Want two clients zbox? (1 Viewer)

[Phathid]

I want two clients for the lounge and bedroom, I need to:

Play full BR rips from the server
Watch sky HD channels from the server
dont need wireless as they will be connected via gigabit network
not fussed on HD audio, that is for cinema room only but do want DD/DTS for the lounge
need to be low power and silent
budget is 150-200 all in

They will be used solely for mediaportal, nothing else. one screen is 1080p but the bedroom is 720p (will i need processor to downscale if watching 1080?)

these seem reasonably priced but not sure if they tick all my boxes (would have to buy SSD & RAM)

http://www.ebuyer.com/344313-zotac-zbox-id13-b-without-wi-fi-zboxsd-id13-b

My HTPC server is i3, 8gb ram, asus p8p67 m pro with drobo attached this will be the hub

Any help will be hugely appreciated, I love media portal just need a simple cheapish cleint to replicate round the house

 

[Lehmden]

Hi.
Sorry, this one will not work. The GPU is too weak to playback FullHD Content especially 1080i (Sky HD). You need to buy an Atom based System with ION(2) Chipset or an AMD based E350/E450 system at least. And this is absolute low end for MP. No chance to go with something less powerful...
But I'm not sure you can find something like this at 150-200.
The server did not matter as all media decoding is done on client side. That's why the GPU has to be strong enough... Best Choice in this category atm is an AMD E450 System...

 

[Phathid]

this can be had for 142 gbp

http://www.ilgs.net/zotac-z-box-hd-id40.html

good option or am i missing a bargain somewhere?

 

[Phathid]

sorry think we posted at same time, any recommendations on a nettop/htpc with e450 or am i better off building my own?

 

[Lehmden]

Hi.
Sorry, I did not see you're talking about gbp. I was thinking in € or $. So for 150-200 gbp there should be a good chance to get something fitting your needs.
I can't tell you if you better building your own. Normally this is the better and cheaper way, but in case of this nettops there the difference is not that great. And with ready made ones you get nicer cases...
I will post a list of possibilities soon.

 

[Phathid]

thanks for your help! I am not looking for shortcuts I do as much research as poss myself just sometimes you need a bit of guidance, found this which includes RAM and HDD

http://www.cleverboxes.com/p-163326...5ghz-lan-wlan-amd-radeon-hd6320-graphics.aspx

look forward to your options

 

[Lehmden]

Hi.
If it should be a ZBox:
ZBox AD04
ZBox ID80
ZBox ID40
BTW I would buy the ID80 as it has the best GPU and CPU, but not sure if this fits into your budget. On Amazon.de it's about 375€... The others should cover your needs too.

Other brands:
MSI Wind Box DC100E452
Acer Aspire Revo RL70

If you want to build something yourself this is a mainboard to start with:
Asus E45M1-I

BTW You don't need a case at all as you can build your Client inside a drawer or cabinet...

 

[Phathid]

Thanks will look at those options

no case in cabinet might be a good idea will look for similar projects

Cheers!!

 

[porky996t]

Hi Phathid,

I currently use two ZBox ID41's - one in the bedroom and one in the kitchen. I have a 30Gb SSD in each one and 2Gb RAM. I stream from the main HTPC in the lounge over a EOP (200Mbps AV Homeplugs). This is more than sufficient for playing back full HD video and full HD live TV. I use both Freeview and Freesat for the TV. They are outputting 1920 x 1080 via HDMI without fuss and I also use the standard MCE (RC6) Remote control.

The ZBoxes play most stuff very well - I can't say that I haven't had some issues, but these have been sorted out via the forum. The only problem I still have is that it does struggle playing some older avi's in MyTV Series plugin. These avi's play fine in Win7 using VLC, but not with MP, so it is an MP problem, not a ZBox issue - I'm still working on it though. The GUI is very fluid and even the GF uses them without any problem.

There were a few things I had to do when setting up the Zboxes, but now I have gone through that learning curve, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one should I need it.

They come with a mounting bracket which I have fixed to the rear of the both wall mounted TV's so the box is, in effect, invisible. All you can see is the IR receiver which is fixed to the top of the TV. The only time I hear the cooling fan is when the unit fires up, after that I wouldn't know it was running.

I got my last one from Amazon (here) and first one from FiercePC (here)

Any queries, just shout!

 

[Phathid]

hi looks like an option although with RAM & HDD come in at same price as AD04 so not sure which is best

are there any opinions on the Acer Aspire RL70, i can have this with ram and a HDD for 180 seems to be the best value but not sure if it is recommended