Media Center, HTPC, media streaming solution...

[elgen0]

Hey I am wondering what anyone would recommend/give their two cents regarding a Media Center/HTPC for home?

Currently, I have an old XBOX modded with XBMC, and for years that has been working perfectly, streaming video from my home server, right off of a shared network drive.

The only roadblock is I have recently upgraded to a HDTV, and therefore, would like to start downloading and playing HD videos. The scene mostly uses .MKV containers for these files and that format is too much for the old Xbox processor to handle...

I must say, after looking into other software/hardware solutions on the market to replace the Xbox and XBMC, I realize I have been VERY spoiled with the features XBMC offers...

PS3 and Xbox 360 both do not natively support .MKV and although workarounds exist, I want native support, and not have to dick around with teh file once its downloaded.

So as far as I can tell, I have two options:

1) Build a HTPC. A cheap, low-end, dual core, AMD or Intel, doesn't really matter, with at least a 9xxx series nvidia graphics chipset for VDPAU support in a linux OS for x264 decode. Like I say, I would either install a version of linux and then the XBMC for linux overtop, or I might just run XBMC live natively (which includes its own flavour of Ubuntu natively, for a true "set top box" feel...)

2) Get this really new piece of consumer hardware, called the Xtreamer. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=11 55845

Anybody have any better ideas, or comments on what they have done in terms of either building their own HTPC, or going with some type of consumer product alternative?

Thanks!
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[Dr_Grinch]

I personally bought an ASRock ION 330 Net top.
Low power consumption, Dual Core Atom, plays everything I throw at it just fine.
They have a newer one out with a BDRom drive in it if you like now.

The other option I considered, but there was a bit of a waiting list was the Popcorn Hour PCH-200.
It's a nice unit.
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Hasta la victoria siempre

[Mhykul]

That Xtreamer seems pretty badass for $99 (er Euros... whatever the fuck conversion that is).. assuming everything they claim is true about the product.

Lots of options out there, personally if it were me I'd go with the all in one custom unit like the Xtreamer (or any number of other brands) rather than going through the effort of building a rig.
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meh.. nuff said.

[elgen0]

[Harakiri]

ok here is my advice, dont build yourself htpc - there is no need for it - the best hardware you can get for any content you want to view is the network mediatank aka popcorn hour - you can throw any format at this device - it will play it, you can stream your movies from your pc, you can use a sata harddisk inside, or usb external devices, it can watch any online video resource (youtube and crap), you can surf the web

dont consider anything else, really - HTPC are mostly bullshit because of the FAN they need, and are noisy
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[vital]

Looking into this exact thing for the basement. I am picking this up on Friday. Plays mkv, networked, and display's at 1080p with HDMI out.

Mvix Ultio MX-800HD

http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduc t&cmd=pd&pid=025180&cid=VID.978

Mvix Ultio (MX-800HD ) HD UPnP Media Player
HDD Compatibility Supports 3.5 SATA hard disk (up to 1.5TB), HDD not included
HDD Format FAT32, EXT3 or NTFS format
External Storage Via USB Host (for external DVD Drives / Portable HDD / USB storage)
Video Resolution H.264, MKV, WMV9, MOV, RM/RMVB, TS and HD Divx - upto 1920x1080p
TV System Compatibility PAL, NTSC, Auto
Networking LAN RJ45 10/100M or Wi-Fi 802.11N (via USB dongle, not included)
Network Protocols Embedded UPnP Client, Samba Client, Samba Server
Video Playback Codec: H.264, MKV, WMV9, MPEG 1/2/4, HD Divx , Xvid, FLV, RM/RMVB Container: mkv, ts, m2ts, mts, tp, trp, wmv, Ifo, iso, vob, dat, avi, mpg, mp4, mov, rm, rmvb, divx, xvid, flv
Audio Playback Codec: MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG, AAC, LPCM, FLAC, AC3 Container: WAV [.wav, .pcm], ADIF, ADTS [.aac], M4A [.m4a], OGG [.ogg], ASF/WMA [.asf, .wma], FLAC [.flac]
Image Playback JPG, JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF
Subtitle Playback sub, smi, ssa, srt, idx + sub
Audio Video Out Audio Video Out HDMI1.3 (digital video and audio signals), Component (YPbPr), Composite Video output , Optical (5.1Ch Dolby Digital), Stereo audio output (Audio R/L),
I / O Ports USB2.0 Host (for connecting external CD ROM / DVD ROM / Portable HDD / USB storage / USB WIFI), USB2.0 Slave to transfer Media from PC. 10/100Mbps Ethernet port (Media Transfer and Sharing across network
Torrent Client Embedded Bit torrent Client
File Management File Management HDD Format, Copy, Delete, Rename, File Transfer via hand-held Remote
Power Input Universal AC 100 ~230V 50Hz, DC
Power Consumption Power Consumption DC 12V 2A, 30-W
Language Language English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Hebrew
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[isotope777]

if you have windows 7 and xbox 360, you can play mkv files via the divx.com software. however, it cannot play subtitles.
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[Harakiri]

[Knighted]

I've been thinking about getting one of these all in one custom units, and your post prompted me to go research them a bit.

I ended up deciding on the WD TV Live, based on:
a) the fact that I don't need an internal drive
b) i don't care about bluray
c) the price is right
d) it has the sigma 8655 chipset, which is faster than most of the other sigma's (8635) out there right now. the sigma's are also known to have better picture and sound quality, particularly noticeable with larger TVs, than those units with the realtek chips (like the xtreamer, mvix ultio, and ASUS O!Play).

The popcorn hour C200 unit that harakiri is talking about has an even better sigma chip (8643), which is even faster. But I don't think it's worth the cost right now, especially when the firmware is still in early development, and i have no interest in bluray.

the WD team also seems to have good customer support, and they're promising surprises in their firmware upgrades in the new year.

The advantage that the realtek chips have over the sigma chips is that they can play RVMB files, but I don't care about real media either.

Also, I don't think the Xtreamer supports DTS decoding either (yet?), so if you have any rips with DTS audio you won't be able to hear it, unless you have a separate unit to do it.

[mef]

If you download an mkv and alter it using mkv2vob it merely takes a moment to make it playable on the PS3.

PS3 kills the 360 in the media centre department, especially if you use the program 'PS3 Media Server'
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[Johnrx86]

[vital]

[Colton]

You should have bought a WDTV Live.

Have a nice day.
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[Harakiri]

[toytown]

[Harakiri]

[Knighted]

[vital]

[Digital Chaos]