HTPC Extender (Diskless, lowcost, Windows 7, etc.)

[zakrzep]

Does anyone know of, or have any ideas on what to use for a low cost Sagetv Extender that would run Windows 7. I know the HD-PVR is a great solutions other than running Windows. The reason I say that is becasue I would also like to be able to surf the web as well as run other applications on it.

I looked at some of the Western Digital, Mediagate devices, but they obviously won't run Sage and they don't have Windows.

Any ideas, thoughts?

Thanks

[sic0048]

Do a search for "Thin Client" - these are small form, low power devices that many companies use in lue of a larger desktop system at each persons work station.

Some run only a custom OS designed for RDP or Cintrix purposes only, but many run Window XPe or similar software. I haven't looked at them recently to know if there are any models running Windows7. You could always try to load Windows7, but you might run into problems with drivers.

I personally have bought several HP t5720's which are an older model that can be found for $100 or less many times. I use them to drive several touch screens for my home automation software system. I even have animated flash weather radar screens and can play back youtube and other videos as well without any problems. Newer machines will be even more powerfull and more capable.

[mr_lore]

Anything with the nvidia ION 2 chipset will work wonders, however expensive, this one is good:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-061-_-Product

[bigo93bronco]

The HD200s are still the best bang for your buck. Unless you need a normal internet connection or something the HD200 can't do in a room its the best way to go. I looked into this, and you can build one for a price equal to sage's extenders if your lucky, but the HD200 will always be more reliable.

[Clift]

For a cheap extender a net-top is the way I would go. Something with an atom processor and ION chipset should be able to handle most anything you throw at it video wise. An Acer Aspire Revo can be had for $200 on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Acer-AspireRev.../dp/B002O3W44Q). The specs won;t blow your pants off but for a SageTV extender and web surfing it should be fine. It's got the ION LE chipset but that ca be hacked to support full Directx 10 (http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/30/n...interesting-q/). Installing Windows 7 on it should be trivial.

[bhyman1]

I can't recommend and Atom/ION setup for sage. I have a N330 based Zotac and it's just crappy, even just using Windows 7 on it is crappy. It's sluggish and slow.

Running Sage on it is unpleasant to say the least.

[wayner]

My recommendation is to use an HD-200 for Sage and buy a Netbook to put on your lap to browse the web and run other apps.

[mr_lore]

Originally Posted by bhyman1

I can't recommend and Atom/ION setup for sage. I have a N330 based Zotac and it's just crappy, even just using Windows 7 on it is crappy. It's sluggish and slow.

Running Sage on it is unpleasant to say the least.

Really? I would think they would do just fine, I have a craptastic 900mhz asus eeepc from the first or second generation netbooks running xp, I have used the sagetv client on it with good success, albeit just for fun and not at length. Menus were snappy, video was slow to load but looked ok.

[SWKerr]

Dell Zino HD with dual core and the ATI Radeon HD 4330 Graphics option. $420 with Windows7. Small and quiet but with enough power to do all things HTPC. At $400 it is twice as much as the Extender but adds a lot more flexibility. My Dad got the $250 model to replace my moms desktop, only one core and ATI 3200 graphics but I will try to get it to work with Sage next time I get down there and report back. I suspect that as long as I get the codec setup for hardware acceleration it will work fine as well.

The old Atoms I have seen even with the ION graphics were sluggish. (Never tried Sage) There have been a lot of announcements lately of nettops using the new Atom chips but I would still only look for ION for an HTPC. I have a Dell mini 9 and it barely does SD and youtube is suspect at time. Hulu and HD are a no go. It really needs a decent video solution.

If you let a HTPC sleep then it really does not use that much power. Even idle power comparisons are not that much different at the plug. The Atom still used the same hard drive and CD hardware as a typical HTPC. You save but it is smaller than you think and at a big cost to performance.

[Fuzzy]

My only experience with Atom is in my truck, but it performs admirably well there. (not even Ion, just an Atom-330. Admittedly, I only run it at 800x480 resolution... However, the Atom processor itself really is an impressive little piece of silicon for the cost (money, power AND space).

That said, I'm guessing you could build a relatively inexpensive system that would meet all your needs for about $250. Running Diskless might not be an option though with win7. Not sure, but I doubt it will play nice booting from LAN. You might, however, be able to run off a small SSD, or CF card.

That said, even this combo over at newegg, combined with a nice very slim case, might be a good building point. the cost is right, and that CPU/GPU combo should still be plenty for sage client duties.