Media machine for living room?

I'm moving to a new house and will no longer be able to use one computer for all my media needs. I need to buy a computer that will be dedicated solely for downloading and watching movies and TV shows in the living room.

It does NOT need:

A hard drive. I will be buying a TB drive for it.
An optical drive. No need for one.

It DOES need:

To have the ability to handle any variation of 1080i/p movies.
HDMI output.

Since it will be sitting in my living room, I don't want a big tower. No way. I'm thinking a Shuttle or something. I've priced the Shuttle systems on their website and they're way more than what I want to spend, but I like the idea of the small machine. Anyone have any experience with a Dell Zino?

What are my best options? Price is a factor this time around.

WD TV:

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/index.asp?cat=30

Quote:

---

Play a world of HD media on your TV

HD video, photos and music - they're on your computer, on your USB drives, on the Internet, but how do you enjoy them on your TV? Now it's easy! Play a whole world of Full-HD, 1080p media on your big screen TV with the WD TV Live network-ready HD media player.

---

hoi bud. Whay can't you use 1 computer? What are your current system specs. What is your current budget looking like?

The WDTV Live is great but it will not Download movies as Skizo said. It could be an option if you could DL movies on your computer and play them over Ethernet or even wirelessly. I have both the WDTV and the "Live" version get the Live one ;) the option is a wireless USB adapter will work with it well.

I have tried almost every option when it comes to watching movies on the TV and the WDTV Live is BY FAR the easiest,most reliable and cheapest. It plays EVERYTHING DUDE. The original was good but didn't play about 75% of the X264/MKV rips we get this one plays em all.

EDIT: looked up the price on New egg- $119.99 Free Shipping

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui30UGYagpo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7JLGACMBGs

Looks/Sounds like I would have to download data onto a portable drive with my PC and then take it into the living and plug it in to the WDTV machine. That is not something I am interested in doing at all.

I would like to have a machine like a Shuttle or something that I can put beside (or behind or whatever) the TV. Then put a wireless card in it and download the content directly via my home wifi.

EDIT:

I just updated my original post to be a tad more specific.

There isn't anything at all wrong with current computer but my new house is going to have the office on the other side of the house as my living room, thus the current PC will no longer work for that purpose.

My workmate just bought one of the new eee boxes, one with a dual core atom, and ion for graphics.

That's supposed to be able to handle full-hd.

EDit: Wait - he didn't buy one, he got an MSI DE200, instead. That's pretty much the same hardware, but with an ati chip for graphics and with a different casing, though.

It comes with a wireless card, hdmi and 7.1 sound, and it's pretty cheap.

Link

They also come with 320GB drives, if you need the space and are willing to pay a little more.

His came with Win 7 Home Premium as well, the one on newegg only shows XP home.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Skiz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui30UGYagpo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7JLGACMBGs

Looks/Sounds like I would have to download data onto a portable drive with my PC and then take it into the living and plug it in to the WDTV machine. That is not something I am interested in doing at all.

I would like to have a machine like a Shuttle or something that I can put beside (or behind or whatever) the TV. Then put a wireless card in it and download the content directly via my home wifi.

EDIT:

I just updated my original post to be a tad more specific.

There isn't anything at all wrong with current computer but my new house is going to have the office on the other side of the house as my living room, thus the current PC will no longer work for that purpose.

---

Thats why I recommend the WDTV Live (Live meaning WDTV v2) man. It can connect to your network via Ethernet or if you buy a wireless USB adapter you can read right from your computer hard drive. There is a list I'll find of recommended USB adapters out there but most people say you can use almost any one, even the cheapo models.

http://www.wdtvlive.com/tutorials/vi..._Live_Overview

EDIT:

From the WDTV Live page

Quote:

---

Access media files on your home network - WD TV Live supports a direct Ethernet connection or a USB attached wireless connection to your home network. Click here to view compatible wireless-ready USB adaptors.

---

Trust me on this one dude. I know what you want as I chased it for soo long trying different ways of not having to physically move media from the computer to play it on the TV and this is it.

Could tell me a bit more about setting it up wirelessly? I wouldn't think that it would be able to stream 1080 content through a wireless USB adapter. :unsure:

@Snee - I'll look at those MSI machines as well. Thanks.

Have a look at the new eee box as well. He originally planned for that, to use it like you're talking about. He just went for the MSI because he got that cheaper.

The WD Live is on sale this week at Best Buy (at least in my area), down from $149 to $119.

The more I think about it, the more I can't even see the point in WDTV. At least not for me.

If you still have to download the programs/movies with a computer, why not just use that computer to play them as well? :unsure:

Price mostly. It's a great solution for a very reasonable price. For me it was exactly what I was looking for.

I looked at the EEE machine Snee. They all have Intel Atom processors and I don't see how those will run 1080. I have an Intel Atom N270 (1.6 GHz) in my netbook and it's not all that fast just browsing. I can't even watch YouTube "HD" with it. :unsure:

I like the Dell Zino, but its more than I want to spend. It's absolutely ideal tho'.

I don't think I'm going to be able to find what I want for what I'm willing to spend. :dabs:

It's a dual core atom combined with an ion chip, mang.

I think he looked at the EB1501.

It might have issues with downsampling, if you want to play hd content on a lower res, dunno, but playing full hd works, according to asus and a bunch of people at different forums.

[youtube]-oBc81lGq1k[/youtube]

Advertisement type of deal^

Could you maybe expand on that first sentence as I'm a bit confused? I've gone to the EEE Box website and looked at the 5 different models. It looks like the best processor is the Atom N270 1.6, which is the exact same as my netbook has, and it can't play anything close to HD. I also Googled around and read 3 or 4 reviews for them and every one said they were OK for internet and word processing but not much else. Not saying you're wrong or anything, but I'm just not seeing what you're seeing. :unsure:

Also, I found this online and it looks pretty solid. I'd just need to buy a new HDD. - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tchlink:top:en

Thoughts on this one anyone?

Looks ok to me. I'd prolly want to change out the graphics card for a gt 240 or something, myself (similar performance but uses less power). I like the case, have considered it myself for a future project. If he's not managed to bork something it ought to be cool.


And the Atom in the new Eee box (also shown in the video I linked above) is called the 330 or something like that, it's a later model, I've no idea why it's not possible to see anything about it on the site, then, you can already order them from here. I had a look at your newegg earlier, though, and no Eee box using it is available there, yet, iirc. The MSI I was talking about uses the same one, I think.

Edit:

On second thought, I'd like to know more about what psu is in there, before I bought it, as well.

It had a 300W psu. I put in a snipe of max $150 and it sold for $209 + $15 for shipping.

Back to the drawing board.

If you are prepared to build a machine rather than buy a box then look at Zotac, they have a new series of atom based ITX boards using the NVidia ION chipset. This chipset is a huge advance over the Intel ICH7 based atom offerings, it supports dual channel RAM has an integrated NVidia 9400M IGP with DVI & HDMI connectors. The 9400M fully supports PureVideoHD so can
can decode HD codecs on the card. It also has wireless N built in:
http://www.zotacusa.com/zotac-ionitx...therboard.html

and if you want a stunning case to wrap around the M/B you can't go past the Luxa2 mini 100:
http://www.luxa2.com/products/enclos...ni/design.html

all you need is RAM and a hard drive and your good to go :D

Well and a case, keyboard, and mouse as well :P

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Detale

Well and a case, keyboard, and mouse as well :P

---

errr no the case is listed in my last post speshal boi, or at least my suggestion on an excellent htpc case, and it includes a VFD display
and remote controller with the kit, so if it is purely a media PC then
the keyboard & mouse are strictly optional ?????? (apart from during the set up ofc)

YOU EDITED.... then slickly removed the "Last edited by Artemis" bit from the bottom! Well either that or I just missed that completely, damn I suck :(

What I will say is that remote sucks. The same one shipped with my Thermaltake DH-102 HTPC case and i hated the thing. I ended up getting this adesso wireless mini keyboard with a trackball on it. That worked out well

http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/...images/009.jpg

I also just looked up that case and it's nice and all but the cheapest version is $300 :shutup:

Luxa 2 is a division of thermaltake and yes they use the same medialab software and remote.

I actually have two htpc's one in the lounge and a 2nd one I stream media to in the bedroom. The main htpc I have has the Microsoft ehome blaster with the MS beanbag remote and the MS multimedia keyboard, but the second PC I bought a little no name brand chinese remote which is a. very small and b. has a mouse built into it and it works brilliantly, I paid $28 for it so I would be surprised if the thing was $10USD, and when I need a keyboard I plug a USB one in (which is infrequently).
Back to Skiz's build, I suggested the Luxa 2 mini ITX case because it is a very high quality case but there are many other mini ITX cases out there, most manufacturers are now building desktop htpc & mini tower ITX cases, Aywun is a very cheap but good alternative, or for another take on an ITX htpc case look at the OriginAE mini ITX case.

It depends what you are after really, if you do not want a VFD or LCD display on the case then any mini ITX case will do, I just think that the Luxa 2 design is one of the best I have seen.

The Luxa2 is a nice case but the TT DH-102 is nicer:naughty:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Detale

The Luxa2 is a nice case but the TT DH-102 is nicer:naughty:

---

That's right, I forgot about your A.D.D. , we are talking about a mini ITX solution here, remember skiz wanted something SMALL, a DH102 isn't exactly small, it is nice but it's not even remotely small :whistling

I only glanced through this thread and it seems you are interested in some form of HTPC, which is what I thought I needed. So I build one. It has been just fine, but I had to find a way to turn it on remotely, and then navigate to folders, etc.

I recently bought an Asus O!Play. It does everything I need it to in the living room. Actually, I will be moving the rest of my PCs around, because I have found I don't need the HTPC in the living room anymore.

The Asus has the ability to hook up to a network. And has USB along with eSATA connections. I am really happy with it. It is entirely capable of 1080p and I have not found, or heard of a codec it does not have. Firmware upgrades also add future functionality, ofc.

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Play-Medi.../dp/B002MCZJ3C

Or

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16815293008

I paid $87.99 w/ shipping and a free HDMI cable right before Christmas.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by megabyteme

I only glanced through this thread and it seems you are interested in some form of HTPC, which is what I thought I needed. So I build one. It has been just fine, but I had to find a way to turn it on remotely, and then navigate to folders, etc.

I recently bought an Asus O!Play. It does everything I need it to in the living room. Actually, I will be moving the rest of my PCs around, because I have found I don't need the HTPC in the living room anymore.

The Asus has the ability to hook up to a network. And has USB along with eSATA connections. I am really happy with it. It is entirely capable of 1080p and I have not found, or heard of a codec it does not have. Firmware upgrades also add future functionality, ofc.

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Play-Medi.../dp/B002MCZJ3C

Or

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16815293008

I paid $87.99 w/ shipping and a free HDMI cable right before Christmas.

---

I second that I just got one for my parents for christmas cause I'm tired of burning discs for them and its perfect. Only thing it don't have is the ability to decode 5.1 dts but it can pass it to a a/v receiver.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by megabyteme

I only glanced through this thread and it seems you are interested in some form of HTPC, which is what I thought I needed. So I build one. It has been just fine, but I had to find a way to turn it on remotely, and then navigate to folders, etc.

I recently bought an Asus O!Play. It does everything I need it to in the living room. Actually, I will be moving the rest of my PCs around, because I have found I don't need the HTPC in the living room anymore.

The Asus has the ability to hook up to a network. And has USB along with eSATA connections. I am really happy with it. It is entirely capable of 1080p and I have not found, or heard of a codec it does not have. Firmware upgrades also add future functionality, ofc.

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Play-Medi.../dp/B002MCZJ3C

Or

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16815293008

I paid $87.99 w/ shipping and a free HDMI cable right before Christmas.

---

Looks nice, but like the WDTV it isn't for me. I need an all in one solution and not extra components to go along with a PC.

If you want something in a small size that can play everything I suggest to check ION solutions. For example something like that
http://www.asrock.com/nettop/spec/ION%20330.asp

Are any of you guys with the WDTV Live Media Player using it to connect to a linux box? If so, could you explain your Samba setup? I'm a complete noob when it comes to windows networking, and I can't seem to get a proper network share set up. I've got everything installed and running OK by the looks of things, I can connect to the box, but I'm getting a message that there's no media in the shared folder. Any tips, tricks, or sample samba configs would be great :)

Sure man. Now I'm not using Linux I'm using Windows 7. Start a new thread so we don't hijack Skizo's and let me know your exact setup. If you are using Win7 though you just have to right click on the shared folders then select share with>specific people then from the pulldown menu at the top select "everyone" and click "add" then "everyone will appear at the bottom make sure you have the permissions there set to read/write. If you have more questions start a new thread and I'm sure I can help you figure it out.

Whatever the error was I think I broke enough things until I fixed it :) I'm up and running now, and I have to say, this thing really rocks! I was going to go with the base model, but I'm glad I spent the few extra bucks for the Live version. Thanks for the recommendation (and the offer to help). Much appreciated!

No problem man.

Hoi Skizo what did you wind up doing anyway?

Still shopping on/off. :dabs:

I've been moving and working on my new house for the past two weeks. I'm also in the process of building two desks for my office so I haven't even setup my PC. Right now I'm just on the netbook.

I do want to get something put together but I can't seem to find just the right thing.

I like those ASRock ION 330 machines but they take 2.5" drives and use the minimum specs for driving 1080p.

I'd really like to get a Shuttle but they want too much money these days.

I think the best option is going to be some sort full size horizontal type case. I'm pretty much still at square one though.

orsum then. I still vote for a WDTV Live dude :P You could have been watching movies easily by now.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Detale

orsum then. I still vote for a WDTV Live dude :P You could have been watching movies easily by now.

---

I'll second that.

I'm quite happy with mine. It's the best purchase I've made since I started torrenting. For price/functionality/convenience it just can't be beat. It's tiny, completely silent, and it's played every single thing I've thrown at it so far, including the .avi files from my Canon camera which neither of my divx players would play.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Detale

orsum then. I still vote for a WDTV Live dude :P You could have been watching movies easily by now.

---

Not without running all of the wiring down a hallway, through the doorway, and across my living room. :dabs:

I've been watching eBay and Craigslist pretty closely and I'll find something on one of those soon enough I suppose.

You can get the WDTV Live to run wirelessly man with many different USB wireless adapters dude. I do hope you find what you are looking for though. Why not build what you want? What budget are you working with?

I was trying to keep it under $400, but it looks like $600 is a more realistic price.

$400 no prob :)

LITE-ON Black 24X DVD Writer 29.99

APEX MI-008 Black Steel Mini-ITX Tower 39.99

Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 47.99 (could go smaller for less $$)
G.SKILL 2GB 49.99

ZOTAC IONITX-A-U Atom 184.99(-$20 rebate, bringing it down to $164)



Grand total $352.95 and shipping to me is only 13.99. The assembly is NOTHING dude most anyone here can talk you through it shit I'll even write a tutorial for you. as for a keyboard/remote you will have to pick what you want but the adesso one I recommended is great and about $50 most places ;) so there's your $400 price.

I wrote up a long post yesterday but it was during the "downtime" tesco mentioned. :dabs:

Anyhow, the short story is that ION330 is what I'll end up going with and probably the "ZOTAC IONITX-A-U Atom" that you linked. The 330 is what Snee was suggesting from jump street but I just couldn't see how that would push 1080. Though I'll admit that everywhere I look is another positive review of the 330.

I won't be finished building my desks until probably Sunday, so after those are done and I get my office all set up, I'll start on this project. Pics to follow, I suppose. :)

EDIT: Can I put a 1TB drive in it? :unsure:

Sure bud, drive size shouldn't matter one bit. The ram however does it will only use 800 Mhz so if you buy anything faster it will "underclock" the ram.