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Thanks to this thread at XBMC forum , I decided to try out an OUYA, despite initial hesitation. Why? ... having been disappointed by Pivos XIOS (both Linux and Android versions) and the Little Black Box, I was wary about trying out another Android box for XBMC. But, a sale at StackSocial (ends in 3 days) convinced me as $85 shipped got me an OUYA + $25 OUYA web store credit. Figured worth a try, and if I didn't like it, I'd eBay it!
I already have a Celeron NUC and an i3 NUC (Sandy/Ivy Bridge 2012 versions), both running OpenELEC, with very reliable media player-like XBMC experience, but wanted a budget box for the kids room. I must say I'm quite impressed with the OUYA running SPMC (the specifically made-for-OUYA XBMC fork version). Plus, having Netflix via an Android APK you can find easily and a decent bunch of Android games that work well on OUYA.
I'm finding OUYA with SPMC only a few notches slower overall than my Celeron NUC (even with Aeon Nox installed as I do), but perfectly fine as a budget XBMC box. And, for about 1/3 to 1/4 the price (once you figure in mSATA SSD + RAM).
I tried full rips of 'The Dark Knight Rises', 'Captain Phillips' and even 3D MVC MKV's of 'Thor: The Dark World' and 'Gravity', all over wired SMB, all played perfectly. 'Thor' 3D and 'Gravity' 3D of course played in 2D, but no stutters or freezes. You get minor hiccups if you chapter or skip forward/back as it take a few seconds to recover and continue playing, but it resumes playing smoothly. If you prefer ISO's, I'm reading here that the nightly Gotham builds for OUYA play full Blu-ray rips rather well.
The OUYA isn't well-suited for dedicated home theater use, but for a cheap, secondary XBMC + Netflix + casual Android games box for under $100, what's not to like?! And, with nice, tiny form factor to boot!
To sum it up, some pros and cons...
+ Just $85 via StackSocial sale, or $70 refurb via GameStop
+ Smooth XBMC performance using SPMC (nightly Gotham may be as good, but I haven't tried)
+ SPMC version downmixes DTS and Dolby Digital
+ Plays full BD rips just fine via wired network
+ Can sideload Android game APK's. See list here.
+ Can install Netflix. See here.
+ PLEX app available via official OUYA 'Discover' store
+ Supports powered USB hub
+ Nice, tiny form factor
- Need Mele F10-PRO remote ($35) for best experience if you don't want to use the game controller for XBMC
- Need a USB stick (I'm using a 32GB) as OUYA's internal 8GB memory isn't enough if you want to install games, etc.
- Not all Android game APK's work
- Netflix only at 480p I believe (not sure; looks decent on a 50" display, but not great)
- Overall performance not as fluid or fast as a real HTPC (like a NUC) (but, not that you'd expect at this price)
- No HD audio support
Anyway, I like the OUYA so much, I ordered a second one for the bedroom before the StackSocial deal ends
.
I already have a Celeron NUC and an i3 NUC (Sandy/Ivy Bridge 2012 versions), both running OpenELEC, with very reliable media player-like XBMC experience, but wanted a budget box for the kids room. I must say I'm quite impressed with the OUYA running SPMC (the specifically made-for-OUYA XBMC fork version). Plus, having Netflix via an Android APK you can find easily and a decent bunch of Android games that work well on OUYA.
I'm finding OUYA with SPMC only a few notches slower overall than my Celeron NUC (even with Aeon Nox installed as I do), but perfectly fine as a budget XBMC box. And, for about 1/3 to 1/4 the price (once you figure in mSATA SSD + RAM).
I tried full rips of 'The Dark Knight Rises', 'Captain Phillips' and even 3D MVC MKV's of 'Thor: The Dark World' and 'Gravity', all over wired SMB, all played perfectly. 'Thor' 3D and 'Gravity' 3D of course played in 2D, but no stutters or freezes. You get minor hiccups if you chapter or skip forward/back as it take a few seconds to recover and continue playing, but it resumes playing smoothly. If you prefer ISO's, I'm reading here that the nightly Gotham builds for OUYA play full Blu-ray rips rather well.
The OUYA isn't well-suited for dedicated home theater use, but for a cheap, secondary XBMC + Netflix + casual Android games box for under $100, what's not to like?! And, with nice, tiny form factor to boot!
To sum it up, some pros and cons...
+ Just $85 via StackSocial sale, or $70 refurb via GameStop
+ Smooth XBMC performance using SPMC (nightly Gotham may be as good, but I haven't tried)
+ SPMC version downmixes DTS and Dolby Digital
+ Plays full BD rips just fine via wired network
+ Can sideload Android game APK's. See list here.
+ Can install Netflix. See here.
+ PLEX app available via official OUYA 'Discover' store
+ Supports powered USB hub
+ Nice, tiny form factor
- Need Mele F10-PRO remote ($35) for best experience if you don't want to use the game controller for XBMC
- Need a USB stick (I'm using a 32GB) as OUYA's internal 8GB memory isn't enough if you want to install games, etc.
- Not all Android game APK's work
- Netflix only at 480p I believe (not sure; looks decent on a 50" display, but not great)
- Overall performance not as fluid or fast as a real HTPC (like a NUC) (but, not that you'd expect at this price)
- No HD audio support
Anyway, I like the OUYA so much, I ordered a second one for the bedroom before the StackSocial deal ends
