Acer Revo 3610 Vs Dell Zino HD Vs Something else

[Sichedelic]

Hello,

I have a little dilemma that I would like your comment on. Which machine to buy for a HTPC? I know the question is a 'how long is a piece of string' type of question, but I'd still like some positive constructive ideas & opinions.

My needs are fairly simple at the moment, I need an HTPC that I can record an analog video stream from and play various DivX/XVid encoded shows (using GBPVR of course). I don't have a real need for HD at the moment, but I'm sure I will soon.

I was immediately attracted to the Acer Revo 3610, but then I read about the Dell Zino HD, but I also thought about building something like this.

Both the Revo & Zino would require a USB capture device (considering Hauppauge WinTV PVR-USB2) but the homebuilt gives me a PCIe slot or two to play with.

I've googled and googled and googled and read 'all' the reviews and am about to toss a dice to see which way to go. If anyone has experience to share that might influence the number of sides on the dice then I'd appreciate hearing it.

[psycik]

The owner of Geekzone is getting himself a Zino HD for use as a Media Center client (for Freeview|HD). Which is what you would need since most USB based capture devices are DVB-T. I think there are a couple of satellite based ones as well but they don't seem to be that popular.

Both those devices should handle our freeview|HD, and definitely would handle DVB-S (Freeview). Another option I'm not sure you have considered is an HDHomeRun an IP based Dual DVB-T (or DVB-C) tuner. Might be worth looking at.

[Sichedelic]

Thanks for the info. I have looked at the HDHomeRun but I need a device that allows me to capture from an AV input source, rather than OTA or other source.

Hmm, if the Zino is good enough for Mauricio . . .

[ilovejedd]

Acer Aspire Revo 3610 ($329) vs Dell Zino HD ($229), I'd go with the Zino (with upgrade to dual-core Athlon 3250e CPU, +$60). I have an ION build and the Atom 330 CPU is very limiting. The CPU used in the Zino are basically lower-clocked, undervolted Athlon Brisbanes. While the Revo has hardware accelerated Flash now with the 10.1 beta, the Zino is supposed to have it, too, when Flash 10.1 is officially released.

Zino vs full MicroATX build, that depends. Both are already capable of Blu-ray/HD playback. The MicroATX is, of course, faster, but it also consumes more power and has a larger form factor than the Zino. Not to mention do you really need a powerhouse for your HTPC? On the upside, you can have internal cards on the MicroATX while you'll need external USB devices for the Zino.

I do have a question, since you mentioned you only require analog, do you have an HDTV or at least a TV with PC inputs (VGA/DVI/HDMI)? Because if not, it'll be difficult to connect the Zino to your TV.

[mvallevand]

Here in Canada the base Zino HD with the x2 3250 2GB RAM etc is $550. It is small but it still isn't cheap. I'd love the faster processor over my ATom+ ION combo but as a client I can't justify it. However if you want it to be a server and a client, I don't know why anyone would want an Atom 330. It seems like a step backwards after all the progress in CPU performance and price over the last few years.

Martin

[ilovejedd]

I'd love the faster processor over my ATom+ ION combo but as a client I can't justify it. However if you want it to be a server and a client, I don't know why anyone would want an Atom 330. It seems like a step backwards after all the progress in CPU performance and price over the last few years.

True, but in the Mini-ITX space, it's very good performance for the price. Prior to Intel releasing the Celeron-based D201GLY Mini-ITX boards, VIA was pretty much the only option and those were very slow considering the $100+ price tag. Given the prices here in the US, I'd take the Revo or Zino anytime over a standalone player such as the Popcorn Hour.

I bought a Popcorn Hour A-110 ($255 after shipping and taxes) last year for use as generic media player and GB-PVR client. I've since built an ION-based HTPC to replace it. So far, the ION has played everything I've thrown at it, including DivX/Xvid anime fansubs with somewhat esoteric encoding options that the PCH had trouble playing. The HTPC crashes less often, too. In fact, the HTPC has yet to crash on us while it seemed as if I had to restart the PCH after every couple of movies (had YAMJ). Parts for the ION HTPC cost me $355, not including Windows XP license (bought a 3-pack when I built my server). For the $100 difference, I kinda wish I had gone the HTPC-as-client route directly.

[Sichedelic]

Thanks ilovejedd & mvallevant for your informed opinions on the Atom 330 machines vs Zino. My TV has HDMI and VGA so options for connectivity are plenty.

The Zino with the dual core CPU and Blu-ray player is NZ$1,182, so a little more expensive than the Revo (NZ$900) but slightly cheaper than the MicroATX Build.

I only need analog as I take a composite feed from the cable STB. HDTV will be on the menu when I live in an area that can receive it :-).

Thanks again.

[mvallevand]

Given the prices here in the US, I'd take the Revo or Zino anytime over a standalone player such as the Popcorn Hour.

I didn't talked about the NMT's earlier I wouldn't recommend it to Sichedelic because of HE-AAC in NZ but but since you brought it up, the prices for the EGreat that is pretty much the same as the A110 is only $139 and for the money I would take it any day offer my Asrock ION 330 if I just wanted a GBPVR client or media player. It was a lot worse when mvpmcx2 had to call mono but stability is up and the reality for me is I don't have a lot of esoteric files to play, I don't even play mkv files. I now I use the A100 much more than XBMC for linux on the ION sitting beside it.

When you jump to the next gen PCH the C200 which is closer in price ($350 CDN) to Acer's then I start to look at price more carefully.

Martin