[dovedescent7]

TOTAL HTCP NOOB and my apologies if this thread is already on this site somewhere amongst the 5 million i see,ive been reading on this topic obsessively 1-2 hrs a night @ 3nights ,my eyes hurt.

Experience: Basically, i have a Desktop PC and a standalone Panasonic blu ray player.Been burning AVCHD format blu rays (4gb 5.1 DD m2ts/x264) to disc and getting VERY tired of it of the waste,the bs,the back n forth.Never really watched a whole movie on a PC(computer chair not as comfy as the couch).I dont have HDMI output on my PC or the nuts on it to play x264 anyways.I have transcoded many different types of video (by hand) with some knowledge on that but thats the extent of my expertise with regards to computing.


Decision: Buy a 200 dollar free shipping Acer Revo 1600 and add 2gb Ram

(40$),throw a wireless USB in their, and see what happens.


Problem: As a Noob to HTPC (keep in mind i havent played a video game since mike tysons punch-out)Ive never had an XBOX or playstation or wii, my head is spinning with everything ive been reading..Hit wikipedia (software definitions) about 100 times in the last three days trying to figure the difference between MCE WMP XBMC UBUNTU LINUX COREAVC DXVA MPC-HC.Now of course i've used VLC and MPC and NERO,but im not going to be needing that anymore apparently...So what next?



What i need: A software program,that doesnt take up too much cpu,that plays ALL/MOST video files/formats/containers ESPECIALLY x264,and DIvx/xvid very well.Like the best.I'm not interested in anything else.Just to be able to use it as a PC (lightweight stuff) and to play 1080p.No streaming,no netflix,no social media or whatever,no games.Just 1080p and Use it as a PC.




In a perfect world i would like to keep the Xp Home on it.Can i add XBMC to that?Do those even go together?Do i run XBMC on a flash drive (if i DO chose to go that route)?Or should i upgrade to windows 7 with media center?


I have NO clue.Once i think i have read a solution,someone else knocks it.I suck at trial and error folks.I will end up breaking something.

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[ilovejedd]

Question, why not just get the Acer Aspire Revo AR3610? It already has 2GB RAM, WiFi and Windows 7 included so you wouldn't have needed to do any upgrades.


Anyhow, first, how will you be controlling your HTPC? If you're fine with using a mouse and keyboard and you don't need a fancy GUI, then MPC HomeCinema is probably the most hassle free way to play back videos with hardware acceleration.


XBMC, as far as I'm aware, doesn't support HA on Windows. I think you can still get HA by setting an external player such as MPC-HC, though.


There's several ways to accomplish what you want and really, the only way to find what method you prefer is through trial and error.


Personally, I use Windows 7 for my HTPC currently. I needed a DVR and it was the fastest thing to set-up (mostly because Windows Media Center is already installed by default). It's also capable of H.264 and DivX/Xvid playback natively, albeit the default Video Library is pretty basic.

 

[dovedescent7]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovejedd /forum/post/18208512


Question, why not just get the Acer Aspire Revo AR3610? It already has 2GB RAM, WiFi and Windows 7 included so you wouldn't have needed to do any upgrades..

Because my moms credit card had about 270$ on it

And beleive it or not,i am not too concerned with wifi.I have a usb flash From my cable provider that goes to my main desktop that im going to use (for 5$ a month) thats sitting around and im paying for anyways.


Plus,from what i've read,with regards to what i'm doing,i've read over and over that the atom 230 processor,the revo 1600 comes with,though merely a single core,is more than capable of clear unstuttered playback of x264,and basic web surfing.Which at 200$ (free ship.) is MORE than a little attractive to me.Shunno?




As far as controlling it?Ive never given that any thought.Hmm.. i read that you can use a remote for this..Which seems awesome.Never used or seen anything like that for a pc.I never have had the need before this.I guess i would prefer a remote,the logitech trackball keyboard i have laying around may also be an option....And per the remotes, i have no clue what kind,or what those remotes can do etc etc..or even how to hook one up..Like,,, i assume some remote sensor plugs in to usb????

Quote:
XBMC, as far as I'm aware, doesn't support HA on Windows. I think you can still get HA by setting an external player such as MPC-HC, though.

Hmm "HA" is a term i am not familiar with (per the noob quest.) I googled it but came up with quite a few results..Im going to assume the "HA" you are reffereing to has something to do with a remote.Please advise....

Quote:
Personally, I use Windows 7 for my HTPC currently. I needed a DVR and it was the fastest thing to set-up (mostly because Windows Media Center is already installed by default). It's also capable of H.264 and DivX/Xvid playback natively, albeit the default Video Library is pretty basic

When you playback x264 on your setup,does it use alot of internal cpu and codecs etc etc?I guess the preffered way/setup (for me) is something like where i read that you can run some media suites that play x264 flawlessly at something rediculous like 2-20% cpu usage.Does anyone know which one that is for the revo1600?Obviously THAT would be optimal,and i liked the way someone mentioned that you would be making the nvidia graphics card do all the work and not the cpu...If you know what i mean....Does that make sense??

I would be stoked if i could accomplish all i want to do,optimally,KEEPING the winXP Home it comes with.After all,one of my main things was keeping the price down,no?

 

[mike_311]

you can get a cheap media center remote for around $15 on ebay. and yes it comes with a usb ir receiver.


if you do get a remote you definitely want a 10' interface, ie windows media center, xmbc, boxee, media portal, as opposed to just a media player.


if you do get a media center type of software and most are free, you'll be surprised how much you plan to do expands into netflix and other forms of streaming, so don't short change yourself.


HA refers to "hardware acceleration".


check out lifehacker, i'd post the link but Mcaffe blocked at work for some dumb reason today so i can get it.


do a search on "media center" there and you will find a good comparison of some of the more popular ones and also a setup guide for xmbc among others.

 

[mike 01hawk]

Cheapest option, but most difficult: Add Linux and XBMC for Hardware Acceleration since the Atom MIGHT choke on the upper end of High Def feeds. XBMC for Windows does not support full HA just yet.

$$$ option, but might not support everything: Get a Win7 key off ebay and use it with a burnt ISO (fully legal) from here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=428068 Then install "Media Browser" and "Shark007 Codec Pack"


You should search the following terms on here and @ http://xbmc.org/ there are many many threads:

Revo

XBMC

Media Browser

Codecs


Should be a good start, welcome to the forum

 

[dovedescent7]

Thanks mikehawk01 .Very good stuff...Im going to keep going back to your post for reference on things to google/look into.Thanks for the warm welcome.Its nice to find a forum that people are actually willing to help me!


Thanks!!!

 

[Mallet21]

If you're running XP, XBMC's DSplayer (DXVA) builds are pretty solid.

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?t=61355

 

[rflores2323]

Best setup IMO. Acer revo 3610 running xbmc live. The revo get off eBay with a Linux os as you will be installing xbmc live or you can go full ubuntu install which is easy. Very easy to setup. Go to xbmc forums and go to the Linux support forum and search for xbmc freak live cd. This is an iso that you can run off a USB stick or install on hard drive. Works great and is all preconfigured with what you need.


I would recommend xbmc as it does everything you need and it free.

 

[dovedescent7]

thanks guys.It will be here in two days.You folks ROCK!

 

[lsarver]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovejedd /forum/post/18208512


XBMC, as far as I'm aware, doesn't support HA on Windows.

It does now: both DXVA and with a Broadcom Crystal HD decoder card. Check out:

This thread here on AVSForum or several threads on XBMC Windows forum .


As you mention, MPC-HC works externally, too.