Phrehdd Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 I'll try to keep this as short as I can. I want to replace my NAS to PS3 to Plasma setup and replace with an OSX system running Plex. Plex appears to be CPU and no GPU intensive (save for needing openGL present). A small quiet system would be great but again need at least a 2.4 cpu and i wont discount going to a mobile processor to reduce power/heat concerns. The install would be great if it was relatively easy, and could handle Apple updates typical of their own machines without causing issues. Hardware help - mATX mobo Video (either HDMI that handles audio) or Video DVI out audio optical out (on board or card??) 2 SATA Drives 1 media drive (DVD RW, Blu Ray read) SATA or IDE Slim line case or shuttle styel (like Silverstone's offering) Is this all doable and what would you folks recommend. I did try looking at the computability page and its (for me) not that clear and trying to look up multiple mATX boards is not so easy or the best choices of dual or quad core cpus. The goal is a small footprint stable system with minimal overhead issues to last at least 3 years+ Thanks Phrehdd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snikx Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 I tried to have the same configuration working with osx and plex. My configuration was osx86 + plex + remote buddy (control plex from wii remote) with plex automatically launched at boot. Then i discovered xbmc-live that is linux based. You can easily install xbmc from the live cd into a usb flash disk or to a HDD. It is based on ubuntu linux so getting software as ftpserver, avahi, etc... is very easy. My config is 1,8GHz dual core with a 7300GS video card installed on a 20G usb drive. (all my movies are ftp-shared on my home server). I have installed Nvidia proprietary driver instead of driver provided because i had some glitches on movies. It takes about 25 seconds to boot, but sleep/resume works fine (less than 10s to resume). 720p mkv plays fine and wii remote also works with xbmc-wiiremote. You can easily try it without installing anything from the xbmc-live cdrom and you will get exactly the same features as Plex. I think you will get more hardware compatibility with linux than osx because you need QE/CI and opengl to run Plex properly. Nvidia and ATI supports all their cards under linux now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phrehdd Posted October 29, 2008 Author Share Posted October 29, 2008 Thanks much for the suggestion. I found a copy of XBMC and the interface seems a bit limited compared to PLEX. Maybe I am not accessing the features properly and was only using a keyboard. At work, I have been an advocate of linux appliances that have dedicated duties and might play with XBMC as suggested. On a side note, is there any straight forward info on using a universal remote such as the Harmony Plus One? Admittedly, the OSX Plex combo seems attractive as its interface is ideal and the OS is far more familiar territory than linux (for me). Given that I want to be sure that 1080P movies play from m2ts files, Mac Mini is just a little bit under powered. Thus, at least a 2.4 dual core would be in order. If anyone could help me with the original question(s) that would be appreciated and I'll possibly give the linux a try on the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaaseyRacer Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Wait for Boxee. It looks much more impressive than Plex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aargh-a-Knot Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 "Wait for Boxee. It looks much more impressive than Plex." Wait, you are joking, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaaseyRacer Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 I have had way too much hastle with Plex. Overall I find Plex too complicated. I wish it would just let browse my drive and remember locations. I hate adding sources. My media is scatter across several drives and servers. Granted Boxee is only in alpha, but overall I am impressed with what it does. Plus it provides Hulu, CBS, and other media service sites. Try Boxee before you knock it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aargh-a-Knot Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 Sorry, didn't mean to be so cynical. I had the same problems with Plex. I kept trying to get it figured out because I had heard so many people raving about it. I finally got it to work right, but then was having problems with the Apple remote working consistently. I wrote off Plex, even posting on the forum, "I'll be back when you guys figure this thing out". The very next morning, I awoke with an epiphany, and to make a long story short, I had figured out a way to use my iPhone as a remote for Plex. Once I had mapped out Plex's functions on my iPhone remote, the doors were wide open. Now I am blown away with all that I can do with it. And they are making developments every week to make it better and better. I am the first to admit that Plex comes off as being hard to figure out. I have discovered, however, that its not Plex itself, but the lack of good clear instructions on how to use it. Once I figured it out, I think its stupidly easy to set up and use. I agree that Boxee has some great features, some that I'm sure will be soon to follow in Plex. Mostly for me, its the interface. I just think Plex with Mediastream is way slicker. Hey, no offense. Its great that there are so many open-source options out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phrehdd Posted November 1, 2008 Author Share Posted November 1, 2008 Sorry, didn't mean to be so cynical. I had the same problems with Plex. I kept trying to get it figured out because I had heard so many people raving about it. I finally got it to work right, but then was having problems with the Apple remote working consistently. I wrote off Plex, even posting on the forum, "I'll be back when you guys figure this thing out". The very next morning, I awoke with an epiphany, and to make a long story short, I had figured out a way to use my iPhone as a remote for Plex. Once I had mapped out Plex's functions on my iPhone remote, the doors were wide open. Now I am blown away with all that I can do with it. And they are making developments every week to make it better and better. I am the first to admit that Plex comes off as being hard to figure out. I have discovered, however, that its not Plex itself, but the lack of good clear instructions on how to use it. Once I figured it out, I think its stupidly easy to set up and use. I agree that Boxee has some great features, some that I'm sure will be soon to follow in Plex. Mostly for me, its the interface. I just think Plex with Mediastream is way slicker. Hey, no offense. Its great that there are so many open-source options out there. Well a couple of thoughts here - Plex - I agree that some facets of the program could be better handled in terms of end user ease. The first thing they might consider doing is when you first install Plex it gives you explicit information within each area. No roll over no clicking for help. It simply is included in the screen and you can turn it off later. The second thing, maybe we are all being lazy, is to get some good instructions out there for others if the folks at Plex don't have time. Third on my list (mentioned in requests to Plex), under system they should have a section that lists your resources/services and you can check off what you want Plex to "turn off" when you initiate Plex. When you exit Plex it should turn them on. Simply stated, let your computer be a dedicated box while playing movies. Items such as Spotlight comes to mind. The advantage is that during troubleshooting you know what is "not" a problem. Last item on Plex, find all the typical universal remotes and create templates for them to ease the transition. The Apple remote is well, limiting and many folks who do a real media center prefer true universal remotes. Rather than everyone sharing how they did their set up, templates make more sense and an easy way to remap. I think Harmony's Plus One (I think that's the name) would be a good place to start along with some of their other offerings. Now back to my original post <GRIN> - I still want to build a nice turn key mATX system and need a bit of help on hardware. Things that come to mind are moving over to a mobile processor (less energy and cooling requirements/noise), HDMI output (on board or from a vid card), vid card with either passive cooling or quiet fans, etc. For me, I would like to have a "Plex Player" small box. The best for me would be not only a solid performer with potential to upgrade but a "hack" that is EASY and allows me to use OSX updates directly and not 3rd party. (Essentially once built, it would be in all essence a true OSX box capable of upgrades/updates from Apple). As for linux XMBC, everything about it makes total sense. It too would be a project I would like to do for myself. The box above is for people in my family and thus has to remain absolutely solid and easy. If a new Mac Mini comes out in November with respectable hardware...that is what I will get and even possibly just upgrade the processor. The Mac Mini other than 1080p playback is outstanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaaseyRacer Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 It is really sad that Microsoft Media Center (XP) seems to be the only media center that got it right. It is kinda funny, the only product Microsoft has done right was their media center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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