Easiest affordable small HTPC that can run Boxee

[sygyzy]

I currently use XBMC on my Xbox (1) and it's great 80% of the time. It can't access Last.FM or Pandora and anything that's encoded in H.264 or wrapped in MKV, it has a hard time playing. It also uses component video and not HDMI, though this is not a huge deal to me. I keep it because it works well but it's cpu (700 mhz) is becoming an issue.

I want to get something beefier but still haev it look sleek enough to sit in my home theatre. I know I can get the popcorn hour which seems to be able to play everything but I don't like the user interface (UI) pics I've seen. It looks really amateur.

I'd like to run boxee which requires an Apple TV or PC.

So what sort of SFF or HTPC can I build that can run boxee, can play any current format, and can do HDMI out?

If some company sold one, I'd be tempted to buy it. I really am not into researching and building PC's anymore. I am too old and busy for that. I also don't need a system that has a blu-ray (or any type of) burner. I don't need fancy LCD displays or anything either. It's only job would be to run media. Easy bootup and shut down would be idea. Heck, if they had boxee integrated into a quick boot linux box that'd be ideal. I would never want to leave the XBMC or Boxee front end.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[echoplex]

I'm running both the latest builds of XBMC and Boxee in Windows XP and Ubuntu 9.04 on a four-year old AMD Athlon 3700 w/ 3GB of RAM and an NVidia 8600, with respectable performance with SD video (H.364 and MKV included) - a frame is dropped here or there, but it is very watchable. Some Boxee forum users have been getting by with the dual core Atom processors, and if you add a late model Nvidia video card (Geforce 8+ series), you can take advantage of the VDPAU capabilities - this takes a great deal of the processing off of your CPU and lets the GPU do the work.

I don't know what you'd need to get decent HD performance, but for SD I think you could get by with a cheaper Dell machine with Intel Core Duo or Pentium E series processors (or any of the dual core AMD processors), 2-4GB or RAM and a newer NVidia GPU.

XBMC and Boxee run quite well in both Windows and Ubuntu, but if I had to choose one, I'd probably go with Ubuntu (32-bit only right now for Boxee). It updates whenever a new build is available, unlike Windows, and you can strip Ubuntu down to the bare essentials to get every last drop of performance out of it. If you've never run Linux before, it isn't as difficult as it has been made out to be - Ubuntu has really cut the learning curve down (though there is still some work to be done). Grab a LiveCD and give it a spin.

 

[mshan]

Boxee was extremely sluggish on Apple TV I used to own (1 ghz processor and 256 MB RAM).

Haven't tried it on my Mac Mini (don't really like Boxee interface), but Hulu and Slingplayer works fine on Mini. DVI output only, though. I think you can get Mini Display Port to HDMI adapter from Monoprice to use current generation Mac Mini, but I don't think audio gets transmitted over interface (?)

OS X is very stable operating system that you may not need to reboot for weeks, and sleep and wake work fine with tap of keyboard or wiggle of mouse.

 

[mshan]

http://jasoncypret.com/2009/07...ns-whats-the-cheapest/

 

[Aarondeep]

Look into an Atom 330 w/ION. It would be low power and small

 

[TheSkinsFan]

Hands-down the best option if you want to go with a pre-fab nettop right now:

ASRock w/Atom 330 and NVIDIA ION graphics
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16856158007

Intel Atom 330
FSB = 533MHz
2GB DDR2 800 MHz memory, support dual channel, maximum memory capacity 4GB
NVIDIA ION Graphics
2.5" HDD 320GB
HD Audio 5.1 channel
Gigabit Ethernet
DVD Super Multi (Slim type)
Ports: 1 x HDMI, 1 x VGA, 6 x USB, RJ45 x 1, 1 x S/PDIF Out, 3 standard Audio Jacks
Power Supply: 65W /19V Adapter
Energy Star 5.0 level (Low power consumption)
ASRock OC Tuner (Overclocking)
ASRock Instant Boot

Switch out the RAM for 2x2GB DDR2-800, install Ubuntu and XBMC, and you're golden! The only thing you're missing is WIFI, but that can be solved with a simple USB dongle if you absolutely need it.

More info on it here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb...58378&highlight=asrock