The HTPC Thread - Dont buy an HTPC - The Something Awful Forums

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > The HTPC Thread - Dont buy an HTPC

Cascadia Pirate: Jan 18, 2011

I got my NUC up and running today, just wanted to thank everyone for their advice.
Public service announcement though: mine wouldn't display on either of my TVs because they do not support the low resolution the computer used out of the box. If you are building one make sure you have a monitor you can connect through hdmi to get things set up.

Luckily I had an old monitor and a hdmi to monitor cord that I accidentally ordered years ago from monoprice. And that is why I never throw anything away.

# ? Feb 21, 2014 17:23

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Jun 12, 2024 09:32

Glass of Milk: Dec 22, 2004; to forgive is divine

some texas redneck posted:

Those of you with TV tuners and Windows Media Center - does this ever happen?

When it happens to me, it drops whatever I'm watching (even if I had, say, paused for 10 minutes while grabbing food, so therefore my actual tv viewing is 10 minutes off - it drops the 10 minutes entirely). I have to restart WMC when this happens. And the test usually comes through at least 1-2 more times after restarting WMC, if I try to restart it within a few minutes. It also seems to stop any recording that was going on at the time, despite being a multi-tuner device (HDHomeRun Prime).

The most part is there's no EAS tones.

My dual Hauppauge tuner works great unless I put the system to sleep. When it comes back it may have any amount of tuners from 0-2, and it sometimes loses some channels it can tune. Only a system restart helps at that point.

I messed around with sleep settings for a while and then just gave up and leave the system on all the time now.

# ? Feb 21, 2014 22:22

randomidiot: May 12, 2006; by Fluffdaddy
(and can't post for 11 years!)

It's only the EAS broadcasts that gently caress things up for me - otherwise everything is just fine.

Since my tuner is external (and ethernet based instead of USB), it recovers easily from a PC shutting down or going to sleep unexpectedly (the tuner in use just seems to time out and shut off after about 15 seconds). Though going by the LEDs on the tuner, my PC winds up relying on tuner #3 for a bit after waking up. :iiam:

# ? Feb 22, 2014 10:49

Uthor: Jul 9, 2006; Gummy Bear Heaven ... It's where I go when the world is too mean.

Can I ask a software question here? I'm looking for good DVD ripping software. I'm using Lifehacker favorite Handbrake, but the resulting file is crap (really bad artifacts in the video, jittery sound). I specifically want something that will encode multiple audio tracks and subtitles (foreign films, director's commentary, etc).

I'm also looking for a way to use my Harmony remote with an HTPC. What is the quality RF receiver out there? I was going to get this remote and just use the Harmony with it instead because it's cheap and seems to have good reviews and there's some info on getting a Harmony to work pretty simply.

# ? Feb 23, 2014 18:22

kri kri: Jul 18, 2007

Uthor posted:

Can I ask a software question here? I'm looking for good DVD ripping software. I'm using Lifehacker favorite Handbrake, but the resulting file is crap (really bad artifacts in the video, jittery sound). I specifically want something that will encode multiple audio tracks and subtitles (foreign films, director's commentary, etc).

I'm also looking for a way to use my Harmony remote with an HTPC. What is the quality RF receiver out there? I was going to get this remote and just use the Harmony with it instead because it's cheap and seems to have good reviews and there's some info on getting a Harmony to work pretty simply.

Something is wrong with your handbrake, because for me it works really well. Might be worth trying Makemkv?

I am pretty confused about your remote question, a harmony will work well with just about any IR receiver I would imagine. I use a harmony smart control which uses IR, RF and bluetooth. Its the best remote I have owned, and well worth the relative premium.

# ? Feb 23, 2014 19:58

Uthor: Jul 9, 2006; Gummy Bear Heaven ... It's where I go when the world is too mean.

Sorry. I have a Harmony remote and want a good IR receiver to use with it and the computer. I was just going to get the remote/receiver combo because of the good reviews, but if there is a plain receiver that I can buy for less, I'd go with that.

kri kri posted:

Something is wrong with your handbrake, because for me it works really well. Might be worth trying Makemkv?

I've tried a few different settings and nothing comes out decent. Was going to try MakeMKV next. Could it be the DVD that I'm trying to rip causing problems? (FLCL put out by Funimation; ripping an anime TV show seemed like a good test case.)

Uthor fucked around with this message at 20:12 on Feb 23, 2014

# ? Feb 23, 2014 20:09

redhalo: May 19, 2009

Uthor posted:

Sorry. I have a Harmony remote and want a good IR receiver to use with it and the computer. I was just going to get the remote/receiver combo because of the good reviews, but if there is a plain receiver that I can buy for less, I'd go with that.

I've tried a few different settings and nothing comes out decent. Was going to try MakeMKV next. Could it be the DVD that I'm trying to rip causing problems? (FLCL put out by Funimation; ripping an anime TV show seemed like a good test case.)

I've had amazing success with this guide, this is for DVD, let me know if you need Bluray settings as well.

quote:

2.2.1. Picture

This is the first tab selected when you open Handbrake. This allows you to change cropping and the size. The standard for a HANDJOB requires that all x264 encodes from SD sources (i.e.: DVDs) are not to be resized. To meet these standards, your settings should look like this.

-Anamorphic: Strict
-Keep Aspect Ratio: Checked
-Cropping: Automatic (We may have to change this later after test encodes)

2.2.2. Video Filters

Generally you want to have Deinterlace set to off, Detelecine set to default, Decomb set to default to let Handbrake determine what to do to the video. These filters (or lack thereof) are often the culprits of dropped frames (sometimes leading to stuttered playback), or poor picture quality if improperly used. They usually do the right thing.

2.2.3. Video

Video Codec: should be set to H.264 (x264)

Framerate: The proper frame rate for your encode depends on the source. 23.976 is used for most NTSC movies and 29.970 is often used for NTSC documentaries and other TV-based media. PAL media is always at 25 fps. See NTSC vs. PAL on Wikipedia. After you perform and watch a test encode, we can determine if the proper frame rate was selected.

Go through the preview frame by frame ( arrowkey in MPC ). If in every 5 frames there is a double frame, change the framerate manually to 23.976 and use constant framerate. If there�s no double frames, leave it at 29.970 fps.

Constant Quality: Should be selected. 19 is a good value to start out with here. This is something you�ll need to adjust for each specific source. A higher CQ/CRF number effectively means lower quality. A lower CRF number means higher quality and a higher bit rate. Increase your CRF value if your encode's bit rate exceeds 3000 Kbps.

Make sure you check the �Use Advanced Tab instead� checkbox if you see one.

2.2.4. Primary Audio

Windows (and Linux?)
An audio track may already be listed in the tracklist. Select it and click the red x. Hit Add Track and then, in the Source dropdown box, select the best audio track (e.g. the 5-channel track), which will usually be the first one. In the Audio Codec dropdown box, select AC3 Passthru. This makes Handbrake include the original audio track from the DVD in the final output file (the mux).

Mac
1. An audio track may already be listed in the tracklist. Click on the listing and select �None�.
2. Click on the �None� track dropdown. The primary audio track is usually the first (it starts at 0). Often it�ll be a 5.1 channel AC3 track. It could also be a DTS track.
3. Now we have our primary track selected and included in our encode. Select the Codec drop down for this track. Select �Auto Passthru�.
4. Make sure that at least AC3, DTS, and DTS-HD are checked in the Auto Passthru.

2.2.5. Commentary Audio

Your source may include commentary audio. These are often 2 channel AC3 tracks. For DVDs the easiest way to find out is to use VLC (or a similar program) to navigate to the setup menu and check for a commentary track. Sometimes the 2 channel AC3 tracks are just foreign audio dubs (like Fran�ais, Espa�ol, etc.) of the primary audio. If a commentary track is available it tends to be the last English AC3 track listed. If there are multiple commentary tracks, these will probably be grouped together (like tracks 5, 6, 7).

You�ll want to setup your commentary tracks to use AAC at 80 kbps. You can go a bit higher, but please, no more than 128 kbps. 80 may seem a bit low, but remember that this is a standard definition encode and �size does matter�. Use CoreAudio if you�re on Mac, on Windows or Linux you�ll need to use the �AAC (FDK)� option. You can also select HE-AAC. High Efficiency AAC is a variation of AAC that�s optimized for low bit rate situations such as these. You can use HE-AAC if you so choose, but be warned that HE-AAC support is not yet widespread.

Example commentary track listing. Note that they're consecutive and all 2 channel AC3 tracks.

2.2.6. Subtitles

As mentioned above, passing through the original bitmap subtitles is what we�ll be doing for now. To do this simply click �Add� and select the �VobSub� tracks. Do this for each track in the list excluding �Foreign Audio Scan.�

2.2.7. Chapters

Handbrake cannot determine the names of chapters included on the DVD, only the numbers. You do not have to title the chapters but it�s highly recommended if they are available. Open the VIDEO_TS folder with a media application such as VLC. Navigate to the scene or chapter selection menu. If each scene has a name instead of a number, you can fill in the titles for each in Handbrake. Just double click on a chapter (like �Chapter 1�) and replace it with the title you see on the DVD.

2.2.8. Advanced

The these settings are based on the ones found in COJ�s guide with corrections (mostly to meet PTP�s minimum settings). These are to be placed in the �x264 Encoder Options� box at the bottom of the window.
ref=9:mixed-refs=1:b-adapt=2:bframes=6:weightb=1:direct=auto:me=umh:subq=9:analyse=all:8x8dct=1:trellis=2:no-fast-pskip=1:psy-rd=1,0:merange=24:deblock=-3,-3:rc-lookahead=60:aq-strength=1.0:b-pyramid=2

Here are some faster settings that will meet the bare minimum settings required. This is only recommended if higher quality settings are too slow for your computer. You can adjust these to be even faster and still meet the minimum requirements, but this would make too many sacrifices to quality and compression.
ref=9:mixed-refs=1:b-adapt=2:bframes=5:weightb=1:direct=auto:me=umh:subq=7:analyse=all:8x8dct=1:trellis=2:no-fast-pskip=1:psy-rd=1,0:merange=24:deblock=-3,-3:rc-lookahead=30

Aside: These settings will be the basic parameters you will start out with. You'll want to buff these up. They�ll get you through your first few encodes. Every source is different and you may (you probably will) need to adjust these settings if you wish to achieve the highest quality encode possible. There are very few one-size-fits-all settings.

Once you have configured these base settings, hit Add to save it as a preset so you don�t have to go through them all again. Make sure save filter settings is checked to ensure that all the settings are saved.

# ? Feb 23, 2014 20:42

IUG: Jul 14, 2007

So I know a lot of people here have an AD-10. I've had one and I want to switch to it as my main HTPC is too loud. However, it seems to have a problem always detecting the SSHD that I have in there. Anyone else have this problem? I can't seem to find a good search string to find anything relevant in Google.

# ? Feb 23, 2014 20:47

Uthor: Jul 9, 2006; Gummy Bear Heaven ... It's where I go when the world is too mean.

redhalo posted:

I've had amazing success with this guide, this is for DVD, let me know if you need Bluray settings as well.

Cool, I'll give it a shot. Don't have a BluRay drive. Or any BluRays. Just DVD is fine, thanks.

# ? Feb 23, 2014 20:49

The Gunslinger: Jul 24, 2004; Do not forget the face of your father.; Fun Shoe

So after a few days with the Intel NUC DN2820FYK I am very happy with it. It powers up and down with my Harmony perfectly, has played everything I've thrown at it and does emulation pretty nicely too. It is even quieter than my AD10 and runs cooler. Getting OpenElec on it was a bit of an adventure because the Intel branch hasn't been updated due to the freeze until Gotham releases. I was able to get a nightly Gotham version on it (I used the generic x86/64) without issue though and it is very stable. I will upgrade back to the official branch when its released after Gotham is. I used the MCE Extender profile map for my harmony smart control, bound subtitles to the record button and everything else worked out of the box.

The only issue I ran into was that the default bios is 0015 and uses some weird 1024 resolution that my plasma TV didn't support. Make sure you have some sort of backup that you can hook it up to like a monitor with an HDMI in or an HDMI/DVI converter. For anyone else who runs into this, don't bother resetting the CMOS or trying a recovery flash. Just hold down the power button for 3 seconds and release, its a failsafe into the Visual BIOS. What I ended up doing was just hooking it up to a monitor, setting up OpenElec then swapping it over to the TV. The only downside is that until Intel fixes this problem you get no POST or setup menu. I already have my BIOS settings done so I don't care, it just goes straight into OpenElec anyway but I figured I should mention it.

Also this thing is very picky on RAM, it will not take 1.5v at all. You have to use a 1.35v stick. Anyways for $160 I am very happy with it, I thought my AD10 did pretty well with skins but this thing just flies and theres no lag during library updates and etc.

# ? Feb 23, 2014 22:11

TraderStav: May 19, 2006; It feels like I was standing my entire life and I just sat down

To those of you who use plex with iOS: when I am chromecasting and the phone goes to sleep or otherwise leaves the main play screen I can never get back to the play controls for what is currently playing. Is there something that I am completely missing? I needed to take a restroom break and ended up having to start a new viewing of that file and find my place again. Any guidance would be appreciated, seems like a huge oversight so I'm sure it's me... Have not tried it on my ipad or android phone. Thanks!

# ? Feb 24, 2014 04:23

suddenlyissoon: Feb 17, 2002; Don't be sad that I am gone.

I finally broke down and ordered all the parts for my new HTPC to replace my aging r3610. I ordered a blu-ray drive so I could eliminate the player from my cabinet but I didn't realize how crazy hard it was to get blu-ray playback in windows 7/8. Does anyone have a reliable idea outside of just buying powerdvd? I'm trying to avoid it because I don't want to support any company that bows down to cinavia detection.

# ? Feb 24, 2014 16:22

Don Lapre: Mar 28, 2001; If you're having problems you're either holding the phone wrong or you have tiny girl hands.

suddenlyissoon posted:

I finally broke down and ordered all the parts for my new HTPC to replace my aging r3610. I ordered a blu-ray drive so I could eliminate the player from my cabinet but I didn't realize how crazy hard it was to get blu-ray playback in windows 7/8. Does anyone have a reliable idea outside of just buying powerdvd? I'm trying to avoid it because I don't want to support any company that bows down to cinavia detection.

Just rip all your blurays to a hard drive?

# ? Feb 24, 2014 16:37

clockworx: Oct 15, 2005; The Internet Whore made me buy this account

Has anyone here used MCEBuddy and have any comparison to DVRMSToolbox? I know they do different things, but I currently use DVRMSToolbox with comskip to skip commercials in MCE, and was thinking of using MCEBuddy to begin the process of both cutting commercials (which DVRMSToolbox can also do) and compressing wtv files from MPEG2 to H264 while still retaining them in "Recorded TV".

# ? Feb 24, 2014 16:39

suddenlyissoon: Feb 17, 2002; Don't be sad that I am gone.

Don Lapre posted:

Just rip all your blurays to a hard drive?

I have 8tb of space in my synology and another 10tb in external drives...

there is not enough space.

# ? Feb 24, 2014 17:06

Don Lapre: Mar 28, 2001; If you're having problems you're either holding the phone wrong or you have tiny girl hands.

suddenlyissoon posted:

I have 8tb of space in my synology and another 10tb in external drives...

there is not enough space.

Then id just leave my cheap bluray player hooked up.

# ? Feb 24, 2014 17:09

TraderStav: May 19, 2006; It feels like I was standing my entire life and I just sat down

TraderStav posted:

To those of you who use plex with iOS: when I am chromecasting and the phone goes to sleep or otherwise leaves the main play screen I can never get back to the play controls for what is currently playing. Is there something that I am completely missing? I needed to take a restroom break and ended up having to start a new viewing of that file and find my place again. Any guidance would be appreciated, seems like a huge oversight so I'm sure it's me... Have not tried it on my ipad or android phone. Thanks!

This problem went and resolved itself while it as at work as now a beautiful and perfectly usable menu is showing up on both my iPhone and ipad. This solution (Chromecast with Plex) has completely replaced my AD12 with an SSD and the NUC I recently picked up. Expect to see those on SA Mart shortly.

# ? Feb 25, 2014 01:55

BeastOfExmoor: Aug 19, 2003; I will be gone, but not forever.

I've had a media center PC running on an old Athlon X2 7750 w/ onboard Geforce 8300 graphics. It's no speed demon, probably due in large part to having only 2GB of RAM, but it more or less accomplishes what I need. I noticed this videocard on sale for $10 after rebate and thought it might give me some performance boost, if only by freeing up the RAM currently being used by the video card. I'm not sure how much, if any, video decoding is being offloaded to my onboard video at the moment, but theoretically this would improve that.

Does streaming video in a web browser get decoded by the video card? I occasionally use Plex to stream video from my media center. Can Plex use the video card at all in transcoding?

# ? Feb 28, 2014 22:45

necrobobsledder: Mar 21, 2005; Lay down your soul to the gods rock 'n roll; Nap Ghost

Plex clients can use video decoding on basically every platform they have a supported release for. If you watch Plex content in a web browser (oh dear god, WHY?) it'll be accelerated by your Flash plugin.

The actual playback on Plex clients is pretty cut and dry no matter what you run now, and the responsiveness you're probably looking for would be in things like the UI, and that's something that's not accelerated at present anywhere and requires some extra muscle to make smooth. Plex has a primary advantage over XBMC in this respect where the different native clients are all optimized for native UI components so it should be always as fast as or faster than an XBMC skinned UI.

Legitimate reasons to upgrade GPUs for a standard HTPC (not for games that is) would be for higher-end features like TrueHD or whatever new audio standard support in the card as well as nitpicky features like pulldown ratio fixes, multichannel audio output bugs, and other things to do with hardware accel by the card that most people running cheaper setups likely don't care about.

If you're already running that HTPC and have a Plex server going, why not run Plex Home Theater?

Edit: incidentally, I'm selling my HD5450 card and it's got passive cooling like it. Might even be the same. Want it for $8-ish shipped (not sure what it'll cost to ship it, but should be <$6 hopefully)

necrobobsledder fucked around with this message at 00:13 on Mar 1, 2014

# ? Feb 28, 2014 23:57

zzyzx: Mar 2, 2004

The Gunslinger posted:

So after a few days with the Intel NUC DN2820FYK I am very happy with it.

Can you use the same box for Netflix / web streaming, or is it still generally the case that you need separate machines for that and local media?

# ? Mar 1, 2014 15:27

Uthor: Jul 9, 2006; Gummy Bear Heaven ... It's where I go when the world is too mean.

zzyzx posted:

Can you use the same box for Netflix / web streaming, or is it still generally the case that you need separate machines for that and local media?

Don't see why you would. It's just a PC; it should do whatever you tell it to.

# ? Mar 1, 2014 16:54

TraderStav: May 19, 2006; It feels like I was standing my entire life and I just sat down

zzyzx posted:

Can you use the same box for Netflix / web streaming, or is it still generally the case that you need separate machines for that and local media?

Sure, the challenge is elegantly and simply controlling them though. Streaming media doesn't generally integrate well with XBMC and other platforms don't play local media well. If there's a good all-in-one solution I haven't found it and have only experienced aggravation controlling Windows with a remote and no keyboard/mouse.

# ? Mar 1, 2014 16:56

Burden: Jul 25, 2006

zzyzx posted:

Can you use the same box for Netflix / web streaming, or is it still generally the case that you need separate machines for that and local media?

If you really want a box that does web streaming and your local media the box that I found that is the closest to doing that is the Roku. If you turn a computer into a Plex Media Server with all your local edit and set up the Plex channel on the Roku you can stream all your local media to the Roku over your network and get most your streaming services.

# ? Mar 1, 2014 17:29

The Gunslinger: Jul 24, 2004; Do not forget the face of your father.; Fun Shoe

zzyzx posted:

Can you use the same box for Netflix / web streaming, or is it still generally the case that you need separate machines for that and local media?

I use a Roku for Netflix and the NUC for local stuff. Getting Netflix working in XBMC isn't worth the effort, it's usually Chrome kiosk mode stuff. I have been tempted to just use Plex with the Roku and not bother with traditional XBMC but I prefer some of the XBMC skins over the Plex interface.

There is no great all in one solution right now. XBMC is best suited for local media player and you can pick your poison for Netflix interfaces, I think the PS3/PS4 and Roku have the best ones.

# ? Mar 1, 2014 17:32

kri kri: Jul 18, 2007

Burden posted:

If you really want a box that does web streaming and your local media the box that I found that is the closest to doing that is the Roku. If you turn a computer into a Plex Media Server with all your local edit and set up the Plex channel on the Roku you can stream all your local media to the Roku over your network and get most your streaming services.

If you don't care about amazon video you can do the same for 1/3 the price with a chromecast.

# ? Mar 1, 2014 17:33

The Gunslinger: Jul 24, 2004; Do not forget the face of your father.; Fun Shoe

kri kri posted:

If you don't care about amazon video you can do the same for 1/3 the price with a chromecast.

Weren't you using Plex for awhile? Or do you just do that with the Chromecast now?

# ? Mar 1, 2014 18:57

kri kri: Jul 18, 2007

The Gunslinger posted:

Weren't you using Plex for awhile? Or do you just do that with the Chromecast now?

Yeah I am using plex now with 2 chromecasts. Works great.

# ? Mar 1, 2014 20:14

clockworx: Oct 15, 2005; The Internet Whore made me buy this account

The current WD Live fulfills all of these requirements as well, without having to run Plex server either. No knock on the roku, just throwing out another option.

# ? Mar 1, 2014 21:43

The Gunslinger: Jul 24, 2004; Do not forget the face of your father.; Fun Shoe

kri kri posted:

Yeah I am using plex now with 2 chromecasts. Works great.

What is your setup like? A central NAS running Plex Media Server I assume? Can you use a remote with everything or are you using a tablet to cast things from Plex to the TVs? I'm just trying to wrap my head around Chromecast, I have no experience with it.

# ? Mar 1, 2014 21:53

kri kri: Jul 18, 2007

The Gunslinger posted:

What is your setup like? A central NAS running Plex Media Server I assume? Can you use a remote with everything or are you using a tablet to cast things from Plex to the TVs? I'm just trying to wrap my head around Chromecast, I have no experience with it.

For now I am running my usual HP n40L NAS. Plex server runs on my desktop since my NAS is not powerful enough to transcode. I will be getting rid of the NAS and re purposing my desktop into the server when I get around to building a new desktop.

The Chromecast has no ability for IR / bluetooth remote control. Everything you do is controlled by your handheld device or laptop. I use my harmony to set the proper input and control my volume on my receiver. This isn't a huge issue for me since I always either have my phone or tablet near me when watching media. It's so easy even my other family members who have plex can use it.

Pros:
- Ease of use
- There is no client to gently caress around with
- Price of CC

Cons:
- Lack of traditional Remote control
- No 24p playback
- Plex is flaky, sometimes. Casting has gotten much better.
- Plexpass required (for now)
- Plex subtitle support very lacking

Found some videos that helps to show how it works

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz_FD8ViT2o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yXTQN-IXxQ

kri kri fucked around with this message at 00:41 on Mar 2, 2014

# ? Mar 2, 2014 00:36

The Gunslinger: Jul 24, 2004; Do not forget the face of your father.; Fun Shoe

quote:

- Plex subtitle support very lacking

Thanks for the write up, appreciate it. Is this a Plex thing in general or just with Chromecast? I watch a ton of foreign stuff.

# ? Mar 2, 2014 01:13

kri kri: Jul 18, 2007

The Gunslinger posted:

Thanks for the write up, appreciate it. Is this a Plex thing in general or just with Chromecast? I watch a ton of foreign stuff.

Plex thing. I just think its lacking because the xbmc addon for subtitles is so nice, I have been spoiled. Plex has an opensubtitle agent (plugin) but I haven't had great luck with it. You can manually download things and then refresh the movie or show.

Plex server is free you could always download it and gently caress around.

# ? Mar 2, 2014 01:24

The Gunslinger: Jul 24, 2004; Do not forget the face of your father.; Fun Shoe

kri kri posted:

Plex thing. I just think its lacking because the xbmc addon for subtitles is so nice, I have been spoiled. Plex has an opensubtitle agent (plugin) but I haven't had great luck with it. You can manually download things and then refresh the movie or show.

Plex server is free you could always download it and gently caress around.

Yeah I'm messing around with it right now. My Roku 3 is unplugged since I'm out of ports on my receiver, is there any quality loss with transcoding? I can only test the web client right now. I have a respectable Pentium G840 in my fileserver that should do 1080p without issues (CPU usage stays below 10% throughout) but I'm seeing some weird framerate hitching and stuff in the web client which I assume is due to Flash being loving garbage.

# ? Mar 2, 2014 06:04

cr0y: Mar 24, 2005

What Zotac ZBOX is my best bet if I want something that is going to handle sabnzbd unpacking/par-repairing in the background of XBMC?

Or to be more specific - What I am gaining across the different models of the zbox? I frankly can't keep all the versions straight and I am trying to get it narrowed down to a single model

cr0y fucked around with this message at 15:37 on Mar 5, 2014

# ? Mar 4, 2014 12:02

Spermanent Record: Mar 28, 2007; I interviewed a NK escapee who came to my school and made a thread. Then life got in the way and the translation had to be postponed. I did finish it in the end, but nobody is going to pay 10 bux to update my.avatar

I actually swapped out my old htpc for a WDTV live. I was having terrible hdmi handshake problems with Windows/OpenElec, where every time I turned off the TV, I'd lose sound till the pc was restarted.

That coupled with a power button obsessed one year old rendered that set up useless.

The WDTV Live is slow to navigate but it runs everything perfectly, has Tunein/Netflix/Shoutcast etc.

You can control your entire living room from a universal remote or IR Smartphone app like Smart Remote. It's really very convenient.

The only real problem is that YouTube Slingback has a serious memory leak that slows the WDTV to a halt once you close the app. You need to restart it once you've finished using that app.

If you just want to steam movies, listen to music etc. with no setup hassle then it's perfect for 60 odd dollars.

# ? Mar 6, 2014 12:01

Under My Voodoo: Feb 17, 2004

Just acquired a free Dell Optiplex 745 from a friend.

Here are the current specs:
Intel Dual Core 3.2ghz
3GB of RAM
80GB HDD.

My original goal for this computer was to be my first NAS. However, after doing some research it seems that this machine would be perfectly capable of being an HTPC as well. I plan on throwing in a cheap 1GB video card with HDMI out, a couple of cheap 2-3 TB Drives and 8gb of RAM. Would throwing in an SSD be worth it?

I also have a Jailbroken Apple TV 2 and a Raspberry Pi. Would I be better off just letting those handle my XBMC needs and turning this strictly into a NAS device? Thanks

# ? Mar 13, 2014 21:56

aerique: Jul 16, 2008

Under My Voodoo posted:

I also have a Jailbroken Apple TV 2 and a Raspberry Pi. Would I be better off just letting those handle my XBMC needs and turning this strictly into a NAS device?

I can only tell you about the RPi. I've got a model B and tried to use it for XBMC for a while but it was too sluggy for my liking.

# ? Mar 14, 2014 09:44

Hob_Gadling: Jul 6, 2007; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS; Grimey Drawer

Under My Voodoo posted:

Would throwing in an SSD be worth it?

HTPC and SSD are a lovely combination. I can't imagine going back once I tried it out. Doesn't need to be a big one, either.

# ? Mar 14, 2014 09:54

Fillerbunny: Jul 25, 2002; so confused.

Under My Voodoo posted:

Just acquired a free Dell Optiplex 745 from a friend.

These models can get pretty noisy. When the fan kicks in you may find yourself cranking the volume to hear dialog.

# ? Mar 14, 2014 12:16

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Jun 12, 2024 09:32

wolfbiker: Nov 6, 2009

aerique posted:

I can only tell you about the RPi. I've got a model B and tried to use it for XBMC for a while but it was too sluggy for my liking.

This was my experience as well.

# ? Mar 14, 2014 22:23

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > The HTPC Thread - Dont buy an HTPC

«‹›287 »