[Stephen Neal]

[Mod Comment: Thread continuation from: Acer Aspire Revo Owners Thread *Part 2* ]

I've heard no reports that the Ion 2 in the Revo 3700 supports a Protected Audio Path, which is required for HD Audio Bitstreaming of DTS HD MA and Dolby True HD. All the Ions support 5.1/7.1PCM output - which means True HD and DTS HD audio can be decoded to PCM - but that requires software that is capable of decoding it AND if this is licensed it will have to downsample to 48k/16bit because of the lack of the PAP.

[pedrocks]

Originally Posted by REvouser

Frustrated... can anyone help...

Have Acer Revo 3610. 1080P MKV's play choppy and unwatchable. Youtube 720/1080 full screen doesnt work, 50 inch plasma goes out and flashes on once in a while... I just upgraded from 2gb to 4gb ram, upgraded flash, upgraded nvidia drivers thought this would solve, but has solved nothing... getting very frustrated with this device.

I had been in a similar situation for a few months whilst I got my head round the whole windows or linux route. Finally, after a lot of trial and error (I dont know much about Linux), I have a system which is perfect.

I installed the XBMCfeak live (Maverick alpha - XBMCFreak » First Alpha Maverick test build (livecd)) Which has been the most stable version of XBMC for my Acer Revo. All my 720/1080p content play fine. XBMCfreak is optimised for the Nvidia ION chipset using Ubuntu.

[toastedone]

Is the 3600 as good as the 3610?

[conan]

Its single core instead of dual core CPU and also the mouse and keyboard are wired and not wireless, apart from that they are the same.

[nwgarratt]

Originally Posted by toastedone

Is the 3600 as good as the 3610?

Only difference is the 3610 is dual core and has a optical spdif socket.

[toastedone]

would the 3600 be anygood for MKV and xbmc, and also what about 5.1 running through an amp?

[conan]

Originally Posted by toastedone

would the 3600 be anygood for MKV and xbmc, and also what about 5.1 running through an amp?

The 5.1 works fine if you are taking it through the HDMI, there is no optical to do it any other way. I am running XBMC on my 3600 with live installation and it works perfectly running through HDMI to my amp. I've also just installed the windows Dharma release and that seems fine so far. Just wanted to see if that would run OK.

Edit, playing MKV's and full uncompressed Blu Ray rips.

[toastedone]

Thanks for the response, I have been offered a revo 3600 for £100, I could get a 3610 New for £195, all i want it for is XBMClive to play MKV via my amp.

What would be my best option?

Also with a 3600 could i connect to a wireless network with it or would it have to be hardwired to my router, i would like the wireless option for my NAs drive.

TIA

[Stephen Neal]

My 3600 has WiFi built in - but I'm not sure they all do.

However I'm pretty sure the 3600 only outputs 5.1 audio via HDMI, it doesn't have Toslink or Coax SPDIF outputs (which I think the 3610 does). If your amp isn't HDMI - then surround is a no-go with the 3600 unless you use a USB sound solution I guess (and not sure how XBMC Live support for them is?)

[toastedone]

Hi, Thanks for the response my amp is new and yes it is hdmi,so i am guessing it will work fine in that case, woudl you say £100 was a good price for a 3600 with 160GB hdd and 2GB ram?

[sancho1983]

I have just upgraded my 3600 for a 3700 (3600 is now in bedroom) have been running xbmclive for a year or so with it absolutely no problems, It's a really good piece of kit and 100 is a bit of a bargain imo. I have the 1gb RAM version also.

Any guides for getting a harmony 555 remote to work with xbmclive on a 3700? Had a go at adding the device as an mce keyboard, but I get nothing

[toastedone]

Well the guy that has offered me a 3600 for £100 is a little slow to respond to me, so i have been looking around for something new, here are the two options I have found so far.

A 3610
250GB HDD
2GB Ram
Windows 7

or

A 3700
250 GB HDD
2GB ram
Windows 7

both with wireless keyboard and mouse, both boxed new.

The 3610 is £195
The 3700 is £192

I know the 3700 is newer, but what would be the better buy?

Thanks

[interloper]

Well, the 3700 is newer and has a slightly faster processor (1.8GHz vs 1.6GHz). It's also all black (the 3610 is black and white) if aesthetics matter. The 3700 also has Wireless-n wifi (the 3610 has b/g).

If you already have Windows you can buy the r3700 for £199 from eBuyer brand new:

Acer Aspire Revo R3700 Desktop - Desktops | Ebuyer.com

They also have the Win7 3610 for £195:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/225755

Those prices you've found seem very good indeed (particularly with the wireless keyboard/mouse) - are they new, UK warrantied models?

[sancho1983]

Where can you get the version of the 3700 for that price?

[bubsy83]

Originally Posted by sancho1983

Where can you get the version of the 3700 for that price?

Might be the same place I have bought mine
ACER ASPIRE REVO R3700 DUAL CORE BRAND NEW BOXED SEALED on eBay (end time 29-Dec-10 14:11:16 GMT)

[toastedone]

Originally Posted by bubsy83

Might be the same place I have bought mine
ACER ASPIRE REVO R3700 DUAL CORE BRAND NEW BOXED SEALED on eBay (end time 29-Dec-10 14:11:16 GMT)

Yes thats the place, although a friend of mine has just offered me a 3610, with 2Gb ram and a 250GB HDD with windows 7 and an external dvd/cd writer for £150, do you think that is worth it? or the 3700

[stvnshrmptn]

Just picking up on a comment above, and trynig to dig out the differences between the 3610 and 3700 ...

My network at home is run through a Belkin N router, and of all my devices only the Revo 3610 is ot N. Would the 3700 have noticeable improvements when streaming or browsing?

Also, the 3700 images seem to have a wired mouse, is this correct?

Thanks ...

[spocksbeard]

Hi all, quick question about the 3610/3700, can they output video from VGA and video and 5.1 audio from HDMI at the same time? Also, I have an M-Audio USB soundcard that would be nice to use at the same time as the VGA output for casual listening, if I could use this too that would be a bonus.

I'll mostly be using one for media centre (probably XBMC on Ubuntu unless I can pick up a Win7 machine for the same price) through an Onkyo 608 and my 42" plasma, but will occasionally want to do some word processing/programming at the desk with a monitor and don't really want to have to switch cables.

Thanks

-SB

[bigbaz]

R3610 down to £179.94

Acer Aspire Revo R3610 Desktop PC - Desktops | Ebuyer.com

[sancho1983]

Can't remember if I asked in here but I have both a 3600 and a 3700 and would like to 'suspend' them at night however the light on the front flashes, any way of stopping this?

Plus, has anybody got any info on power consumption when being used compared to suspend, and off (presumably 0)

[toastedone]

I went for the 3610 in the end from ebuyer, I should get it Friday, I can not wait :D

Thanks for the advice.

[Nom]

Originally Posted by sancho1983

Can't remember if I asked in here but I have both a 3600 and a 3700 and would like to 'suspend' them at night however the light on the front flashes, any way of stopping this?

Cut out a small square from the sticky-backed part of a Post-It note.
Colour the square with black marker pen, and stick it over the light.

Voila - you'll now find the light is much dimmer ! It's still visible through the thin Post-It paper.

I've had to do this for quite a few of my electronic items - I have no idea why they use such bright LEDs

[jim345]

It's difficult to suppress the light completely, as it "leaks" out of the casing even if the switch is covered. It would probably be possible to disconnect the LED internally, but that would affect warranty, and, of course, you wouldn't know if the system was sleeping or off (unless you wired your own LED).

If the room's quiet, I can also hear a sound in sync with the LED - it "snores" while sleeping, but not too loudly.

[toastedone]

So I get my 3610 tomorrow,

What I would like to do is install XBMC to a usb pen drive so I can boot straight into XBMC or if I remove the Pen drive it just boots into windows, could someone point my toward a newbs guide to doing this properly, I have googled for the answer but every method I have read has been different from the next.

Also is this a wise route to take? I would like to have the functionality of windows when required but I would also like it to boot straight into XBMC.

Many thanks

[spocksbeard]

Originally Posted by spocksbeard

Hi all, quick question about the 3610/3700, can they output video from VGA and video and 5.1 audio from HDMI at the same time? Also, I have an M-Audio USB soundcard that would be nice to use at the same time as the VGA output for casual listening, if I could use this too that would be a bonus.

Anyone?

[dave77]

Originally Posted by toastedone

So I get my 3610 tomorrow,

What I would like to do is install XBMC to a usb pen drive so I can boot straight into XBMC or if I remove the Pen drive it just boots into windows, could someone point my toward a newbs guide to doing this properly, I have googled for the answer but every method I have read has been different from the next.

Also is this a wise route to take? I would like to have the functionality of windows when required but I would also like it to boot straight into XBMC.

You could just install XBMC on Windows, that's what I do, instant access to Win7 if I need it, either way would work, you need to search for "XBMC live" for the usb route

[sancho1983]

Thanks for ideas on removing the light, shame it can't be done without tape

[DanGlebals]

Does anyone know if the base R700 model with 2GB RAM can handle 1080p H.264 files flawlessly? If so this is definatly being bought. Thanks

[interloper]

Originally Posted by DanGlebals

Does anyone know if the base R700 model with 2GB RAM can handle 1080p H.264 files flawlessly? If so this is definatly being bought. Thanks

Yes it can. I have the R3700 running XBMC on top of Ubuntu 10.10 - my 1080p rips of Frost/Nixon and Triangle both work perfectly. Took some tinkering though - but all is well now. Couldn't get 1080p to work on anything before 10.10 although things may be different for Windows - either way it proves the hardware (specifically the Ion) is up to the job.

One little know issue for Ubuntu users - to stop picture 'tearing' you need to turn off Desktop Effects in the OS.

[DanGlebals]

Originally Posted by interloper

Yes it can. I have the R3700 running XBMC on top of Ubuntu 10.10 - my 1080p rips of Frost/Nixon and Triangle both work perfectly. Took some tinkering though - but all is well now. Couldn't get 1080p to work on anything before 10.10 although things may be different for Windows - either way it proves the hardware (specifically the Ion) is up to the job.

One little know issue for Ubuntu users - to stop picture 'tearing' you need to turn off Desktop Effects in the OS.

Any chance you could specify what tinkering needs to be done? That's excellent news that it works though. Sounds like you have the same set up I'm looking for. Thanks for your reply (you just persuaded me to take the plunge as this was the only thing holding me back).