Computer help

estone

estone

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I know there are techno wiz people on here. I need some help in setting up a computer.

I'm looking at getting a desktop computer, plugging it into my TV via HDMI, and using it to watch movies.

What requirements do I need in terms of

- processor
- ram
- graphics card (for blue ray quality 'downloaded' movies)

I will have a wireless keyboard/mouse for the times I need to control the computer.
 
If you can find an Acer REVO it's a really good way to go. It's compact, very light on electricity usage, and most importantly its near-silent. It plays 1080p rips no problem.

If not the Acer specifically, then any small form factor PC with an Intel ATOM processor would also do. I suggest Intel ATOM because its silent and easy on the power consumption.


This isn't bad:
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=60976&vpn=EB1007-B0410&manufacture=ASUS

This is better:
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=60980&vpn=EB1501P-B016E&manufacture=ASUS

Haven't had experience with this one myself but it has an Atom D525 processor so its more than capable of running HD movies:
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=58020&vpn=ZBOXHD-ID31-PLUS-U&manufacture=Zotac

Prices vary based on operating system installed and the processor.
 
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why waste money on a computer just to watch movies?. Get a blue ray dvd player that has a usb and use a memory stick., if you're set on some sore of computer, almost any tablet will do it.
 
oilycreek said:
why waste money on a computer just to watch movies?. Get a blue ray dvd player that has a usb and use a memory stick., if you're set on some sore of computer, almost any tablet will do it.
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Or get a Media player with a USB, Some of them can upconvert movies to 1080p (No experience, just what they say on the box)
 
estone said:
I know there are techno wiz people on here. I need some help in setting up a computer.

I'm looking at getting a desktop computer, plugging it into my TV via HDMI, and using it to watch movies.

What requirements do I need in terms of

- processor
- ram
- graphics card (for blue ray quality 'downloaded' movies)

I will have a wireless keyboard/mouse for the times I need to control the computer.
Click to expand...

if all you want is playback of downloaded movie then look at the Patriot Box Office for $85 but I bought it for $79 with the "n" adapter on sale

http://www.patriotmemory.com/products/detailp.jsp?prodline=6&catid=69&prodgroupid=159&id=895

I've had it for 2 years now and there's nothing it won't play (upconverts everything to 1080p) Here's a very active forum for the PBO


There's also the very popular WDTV live but it's doesn't have any HDD space
 
Added benefit of having an actual PC as opposed to a neutered (in some ways) media player is that he can browse the web and watch online content from Canadian networks (citytv, ctv, cbc, etc) since they all have most of their TV shows on the web. You can also catch not-so-legal streams from various online sources... including pay-per-view events and stuff like that. So yeah, a PC offers more flexibility.
 
mmmnaked said:
Added benefit of having an actual PC as opposed to a neutered (in some ways) media player is that he can browse the web and watch online content from Canadian networks (citytv, ctv, cbc, etc) since they all have most of their TV shows on the web. You can also catch not-so-legal streams from various online sources... including pay-per-view events and stuff like that. So yeah, a PC offers more flexibility.
Click to expand...

many of the set top media boxes will let you do that.
 
Jag_V4Ape said:
Processor = doesnt really matter
Ram = doesnt really matter (but have 4gb min. for a desktop)
CPU = Anything with an HDMI... but dont cheap out too much! There's too many GPU's to start suggesting, just find your budget, and look at its features (HDMI), if it supports HDMI, you're good. :)

www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6680906&CatId=3669

Thats something basic.
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Spend $120 on a card when he can get a whole media player for that much? Sorry but that's dumb.

You definitely DON'T want a full out PC under your TV... it's noisy and it sucks way more power than it needs to. Trust me on this, you don't want a noisy media player.
 
Interesting. Thanks for the feedback, I'll look into the options above.
 
A jailbroken Apple TV running XBMC is fantastic for something like this. With XBMC you can stream video over your network from a NAS or a networked computer. Even better is to just add the icefilms addon, this way you can view movies and tv shows almost instantly, without having to pre-download them.

There are also numerous other addons for XBMC such as web browser and local content streaming.

I've set up a few of these for non techie friends, they all love it.
 
regder said:
A jailbroken Apple TV running XBMC is fantastic for something like this. With XBMC you can stream video over your network from a NAS or a networked computer. Even better is to just add the icefilms addon, this way you can view movies and tv shows almost instantly, without having to pre-download them.

There are also numerous other addons for XBMC such as web browser and local content streaming.

I've set up a few of these for non techie friends, they all love it.
Click to expand...

I have my xbox set up this way.
 
Yup, anything running XBMC will work pretty much the same. Apple TV is simply the cheapest hardware right now that will do it. I have XBMC setup on every piece of hardware I have that will run it, really fantastic software
 
AppleTV doesn't have enough juice to run 1080p, and even stutters on many 720p encodes. Not a good suggestion, IMO. I have the first gen one collecting dust under my TV for this reason alone.
 
mmmnaked said:
AppleTV doesn't have enough juice to run 1080p, and even stutters on many 720p encodes. Not a good suggestion, IMO. I have the first gen one collecting dust under my TV for this reason alone.
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I feel too many people get stuck on the whole 1080P thing, for the majority of people they will never notice the difference from 720P. Supposedly 720P streaming has been fixed on recent XBMC builds, I haven't tried it in a while so I don't know. Further how much HD content do people really download? A ripped 1080P bluray movie is something like 10-16gb.

Personally, I'm content with dvd quality off icefilms, as is everyone else I know. If you are stuck on streaming 1080P, I'm sure there are other slightly more expensive options that will run XBMC.
 
p.s the next gen Apple TV should be right around the corner, with the A5 chipset, will do 1080P no problem
 
regder said:
I feel too many people get stuck on the whole 1080P thing, for the majority of people they will never notice the difference from 720P. Supposedly 720P streaming has been fixed on recent XBMC builds, I haven't tried it in a while so I don't know. Further how much HD content do people really download? A ripped 1080P bluray movie is something like 10-16gb.

Personally, I'm content with dvd quality off icefilms, as is everyone else I know. If you are stuck on streaming 1080P, I'm sure there are other slightly more expensive options that will run XBMC.
Click to expand...


All my downloads are 720p, as my TV is 720p. If I had a 1080p TV then most of my downloads would be that. I have 300gb/month limit and probably download 5 movies and a bunch of shows every month.

The AppleTV won't play 1080p at all, but the bigger gripe was that it struggles with 720p as well, depending on the encode. I mostly agree that the difference between 720/1080 might not be noticeable in most cases, but to me 720p is a minimum. The difference between 720p and a DVDrip is colossal.
 
Sad reality is, most people don't have 300gb to play around with. I have 60gb for instance
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