New Link HTPC

[Rich A]

Originally Posted by HomeyFour

Rich, I think after all of this time, you would be one of few people on this forums who I would happily yield my thread to.

Gawrsh .. shucks ..

[Rich A]

Originally Posted by ZetaVu

Do you know if it comes with 1 1gb stick or 2 512's? (I assume it has two memory slots, do you know that?)

I read through some of the reviews on NewEgg. Here's what one guy said,

"As soon as the system arrived, I opened it up and replaced the 1GB RAM module with 2x2GB memory modules to max it out at 4GB of RAM."

I think just adding another 1 gig stick for 2 gig total would suffice for a link machine.

[RenegadeELEN]

Just to add another set of info from someone testing these types of boxes. I just updated my Asrock ION 330 to Windows 7. Results for me are the same. Now, I don't have an HD PVR so I am using another persons test files so I don't have the Arcsoft Decoder to test. I do have an Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra 7.3 h.264 decoder to try and it still didn't work. Like others have mentioned it just doesn't seem like it had Hardware Acceleration working. And I know I can get Hardware Acceleration with that system and with those same exact files if I play it through Media Center or Media Player.

Thought I would share.

[ZetaVu]

I just ran some checks on my Windows 7 machine (not ion, but planning ahead) I installed TME, BTV, no HW accel of HD PVR. Installed latest nvidia driver (191.07) no difference. Tried to update TME (it wanted HD PVR 1.5.6, not here on my link machine) so the update stupidly fails. Anyone know of a way to update TME without an HD PVR installed?

[LionRed]

Any word on what the picture quality is like for tv out?

[Wolfie351]

Originally Posted by ZetaVu

Tried to update TME (it wanted HD PVR 1.5.6, not here on my link machine) so the update stupidly fails.

This happened to me as well so I took the HD-PVR off my main machine to install on my link machine and was able to get the updated TME. Unfortunately, it didn't have any affect on performance, h.264 still stutters for me. I'll wait a bit to see if I, or anyone, finds a workable solution. But, I'll probably just revert to XP.

[Rich A]

Originally Posted by Wolfie351

Keep in mind, the Acer 1600 has the "LE" version of the Ion. The 3600 and 3610 has the full fledged version. What that means or if it affects HD playback, I don't know. But, in any case, if you're near a Fry's, the 1600 is on sale for $179 this weekend.

Well I'm about done testing my 1600. I'm looking to get another one. Does Fry's do mail order?

What's with all this "acceleration" stuff anyway? <grin> Out of the box I have now confirmed this little Revo 1600 will play ANYTHING that the BTV server can play.

I'm running mine via a WIRELESS connection. No problem with any HD digital, 1080 or 720. Also plays h.264 flawlessly .. both 1080 and 720.

The wireless I'm using IS a very fast D-Link gigabit wired DWA-655 (built in wi-fi) with the REVO using a DWA-160 dual frequency USB dongle. I've been enjoying wireless HD digital ever since I bought this new wireless setup.

Here's the "trick". The 1600 comes with a Cyberlink DVD application. That is one of the few bundled applications that I kept. And the BeyondTV Link program picks up the CyberLink h.264 decoder in it's decoder list for h.264. That's what you have to use in BTV-Link to get smooth playback of h.264.

SnapStream h.264 codec -- 95 to 100 percent CPU ... steady stuttering.
Cyberlink h.264 codec -- 40 percent CPU ... perfect play back.

$179.95 .. a fully functional micro pc .. plays everything. And this is the low powered 1600 with the single core.

[Nick Burns]

Rich, Fry's no longer has it on sale.

[vidiot1985]

Originally Posted by Rich A

Well I'm about done testing my 1600. I'm looking to get another one. Does Fry's do mail order?
...

Yes, but they don't have it for that sale price online:

FRYS.com*|*Acer

(not sure if that link will actually get you there though??)

So Rich, have you tried watching HD YouTube or 480p Hulu videos with this machine?

My ASUS Netbook with an Atom CPU can play MPEG2 HD stuff streamed from my BTV server with no problem, but it can't play the higher quality/res YouTube or Hulu stuff without horrible stuttering at max CPU. I'm guessing the Revo's NVIDIA ION video chipset is much better than the Intel stuff in my Netbook.

[Wolfie351]

Originally Posted by Rich A

Here's the "trick". The 1600 comes with a Cyberlink DVD application. That is one of the few bundled applications that I kept. And the BeyondTV Link program picks up the CyberLink h.264 decoder in it's decoder list for h.264. That's what you have to use in BTV-Link to get smooth playback of h.264.

The h.264 problem discussed earlier is related to Win 7. Your AR1600 is running XP and that does h.264 HW acceleration just fine. The AR3610 comes with Win 7. That, combined with the inability of the Atom 330 to play streaming HD, I think the AR1600 is a better choice for those who solely want a BTV Link machine.

[Zogg]

Just went to Fry's and *almost* purchased an AR1600 (back to $199 BTW) but when I saw XP Home on it I got confused. Did a quick search with the smartphone and was surprised to see this is indeed the case. Somehow I hadn't noticed that only the AR3610 comes with Win7. I'm not sure the AR3610 is worth the extra $120 for just a Link machine, especially w/ regard to the lack of HW accel. in Win7, although I do like Win7 quite a bit.

BTW the Fry's dude pulled out a small Lenovo Q100 while I was there priced at $219. Same specs as the AR1600, except no HDMI and SiS graphics, but it's smaller and sleeker with a piano black finish. He quickly hooked it up to demo it to another customer, and man it was zippy! Very responsive menus. He had disconnected the AR1600, but if it's the same performance as the Lenovo then I will be very happy.

[Rich A]

Originally Posted by Wolfie351

The h.264 problem discussed earlier is related to Win 7. Your AR1600 is running XP and that does h.264 HW acceleration just fine. The AR3610 comes with Win 7. That, combined with the inability of the Atom 330 to play streaming HD, I think the AR1600 is a better choice for those who solely want a BTV Link machine.

I've been testing this thing in other areas .. NetFlix, UTube HD etc. And it does stream everything just fine. Reads my h.264 video from my hd camcorder just fine and of course lots of music. (although I'm not really into music myself). Of course I also have a ton of family pictures archive at various resolutions and all of them look great.

IMHO this isn't just a great link machine but it obviously looks to work better in more areas than the more expensive / powerful Win7 unit. I take it that is more of a Win7 problem than a computer problem. Is Win7 a step "down" in the multimedia capability area compared to XP ?? Curious.

[ZetaVu]

The best I can get there is no near term solution for H.264 acceleration in vista (hey, remember that?) or W7 with BTV (EVR doesn't work in Viewscape). So, if you're looking for a BTV link machine and want HD PVR streaming, xp is the way to go. Long term hopefully that gets addressed, but for now xp is the way to go on these devices. Good news is I have yet to see anything breakthrough worthy to upgrade to W7, but my thought is that XP will eventually go the way of W98, so long term there is going to need to be a solution.

[Nick Burns]

My AR1600 will strictly be used as a Link. I don't have cable, so everything is OTA digital/HD. This unit is great for that and I like the fact that it is quite capable of everything else too. Another thing is that it's soooo quiet too! The only time you hear the fan is when it first powers on or resumes from standby.
Can't wait till I find the monitor mount kit for it.

[Rich A]

I've been looking at the new open source op system "REACTOS". Sort of a clone of XP. Being open source of course it's free. Now that I've got a decent dedicated link machine, I think I'll do the dual boot thing and stick a copy of that open source op sys on it. It might be a viable and supported replacement for XP.

About ReactOS - ReactOS Website

It'll be interesting to see how/if it'll run BeyondTV Link.