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Lightest weight hack for dedicated Plex output

S

sjwaste

Diamond Member
Has anyone given any thought to the lowest power, smallest hack build that can be dedicated to Plex? I'd like to build and have on each of our 3 TVs.

Basically, I'd like to go as close to an appliance as possible - quiet HD, maybe even run from flash if reasonable to do so, stream all content from the network, and be able to handle 720p h264 content. I don't have a 1080p set, and I don't download my content as much as I just watch it from Hulu or my own DVD (not BD) rips.

I guess, how low can I go to put together an OSX-capable hack that will do nothing but serve Plex? Or am I better off just hacking an AppleTV w/ Boxee? I've been googling around, but I thought I'd ask here if anyone put something like this together.
 
Look into a used Intel Mac Mini. They can be had in the $400 range, sometimes less. It's pretty hard to beat for price/performance/form factor.

A mATX Hack like the G31M-ES2L can be built in the same price range, but offer better performance and upgrade options. But you also have greater size, potential noise, and less of an appliance factor.

You might also look into a Shuttle-based Hack from the P35 models that are hackable. Again, the problem is you'll likely spend as much as a used Mini.

I wouldn't consider an Atom-based Hack at all- they can be built dirt cheap ($200 range) but the performance isn't great for media-usage.
 
I appreciate the advice. I was leaning towards a mini if nothing else panned out.

Would an Ion-based hack not cut it?
 
An Ion would be powerful enough for 1080p, but i'm not sure how many Ion's have been hacked yet - Though I know the HP Mini 311 was in progress.

If so, the Acer Revo Ion Nettop could make a killer Plex box for $200 or less.
 
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I saw that the Asrock Nettop 330 barebone had been hacked. There's a guide out and everything. That goes for over $300, though, which sort of puts it in used Mini land.
 
The best Plex rig is one that is (1) capable of playing back high-bitrate 1080p files, and (2) capable of playing back FlashHD (such as YoutubeHD, Vimeo, and Hulu). For that, the requirements are pretty simple: a 2.0ghz dual-core processor & 2 gigs of RAM. Like Zaap said, the ES2L is a really good buy. Price-wise, the 2.5ghz E5200 or the 2.6ghz E6300 are the best bets to go with for processors (about $70 each). As far as the video card goes, pretty much anything will do - even the GMA950 can pump out 1920x1080. I use a $25 256mb 7200GS video card with an HDMI adapter (you'll want to avoid cards with built-in HDMI though).

The ION is great conceptually, but the place it fails is Flash. If all you want to do if play MKV & ISOs, then you can do it, but if you watch anything Flash-related, like Youtube, then it's a total failure. Flash GPU acceleration is supposed to be out next year, but it's not here now, so oh well. Also, it's $200 - $300 for a mini rig, vs. $300 for a fully-functional HD & FlashHD Hackintosh using a MicroATX board.
 
Do macs use video acceleration? I was just looking and mplayer says it cannot do it. VLC doesnt seem to do it either?
 
KeypoX said:
Do macs use video acceleration? I was just looking and mplayer says it cannot do it. VLC doesnt seem to do it either?
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MPlayer and VLC do not. Currently only software that hooks in to QuickTime can, since there's no public video acceleration API for OS X like thee is for Windows (DXVA) or Linux (VDAPU).
 
I wonder if the new Dell Zino HD is hackintosh compatible. Less than $200 for a small system with a gpu that support 1080p decoding sounds sweet. Who the hell would buy an apple tv or mac mini even.
 
kalster said:
I wonder if the new Dell Zino HD is hackintosh compatible. Less than $200 for a small system with a gpu that support 1080p decoding sounds sweet. Who the hell would buy an apple tv or mac mini even.
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I bet it can be hacked. Updates would be a real pain in the neck since it's AMD, but for just a cheap media player, seems pretty tasty. The ATI card would also be something of a pain, haha.
 
Interesting stuff. I think if I go the homebuilt route w/ Zaap's suggestions, I'd have a better shot of getting it all working. I guess I just wanted something really small with a "cool" case/form factor, but it seems like there are significant drawbacks w/ the Atom route right now.

I hadn't realized that Flash video isn't hardware accelerated. Considering I'd use this thing for Hulu quite a bit, Atom/Ion are a complete no-go.

Time to start tracking some used Minis on ebay. The refurb store is dry right now.
 
Buy an Ion based cheapo, like the Acer Revo's and install linux on it and run XBMC. Install Flash 10.1 and you're good to go.
 
Ciber said:
Buy an Ion based cheapo, like the Acer Revo's and install linux on it and run XBMC. Install Flash 10.1 and you're good to go.
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Part of the issue there is that I really like Plex. In my opinion, it's the most refined HTPC front end available. At this point, I've basically ditched my (paid) copy of BeyondTV for Plex on my laptop, if that says anything about how much I like it.
 
sjwaste said:
Part of the issue there is that I really like Plex. In my opinion, it's the most refined HTPC front end available. At this point, I've basically ditched my (paid) copy of BeyondTV for Plex on my laptop, if that says anything about how much I like it.
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Agreed. I've tried so many options - AppleTV, XBMC, WD TV HD, Popcorn Hour, Windows Media Center, on and on and on - Plex is, hands-down, the best. It's just so pricey to do up an HTPC rig for Plex, when all it does is Plex, you know? 😛
 
Kaido said:
Agreed. I've tried so many options - AppleTV, XBMC, WD TV HD, Popcorn Hour, Windows Media Center, on and on and on - Plex is, hands-down, the best. It's just so pricey to do up an HTPC rig for Plex, when all it does is Plex, you know? 😛
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Other than the extra "Apps" for web content, i really don't see much of a difference between XBMC and Plex. I have plex on this computer and usually end up using XBMC, but then again, I don't use any of the "Apps"
 
Ciber said:
Other than the extra "Apps" for web content, i really don't see much of a difference between XBMC and Plex. I have plex on this computer and usually end up using XBMC, but then again, I don't use any of the "Apps"
Click to expand...

Yeah, the web apps are where I'm mostly at, though. Hulu, NBC, and South Park are very well integrated.

I'm considering just getting the right adapters for each TV and moving my laptop wherever I want to watch it. It's the lowest cost option -- just a few adapters, and if I'm REALLY lazy, a couple of extra power bricks to leave at each TV (bedroom and basement).
 
kalster said:
I wonder if the new Dell Zino HD is hackintosh compatible. Less than $200 for a small system with a gpu that support 1080p decoding sounds sweet. Who the hell would buy an apple tv or mac mini even.
Click to expand...

I think you may have missed the post above yours. Macs cannot video decode.
 
KeypoX said:
I think you may have missed the post above yours. Macs cannot video decode.
Click to expand...

Flash 10.1 may take care of that.

http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flashplayer10/

Edit: Scratch that. Release notes state that 10.1 on OSX doesn't support H.264 hardware acceleration because the required APIs are not exposed. Linux is similar.

I guess for all the shit Mac users talk about Windows, this is a glaring deficiency for OSX.
 
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