Appliances on Central Unraid Server **PROBLEMS with no apparent solution**

[danioj]

Hi Guys,

 

I just thought I would post some musings that I have been having about VM's, appliances , Media, TV's etc etc

 

The advances in Unraid are nice. The virtualisation work is good and it starts to open up possibilities. Like many people I have a central Unraid server which holds digital copies of my Media and I use end points (e.g. NUC's) at each TV running something like Openelec for displaying that Media and providing a nice User Interface to do so.

 

I have just invested in a Powerhouse server and thought .... I wonder if I can centralise all the instances of these media players on the server. Wouldn't that be great.

 

Then I hit the snag - how do i get the instances displayed on the TV's around the house???

 

I have looked @ HDMI extenders around the home. Nope. I need to pass through a video card per instance. No room in the server for all those graphics cards (5) and its not really efficient. Plus HDMI cables around the home is not feasible or cost effective.

 

USB3.0 to HDMI (instead of Video cards). Nope. Not only do they require allot of server resources as they do much of what they need to in Software BUT the drivers for those devices don't seem to be available on Linux (e.g. Openelec) and I think running Windows Vm's with the cost overhead of that OS is not worth it either.

 

If I did manage to get a solution to any of the above working I would have the same issue as the first one. How do I get the signal to the TV? HDMI over ethernet? Once again there are driver issues for those devices on Linux and also none of them seem to perform well or are unsupported using a switch (even a dumb one) even though I have Cat6 around the home and a network point at each TV (plus these tend to require 2 Cat cables rather than 1 expect those which do require 1 and cost lots of $$$).

 

So here I am. A power house server sat in one room, TV's all over the joint at Network points and no easy way to get the signals to those TV's.

 

I read about Steam having a gaming solution for casting the games from one PC to a TV using a dumb box (of around $70) available November BUT this is likely to require windows too on the host machine.

 

I wish there was a simple way to just "Stream" a VM's display to a TV with minimal cost and additional H/W BUT there just doesn't seem to be one available yet. You know, just turn the TV on and it displays the VM Openelec appliance running in a VM on the Unraid Server.

 

Seems to me there is a real need for a cost effective solution there. Until then I am stuck with boxes at each TV running such software connecting to my Media on Unraid shares across the network!

 

Wish I was better @ developing things as I would be a rich man if I could develop a solution to this I think! Oh well!

 

Daniel

 

**ranting in the work canteen**

[jonp]

Hi Guys,

 

I just thought I would post some musings that I have been having about VM's, appliances , Media, TV's etc etc

 

The advances in Unraid are nice. The virtualisation work is good and it starts to open up possibilities. Like many people I have a central Unraid server which holds digital copies of my Media and I use end points (e.g. NUC's) at each TV running something like Openelec for displaying that Media and providing a nice User Interface to do so.

 

I have just invested in a Powerhouse server and thought .... I wonder if I can centralise all the instances of these media players on the server. Wouldn't that be great.

 

Then I hit the snag - how do i get the instances displayed on the TV's around the house???

 

I have looked @ HDMI extenders around the home. Nope. I need to pass through a video card per instance. No room in the server for all those graphics cards (5) and its not really efficient. Plus HDMI cables around the home is not feasible or cost effective.

 

USB3.0 to HDMI (instead of Video cards). Nope. Not only do they require allot of server resources as they do much of what they need to in Software BUT the drivers for those devices don't seem to be available on Linux (e.g. Openelec) and I think running Windows Vm's with the cost overhead of that OS is not worth it either.

 

If I did manage to get a solution to any of the above working I would have the same issue as the first one. How do I get the signal to the TV? HDMI over ethernet? Once again there are driver issues for those devices on Linux and also none of them seem to perform well or are unsupported using a switch (even a dumb one) even though I have Cat6 around the home and a network point at each TV (plus these tend to require 2 Cat cables rather than 1 expect those which do require 1 and cost lots of $$$).

 

So here I am. A power house server sat in one room, TV's all over the joint at Network points and no easy way to get the signals to those TV's.

 

I read about Steam having a gaming solution for casting the games from one PC to a TV using a dumb box (of around $70) available November BUT this is likely to require windows too on the host machine.

 

I wish there was a simple way to just "Stream" a VM's display to a TV with minimal cost and additional H/W BUT there just doesn't seem to be one available yet. You know, just turn the TV on and it displays the VM Openelec appliance running in a VM on the Unraid Server.

 

Seems to me there is a real need for a cost effective solution there. Until then I am stuck with boxes at each TV running such software connecting to my Media on Unraid shares across the network!

 

Wish I was better @ developing things as I would be a rich man if I could develop a solution to this I think! Oh well!

 

Daniel

 

**ranting in the work canteen**

 

For what you are trying to obtain, cost-effectiveness will be hard to achieve, but there may be hope for you in the future.  Streaming the video from a server to a thin client device may actually be possible without a Windows license as SteamOS can run a debian desktop and therefore install Kodi as an application.  It wouldn't be too far-fetched for Valve to make Kodi another streamable app just like their games using Steam In-Home streaming, which again, does not require a Windows license to operate.

 

As far as getting HDMI output from a centralized server to the various displays throughout your home, cost effectiveness won't be easy.  There are solutions from Just Add Power (http://www.justaddpower.com/index.html) that are far superior to traditional methods of HDMI switching as they tend to be lossless and work over an IP network. Higher end models can even push USB input devices through the same cabling.  That said, these devices are not cheap (most pricing is only available by phone, but some models can be seen quoted here:  http://www.davisdistribution.com/dealers/pricing/msrp/JUST%20ADD%20POWER%20MSRP.pdf).  On the plus side, they shouldn't require any special driver support from the OS.  It's straight HDMI out from the server into the unit.

 

All of this said, the primary use-case for all the virtualization tech is three fold:

 

1)  You can run a NAS and in-home game streaming server that is located out-of-sight, out-of-mind.  You would utilize Windows or SteamOS with a GPU attached and then stream the games you want to play to a capable receiver such as Steam Link, tablets, smart phones, or other computers (laptops/desktops).  This allows you to put a powerful GPU with noisy fans in a box that is out of earshot and eyesight, and use lightweight and/or portable devices to interact and get full graphics experience with minimal mobile power consumption.  And that same system can use traditional media server technologies (Plex, Logitech, Universal, etc.) to stream personal media files to various media endpoints throughout your home (SmartTVs, Chromecasts, Nexus Players, etc.)

 

2)  You can run a NAS and media center PC capable of both A/V content and gaming from a single appliance in close proximity to your TV.  You can use GPU pass through and the close proximity of your system to wire a display cable directly from the server to your TV.  SteamOS and OpenELEC are ideal candidates for use here as they are both designed to be used in the living room as media center devices, not general purpose operating systems.

 

3)  You can run a NAS and a high-performance desktop PC for doing work, playing games, and being creative.  Video editing will never be easier nor faster by avoiding copying files over a traditional network, and when combined with the performance of an all SSD cache-pool, you will rarely see load times bog you down.

 

Your use-case is somewhat unique as the cost for any one GPU could exceed the cost for a media client such as a chromecast by itself.  That said, I am hopeful that streaming solutions will be something we can look into in the future to find other ways to address your needs while remaining very cost effective.  I just think the HDMI over IP stuff is really nice, but far too expensive for the everyday consumer.

[danioj]

 

For what you are trying to obtain, cost-effectiveness will be hard to achieve, but there may be hope for you in the future.  Streaming the video from a server to a thin client device may actually be possible without a Windows license as SteamOS can run a debian desktop and therefore install Kodi as an application.  It wouldn't be too far-fetched for Valve to make Kodi another streamable app just like their games using Steam In-Home streaming, which again, does not require a Windows license to operate.

 

As far as getting HDMI output from a centralized server to the various displays throughout your home, cost effectiveness won't be easy.  There are solutions from Just Add Power (http://www.justaddpower.com/index.html) that are far superior to traditional methods of HDMI switching as they tend to be lossless and work over an IP network. Higher end models can even push USB input devices through the same cabling.  That said, these devices are not cheap (most pricing is only available by phone, but some models can be seen quoted here:  http://www.davisdistribution.com/dealers/pricing/msrp/JUST%20ADD%20POWER%20MSRP.pdf).  On the plus side, they shouldn't require any special driver support from the OS.  It's straight HDMI out from the server into the unit.

 

All of this said, the primary use-case for all the virtualization tech is three fold:

 

1)  You can run a NAS and in-home game streaming server that is located out-of-sight, out-of-mind.  You would utilize Windows or SteamOS with a GPU attached and then stream the games you want to play to a capable receiver such as Steam Link, tablets, smart phones, or other computers (laptops/desktops).  This allows you to put a powerful GPU with noisy fans in a box that is out of earshot and eyesight, and use lightweight and/or portable devices to interact and get full graphics experience with minimal mobile power consumption.  And that same system can use traditional media server technologies (Plex, Logitech, Universal, etc.) to stream personal media files to various media endpoints throughout your home (SmartTVs, Chromecasts, Nexus Players, etc.)

 

2)  You can run a NAS and media center PC capable of both A/V content and gaming from a single appliance in close proximity to your TV.  You can use GPU pass through and the close proximity of your system to wire a display cable directly from the server to your TV.  SteamOS and OpenELEC are ideal candidates for use here as they are both designed to be used in the living room as media center devices, not general purpose operating systems.

 

3)  You can run a NAS and a high-performance desktop PC for doing work, playing games, and being creative.  Video editing will never be easier nor faster by avoiding copying files over a traditional network, and when combined with the performance of an all SSD cache-pool, you will rarely see load times bog you down.

 

Your use-case is somewhat unique as the cost for any one GPU could exceed the cost for a media client such as a chromecast by itself.  That said, I am hopeful that streaming solutions will be something we can look into in the future to find other ways to address your needs while remaining very cost effective.  I just think the HDMI over IP stuff is really nice, but far too expensive for the everyday consumer.

 

 

Yeah, sounds about right.

 

The only think I don't agree with in your statement is that my UseCase is unique.

 

I think that the only think that makes it unique is that there might not be many people have thought about it. I think of it this way - if a cost effective solution was available - then IMHO people would JUMP at being able to run their Media Servers this way!

 

Anyway - moot point - because as you mention there isnt really one at the moment!

 

Needless to say, it would be good if there was!

 

[jonp]

 

For what you are trying to obtain, cost-effectiveness will be hard to achieve, but there may be hope for you in the future.  Streaming the video from a server to a thin client device may actually be possible without a Windows license as SteamOS can run a debian desktop and therefore install Kodi as an application.  It wouldn't be too far-fetched for Valve to make Kodi another streamable app just like their games using Steam In-Home streaming, which again, does not require a Windows license to operate.

 

As far as getting HDMI output from a centralized server to the various displays throughout your home, cost effectiveness won't be easy.  There are solutions from Just Add Power (http://www.justaddpower.com/index.html) that are far superior to traditional methods of HDMI switching as they tend to be lossless and work over an IP network. Higher end models can even push USB input devices through the same cabling.  That said, these devices are not cheap (most pricing is only available by phone, but some models can be seen quoted here:  http://www.davisdistribution.com/dealers/pricing/msrp/JUST%20ADD%20POWER%20MSRP.pdf).  On the plus side, they shouldn't require any special driver support from the OS.  It's straight HDMI out from the server into the unit.

 

All of this said, the primary use-case for all the virtualization tech is three fold:

 

1)  You can run a NAS and in-home game streaming server that is located out-of-sight, out-of-mind.  You would utilize Windows or SteamOS with a GPU attached and then stream the games you want to play to a capable receiver such as Steam Link, tablets, smart phones, or other computers (laptops/desktops).  This allows you to put a powerful GPU with noisy fans in a box that is out of earshot and eyesight, and use lightweight and/or portable devices to interact and get full graphics experience with minimal mobile power consumption.  And that same system can use traditional media server technologies (Plex, Logitech, Universal, etc.) to stream personal media files to various media endpoints throughout your home (SmartTVs, Chromecasts, Nexus Players, etc.)

 

2)  You can run a NAS and media center PC capable of both A/V content and gaming from a single appliance in close proximity to your TV.  You can use GPU pass through and the close proximity of your system to wire a display cable directly from the server to your TV.  SteamOS and OpenELEC are ideal candidates for use here as they are both designed to be used in the living room as media center devices, not general purpose operating systems.

 

3)  You can run a NAS and a high-performance desktop PC for doing work, playing games, and being creative.  Video editing will never be easier nor faster by avoiding copying files over a traditional network, and when combined with the performance of an all SSD cache-pool, you will rarely see load times bog you down.

 

Your use-case is somewhat unique as the cost for any one GPU could exceed the cost for a media client such as a chromecast by itself.  That said, I am hopeful that streaming solutions will be something we can look into in the future to find other ways to address your needs while remaining very cost effective.  I just think the HDMI over IP stuff is really nice, but far too expensive for the everyday consumer.

 

 

Yeah, sounds about right.

 

The only think I don't agree with in your statement is that my UseCase is unique.

 

I think that the only think that makes it unique is that there might not be many people have thought about it. I think of it this way - if a cost effective solution was available - then IMHO people would JUMP at being able to run their Media Servers this way!

 

Anyway - moot point - because as you mention there isnt really one at the moment!

 

Needless to say, it would be good if there was!

 

 

Yeah, maybe unique isn't the right word.

 

Let me be clear this, this isn't a matter of "if" its a matter of "when."  You can already purchase a GPU that can be subdivided and assigned to multiple VMs (see NVIDIA GRID/vGPU Tech).  This allows you to get accelerated graphics performance out of a headless VM, but without needing multiple GPUs to support multiple instances.  Basically each VM gets a "slice" of the GPU.  Then you could use in-home streaming technology to get each VM to a various display in your home with a capable receiver device (something that can accept the streaming method). The primary use case for GRID right now is in enterprise 3D graphics applications (big business) or cloud gaming (which I personally think is a joke due to input/display latency over a WAN being an unsolvable problem until quantum computing gets around limitations imposed by physics...hey, light has to travel too you know ).

 

The first issue is doing this without the need for a Windows license.  Totally solvable with Linux / Open Source software.  The underpinnings for this are already out there.  The second issue is finding a GPU that can support this which doesn't make you go broke (GRID GPUs for the K2 series start at around $3k).  The third issue is that you ultimately end up paying for graphics rendering twice:  once at the server and again at the client device (the client still needs to be able to generate graphics, just not accelerated).  The client device is really not a huge issue, because you can end up justifying it by having all the heavy lifting performed by your server.  It's the GPU cost that really gets you in the end.

 

That said, you can see that all the tech is there right now, and you can even go with K1 series GRID devices and probably scoop up a steal of a deal compared to what you'd pay for K2, but it'd still be a pretty penny.  And make no mistake, the GPU horsepower for gaming with these devices will be pretty abysmal compared to a desktop class GPU (GTX series).  This is because a GRID GPU isn't designed for single user horsepower, but multi-user density.

 

So eventually, yeah, we'll see a solution for folks like you that want to centralize all your computing and deliver all graphics throughout the home for media and gaming over a LAN.  That said, there are still plenty of use cases for virtual appliances / desktops in the meantime to keep us busy while we wait for the rest of the market to catch up with our shared vision ;-).

[ysss]

It's one thing to bring A/V to the screen, then there's another issue about bringing back the (remote) control signal. (Yes, apps, webgui, ir extender, etc).

 

If you care about quality and practicality, i think xbmc/kodi w/ sql backend is still IT. It supports all the kinky video and audio streams. The cost of making a good xbmc/kodi box is always going down, fortunately.

 

Another alternative is to leverage the built-in client in smart TVs. DNLA? I wonder if any of them comes with Plex? I think video capability on mobile devices (And subsequently appliances that share the same core as mobile devices) are getting so very powerful and cheap that it doesn't make sense to centralize the thing and run a gpu when you can get smartphones and tablets that can read your videos from the server and throw it to your tv w/ minihdmi, chromecast, airplay or whatever else they're coming up these days.

[sacretagent]

Plex is a great option for this....

they have a lot of apps for different tv's and a lot the little top boxes

 

i myself have an Apple tv on one tv  and on the other TV an android based top box where i installed the android plex client on

all works great .... my parents live 600 km's away from me and on their samsung smart tv i just installed the plex app and they can watch tv eps from my server

 

[jonp]

Longer term, there is definitely a potential use case for streaming the entire media center experience from one powerful server to remote displays throughout the home.  4k content will help push that envelope quite a bit.  Gaming is another good reason. Getting input devices to the remote display isn't a challenge as its possible with various methods and low latency, even over wireless.

 

Plex definitely offers a world of convenience, but where it falls short is in customization and high quality playback experience. Media enthusiasts love Kodi because of its myriad of codec support, high level of customization support for the UI, and wide 3rd party application support. When it comes to playback, transcoding is fine for a number of scenarios, but in my own personal experiences, it makes little sense to do it inside the home on a LAN except to mobile devices. Direct play is better suited to your TVs it offers higher quality A/V and less stress on the server at the same time.

 

What I'm getting at here is that we can have our cake and eat it too!  Why be forced to choose between two solutions (Kodi and Plex) when there is a perfectly viable way to get both?

 

[johnodon]

 

 

Then I hit the snag - how do i get the instances displayed on the TV's around the house???

 

I have looked @ HDMI extenders around the home. Nope. I need to pass through a video card per instance. No room in the server for all those graphics cards (5) and its not really efficient. Plus HDMI cables around the home is not feasible or cost effective.

 

 

 

I know that you have already invested in a server but my motherboard (in my sig) has 7 PCI-E slots.  If you get the -6F version (mine is -iF) of that same MB, it comes with an embedded SAS controller so you would be able to save one of those slots for a GPU.

 

I am running 3x OE/Kodi VMs and each has a dedicated HD6450 @ 1080p (no 3D).  All have long HDMI runs (no powered extenders).  My longest run is 50ft and I'll be damned if I can see ANY degradation in video quality.

 

ps.  I am currently running a MediaBrowser (now Emby) server to stream to all other clients (iOS, Android, HTML5, etc.)  They have a nice plugin for Kodi that allows it use MB as the backend for library and watch status.  It actually works very well but is still in active development. I know that Plex is the apple of everyone's eye here but I lost interest when its Kodi plugin/skins stopped getting love.  The latest MB Kodi plugin is able to use stocks skins which is a HUGE + in my book!

 

John

[garycase]

Definitely an interesting problem.    Using a high-end motherboard with a lot of PCIe x8/x16 slots is certainly one way to resolve it [a VERY nice system by the way].

 

I'll definitely have to give Kodi a try => may influence my next system's motherboard choice.    Wasn't really planning to spend the $$ for a Socket 2011v3 CPU, but it's only money 

 

The SuperMicro MBD-X10DRI-T-O  has 3 x16 and 3 x8 slots [i THINK they're open-ended slots so an x16 card will fit -- if not, a bit of careful "Dremeling" will take care of that  ]    That board with a nice 8-core Xeon should be enough to last a while  8)

 

 

[c3]

Definitely an interesting problem.    Using a high-end motherboard with a lot of PCIe x8/x16 slots is certainly one way to resolve it [a VERY nice system by the way].

 

I'll definitely have to give Kodi a try => may influence my next system's motherboard choice.    Wasn't really planning to spend the $$ for a Socket 2011v3 CPU, but it's only money 

 

The SuperMicro MBD-X10DRI-T-O  has 3 x16 and 3 x8 slots [i THINK they're open-ended slots so an x16 card will fit -- if not, a bit of careful "Dremeling" will take care of that  ]    That board with a nice 8-core Xeon should be enough to last a while  8)

 

The slots are driven by the CPU and thus to use all six, you'll need two CPU installed.

 

but it's only money 

 

 

[danioj]

@johnodon - that is indeed a nice setup and I sort of wish I had thought about the need for additional PCIe slots when I was designing the server BUT I would need more CPU power too - but never mind.

 

 

I was thinking though - the ONLY thing stopping me using something like this ....

 

http://www.scorptec.com.au/product/Adaptors/USB/44360-J5-JUA-350

 

... to add HDMI ports to my server without the need for Video Cards is the fact that the drivers for this device (as I mentioned in my initial post) don't exists for Linux.

 

Soooooo ...... I was thinking about a nested Virtual Machine Setup. Run a Windows VM (which I will do anyway) with the above device passed through and the drivers installed and then utilise the video cards (as the drivers allow windows to interpret them) on separate VM's (running Openelec)!

 

I "could" then use this (which don't require drivers) ....

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AQDVKZK/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_d1_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-3&pf_rd_r=1JN9AGCB5BSFPSTT6N70&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2084660942&pf_rd_i=desktop

 

OR

 

http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/231627/SWITCHBOXES_VIDEO/ATEN/VE803-AT-U.asp

 

.... to send the HDMI singnal over ethernet (both work with a switch and single CAT6 as they grab IP addresses from the DHCP server) to send to the TV's.

 

I like the Aten version of the HDMI over IP adapters above as they extend USB too allowing me to plug an IR receiver into the usb port on the device and plug into a usb port on the Server which the nested VM running Openelec could use!

 

 

thoughts thoughts thoughts .....

 

Total cost of setup would be AUD $89  + AUD $170 = AUD $259 (minus HDMI cables) which is cheaper than putting together an NUC or even a Pi2 and get the benefit (if it would work) of centralised Appliance VM's on my server. And without Video Cards for each VM!!

 

 

Wonder if it would work!! 

[garycase]

I don't think it matters if there are drivers for the USB video adapters in Linux => since you're going to pass the device through to the VM, it should only matter if there are drivers in the VM you're creating.

[damonq]

Amazon fire TV stick, Plex and Emby clients, and side loaded with kodi. Unless you need 5.1 audio, it handles everything.

[danioj]

I don't think it matters if there are drivers for the USB video adapters in Linux => since you're going to pass the device through to the VM, it should only matter if there are drivers in the VM you're creating.

 

Nah, I know it doesn't. Sorry, I might not have been clear in my post - In my nested VM example I was more "moaning" that I had to install Windows on top of KVM (and then if it works OpenElec on a HV on the Windows Host ( KVM Guest) to get the divice to work) otherwise I would just install Openelec on KVM! But alas no!

 

I am going to put the design together in a diagram and post it to see what people think!

[danioj]

Plex is a great option for this....

they have a lot of apps for different tv's and a lot the little top boxes

 

i myself have an Apple tv on one tv  and on the other TV an android based top box where i installed the android plex client on

all works great .... my parents live 600 km's away from me and on their samsung smart tv i just installed the plex app and they can watch tv eps from my server

 

Amazon fire TV stick, Plex and Emby clients, and side loaded with kodi. Unless you need 5.1 audio, it handles everything.

 

Thanks Guys! I know that Plex seems to be the Goto for most people these days BUT I just hate it. I don't think you can get past Kodi. Plus the family are used to Kodi and know how to work it so it is VERY family friendly. I also like how I can customise the UI which helps everyone out which I can't do in Plex.

 

People seem to push low spec devices (and I am sorry I consider the Amazon Fire TV Stick to be one of them) BUT I have experienced that these don't work well with my Media Collection. All of my Movies have been ripped RAW from my BlueRay Disks with no compression in Video and Audio @ 1080p which results in a VERY big file (e.g. Matrix Revolutions ends up being ~39GB). As soon as I throw that at a lower spec'd device the device struggles (I've tried a Pi, Pivos Xios, Pivos DS and a unbranded Android box). However put it on a Celeron powered box with an SSD, 4GB of memory and a Gigabit LAN port running Openelec and Bob's your uncle! Flawless!

 

In addition - I HATE with a passion the whole apps running on an OS thing - like Android running Kodi (where you have to mess with startups and where a bad keyboard press can get the family back into Android)! I want an Appliance. Something that will boot up in seconds, requires NO interaction to run the Media Player software and more importantly with a reset or problem it all just comes back up! Which running Openelec just does!

 

Anyway - I am going to see if I can explore centralising if not - back to an NUC at each TV!

[dmacias]

I run Kodi/Openelec at every tv. There's also a cheaper alternative to the nuc in the zotac zbox.  There are a bunch of different models (celeron, atom, amd e) that can be picked up on eBay for under $100.  The last one I got for $60. Throw in an old laptop drive or 32GB SSD and old 2 or 4GB stick of mem.  I also have some raspberry pi's in locations where a snappy user interface isn't necessary.

 

[danioj]

Here is the setup I am talking about ......

 

No criticisms of the drafting needed! I know the diagram is not perfect! 

[danioj]

I run Kodi/Openelec at every tv. There's also a cheaper alternative to the nuc in the zotac zbox.  There are a bunch of different models (celeron, atom, amd e) that can be picked up on eBay for under $100.  The last one I got for $60. Throw in an old laptop drive or 32GB SSD and old 2 or 4GB stick of mem.  I also have some raspberry pi's in locations where a snappy user interface isn't necessary.

 

Looks like a nice unit! Thanks.

 

BUT ....

 

Where on earth do you find those for ~USD $60?? It might be that I am in AUS but the prices I am seeing are more in line with the Celeron NUC and in some cases even MORE expensive!?

[garycase]

That's a very nifty proposed layout ... I'll be very interested in the details once you set it up.    Personally, I have a PC at every TV ... and am very happy with that setup.    But depending on how you find the performance with that setup, I may have to reconsider "just because" 

 

In any event, I'm definitely intrigued by OpenElec => mine all run WMC at the moment; but I'm definitely going to set up a small testbed and "play" a bit with OpenElec.

 

[ysss]

I run Kodi/Openelec at every tv. There's also a cheaper alternative to the nuc in the zotac zbox.  There are a bunch of different models (celeron, atom, amd e) that can be picked up on eBay for under $100.  The last one I got for $60. Throw in an old laptop drive or 32GB SSD and old 2 or 4GB stick of mem.  I also have some raspberry pi's in locations where a snappy user interface isn't necessary.

 

Looks like a nice unit! Thanks.

 

BUT ....

 

Where on earth do you find those for ~USD $60?? It might be that I am in AUS but the prices I am seeing are more in line with the Celeron NUC and in some cases even MORE expensive!?

 

Something like this?

http://www.banggood.com/Vensmile-W10-Quad-Core-2GB-RAM-32GB-ROM-Windows-8_1-Smart-TV-Box-PC-p-970662.html

 

$109 shippped, includes windows license, 32gb ssd, 2gb ram, baytrail cpu, 2 USB ports, wifi, etc.. even comes with mini hdmi to HDMI cable. Oh, it has 3000 mah battery to boot, so it either acts like a smartphone powerbank or a UPS.

 

All that for something like 2.5 watts power consumption

[dmacias]

 

 

I run Kodi/Openelec at every tv. There's also a cheaper alternative to the nuc in the zotac zbox.  There are a bunch of different models (celeron, atom, amd e) that can be picked up on eBay for under $100.  The last one I got for $60. Throw in an old laptop drive or 32GB SSD and old 2 or 4GB stick of mem.  I also have some raspberry pi's in locations where a snappy user interface isn't necessary.

 

Looks like a nice unit! Thanks.

 

BUT ....

 

Where on earth do you find those for ~USD $60?? It might be that I am in AUS but the prices I am seeing are more in line with the Celeron NUC and in some cases even MORE expensive!?

 

The last one I got was used barebones from eBay. There's some used for similar price and new from $100-120.

[danioj]

@dmacias & @ysss : Thanks guys, some good info!

 

I "feel" another project coming on though with this little nested Virtualisation setup without GPU to my TV's straight from the Server.

 

If it comes to a dead end or costs too much (which is a reasonable possibility) I will be straight back to your posts to look for a good deal on units to go at each TV.

[danioj]

That's a very nifty proposed layout ... I'll be very interested in the details once you set it up.    Personally, I have a PC at every TV ... and am very happy with that setup.    But depending on how you find the performance with that setup, I may have to reconsider "just because" 

 

In any event, I'm definitely intrigued by OpenElec => mine all run WMC at the moment; but I'm definitely going to set up a small testbed and "play" a bit with OpenElec.

 

I can't sing the praises of Openelec and Kodi enough.

 

I just love the default Kodi skin and it goes down so well to the non tech user. Smooth, intuitive, pretty, snappy *running out of superlatives*. Plus I like that I can "add" items on the menu *with 1 little tweak* which allows me to have the following:

 

Weather - Videos - Live TV - Television - SD Movies - HD Movies - Kids - Music - Radio

 

I use "Collections" which is essentially a set of search parameters for the overall library to delineate between SD Movies and HD Movies and then link them to the main menu with a custom name. Same with Kids which is a collection of Television and Movies. PLUS you can add so many nice little video add ons to it as well - like Netflix which are available in Videos.

 

Like I said above too - with some decent Hardware it runs my Media collection of HD content from BD's so well! Passthrough to the receiver in the Living room means I get the best audio too!

 

And Openelec - love it too. A tiny linux distro built with one purpose - run Kodi (and they are always spot on up to date with latest releases). A true appliance - its as if there is no OS on there at all.  It boots in 3 seconds (on an NUC with an SDD) and more importantly if there is ever an issue (which does happen from time to time) the instructions are always "just reset it" - in 3 seconds boot time all is well again and people are watching away! Love it!

[garycase]

... It boots in 3 seconds (on an NUC with an SDD) ...

 

THAT is really nice.    Guess I'll have to buy a bunch of NUC's ... just about any other system takes longer than that just to POST 

[danioj]

... It boots in 3 seconds (on an NUC with an SDD) ...

 

THAT is really nice.    Guess I'll have to buy a bunch of NUC's ... just about any other system takes longer than that just to POST 

 

I clearly got carried away when I was typing that last post! To the end that I am full of shit! I just stopped watching latest episode of The Arrow to reset and time for you. 9 seconds.

 

Still light speed AFAIAC!