[Discuss] XBMC

[tmetro-blu at vl.com (Tom Metro)]

Richard Pieri wrote:
> What I've been doing of late is actually a bit of a kludge but one
> that works quite well.  Windows 7 (yeah, I know) on an AMD Fusion
> netbook, running XBMC...

Windows because the AMD Fusion drivers aren't available for Linux yet?


> The important points are AMD Fusion APU and XBMC.  Fusion APU because
> it has a solid GPU that supports DXVA which means that it can decode
> MPEG-4 even though the CPU is woefully underpowered for decoding in
> software.

I've looked at the Zotac Zbox Nano AD10, which is an AMD Fusion-based
nettop for about $200, as a possible XBMC platform:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/zotac-zbox-nano-ad10-plus_Desktop-PC_review

When I last checked a few months ago there were still rough edges being
worked out with respect to it running XBMC.


> XBMC because it...is actually a nice home theater media player.

I use XBMC on a laptop hooked up to a TV controlled via an IR remote
when I am away from home. It's the best media player I've tried so far,
but I still have some reservations. One is that it needs to be restarted
every day or so - at least on Windows. (I've read that this is a side
effect of its architecture resulting from its Xbox heritage. I'm curious
to see if it also has this problem when running on Linux.)

The other is that I haven't had a chance to try out the latest MythTV
client it offers. The version I tried a few years ago was quite a
kludge. And acting as a MythTV client will be what I'd use it for 80 to
90% of the time.

Although I see they're working to add DVR capability directly to XBMC
via network tuner cards:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/20/premium-cable-tv-comes-to-xbmc-goodplayer-and-more-via-infinitv/

This is similar to the Boxee (commercial fork of XBMC) Live TV[1] tuner
dongle, which may also turn into a DVR[2].

1. http://gigaom.com/video/boxee-live-tv-review/
2. http://gigaom.com/video/boxee-dvr-subscription/

But I don't really want my set-top-box to be a DVR. At least not until
multiple terabytes of storage gets much smaller and quieter.


> ...with the Android remote program running on my Nook Color. 

Here's an article that says the set-top-box UIs have fallen short, and
instead the superior interface is to use a tablet:

Your Next TV Interface Will Be a Tablet
http://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/12/02/25/1716202/your-next-tv-interface-will-be-a-tablet

So maybe the ideal set-top-box (or TV) just has video decoding hardware
and a network API so the UI on a tablet can tell it what content to pull.

 -Tom

-- 
Tom Metro
Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA
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