Media center software

[VJ]

Just came across the Asus eeePC Box... the cheapest one is more expensive than the TViX HD-N1, but about the same price as the TViX HD-6600N... And it is a full blown low-spec computer... I'm tempted... I could use it as a gateway for my 3G internet connection as well (was looking for a solution to this...).

[Tjalfe]

how would an atom 1.6GHz machine run blu ray with integrated graphics?
get a media player for media :P

http://techreport.com/articles.x/15234/3

Video playback is a major point of weakness for the 945 chipset's GMA 950. The GMA 950's hardware video decoding capabilities are fairly sparse, and this proves to be a real issue when paired with a low-power processor like the Atom. To test the video capabilities of the Eee Box, I encoded one of my short films into 480p, 720p, and 1080p WMV files. The playback results were not encouraging.

even with a fast video card(HD4870x2), my core i7 looses audio synch once in a while on 1080p content.... that never happens on the media player

[VJ]

Well, the one I'm looking at uses the nVidia Ion chipset...and it seems to allow it...

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-ion-atom,2153-9.html

The answer is really very simple: yes, you can play Blu-ray content with no problems and without jerkiness on the Ion platform.

But it depends on the player software... So that is a problem a media player does not have...

Jörg

[Tjalfe]

the link I posted was from an asus ee pc

http://techreport.com/articles.x/15234/1

did not look like Ion chipset, but then again, I could be wrong

also remember the ease of use part.. while I can easily use a windows based media player, my wife would never know how to get stuff going

[VJ]

This model uses an Ion chipset:

http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=wH1q2VTqyLXaCw1f

(there also is a successor that adds USB 3, but I don't know what the added cost is)

A valid point on the usability, but if there is a decent mediacenter software running on it (Arcsoft Total Media Theater is included, but Windows Media Center, XBMC, ... would also run on it). I may want to add an mce remote though (increases the price again...).

Would the Ion chipset cut it? Everything I find seems to say it can properly handle 1080p playback...

I'm looking for a couple of solutions: the first is media playback, but would also like to be able to stream video from websites (and I know the support for this in most mediaplayers is limited; on a pc you just need a browser with flash). The second is to share my internet connection, which is by means of a usb hsdpa modem. For this I have thought of getting a router that supports it, but I could use that pc for this purpose (currently I use my laptop - which is too old to properly play back anything - and ICS)....

A rough estimate on the prices would be that a mediaplayer would set me back around 150 euro (including shipping), such a router another 100 euro (can get it here); and I'd still have the website problem... For 355 euro, I could have this eeebox... and it appears to be a jack-of-all trades... but maybe a master of none...

[VJ]

I could build a mini itx system for that price... (using a Zotac mainboard with onboard Geforce 9300 and socket 755 processor) but don't want to buy the components here or have them shipped. It would be a better system than the EEEbox...

So I'll get a media player. Just still doubting about either the HD-N1, the 6600N (found reviews stating that the HD-N1 has more bitrate limitations, but these may be solved in firmware) and the PopcornHour A200 (but it looks so ugly... )

[Tjalfe]

I flipped the lid of my popcornhour A-100, which got rid of their logo.. it is not too bad, when sitting on a shelf, just exposing the front

[VJ]

The bitrate limitations on the HD-N1 are worse than on other mediaplayers that use the same chipset. TViX have responed that they are working on it, so it may get solved soon.

The A200 seems like the better device (hdmi spec - deep color, xvColor; supported formats, ...), and falls between HD-N1 and the 6600 (both featurewise and pricewise). The Mede8er is similar to the A200, has a nicer design but may have less frequent updates. I have a feeling the A200 would be the better choice (technically), but I like some of the features of the TViX players.

[VJ]

Well... I've ordered... the Zotac PC...
I feel it would offer me more features, freedom and possible be more future proof. So now I'll have to wait for it to arrive...

[VJ]

Turns out to be a bit more complicated: the store where I bought it doesn't ship to Poland... So I'm having it shipped to Belgium, and my parents will bring it with them when the come over in May.

[VJ]

I unpacked the Zotac, and it looks very nice! Weird thing is that all the usb ports appear to be upside down (when you put the case horizontally). The supplied CD doesn't work however: if you run install, it says that is will not work on this type of processor. Important on the ION is to also install the chipset drivers; the system works completely without them but in the device manager an unrecognized coprocessor is listed.

Windows 7 works quite smooth, and videoplayback seems very good. I haven't tested a full HD clip on the projector yet, but at least I can see that the software uses DXVA. I played back a 720p movie with under 10% CPU load (using MPC-HC, which uses DXVA). So I'm quite confident it can handle the full hd movies nicely.

[VJ]

Just watched a 1080p mkv from a USB drive using MPC-HC, and it played back without any issues! CPU usage was about 30% (on the dual-core hyperthreading processor, that basically leaves on core unused still), but I think that showing the playback statistics is responsible for the majority of this usage.

So far very happy with it!
(and the 1080p projected image looks stunning )

[VJ]

The unit is noisier than I had hoped, but luckily it is a low frequency hum rather than a high pitched whine. So while watching something it is not really noticable. I noticed it yesterday during some scenes where mysterious noises were played back; and after muting the sound I kept hearing one sond.

I suspect I may have to do with cpu vs gpu usage, but am not sure of that. It could also have to do with the positioning of the unit (it was lying flat on a shelf), so I'll try putting it upright on its stand (this moves the outtake vent holes to the top, so maybe the fan has less work). And maybe the shelf in which is was positioned enhanced the sound...

Part of me is a bit sorry I did not built the machine myself (get the itx board, case, ...), even though this would be a bit more expensive (lesson learned for next time). But this would have been too complicated to achieve here; my parents could easily bring this mini pc. But I've no doubt it is up to its task and will suffice.

Jörg