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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 "Enterprise solutions through open source." Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/
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