Best front end HTPC box

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johny99

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#164288 4-Feb-2015 12:35

I am in the process of building a new house, since structured cabling is going in, there is no longer the requirement to have a full HTPC box in the lounge, this will be a positive as the other half believes the current box is untidy. What I am wishing to know, what is the best small PC / TV box, to use in the lounge. The current HTPC will effectively become a server , i also have a NAS, I want to easily access and stream content from both devices, to the TV. I do like the PIPO X7 but will this work for me, or is there something better possibly with Gigabit Ethernet?

Mattmannz

471 posts

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#1231067 4-Feb-2015 12:55

I use an Amazon Fire TV and run XBMC and YouTUbe and Netflix on it. Very easy to control. Cheap. Fanless.

freitasm

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Geekzone

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#1231072 4-Feb-2015 13:06

You need ethernet if you want problem-free HD.

I use a Gigabyte BRIX with Windows 7 Media Center as my main HTPC device - access to all content we have in our server without anything else PLUS with a HDHomeRun in the network we have Freeview HD on the little box. We als have an Amazon Fire TV because we want easy access (remote control) to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant Video.

Glassboy

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#1231089 4-Feb-2015 13:28

The Roku 3 has a high WAF. It has wifi and an ethernet port. It's very small and you can get brackets that attach it to the back of the TV.

Turn your existing HTPC into a plex server and load the Plex client on the roku.

Talkiet

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#1231090 4-Feb-2015 13:33

Intel NUC. Small, silent, built in IR port.

Just get one. They are perfect as a HTPC if you can have media stored elsewhere on the network.

Cheers - N

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trig42

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#1231092 4-Feb-2015 13:36

Do you use your current HTPC for live TV? If so, what software are you using?

johny99

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#1231117 4-Feb-2015 13:49

Not at the present, but will look to punch Tv through it, what software is best for this?

davidcole

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#1231123 4-Feb-2015 13:58

I've gone from a mid tower box with AMD A8 and 2 x HVR3000 (DVB-S/DVB-T cards) + Dual DVB-T card to a Gigabyte Brix - same CPU and a HD Home Run.

Mostly just for offline recording (only has a 120gb SSD and so nightly recordings are copied to my home server and the DB is updated). But can be used for live tv also.

I use NextPVR and have done since about 2007.

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geekiegeek

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#1231138 4-Feb-2015 14:40

I use a full size HTPC case that looks just like my stereo and surround amps with a clean black brushed aluminum front. You could just buy a tidier case.

mcraenz

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#1231229 4-Feb-2015 16:50

How far is your HTPC server from the lounge. I did away with a device in the lounge altogether by running a 15M HDMI cable through the wall. Then I just have a USB to CAT5 ballun for the remote recevier. So I only have the recevier and TV in the lounge. Really happy with this solution. Very tidy, no noise and no limit to how big and grunty the HTPC is.

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PANiCnz

990 posts

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#1231249 4-Feb-2015 17:42

Chromebox or the new rPi2 with OpenELEC. Don't bother with android unless you need Netflix. The nuc's and brix are too expensive compared to the chromebox.

davidcole

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#1231362 4-Feb-2015 20:11

PANiCnz: Chromebox or the new rPi2 with OpenELEC. Don't bother with android unless you need Netflix. The nuc's and brix are too expensive compared to the chromebox.

Have either of these been confirmed with 1080i? 1080p is a very different and simpler kettle of fish.

PANiCnz

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#1231367 4-Feb-2015 20:26

Chromebox's have a Haswell chip, its eats anything h264 thrown at it.