Best streaming box (Now a Blogish post)

[poofyhairguy]

Welcome to the club!! Glad you got it working! If you ever want to get another and keep your libraries sync let me know. I have some custom config files that speed things up.

 

[TheAdvocate]

Darnit, long thread - I don't have enough time to read it all. Would anyone be kind enough to indulge my newb questions?

I finally found out about these xmbc boxes. Probably behind the times. My friend was pointing me towards this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsM7dskB6wk

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M03ULH2/

I have no experience with this at all. How much of a cable replacement would this be?

I'd want full access to my favorite shows (eg Walking Dead, GoT, etc), Sports (NFL, College football & hoops, Soccer), movies, and plenty of content for my wife & kids... I'll be keeping TW internet until we get Google Fiber.

Just getting really tired of my cable bill. Seems like money we could be putting towards a better cause.

I think this one might be a tad more expensive than others, but I want max features and plug n play idiot proof, everything preloaded capability.

Also, any chance I could use like a 7" tablet as a remote with an app? Could my kids use the tablet to play android games?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ponyo]

Darnit, long thread - I don't have enough time to read it all. Would anyone be kind enough to indulge my newb questions?

I finally found out about these xmbc boxes. Probably behind the times. My friend was pointing me towards this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsM7dskB6wk

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M03ULH2/

I have no experience with this at all. How much of a cable replacement would this be?

I'd want full access to my favorite shows (eg Walking Dead, GoT, etc), Sports (NFL, College football & hoops, Soccer), movies, and plenty of content for my wife & kids... I'll be keeping TW internet until we get Google Fiber.

Just getting really tired of my cable bill. Seems like money we could be putting towards a better cause.

I think this one might be a tad more expensive than others, but I want max features and plug n play idiot proof, everything preloaded capability.

Also, any chance I could use like a 7" tablet as a remote with an app? Could my kids use the tablet to play android games?

Thanks in advance.

Do not get that box. $175 for android box is a complete ripoff. That's $50 box with free XBMC video addons preinstalled and they're charging you $125 for 5-10 minutes of their time. You can buy Amazon FireTV for $84 right now and do the same thing. FireTV will be faster and better than that Chinese box.

All of the stuff you're talking about is illegal. XBMC is just a free software.

Android XBMC boxes work OK but won't be 100% compatible. For that you need something with Intel x86 instead of ARM.

 

[boomhower]

I would get the chromebox over that. You have to do the setup yourself but it's not hard. The install of XBMC is very simple. Plenty of YouTube vids on the installation of add ons. They aren't hard to do, just takes a little time to learn. You'll be much better off in the end with the Linux based system that is more powerful as well. Android boxes have some comparability issues x86 boxes don't have. Plus you will know how to install add ons. Old ones go and new ones come so your going to have to deal with it at some point.

Content wise it's hit or miss. Most tv stuff is on there as well as movies. Sports is much more spotty. Most you can get but quality varies a lot from poor to pretty good. You can't count on it being there though. For instance I couldn't get the A&M game last night but I could get the preseason NFL games though at marginal quality. The best quality is with an app called P2P that I'm betting isn't preinstalled on that box.

You could use about any android or ios tablet as a remote and whatever you want to as well. I use my iPad with mine quite a bit.

 

[smitbret]

I would get the chromebox over that. You have to do the setup yourself but it's not hard. The install of XBMC is very simple. Plenty of YouTube vids on the installation of add ons. They aren't hard to do, just takes a little time to learn. You'll be much better off in the end with the Linux based system that is more powerful as well. Android boxes have some comparability issues x86 boxes don't have. Plus you will know how to install add ons. Old ones go and new ones come so your going to have to deal with it at some point.

Content wise it's hit or miss. Most tv stuff is on there as well as movies. Sports is much more spotty. Most you can get but quality varies a lot from poor to pretty good. You can't count on it being there though. For instance I couldn't get the A&M game last night but I could get the preseason NFL games though at marginal quality. The best quality is with an app called P2P that I'm betting isn't preinstalled on that box.

You could use about any android or ios tablet as a remote and whatever you want to as well. I use my iPad with mine quite a bit.

Ahh, Boomhower is bookending the thread. Gone from Questions to Convert!

Hope the Chromebox/XBMC is delivering for you.

 

[boomhower]

Ahh, Boomhower is bookending the thread. Gone from Questions to Convert!

Hope the Chromebox/XBMC is delivering for you.

It really is. This combo is perfect. The NAS with sick beard/couchpotato for the HD stuff and XBMC add ons for live sports it's an awesome set-up. The Aeon skin makes it all look really slick. It's even wife approved once I got the Harmony sorted out. I'll likely be getting a second for the bedroom at some point.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I am super happy this thread turned out this way. Chromebox+XBMC+NAS should be in the home of any nerd that consumes media (or has a family that does).

FYI yatse is my favorite XBMC remote app.