falkon Posted April 7, 2013 Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 I'm looking to hook up an HTPC for streaming from the NAS and watching youtube/streams. It must be able to decode 1080p and DTS/Dolby. Ideally, it would run something like XBMC or another linux based system to speed up boot time. Budget is $200. Maybe an Acer Revo? Apple TV 1? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grawk Posted April 7, 2013 Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 you could get one of the bluray players that do all that. I know my sony will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falkon Posted April 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 Does it run smoothly? And can you hook up a keyboard? My parent's bluray player could do it too but they never used it because it was such a hassle to use with the remote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cetoole Posted April 7, 2013 Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 Celeron NUC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grahame Posted April 7, 2013 Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 Why a HTPC? Why not WDTvLive? http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=330 or Roku http://shop.roku.com/ I have a WDTvLive, plays from attatched usb storage. network shares. or DNLA server. Youtube + Netflix, can attatch usb keyboard, or use keyboard in remote App on tablet\smart phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsavitsk Posted April 7, 2013 Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 Roku = Netflix, HBOGo, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Hulu+, Local Content WDTvLive = Netflix, HBOGo, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Hulu+, Local Content You can buy both within your budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manaox2 Posted April 9, 2013 Report Share Posted April 9, 2013 Rooted/jailbroken apple TV will combine both of those for cheaper. Hey, look, I'm recommending an Apple product. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cetoole Posted April 9, 2013 Report Share Posted April 9, 2013 How would a rooted/jailbroken apple TV be for a displayless music streamer? Still looking at bedroom rig options, and if it could pull double duty until I get the HTPC together, so much the better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grawk Posted April 9, 2013 Report Share Posted April 9, 2013 I couldn't recommend the appletv 1 at this point. It's 720p output, and generally less useful than the functionality you get out of the box on current generation bluray players. They're also getting pretty old at this point. Colin, if you're using it with itunes, it works great displayless, either controlled remotely via the apple remote app on ios or by redirecting audio to it via itunes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpelg Posted April 9, 2013 Report Share Posted April 9, 2013 it works great displayless, either controlled remotely via the apple remote app on ios or by redirecting audio to it via itunes. I was thinking of using the ATV as a standalone (non-streaming, hardwired HD) iTunes music server. I have a Touch to use with the Remote app. Do I need a real monitor-type display to get the Apple TV into some mode before using the Remote app, or can I use it from power up? Demo vids online seem to show it in a controller mode only to make menu selections on a TV. Also, is the ATV (latest gen) optical-out limited to 16/48? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grawk Posted April 9, 2013 Report Share Posted April 9, 2013 I think you need to be hooked to a tv long enough to add your home sharing information at a minimum. I haven't checked to see if the current one can output higher than 48, or if it transcodes on the fly, but I believe I've played higher rez audio through it. I still have my original atv 160gb just to take on vacations for movies and music, but at this point, streaming to the newer ones is how we end up doing it anyway, because of the netflix advantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morphsci Posted April 9, 2013 Report Share Posted April 9, 2013 (edited) If you just need a music streamer receiver an Apple airport express works fine also. I just call up my main library with the music app on my ipad using home sharing and then redirect the output to either the airport express in the office or the Apple TV in the bedroom. Edited April 9, 2013 by morphsci Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manaox2 Posted April 9, 2013 Report Share Posted April 9, 2013 (edited) Apple TV 2 can be jailbroken and have XBMC installed. http://osxdaily.com/2013/02/24/jailbreak-apple-tv-5-2-install-xbmc/ I haven't used one as a display-less media box, but I imagine the functionality would work well. Edited April 9, 2013 by manaox2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsavitsk Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 Of you can buy a $25 Raspberry pi and do it http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/04/airplaying-music-and-video-from-ipad-to-raspberry-pi-its-as-easy-as/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeymad Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 ^^ this... My friend at work got one of the early Pi's -- he made a lego box for it, and has made 3-4 projects already - including a streamer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falkon Posted April 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 (edited) So in typical HC fashion, I went batshit crazy and built a trinity system for streaming. Lian Li PC-Q16b AMD A10-5800K Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Sandisk Extreme Flash Drive 32GB Yeah, I know, it's overkill. Edited April 16, 2013 by falkon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutestory Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Not sure what you're running on it, but if it's a dedicated HTPC I recommend openelec if you're looking to use XBMC. It's fire and forget, with almost none of the awful tweaking I used to associate with XBMC. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falkon Posted April 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 It will be openelec or XBMCbuntu if the opera plugin sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falkon Posted April 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Question regarding storage. I will potentially have 2x1TB and 2x2TB HDD soon. I'd like to get 3TB of usable space. I think the best option is RAID 1+JBOD. Is that doable with windows 7? Is there better software? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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