TV NAS HTPC

[Eduardo Sousa]

Does any one recommend a HTPC that runs android and/or linux with HDMI video out, LAN RJ45 connector Wirless is not a requirement but it can also have wireless. It must be low power with no fans for cooling, so a ARM should be a great option.

I would prefer a platform that runs linux and android so I can choose later what I prefer.

The price should be under 100$ and preferably have a distribuitor in a EU country.

Thank you... And hope that some one can help me.

 

[next010]

Only devices like that are the O-Droid or CuBox-i series devices which are similar to something like the Raspberry Pi only much more powerful and run Android or linux.

The CuBox-i is probably the better of the two to go for but they aren't processing any orders until the end of April. See the CuBox forums for more info along with Android and linux images.

 

[Eduardo Sousa]

Thanks for your input. I am analyzing the o-Droid and it seasm promissing.

Any other ideas?

What about android only? Is there any recommendations?

 

[next010]

Well the most promising Android box at the very moment is the Amazon FireTV but XBMC is still being debugged on that, an older version works really well but latest versions do not and devs are trying to figure why.

How far the hardware in the FireTV can be pushed is also another matter, it was created as an internet media streamer but certainly people have had some success playing high bitrate media. The box is also only available in USA at the moment but it is designed to work overseas too if you feel like importing one.

Pivos are about to launch their xios xs which runs XBMC out of the box with a heavily modified UI called Tofu, this variant of XBMC is the UI on the Android box and you launch apps from Google Play through Tofu. This is the entry level model based off an Amlogic M6 chip, the CPU/GPU is nowhere near as good as the FireTV or any of the above for that matter but the video decoding is more capable/stable in terms of supported media formats and has reliably working Dolby/DTS bit-streaming.

They have boxes using the Amlogic M8 coming later in the year which should also sport TrueHD/DTS-MA bit-streaming. The M8 chip has a much better CPU/GPU that puts it on a more equal footing with the faster chipsets, it's a shame they aren't launching with those first.

Then there is Google's own AndroidTV platform who knows what will come from that.

If you dont have a need for app support then android isn't really necessary, I'd save up for an Intel Nuc to run XBMC on, thats really the best system at this time for it.