole lot awesome.

It boots to the main XBMC menu in around 10 seconds using the Wake On LAN function of the XBMC remote app on the iPad.

Would happily pay the same again for each tv I add and am currently investigating the whole shared MySQL library thingy to see if it's worth the effort. Far more fully featured and impressive with the remote app than the WDTV Live which we relegated to the bedroom.

WAF is quite high with the AirPlay and Remote App helping greatly in that regard.

I bought that laptop for a little under 70 euro ( broken ribbon on the screen) which has a blu ray player dual core processor 3gb ram, I have a 500gb HD which is fine for what I need it for. 2GB ram is more than enough for XBMC,

Its going to the attic (never to be seen) and will be fed to 2 tvs through a HDMI multi switch (bedroom & sitting room to begin with) along with my Satellite boxes, PS3 and Media/Nas. HD media in both rooms and PS3 in any room I choose.

No cables / psu's / switches / boxes in any room just a HDMI port on the wall and all media can be controlled from a normal remote through wireless IR.

The attic space is accessible from a door in one of the rooms upstairs.

I will be running a gaming PC through this system from the same place shortly and ditch the PS3. I plan to have a third HDMI wall port in the office once that is installed.

Do-more

Anyone know if the onboard graphics in this cheap DELL INSPIRON 300 ZINO are up to the task of running 1080P with a Linux XBMC?

stephendevlin

Do-more wrote: »

Anyone know if the onboard graphics in this cheap DELL INSPIRON 300 ZINO are up to the task of running 1080P with a Linux XBMC?

With no Blu-ray drive, and stuttery 1080p high-definition resolution

"from one of the reviews I have just read"

Also those Intel Atom chips AFIAK have limitations also when it comes to playing video files

Nelbert

RUCKING FETARD wrote: »

^^^Netbook probably be better and cheaper.

Wouldn't look as neat and tidy under the tv though. Certain things are worth that little bit more to ensure it gets the required approval....

Do-more

Do-more wrote: »

Anyone know if the onboard graphics in this cheap DELL INSPIRON 300 ZINO are up to the task of running 1080P with a Linux XBMC?

Nope.

For high bitrate H.264 (ie 720p and upwards) you want either good CPU power (a recent mainstream Intel dual core should be fine) or a graphics card that supports video acceleration.

Intel GPUs support video acceleration to a limited degree on Windows but in Linux you are much better off with a Nvidia or ATI solution (preferably Nvidia).

Access

stephendevlin wrote: »

I bought that laptop for a little under 70 euro ( broken ribbon on the screen) which has a blu ray player dual core processor 3gb ram, I have a 500gb HD which is fine for what I need it for. 2GB ram is more than enough for XBMC,

Its going to the attic (never to be seen) and will be fed to 2 tvs through a HDMI multi switch (bedroom & sitting room to begin with) along with my Satellite boxes, PS3 and Media/Nas. HD media in both rooms and PS3 in any room I choose.

No cables / psu's / switches / boxes in any room just a HDMI port on the wall and all media can be controlled from a normal remote through wireless IR.

The attic space is accessible from a door in one of the rooms upstairs.

I will be running a gaming PC through this system from the same place shortly and ditch the PS3. I plan to have a third HDMI wall port in the office once that is installed.

I like it - like it a lot... i would love to find a good cheap laptop in the same state (broken screen etc) for a few quid and place up in the attic. My prob would be running hdmi cables to some of the rooms... i have absolutely no way of doing this without ripping walls.

How do you "wake" the laptop stephen when you require it to run xbmc/is it always on? and i take it that the laptop is some way wall or rack mounted... you hardly have it just sitting on the attic floor? and finally ... is the laptop consuming much power wattage wise?

stephendevlin

Access wrote: »

I like it - like it a lot... i would love to find a good cheap laptop in the same state (broken screen etc) for a few quid and place up in the attic. My prob would be running hdmi cables to some of the rooms... i have absolutely no way of doing this without ripping walls.

How do you "wake" the laptop stephen when you require it to run xbmc/is it always on? and i take it that the laptop is some way wall or rack mounted... you hardly have it just sitting on the attic floor? and finally ... is the laptop consuming much power wattage wise?

The laptop is being shipped at the moment, It will only be on once needed. There is a wake on lan plugin for XBMC or I see there is also an IR built into this laptop also which may be used.

It will be on a wall mount, the laptop will run around 30w.

If your cables are inside conduit you can pull them through that, I used a HDMI / HDMI mini cable, the mini end will fit in the conduit and use an adapter to convert to full size. Worked a treat. I was going to use HDMI extenders but I had to run 2 cables so this HDMI mini was the best option for the situation. Everything is running on HDMI 1.4. Planning on a 3D TV in the future

I have it setup on my main laptop at the moment so I will just mirror that. I can also see the dreambox from within XBMC so I dont need to switch over for anything really.

subway

simplest solutuion is always the best, that laptop idea never crossed my mind.
trawling ebay now for broken laptops

stephendevlin

subway wrote: »

simplest solutuion is always the best, that laptop idea never crossed my mind.
trawling ebay now for broken laptops

I bid on one before which had nothing no screen no HDD no ram, loads of keys missing on the keyboard. No PSU, I bid £30 it went for £31. It had a dual core in it too. No CD Drive (cant remember the last time I watched a DVD)

It was basically a motherboard with a laptop case that had a HDMI port

Do-more

I just came across this build for a HTPC on the XBMC.org forum which comes to just over £100 for parts and case all from the UK.

Anyone see any flaws, other than a little fan noise?

I already have an LG HD-DVD/Bluray drive that I could stick in it.

Seems like it would be a better alternative to an Android STB for very little more expense.

Do-more

Do-more wrote: »

I just came across this build for a HTPC on the XBMC.org forum which comes to just over £100 for parts and case all from the UK.

Anyone see any flaws, other than a little fan noise?

I already have an LG HD-DVD/Bluray drive that I could stick in it.

Seems like it would be a better alternative to an Android STB for very little more expense.

If you want something to use, and something that works right now, then yes a basic HTPC is a better option and not much more expensive.

These Android sticks and other stuff like RPi, they are just toys for tinkerers. You will spend more time messing around or waiting for software updates to fix bugs and codec issues.

In use they are too slow and laggy for serious HTPC enthusiasts. I couldn't put up with a machine taking 5 seconds to go from one menu to another, not responding to commands because its 'thinking' about something or freezing because my library is too big.

Access

Stephen, i reckon it would be worth you opening a new thread on the setup you will have when done, as it would be great to see a few pics of how you mount it and set it up etc. as it is a great alternitive to spending big money on an apple tv 2 or on any android sticks as they dont seem to be fully xbmc ready yet.

Either way, keep us informed of how this goes.

M cebee

http://www.futeko.com/products/MP00041.php
are these any good?

Do-more

M cebee wrote: »

http://www.futeko.com/products/MP00041.php
are these any good?

To the best of my knowledge it's a re-badged version of the latest Pivos Xios Media Play which is just being released on the European market with the hefty price tag of €119 + p&p.

Don't take my word for it, but I think the Pivos Linux firmware will run on the MyGica and it seems to be the best solution at the moment of any of these STBs.

Do your own research first before you brick it!

Access

stephendevlin wrote: »

The laptop is being shipped at the moment, It will only be on once needed. There is a wake on lan plugin for XBMC or I see there is also an IR built into this laptop also which may be used.

It will be on a wall mount, the laptop will run around 30w.

Just a couple of quick questions if i can stephen...

Have you any link to the sort of wall mount you will be using or is it just a home made jobby?

What are you using to wake the laptop besides the xbmc WOL add on? an android/apple xbmc remote app or something?

And if people were to go this route... i take it that the best faulty laptop to source would be something dual core and have hdmi out? - am i missing any specs

Thanks for the help on this!

stephendevlin

Access wrote: »

Just a couple of quick questions if i can stephen...

Have you any link to the sort of wall mount you will be using or is it just a home made jobby?

What are you using to wake the laptop besides the xbmc WOL add on? an android/apple xbmc remote app or something?

And if people were to go this route... i take it that the best faulty laptop to source would be something dual core and have hdmi out? - am i missing any specs

Thanks for the help on this!

Home made wall mount (doesnt have to be fancy) metal preferably.

Iphone can do WOL tons of apps have the feature. And remote apps for control etc.

You need a modern dual core for HD content, HDMI output for your TV otherwise its no good (dont think you'll get a HDMI laptop without the dual core anyways), gigabit NIC if possible if your thinking on having a gigabit NAS in the future (higher transfer speeds on your internal network)

And at least 2gb RAM

silvine

I have a zotac box with a synology Nas. It works great but it wasn't cheap.

Has anyone got the PVR and Live TV function of XBMC working yet ?

stephendevlin

silvine wrote: »

I have a zotac box with a synology Nas. It works great but it wasn't cheap.

Has anyone got the PVR and Live TV function of XBMC working yet ?

Yes. its unreal. Full 7 day EPG / Picons and handles HD streams great.

Like having a new satellite box with access to all my movies and best youtube player I have come across. Better than the site

Using a DM800HD as a backend for the moment

Suppose ya want pictures lol

stephendevlin

I would stay away from Android for XBMC as its still a "work in progress" and you wont be able to get the full benefit from how good it really can be

silvine

stephendevlin wrote: »

Yes. its unreal. Full 7 day EPG / Picons and handles HD streams great.

Like having a new satellite box with access to all my movies and best youtube player I have come across. Better than the site

Using a DM800HD as a backend for the moment

Suppose ya want pictures lol

Pics would be great, I'd like to switch from UPC. Can it replace UPC as HD recorder which gets the Sat channel and the Irish channels?

stephendevlin

silvine wrote: »

Pics would be great, I'd like to switch from UPC. Can it replace UPC as HD recorder which gets the Sat channel and the Irish channels?

The DM800 can but not XBMC as it's only a front end it only displays the content unless you setup a backend on the PC / laptop you are using with a satellite or dvb-t2 tuner

stephendevlin

stephendevlin

I am using my laptop to test this so not all of the picons for the channels loaded from the source , probably as they are all over the place in different directories

silvine

Thanks for posting the pics.

I've a ZOTAC AD10. I also have a satellite on the roof. Is there a card I can buy for the Zotac which I can use to connect to my satellite?

I don't really want another backend. I already have a NAS and am tight on space.

I had a look at the dvb-t2 tuners but I don't know which one to get. Ideally, it'd access the Irish channels and the Freesat ones.

stephendevlin

silvine wrote: »

Thanks for posting the pics.

I've a ZOTAC AD10. I also have a satellite on the roof. Is there a card I can buy for the Zotac which I can use to connect to my satellite?

I don't really want another backend. I already have a NAS and am tight on space.

I had a look at the dvb-t2 tuners but I don't know which one to get. Ideally, it'd access the Irish channels and the Freesat ones.

You mean you have a satellite dish on your roof.... otherwise you have a very big house...
ZOTAC AD10 : your not going to fit a sat card in that, maybe you need to look at USB DVB-S2 and if you want to have the Irish stations any USB DVB-T2 will work last one I purchased was about €8 delivered and it works great. The satellite usb tuners are quite expensive.

silvine

Yes I meant a dish!

So it's not going to be possible to watch free satellite channels like the BBC in XBMC, unless I invest in a backend?