popcorn hour

[Retro]

I'd like to see a secondhand small form factor pc decode high bitrate 1080p videos seamlessly, especially one that costs R1500 I would say you're looking at closer to R6000 (New)

What does the fact that it's a sff pc got to do with playing high bitrate videos?

Anyway, mine plays 720P movies perfectly. CPU usage 70% - 80%. You just need a fast CPU to play 1080P movies, not sure where you get the R6000 figure from?

 

[jabalsad]

I just used the words small form factor because that was what you used

Well I guess it depends on what you want to put in the machine then. CPU/Motherboard/RAM trio can easily cost R2000. Hard Drive add R800. HTPC casing comes in all shapes and sizes from R500 to R2000+, here it really depends on what you want and with what kind of features (lcd/led, remote included, noise etc.). If you get one for say R1000 chances are it will probably come with a remote so you dont need to spend money on that. Graphics - R350. PSU - R500. wireless mouse and keyboard - R350. So in this scenario roughly R5k. These are just prices I estimated i didn't feel like doing any research for a forum post so don't get all technical on my ass

Obviously you don't have to go for this setup and i'm sure you can save money on say a wired keyboard and mouse instead of wireless ones or a cheaper chassis if you dont really care how bulky the thing is or what it looks like.

In the end though I doubt you'll be able to build a media pc for R 3k with HDMI output, Optical audio output and all the other I/Os that plays back any HD file (or video file) you throw at it not to mention its miniature size its literrally one and a half or two times the size of a normal 3.5" hard drive. It hardly makes any noise infact its dead quiet without a hard drive and it comes with a lot of other conveniences too. Here you have something that is dedicated to do its one task (playback media) and do it well and is very affordable. Heck the popcorn hour A-100 comes at R 2300 and it uses the exact same processor as the A-110.

Don't get me wrong, if you already have a media centre that you can use then sure why spend money on something you already have. I also dont mean to make the A-110 come off as perfect, infact there is always room for improvements; maybe in a future model who knows. Even xbox 360 doesnt serve too bad as a media player (its not the best but hey). And I love mediaportal as i use it myself; htpc in lounge + popcorn hour in bedroom....

 

[Retro]

Ok, at the risk of getting technical... ;-)

We're comparing this device with an HTPC right? For this device you also need a harddrive right? So if you add R800 for a drive for the pc, you also need to add R800 to this device. That already puts you over R3000.

As for the rest of your estimates. I was suggesting buying a secondhand sff pc. They're cheap, looks great in your living room and are very quiet. For playing 1080P movies with CoreAVC, the minimum CPU requirement is a P4 2.8ghz. You can easily get a pc like that for very cheap. You don't even need a mouse and keyboard.

What I paid for mine:
Aopen XCube small form factor pc: R850
It came with a Geforce 5200, 1gig DDR400 ram, a P4 2.4cpu, a 40gig drive and optical sound output (spdif).
MCE Remote: R100
500gig harddrive: R800
VGA cable to connect to HD tv: R80
Wireless card to connect to my home pc: R100
Total: R1930

It plays 720P movies perfectly and if I just upgrade the CPU to let's say a 3.2ghz HT cpu, it will play 1080P movies as well.

For what I'm getting out of this, it's a LOT better than a standalone device.

 

[jabalsad]

I'm not going to argue, that really is a very inexpensive setup. In my opinion though it is not ideal. Partly because it is still bigger and noisier than a dedicated unit and partly because it is second hand. If we compare it to a 2nd hand pc then we have to compare the price to that of a 2nd hand popcorn hour too Like you said, apples with apples. Anyway, most everyday users wont be picking up a deal like that nor will they go through the trouble of making sure the cpu meets minimum requirements, installing the machine, ensuring it has the right codecs etc etc. A standalone unit just works right out of the box. I actually don't even know where one can still buy P4 cpus brand new. A new sff pc (after a quick search on jump.co.za) will be closer to R2k and thats usually without a cpu and memory.

In the end though I dont see why you would get so much more out of a pc than a standalone device though. If the PC will be built to be a media centre, chances are it will be doing only one thing and that is being a media pc; which is exactly what the popcorn hour does. You will hardly have better format support and really the only advantage I can think of is the aesthetics and smoothness of the mediaportal menu interface.

I can see that youre not sold on the idea of such a unit and i guess its pointless to discuss it much further Ultimately I suppose it comes down to what options you have easily available to you and at what cost and I think 4 out of 5 people would find it easier to get something that comes well priced (if not better then at least in the same price category) and already configured to what it needs to do.

 

[kayvee]

At the recommended street price of USD 215 in the States times ten to convert to rands, I reakon its good, however at the R3.2K asking price here, or even the "special" at DP its a tad high, IMO.

 

[jabalsad]

At the recommended street price of USD 215 in the States times ten to convert to rands, I reakon its good, however at the R3.2K asking price here, or even the "special" at DP its a tad high, IMO.

You can take any product and compare it the selling price in the states and it will be more expensive in our country. People forget that there is a $45 delivery charge ontop of the $215. This already makes it $260 not to mention the 14% VAT and 7% Import duty on electronics anyone has to pay if they should decide to order it online. This comes to roughly $295 ~ R2950. RRP in South Africa is R 3,099 so its really not far off. Infact the special price of R 2,699 it is way more advantageous to get it locally. At least you have the convenenience of a local reseller which can honour the warranty as well as have the product readily available.