New media centre needed

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  • xant14
    V.I.P. Member
    • Dec 2008
    • 2062
    #1

    New media centre needed

    I am after another telly PC/media centre thing. I have a acer aspire Revo R3600, but to be honest, it isn't really man enough for the job. It stutters a bit with biggish files, won't play some of the really big .mkv's. Not only that, it has no optical digital soundout, only thru hdmi.

    So I looked at this Lenovo ThinkCentre A70 Desktop - Desktops | Ebuyer.com
    I don't think it has optical sound either, but could a sound card be added? with optical or coax digital sound?
    I believe it has dvi out... but I might be mistaken, so maybe a graphics card needed?

    I would be interested to here other peoples ideas on this.
    Or alternative products.
    Tags: None
    • Shady
      Shite Link King
      • Dec 2010
      • 6404
      #2
      check out my thread in the pc section mate
      Digital Kaos
      http://www.digital-kaos.co.uk/forums/f94/~~~~-me-nice-186655/
      Fave replies from various threads

      1: What the fff is all that about??? All that crap below your reply I mean, get a life mate
      2: no info on google abt the pace sv5 rang asda they have no idea what i was talking about,
      3: Your total contribution to this forum, bordering on trolling, seems to have been a collection of snipes, one liners & asterisked expletives

        Comment

        • xant14
          V.I.P. Member
          • Dec 2008
          • 2062
          #3
          I really really like that Shady. Just a little over my budget. Gonna have 5 knuckle shuffle over the pics of it tho.

            Comment

            • Shady
              Shite Link King
              • Dec 2010
              • 6404
              #4
              [ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Popcorn-Hour-A210-incl-1500GB/dp/B004GX24O2/ref=sr_1_20?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1296375928&s r=1-20]Popcorn Hour A210 incl. 1500GB 3,5" HDD: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics[/ame]
              Fave replies from various threads

              1: What the fff is all that about??? All that crap below your reply I mean, get a life mate
              2: no info on google abt the pace sv5 rang asda they have no idea what i was talking about,
              3: Your total contribution to this forum, bordering on trolling, seems to have been a collection of snipes, one liners & asterisked expletives

                Comment

                • xant14
                  V.I.P. Member
                  • Dec 2008
                  • 2062
                  #5
                  Originally posted by shadyback
                  Popcorn Hour A210 incl. 1500GB 3,5" HDD: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics
                  Great for media shady, but won't play my 4od and bbci itv catchup shite.
                  Thanks for info, but try again

                  At the moment I have this
                  [ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-Aspire-R3600-Desktop-Premium/dp/B0028QSIY4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296388911&sr=8-1-catcorr]Acer Aspire Revo R3600 Desktop PC (Intel Atom N230 1.6 Ghz, 2 GB RAM, 160 GB HDD, Vista Home Premium): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories[/ame]
                  but the main things it lacks are
                  1 Power (probably another gig of ram would help)
                  2 Optical digital sound.. only digital sound output is thru hdmi, and my amp doesn't split the sound/vid... it merely passes it thru, to the telly.
                  3 Design.. I would rather have flat, dvd shaped unit.

                  Mainly it is the lack of 5.1 that is pissing me off.. I have a reasonable set up, and am unable to use all them speakers and sub woofer... the neighbours keep checking we are still alive.

                  I did look at a boxee, weird shape, and promises a good few things like bbci player and 4od.. but I have tried their version of 4 od and it is shit... youtube based content, and not complete... it has got to be a computer.
                  [ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/D-Link-Boxee-Digital-Media-Player/dp/B0043EV3MS/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1296389430&sr=1-1]D-Link Boxee Box Digital Media Player: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories[/ame]

                    Comment

                    • sirlisterofsmeg
                      Top Poster
                      • Jan 2010
                      • 120
                      #6
                      Try the 3700
                      Dual boot
                      XBMC
                      W7U (for Sky Player)
                      The Ion2 makes a big difference.
                      I have just got on and it is great.
                      Can play HD content without breaking into a sweat.
                      mine is hard wired to my network and pulls everything from a NetGear Stora running CFW.
                      I think it does 5.1 via 3.5 Jack but i am running everything through HDMI

                        Comment

                        • sirlisterofsmeg
                          Top Poster
                          • Jan 2010
                          • 120
                          #7
                          Just looked at mine
                          It actually has a physical SP/Dif socket on it. Bonus
                          I was looking at getting one of these for mine
                          Xenta Nano Wireless Multimedia 56 Key Keyboard with.. | Ebuyer.com
                          As i mainly use it for XBMC with my harmony nut have keyboard & mouse connected for W7 stuff

                            Comment

                            • xant14
                              V.I.P. Member
                              • Dec 2008
                              • 2062
                              #8
                              I have been toying with this one SirLister. Mainly because of the s/pdif. It does look good.
                              I Like the keypad remote thing too. I tend to use my Android phone for VLC remote, XBMC remote etc, but the IP address keeps changing and forever going back into settings. The missus would appreciate something that 'just worked!'

                              I use xbmc dual boot on my 3600 now, and it handles everything I throw at it, but explaining to the missus how things work for the umpteenth time, I was hoping to do away with dual boot, and just stick with windows.
                              I can see this has dual core, and more ram so it might handle it more so than mine.

                              I was hoping to get a more traditional rectangular box to fit in with the rest of the stuff on my shelves, but beggars cant be choosers I guess.

                                Comment

                                • Shady
                                  Shite Link King
                                  • Dec 2010
                                  • 6404
                                  #9
                                  theres always ebay and build it yourself mate..much more satisfying
                                  Fave replies from various threads

                                  1: What the fff is all that about??? All that crap below your reply I mean, get a life mate
                                  2: no info on google abt the pace sv5 rang asda they have no idea what i was talking about,
                                  3: Your total contribution to this forum, bordering on trolling, seems to have been a collection of snipes, one liners & asterisked expletives

                                    Comment

                                    • sirlisterofsmeg
                                      Top Poster
                                      • Jan 2010
                                      • 120
                                      #10
                                      It doesn't look too bad with the rest of my kit



                                      Using a IR receiver next to the V+ Box

                                      Although you can't really see it with the cabinet door closed

                                        Comment

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