[ale] OT: media box

[DJ-Pfulio]

On 11/25/2015 09:24 AM, Boris Borisov wrote:
> We have discuss did in he past but lets go one more time. What would you
> get for media box at home? I had different dedicated media players and
> now I have windows PC which is no longer capable with running my kids
> games :) While the E8400 CPU is capable of running 1080p content and the
> box itself is relatively low noise for a desktop, still the box is huge
> and power consumption is also factor.
> 
> So I'm thinking of going green of sort.
> 
> I have one multimedia android 4.0.4 box which has Ethernet and WiFi.
> WiFi sucks big time and cannot hold connection. Also some apps works
> fine some does not when playing multimedia content.
> 
> Idea is to get one of very small factor PC. I was looking at Zotac mini
> PC forms.
> 
> Which one would you pick. Brand, form factor, CPU/GPU, even running OS ?
> 


Raspberry Pi-2 for playback. I only use it wired. OSMC/Kodi+PlexBMC and
a few other plugins.

G3258-based PC for Plex Media Server-handles transcoding of local media
to whatever the playback devices require. $100 for CPU+MB. 35W or so.
Put it anywhere on the network.  Or keep the E8400 - I retired mine due
to power and noise.

Roku-something if you need commercial, DRM, playback. The Plex App only
works with a plex login. The r-pi2 doesn't need that. I only use it wired.

Email me offlist if anyone wants more specifics. A 5-10 min phone call
will clarify much.