What is the best XBMC hardware device?

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hirosa

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Been trying to find a hardware media player that runs XBMC specifically. Anyone know where i can find a local supplier? Also which device is the best in terms of performance? Needs to have wireless and a dual-core cpu or similar.

Can anyone comment on their experience with the following players:

- Raspberry pi with xbmc installed
- DroidTV MX
- The Little Black Box
- MyGica

Tx
 
I would suggest an HP microserver. Much faster than the Pi and you can slap a 99 buck wireless card in there and a few hard drives. Plus sickbeard etc.
 
I've been using OpenElec on my Raspberry Pi and I find it the best. It runs a lot smoother than RaspBMC.
 
HP Microserver, essentially just a little PC, would typically be "the best" option for an XBMC HTPC as it can basically do anything and is easy to upgrade if your needs change.

That said, your situation may be different.

In the spot you would want to put it, are there space constraints?
Purpose-built device will be better.

Are there noise/power constraints?
Although not worse per se, you may need to fiddle with a server/PC setup to make it quiet and efficient.

Do you want something that you can just plug in and use off the bat?
Purpose-built device will win here.

Would you like to set it up as a download server?
PC setup will be best.

Would you like to use it for media storage?
PC setup will be best.

What is your budget?
Under R1,500 you'll want to opt for a purpose-built device.

On Raspberry Pi's..
These can work, but have limitations and are a little trickier to setup. Investigate thoroughly and consider your requirements first.
 
FuLL_MeT4L said:
HP Microserver, essentially just a little PC, would typically be "the best" option for an XBMC HTPC as it can basically do anything and is easy to upgrade if your needs change.

That said, your situation may be different.

In the spot you would want to put it, are there space constraints?
Purpose-built device will be better.

Are there noise/power constraints?
Although not worse per se, you may need to fiddle with a server/PC setup to make it quiet and efficient.

Do you want something that you can just plug in and use off the bat?
Purpose-built device will win here.

Would you like to set it up as a download server?
PC setup will be best.

Would you like to use it for media storage?
PC setup will be best.

What is your budget?
Under R1,500 you'll want to opt for a purpose-built device.

On Raspberry Pi's..
These can work, but have limitations and are a little trickier to setup. Investigate thoroughly and consider your requirements first.
Click to expand...

Im leaning towards purpose built, the pc setup is better but i really want something that is low powered, plug and play, no brainer and small enough to mount at the back of my wall mounted tv in the bedroom.
I already have a sick beard setup on my main PC which i will stream my content from
 
I'm very happy with the MK808/809's from Rikomagic/Cozyswan with a good airmouse. ATV120 from Mygica is also a contender
Mygica also released a pure XBMCLinux firmware for some of their players if you dont want the full android experience
Hardware accelerated playback is provided by the Mali GPUs which work quite well in both MXPlayer and XBMC (versions that support mediacodec hardware acceleration)
 
irie_i said:
I've been using OpenElec on my Raspberry Pi and I find it the best. It runs a lot smoother than RaspBMC.
Click to expand...

I should try this. RaspBMC is a bit frustrating at times. It plays videos flawlessly, but getting to choose video with a "stutter"y interface is tedious
 
I just recently got a Rasberry Pi and installed RaspBMC. The idea being to have a stream device for the bedroom TV.
In the TV Room I have a Hp Microserver that is the download machine as well as the media storage device. Then I have a Mede8er to play the files from the Microserver.

I have never had a days issue with the Mede8er and it really does play anything, but at R2500 they are not cheap and I really did not want to invest in another one. Also I wanted something different and with a little prettier interface than the Mede8er.

As said before the Pi can be a little tricky to get installed and working, I actually bricked mine 2 days after owning it, and had to start from scratch. Now that is running, its working fine, plays nearly any format, and as long as you do not power it off it runs over WiFi with no issue at all.
I have streamed a 10Gb file to it and it ran seamlessly.

Audio is taken care of by the RCA outs from the TV to a 2 chl amp and then to two small speakers. I want to get a earphone jack to RCA cable to use the Pi directly to play the audio, I think the Pi's DAC is a lot better than the one in the TV.

One great feature that I stumbled across is that my Sony TV remote controls the Pi! I assume its thru the HDMI port. But it really is a nice extra. Play, top, fast forward as well as menu navigation all from the remote.

The next plan is to mount the Pi to the back of the TV so that is totally out of site.
 
Super_Stu said:
One great feature that I stumbled across is that my Sony TV remote controls the Pi! I assume its thru the HDMI port. But it really is a nice extra. Play, top, fast forward as well as menu navigation all from the remote.
Click to expand...
I never even thought of this.

Now to look for where the hell my TV's remote is :(
 
Oh I forgot to add, on the TV control feature. I have actually had the Pi power on the TV as well.
 
Super_Stu said:
I just recently got a Rasberry Pi and installed RaspBMC. The idea being to have a stream device for the bedroom TV.
In the TV Room I have a Hp Microserver that is the download machine as well as the media storage device. Then I have a Mede8er to play the files from the Microserver.

I have never had a days issue with the Mede8er and it really does play anything, but at R2500 they are not cheap and I really did not want to invest in another one. Also I wanted something different and with a little prettier interface than the Mede8er.

As said before the Pi can be a little tricky to get installed and working, I actually bricked mine 2 days after owning it, and had to start from scratch. Now that is running, its working fine, plays nearly any format, and as long as you do not power it off it runs over WiFi with no issue at all.
I have streamed a 10Gb file to it and it ran seamlessly.

Audio is taken care of by the RCA outs from the TV to a 2 chl amp and then to two small speakers. I want to get a earphone jack to RCA cable to use the Pi directly to play the audio, I think the Pi's DAC is a lot better than the one in the TV.

One great feature that I stumbled across is that my Sony TV remote controls the Pi! I assume its thru the HDMI port. But it really is a nice extra. Play, top, fast forward as well as menu navigation all from the remote.

The next plan is to mount the Pi to the back of the TV so that is totally out of site.
Click to expand...

I've fiddled with a pi extensively myself, so just a few notes on your pi setup unrelated to OP:
- The Pi's headphone jack is pretty bad, it's a known problem. Stick with your current audio setup via HDMI!
- You can actually get the wifi to start and connect to a network in the boot sequence itself, I'd recommend you look it up!
 
Custom Build.

Pi: too slow. no storage.
HP: okay speed, 5 HDD storage, but not very upgradable.
Xtreamer/wahtnot devices: 1 HDD, non-upgradable. crap firmware support.

Build a Custom HTPC and you can choose a chassis for your needs and budget (mini for 2 HDDs, Medium for 4 or 5 HDD's, or even 8+ HDDs). It's the best experience if you have a semi good CPU & GPU.
 
YingYang said:
I never even thought of this.

Now to look for where the hell my TV's remote is :(
Click to expand...

Sounds like HDMI CEC (something Electronics Control). It has plenty of guises from different manufacturers; on my LG TV its known as Simplink. Not sure what it's called on Sony systems. Just make sure your TV supports the protocol, although I'm pretty sure it does
 
FuLL_MeT4L said:
I've fiddled with a pi extensively myself, so just a few notes on your pi setup unrelated to OP:
- The Pi's headphone jack is pretty bad, it's a known problem. Stick with your current audio setup via HDMI!
- You can actually get the wifi to start and connect to a network in the boot sequence itself, I'd recommend you look it up!
Click to expand...

Thanks, will stick to the current audio setup then. Will look into the boot sequence changes at the same time.
 
The Pi is incredibly slow to load media artwork on XBMC. Navigating menus is a real pain on the thing.

My N40L Microserver has been the best media system I could have asked for. Serves as the primary storage device that all other media players in the house connect to, and it's the primary media centre in the TV lounge...
 
battletoad said:
Sounds like HDMI CEC (something Electronics Control). It has plenty of guises from different manufacturers; on my LG TV its known as Simplink. Not sure what it's called on Sony systems. Just make sure your TV supports the protocol, although I'm pretty sure it does
Click to expand...
I've got an LG as well. :)

The fact that, nowadays, one hardly ever use your TV remote is the reason I don't know where mine is. God forbid I didn't put it in a black bag and put it in storage in the ceiling :(

At the moment my wife and I are using our phones as remote controls (she's got an S3 and I have an S4). What's nice about that is, if you use the official XBMC remote and both our devices are connected - for example while watching a movie - the movie pauses automatically when one of our phones ring and displays the caller's picture and name on the screen. It also displays SMSs on screen :)

Another plus about the android setup is I can connect to control my music from anywhere in my yard if we have parties, which is kind of cool as you don't have the line of sight barrier (see what I did there :) ).

Heck, the other day the kids were looking for a movie and I wasn't at home and I connected the remote to my HTPC box over the internet and started the movie for them :)
 
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