Acer AspireRevo - the first NVIDIA Ion-based (GeForce 9400M) Nettop to launch [Archive]

slicemaster

2009-04-08, 04:30

Well, at long last our dreams are coming true. The first ION based net top is coming to market. Brought to us by our friends Acer it is dubbed the AspireRevo. The design looks pretty sleek and the footprint not much larger than nVidia’s reference ION design. Some features are missing like optical SPDIF but from the looks of the pics here - http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/07/acer-launches-first-nvidia-ion-based-nettop-aspirerevo/#comments
It has most of the rest of the goodies.

I suspect that this is just the first of the ION platforms to be coming to market this month so stay tuned for updates.

Now if only a company would screw it’s head on straight and implement one of these with a Windows Vista MCE IR receiver for out of the box compatibility with XBMC under Linux. This is no doubt the most cost effective VDPAU platform.

Slice

tslayer

2009-04-08, 04:45

You mean you missed the post that was literally two below your own thread?

slicemaster

2009-04-08, 05:03

My apologies, I guess I was so excited I forgot to check for a posting before I started the thread sorry, we all have out stupid moments, please close the thread.

Slice

ccMatrix

2009-04-08, 05:22

Looks pretty nice. A bit odd that 7.1 is just available through HDMI. I had hoped that there was either SPDIF or more audio ports to attach a 7.1 or 5.1 system. Especially if they target HTPC users.

TomJensen

2009-04-08, 09:05

Some impressions:

. No built-in optical drive. You have to go USB, which defeats the purpose of having a tiny box in the first place. Speaking of size, it looks to be a proprietary mini-ITX board.

. 1st-gen single-core Atom. I suppose the dual-core will be an upsell in a few months. Asus EEEBox followed this route, but that was last year. Tacking on a GPU to an obsolete CPU won't make general-purpose use any faster.

. No built-in WiFi or IR receiver, which means you'll have yet more USB widgets dangling from the box.

. Personally, I'm not a fan of the black/white motif. Either make it all-black or all-white, like Apple.

. It looks to be sold only in full-box config. But max storage of only 250GB (per the article) is pretty limited, considering that 2.5" drives already come in 500GB and above.

. Pricewise, I'm guessing that base config will be USD$300 at rollout, dropping to $250 and lower by year-end. This would be roughly equiv to the EEEBox, which doesn't have the GPU, but does have WiFi.

. I'm trying to figure out what the marketing angle is for this box. At $300, it's a little too expensive for an impulse buy (especially in this economy). It doesn't have enough functionality to be a HTPC, and it's too slow for a nettop driving a big-screen TV. It's worth pointing out that while netbooks are all the rage, nettops did not catch on, at least with the 1st generation. Solving the 1080p video problem is a good first step, but it's not the only issue.

coredalae

2009-04-08, 15:45

mjea, though i dont think the harddisk is that much of a problem, since everyone uses a NAS nowadays, and most hardcore htpc users already switched to gbit networks (so why a large hdd if you can stream, i'd personally be fine with a 20gb ssd to hold xbmc and my other apps..)

optical drives same thing, IMO they are overrated (but i do see that the main consumer market will not see it this way)

wifi/IR reciver, i think its np that it lacks the wifi, since its to slow to stream HD anyway, but the IR reciver IS a must.

its indeed fugly

i think if it had the ability to play 1080p, $300 might be a good aim..

TomJensen

2009-04-08, 15:58

Continuing...

This is one instance where a small case size is worse than a larger case. The unit has ports coming out of three of the four sides, plus a USB at the beveled corner. The 4th side has a slot to be fitted to a stand. This means that it can only be mounted vertically, and it will look like an octopus. Crappy design.

One alternative is if it has a VESA mount, to be mounted behind the LCD. The problem with this is that if you use a USB WiFi stick for connectivity, reception will be crappy since the signals will have to go through the LCD (or the wall behind it). One solution is to get a USB extension w/ cradle and mount the WiFi on top of the LCD.

I'm coming more to the conclusion that the next small box I get will be a standard mITX board where most of the ports are in the back and hidden from view. The case will be bigger, but it won't look like an octopus. Small boxes like this (and the Nvidia ref design) just can't accommodate all the ports on one side.

chene

2009-04-08, 16:56

http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_69675.html

Acer's ION-based computer was announced on nvidia's website. I was excited at first, but after a closer look at the pictures, it looks like it only has VGA output?

I was really hoping for hdmi, if not just a DVI would do.

yellowman

2009-04-08, 17:05

Looks like it has hdmi to me... to the left of the vga.

chene

2009-04-08, 17:05

my mistake. Further googling reveals that hdmi (video/audio) is included. Hopefully someone can confirm that it works with xbmc/vdpau.

xbs08

2009-04-08, 17:16

http://www.slashgear.com/acer-aspirerevo-nvidia-ion-1080p-nettop-0840470/

xanadu1979

2009-04-08, 17:21

Looks very cool. Boxes like this are definitely the future.

Built-in 802.11n support is nice.

I can't tell, is that an eSATA port on the side?

xbs08

2009-04-08, 17:24

yes.
http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2009/04/acer_aspirerevo_based_on_nvidias_ion_platform_just _launched.html

xanadu1979

2009-04-08, 17:47

Doesn't have optical audio out. That pretty much kills it for me.

HexusOdy

2009-04-08, 19:15

But with XBMC you will only get HD Video with the Linux version with VDPAU right?

As WIndows uses CPU only this is no different than any other Atom system. Its the Video Hardware that rocks in ION and to use that you will need VDPAU.

ultrabrutal

2009-04-09, 00:47

optical audio out is so old school :) nowadays hdmi carries both fullhd hd video and hd sound. That latter something optical or even coax out cannot

xanadu1979

2009-04-09, 02:37

Yeah, but some people might want to run the hdmi to the TV and the audio to a receiver.

Bob___

2009-04-09, 02:51

But 2 important questions:

1. Is it capable of playing H.264 Content with a high bitrate (~30 Mbit/s)
2. Is it capable of running AEON Stark without any judder

BLKMGK

2009-04-09, 07:20

phunqe

2009-04-09, 08:49

Yes please...

Razor_109

2009-04-09, 15:01

$350 to $450 feels high to me especially since it has no disk onboard from what I can tell. Compare it to this -> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856167037 It has a better vid card and it ends up $300 more?

the point is the Ion platform is running a Nvidia 9300 which is supported by the vdpau build and thus can run 1080p video's on just the atom cpu..

and as far as i can see the MSI one you suggest just has VGA? and i guess the 9300 onboard Nvidia beats the Intel GMA 950..

xnappo

2009-04-09, 21:19

the point is the Ion platform is running a Nvidia 9300 which is supported by the vdpau build and thus can run 1080p video's on just the atom cpu..

and as far as i can see the MSI one you suggest just has VGA? and i guess the 9300 onboard Nvidia beats the Intel GMA 950..

Yeah, but it is way to high to compete with the likes of Popcorn Hour IMHO.

But - with VDPAU I built a 1080p system for $150, so XBMC is still in good shape - just need the price of the Ion type system to come down to get wider adoption. It will happen...

xnappo

TomJensen

2009-04-10, 18:01

@coredalae

Yeah, I'm talking about regular users, most of whom don't have a wired network in the house, let alone gig-E, and need to rely on wireless for connectivity. Hence, adequate local storage is more important than if one has a high-speed LAN.

A smallish drive is fine for a nettop, i.e. for Internet browsing & related tasks. But the Ion is a waste of money for a nettop, since Flash doesn't yet use GPU accel, and a single-core Atom is too weak to handle multiple gfx-heavy tabs. 1080p movies are 6-8GB on avg (if we're talking about ripped vids), and a 250GB cap isn't adequate. It also begs the question of how regular users will have access to 1080p movies, since most online hi-def movies you can buy are 720p, and this doesn't have a built-in BD drive.

The $300+ price point is too expensive for a nettop. A netbooks is only a little more with the same power (other than the Ion), plus LCD/keyboard/battery and the portability. On the desktop side, that amount will get you a good C2D setup in a low-profile uATX box. I think this category won't fly until products hit the $200 point for a full config. Also, the connectivity problem will need to be addressed. You're right, wifi is too slow and unreliable, but gig-E isn't the answer either for most people.

@HexusOdy

XBMC already runs 1080p w/ a 3GHz CPU. Again, speaking for regular users, it's easier (and about the same price) to get a 3GHz low-profile box running on Windows/Mac, than to have to install Linux on an Atom/Ion to get GPU accel. People have a hard enough time with Linux when it was pre-installed on netbooks.

johnny2

2009-04-10, 19:11

Yawn.....TomJensen still spewing the same tired, clueless FUD...gigabit isn't the answer and Linux too difficult....lulz.....the acer does have wifi and a internal ir receiver but you would actually have to know what you are talking about but that has never stopped you in the past.....

Starstream

2009-04-10, 19:22

The Acer Ion could be just the ticket for XBMC Live if linux GPU decoding works out, its exactly what I and I'm sure others been waiting for.
a) Low noise
b) small form factor
c) no diy job
d) HDMI output
e) cheap enough

I didn't know it had an internal ir receiver that's just the icing on the cake. If Nvidia would throw some of its resources towards XBMC Live it could be a killer app for Ion.

ultrabrutal

2009-04-10, 21:57

ION platform is perfect for XBMC! It's a TViX/Popcorn Hour killer in my eyes.
This is just the first one to come out. I'm sure more boxes like this one will appear with various looks. This one can be mounted on the back side of a TV/monitor.
Personally I do not care about IR as the XBMC app for iPhone/iPod Touch is killer

Tom,
1. linux being a problem? Just download the special Acer XBMC linux distro which I'm sure will be available
2. local harddrive is the future? Get with the program. Everyone is getting a NAS. Local storage is so old. I even see my self using a USB stick or SSD instead of the built in harddrive just to get rid of some heat and noise.
3. While the WireLess N is cool and all, I personally find wires needed for serious streaming from server/NAS.

Bob___

2009-04-10, 22:45

ION platform is perfect for XBMC! It's a TViX/Popcorn Hour killer in my eyes.

I second this :nod:

ION platform and XBMC with Aeon Stark are made for World Domination :;):

Kermee

2009-04-10, 23:01

AFAIK, the starting price is $149 USD... The higher priced SKU's come with either Vista Home or Vista Premium "Microsoft Tax"...

The real test is if the 9300M in those nVidia ION platforms will be able to completely off-load (full vs. advance) MPEG-2 (e.g. ATSC OTA 1080i MPEG-2) and still be able to do Temporal 2X deinterlacing all inside VDPAU...

Cheers,
Kermee

kizer

2009-04-11, 00:58

Personallly I'd just velcro this tiny little box to my BigScreen, run a wire down to a USB dongle that I'd gladly drill a hole in my entertainment center and hide and plug in my CAT5e cable that is connected to my NAS.

Sure the tiny thing is well to tiny and it will look like an Octopus with added extras, but for the price and what it does I'm sure I'd be in heaven with a dual core unit. Worst case hide it behind your TV or put it in another box. Its first Gen so I'll cut it some slack.

harryzimm

2009-04-11, 01:31

donabi

2009-04-14, 14:48

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/-/653/860/3-/ComingSoon.html?fd=11%20May%202009&ld=24%20May%202009&searchtype=genre

and with linux...
for me in germany it would be about €235 (including taxes etc)

TomJensen

2009-04-14, 20:09

UK always have higher prices for tech stuff. Price points will come down when it hits stateside.

The base config (1GB RAM, 8GB SSD) will probably be USD$200-225. I think this'll be popular for tech peeps, as then they can add their own drive & OS. The regular config at ~$300 is more usable, but as said, pretty expensive for what you get. Even w/o the GPU, the EeeBox is already a superior value with built-in gig-E and WiFi, both of which the Revo lacks, and nobody is buying that.

Price points for these things will have to come way down, around $150-200 (below the impulse buy threshold). Not only that, functionality will have to come up, with built-in wireless connectivity to stuff like remotes, keyboard, LANs, etc. Right now, the Revo is an overpriced gadget for peeps who just have to be the first to have new toys.

I have faith in Acer as a price leader, to wit, the AspireOne. Once more vendors put out their wares, and Nvidia gets off its high horse and lower the premium on the 9400, I think we'll see more realistic offers.

Seeing how it's VESA-mounted (diagonally in back of LCD), now I see why there's a USB port on the corner: so you can use a normal USB WiFi stick, which will stick up above the LCD to get good reception. This doesn't work if you have a larger LCD, or if the mount is in a lower position.

xbs08

2009-04-15, 17:48

Seeing how it's VESA-mounted (diagonally in back of LCD), now I see why there's a USB port on the corner: so you can use a normal USB WiFi stick, which will stick up above the LCD to get good reception. This doesn't work if you have a larger LCD, or if the mount is in a lower position.

Processor: Intel Atom 230 1.6GHz
Memory: 1GB
HD Capacity: 8GB SSD
Display: None
Graphics Card: NVIDIA ION
Optical Drive: None
Operating System: Linux
Networking: Wireless 802.11b/g, Ethernet LAN 10/100
Four-in-one card reader, supporting:
MultiMediaCard (MMC)
Secure Digital (SD) Card
xD-Picture Card
Memory Stick
Ports:
VGA D-sub
HDMI
eSATA
6x USB2.0
Headphone Jack
Microphone Jack
Included Acessories
Wired Keyboard And Mouse

I think the diagonal vesa mount is for easy acess to power button.

TomJensen

2009-04-15, 22:02

Yep, saw the .11b/g in the specs. Didn't see an RP-SMA antenna-out in the port specs (or in pics from Engadget), so it's probably using int. ants, which means reception will suffer, especially if it's mounted behind the LCD. Anyway, even assuming excellent reception, best-case throughput for 11g is ~22Mb/s, not good enough for 1080p. You need dual-band .11n as a minimum.

By all appearances--single-core Atom, no built-in .11n or gig-E--it's a low-end product relying solely on the Ion moniker as the sales pitch. Judging from the hard-ons some folks get for the Ion in this thread, that may be good enough to close the deal.

TomJensen

2009-04-15, 22:35

Oops, that should be "dual channel .11n", i.e. 40MHz, although having dual-band definitely would help, given all the interference in 2.4GHz.

koscica

2009-04-19, 12:43

It has a giabit LAN according to this press release on ACER's site

http://www.acer.co.uk/acer/news_detail.do?LanguageISOCtxParam=en&sp=page12&kcond9.c2att193=17773&scu3.block=5&CountryISOCtxParam=UK&ctx1g.c2att92=660&ctx2.c2att1=17&ctx1.att21k=1&CRC=3008486619

:confused2:

AshsToAshs

2009-04-21, 00:48

Heres some unboxing pics of the Acer AspireRevo:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/16/acer-apire-revo-the-ion-infused-unboxing/

-Ash-

typhoe

2009-04-21, 14:20

http://picasaweb.google.fr/PCi.David.l/0904AspireRevoParis#

And some pictures from a show room in france :)

ultrabrutal

2009-04-21, 20:54

Can't wait to see the verdict on XBMC running on one of these :)

donabi

2009-04-24, 10:17

it's available (german)

http://www.t-online-shop.de/tonline/urwfilter/catalog/do/action/ShowProductDetail/productId/54857/pn/Acer%20Aspire%20R3600%20REVO%20Nettop%20Atom/index.html

eddietop

2009-04-24, 14:05

I hope someone gets a chance to try XBMC on it soon, if it can play 720p without any problems would be the perfect box for me :)

xbs08

2009-04-24, 15:18

I hope someone gets a chance to try XBMC on it soon, if it can play 720p without any problems would be the perfect box for me :)

With VDPAU i'm pretty sure it will play 720p.

Bob___

2009-04-24, 15:24

720p is unimportant! 1080p@24Hz is important.

decaturguy

2009-04-28, 02:04

http://en.expreview.com/2009/04/20/zotacs-atom-based-m-itx-mobos-for-ion-platform-in-the-works.html

Pvt_Ryan

2009-04-28, 11:07

I really want one.. was about to buy it BUT there is no optical drive.. :(

motd2k

2009-04-28, 11:28

Krieg

2009-04-28, 13:11

Yeah, but some people might want to run the hdmi to the TV and the audio to a receiver.

Why? you can run the hdmi to the receiver and the again hdmi to the TV. Or maybe you have a receiver without hdmi, then we are back to old school.

Knasher

2009-04-28, 13:39

Doesn't have optical audio out. That pretty much kills it for me.

You never know, it might have optical out through the analog speaker jacks, similar to how alot of laptops support it. The reference platform definetly had it, so even if it isn't there its possible it will be supported in a later version.

uomiarz

2009-04-28, 17:58

You never know, it might have optical out through the analog speaker jacks, similar to how alot of laptops support it. The reference platform definetly had it, so even if it isn't there its possible it will be supported in a later version.

There are also some other solutions like that:
http://www.keene.co.uk/electronics/multi.php?mycode=CP267

but it's still pretty expensive :sad:

AshsToAshs

2009-04-28, 20:59

Engadget review:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/28/acer-aspirerevo-review/

"Video playback is the real winner here, with accelerated 1080p video in all sorts of flavors. Unfortunately, you have to know what you're doing. For instance, a 1080p QuickTime movie plays nice and accelerated in PowerDVD, but horribly in actual QuickTime, since it's not GPU-accelerated."

-Ash-

AllanMar

2009-04-28, 22:48

fekker

2009-04-30, 04:31

Ive seen a fair few posts about the single core atom struggling with AEON, but how does it perform with PMIII? or MediaStream? I currently use VDPAU with a Nvidia 9400 on my main HTPC, so this box seems like a great idea for my 2nd tv.

I guess mayb itd just be best to wait for a dual core version to come out.

I don't have the single core, but did mess around with disabling the second core on a dual core system and running xbmc live on it, didn't have any problems with pm3 with it

I'm sure the textures could be reduced if a skin is too complex for lighter machines.. there's a build of it for the apple tv, i'll bet that works as well.

sircube

2009-04-30, 15:01

Look at this review:
Acer AspireRevo (http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,682684/Nvidia-Ion-hands-on-test-What-is-the-Ion-nettop-Acer-Aspire-Revo-capable-of/Reviews/)

TomJensen

2009-05-01, 06:38

Good to hear that the 330 will be in the June refresh for the Revo. It won't help much with the main problem with the current Revo--can't play HD Flash for online video--but general use will be less limited. I think Acer will hold the line on $300 for the 330 in the popular config, and drop the current 230 to $250. Still way overpriced for the mediocre perf, but shouldn't matter for early adopters, being who they are.

I'm waiting to see if it has powered USB ports. Without it, a USB-based remote doesn't work well (can turn it off, but not back on). Given that Acer is charging $50 extra for its motion remote, one would think the answer is yes. It obviously would be RF, since IR doesn't work for VESA mounts.

Inside shots show the wifi to be mini-PCI w/ int ants. It should be easy enough to upgrade it to 11n, and using a pigtail to route reception to one (or two) external ants.

The decision for the porcupine port scheme & VESA-mount is mind-numbingly stupid, although I understand why they did it. Small is hot. The Ion press shots got attention because of its pico-ITX size, not its perf (the 9400M is entry-level gfx). Even though the Revo is more like mini-ITX, it still has to be as small as possible, since that's its only real selling point. VESA mount is fine when you don't have much interaction with the unit. It sucks for port access, or any wireless connectivity (no IR, bad wifi).

But ultimately, the largest problem with the Revo (and by association, the anemic Atom CPU) isn't its fault. Right now, no low-powered CPUs can handle online HD videos. Until Adobe can upgrade Flash for GPU accel, these nettops' appeal will be limited.

pezmannen

2009-05-13, 13:17

Has anyone seen this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaqcImfnnwU

2-7offsuit

2009-05-15, 22:05

How about this? http://fit-pc2.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

It doesn't have the Ion graphics, but if it could do xbmc at 720p I'd be sold.

Starstream

2009-05-15, 23:29

How about this? http://fit-pc2.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

It doesn't have the Ion graphics, but if it could do xbmc at 720p I'd be sold.

That uses the GMA500 which is a PowerVR SGX 535 GPU, it has a GPU video decoding element like ATI/Nvidia but without support in the linux drivers & XBMC its not much use as your stuck with the Atom CPU.

Has anyone seen this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaqcImfnnwU

Found his blog and its in german but google translate does a decent job he says it works well enough with XBMC Live though the audio over HDMI requires some hack and I think he mentions that it has an annoying fan ?

I thought these systems were fanless I really hope its just a bad translation & there isn't such a fan in these.

http://tbhl.blogspot.com/2009/05/aufgrund-des-immensen-interesses-xbmc.html
http://tbhl.blogspot.com/2009/05/und-wieder-der-acer-revo-xbmc-revisited.html

slippy

2009-09-13, 04:35

has anyone managed to play with some settings to be able to make these atom bases nettops boot directly into xbmc?

davilla

2009-09-13, 05:02

has anyone managed to play with some settings to be able to make these atom bases nettops boot directly into xbmc?

xbmc is not an operating system so you can't "boot" into it.

XBMCLive is a minimal ubuntu moblin distro with XBMC for Linux, You can install it on to the netbook and "boot" into this distro and then XBMC will autoload and present.

slippy

2009-09-13, 05:04

many thanks for the reply,

Yes sorry this is what I meant,

that's good to know

EDIT: do you know if I can use linpus linux lite which I know can boot in 15 seconds, linpus also have another version of their os which can boot in 6 seconds, from there can I load xbmc even quicker?

zag2me

2009-09-13, 15:42

Dual core Atom 330 edition could be interesting

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/02/acers-ion-powered-aspire-revo-3600-packs-dual-core-atom-330

saratoga

2009-09-14, 02:04

EDIT: do you know if I can use linpus linux lite which I know can boot in 15 seconds, linpus also have another version of their os which can boot in 6 seconds, from there can I load xbmc even quicker?

Its a computer you can put any operating system you want, as long as it supports Nvidia chipsets and Intel CPUs.