Xbox 1 died, along went my xbmc

[Maximus96]

Well last night my xbox died. My main use for it was to stream music, pictures, and videos from my computer in another room to my living room tv.

What is my best option for a replacement these days? DIY htpc? Or one of those little tiny computers like the revo. I would like to be able to stream 720p or 1080p which the xbox could not handle at all

Thanks for your help

 

[adairusmc]

If it were me, I would make a new DIY HTPC and put whatever you want in it. I just built one myself actually last week, it was cheaper than I thought it was going to be before going in to make a very nice little HTPC.

 

[Maximus96]

What parts did you use? I built my main rig a few months ago with almost top of line components but I'm not sure what is needed for a htpc. My main use like I said is for streaming media, and surfing the web probably

 

[adairusmc]

What parts did you use? I built my main rig a few months ago with almost top of line components but I'm not sure what is needed for a htpc. My main use like I said is for streaming media, and surfing the web probably

I used the following -

Asus P7H55D-M EVO microATX motherboard
Core i3 530
4gigs of g.skill ddr3
Intel X25-v 40gig SSD (already had this that I got from work)
Hec HTPC case (7k series)
Seasonic TFX PSU 300w (to replace the cheapo hec PSU that came in the case)
LG Blu-Ray/HD-DVD combo drive (I already had this)
1Tb WD AV-GP hard drive
Logitech DiNovo Mini keyboard/trackpad combo
Windows 7 Pro

I went with the i3 530 since it is more than powerful enough, has a decent built-in GPU, and runs relatively cool and doesn't draw too much power. Works great using HDMI to my TV, the newest drivers will compensate for overscan, and handles anything HD just fine.

The included power supply that came with the case was so cheap I opted to replace it from the beginning with a seasonic TFX power supply, that had very good reviews.

So far this system handles everything I throw at it. I stream most of the content from my NAS server that stores all of my videos, and the large hard drive is mostly for downloading stuff onto the machine so as not to use the SSD for much storage. I already had gotten that SSD from work, so it wasnt really needed for a build like this but I figured I would throw it in there anyways.

I was torn on getting the logitech dinovo edge over the mini, but the tiny keyboard/trackpad combo works wonderfully on this system for media center and basic use. I am not typing up anything on this machine, so the tiny keyboard is just fine.

Here are the pics to show the size of everything -

The keyboard -

 

[Emulex]

i just went through the same - the xbox1 xbmc is superior to all. but i'll digress.

asus sells a bunch of essentio machines. they come in a big case - add a remote (lenovo $35 special works good) - nothing works as good as the xbox1 remote btw. the essentio machines come with vista/7 oem - they can play the superbit avatar mkv quite fine - not too loud. i swapped in an x25-v too as i want quiet. then put the 7media center on the stock hard drive. i will move it to the antec micro fusion 350 (newegg deal of day) shortly.

i have an oem VMC remote and ir receiver/blaster i got in a 3 pack
(system buildeR) so i had a spare one laying around.

i will say for 480p/HR-HDTV the xbox1 xbmc rules in all ways. fast/quick/awesome controller - now that i have 1080p action - my tv look like poo (old westy 42"). i can do more like NAVI-X/playon/media center and i'm exploiting all of those apps to ditch the pay for cable/dish.

last time i asked $50 shipped for a pre-modded xbmc bootin' xbox1 with cables/controller i picked up 3 for that price in f/s trade. worth a shot!

 

[Zap]

Hec HTPC case (7k series)
...
Logitech DiNovo Mini keyboard/trackpad combo

Hey, that's a pretty nice looking case for HTPC!

I use a DiNovo Edge with my HTPC. Love it!

 

[fatpat268]

You might want to look into a WDTV live plus.

You can stream over network shares, you can plug in an external drive, and now includes netflix if you want that sort of thing.

You can get it for $120, and if you only care for playing back video, then there's no reason to build or buy an HTPC.

 

[BTA]

I second the WDTV Live Plus or some of the other options out there. Although the only one I've played with in person is my friend's WD+, and it works quite well, great for the price.

You could also find an old xbox 1 on ebay. Although I thought I read that xbmc was halting support/work on xbmc for the xbox.

 

[Emulex]

wdtv live is like the go-bots of xbmc.

pm if you need help. you can pick up a nice essentio (ebay/cowboom/etc) cheap. they will do fine. the lenovo is nice because its well $35. i'm not sure of any dinovo product that cheap if you have one for sale for $50 i might be interested for my next htpc.

wdtv live will definitely not let you stream multi-part rar files as soon as you are downloading them. matter of fact nothing does it as well as the xbox1.

"cheap chinese pos" is what i got out of the wdtv live (latest version) after using my 10 year old xbox1. (i'm chinese so i'd know if it was cheap feeling). junk/skip.

 

[fatpat268]

wdtv live will definitely not let you stream multi-part rar files as soon as you are downloading them. matter of fact nothing does it as well as the xbox1.

I didn't realize people did that... or the fact that you COULD do that.

But then again, I'm patient enough to wait for the file to finish and unrar it myself.

 

[RaiderJ]

If you're interested, I have a nice Xbox1 that I'm not using for anything. I think it has a remote, some controllers, component cables, and a hard drive. Chipped it myself.

Or, if you want to go the HTPC route, I have a Dell PC I'm not using. Run Win7 Media Center great. It's a Dell Dimension C521

http://www.filialwebloja.com.br/med...6f020e43594a9c230972d/d/e/dell_dimension1.jpg

 

[NuKe9]

I've been debating this myself, but only because the XBOX1 cannot play anything 720p and above. I agree, though, nothing beats XBMC for playing local content! Using XMBC on XBOX1 and SickBeard. Wonderful combination, as long as your OK with SD content (viewing on a 57" RP-CRT set).

FYI, there is a new XBMC movement for XBOX! Check it out:

http://www.xbmc4xbox.org/

Just upgraded my XBOX to the newest build, it's definately renewed my interest! They have also ported over some of the current XBMC skins. If you have an old modded XBOX laying around, it makes for a fun project.

 

[Emulex]

hi! i have 5 xbox1 xbmc - if you want i can ship you one but that's not the point.

q8300 asus essentio used cowboom $184
antec microfusion $79 newegg deal
lenovo remote keyboard $25 + ship
geforce 430 (only needed to do 3D correctly) $50

can do xbmc, win7 media center, chrome(youtubes pretend to be chromeOS lol), etc.

The only thing i miss is the ability to play rar files while downloading. ie start a ftp of 50 rar files and start play since i can download faster than the bitrate - can't do it on xbmc for pc.

XBMC seems good if you encode 960x540p which is fine for a 42" but i started to notice even some 720p content was not showing up nicely on my 42" LCD so i got a 60" plasma and then realized that i can now see the 1080/720 difference. which led me to take the xbox1 offline.

I have a bunch if you want them. cheap. they cost a ton to ship - soft-modded to boot to xbmc . Probably give you a fat deal with high def cables to boot.

but i can tell you i'm quite happy with the new setup. I think the original Xbox controller rocks for XBMC but since i use media center ($50 for a hdhomerun single tuner) it sucks for that. Which then brings up the duality of more remote controls. The MCE remote really sucks for xbmc. the lenovo is a miserable middle.

Also the rig in the antec microfusion is much quieter than the old fans on the xbox1 oddly enough. i have a couple of units that until they warm up they are quite loud fan noises.