Zotac shows off with XBMC
May 4th, 2010
This promotional video has been linked several times in the XBMC IRC channels in the last few days so it seemed appropriate to post here (it gets good at about 3:00). It’s flattering to see that the manufacturers have taken notice of our project, and even seem to have it in mind when designing their hardware. Zotac has also furnished us with some equipment for testing and input from our developers, so it seems that they have a genuine interest in improving the XBMC experience. It would be great if more companies made an effort to work with open-source projects in this manner.
If ZOTAC MAG already was an excellent choice, this version optimized for XBMC will be even better !
My MAG plays 1080p like a charm, and just requires minor adjustments to work with my Hama remote.
Awesome work folks. Up the XBMCers !
There isn’t a HDD, Ram, lR Reciever, Linux or linux wifi support. and the listing price is approx. $225. They have flawless HD playback but lack most features that should be standard in a HTPC. A refurbished 40GB Apple TV ($165) w/ CrystalHD is still a better deal. I think Zotac makes a killer product that has flexibility. I’m stoked about what they’re coming up with next. XBMCer’s are the market mavins for the HTPC world. If Zotac catered to XBMCers to built a box solely for XBMC they would make a killing.
If Zotac doesn’t move to a fully complete HTPC the market will be gone and absorbed buy HTPC included flat screens TVs. Just think, XBMCTV!!!
I really think you guys at XBMC should contact them… and they should ship boxes preinstalled with xbmc, with working hdmi audio etc.
I wonder if I could set these up at every TV, and create softlinks to link each XBMC’s Appdata directory to one instance on my network. Then regardless of what room I am in I can resume playback and make the experience more ubiquitous. I dont know how it would work with plugins though.
S4Rs, take a look at this http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=69838
I also don’t know how this will work with plugins, but it will allow you to run one library database and have all of your xbmc machines read from that library.
Love the work Zotac are doing, however, I, like many others, would prefer a box similar to the AppleTV (which I do already have), which has minimal holes and buttons and leds on the front so it fits in with very minimal home theatre systems.
Cheers,
Jason.
Anyone know what the video clip is at the end, some animated movie, but not sure what?
@S4Rs dude, you have toooo much time on your hands..and most probably too much money…im struggling past my dissertation for tomorrow lol…..
Once again, XBMC rules.
@Mo Firouz its just a matter of creating a short cut for each box to a single folder. It might be problematic if your using to at the same time but its a simple solution. But i do agree too much money i say go all out on a single room.
Hey Zotac, how about working with the devs to create a “Certified for XBMC” standard, similar to Microsoft’s Windows Hardware Quality Labs testing? Having a collection of such products in your lineup would certainly give you a leg up on the competition in the DIY HTPC market!
@Tobias
We are in contact with the XBMC team, so no worries :)
@prupert
The video is our new trailer we show at tradeshows that features our three mascots
You can see the complete video on our YouTube or Vimeo pages – http://www.youtube.com/zotacglobal#p/a/u/1/v6LmHCDCmJA
This looks awesome, but yeah, why couldn’t they have included a remote too for some extra bucks?
But i will buy this thing anyway :P
@ Zotac
I’ve watched your itx boards and mini-PCs for a while and like your product. I begrudgingly bought an AppleTV to retire the old Xbox. Admittedly, I don’t understand how the economics of a MiniPC works. I have no doubt that Apple sold the ATVs at a loss and that is difficult to compete against.
The ZBox is still a kick-ass HTPC with flexibility, expandability and the hardware to suit.
No optical out is a bit of a kicker.. also accoding to play ( http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/13954833/Zotac-Z-Box-Mini-PC-Atom-D510-Dual-Core-1-66GHz-Bare-Bones-Nettop-Black/Product.html?&_$ja=tsid:11518|cc:|prd:13954833|cat:Computers ) assuming that is the same box only supports a/b/g wireless.
I think the following would be required to make it a killer.
a) Optical Out
b) wireless N
c) 3.5″ HDD bay (I want a 2TB drive in there at least)
d) slimline Optical dvd drive
I do agree about the remote. This is really what is currently missing in from the latest ZOTAC boxes. RAM & hard disk are not an issue, but a remote requires a receiver, and it’s a shame you have to use an external one.
‘XBMC Supported with minor tweaking’
… kinda just like any other htpc out there. Define ‘minor tweaking’ please. If you put this text in an add-video, it probably means ‘lotsa tweaking’…
@ZOTAC
I too agree about the need for a remote or at least built-in IR reciever for universal remotes if marketed as a “HTPC” :)
Linux support would be also very nice ;)
I can’t wait to review the MAG. I love the design of the ZOTAC mini PCs.. simple and sleek, yet bold with the blue halo. It’d be cool if ZOTAC released some high quality fan art for us to use in XBMC backgrounds to kind of marry the two products together.
@Ryan McLean
The ZBOX has integrated 802.11b/g/n and optical outputs.
@Edwin
Aside from Wireless, everything works out of the box with the LiveCD. The Wireless card is a standard Atheros mini-PCIe card, iirc.
@Anders
We’re marketing it as an Everywhere PC capable of being used anywhere – living room, kitchen, garage, office, etc…
Why the issue with a remote?
Most remotes are IR, which require line of sight to function. Assuming a hidden installation, line of sight will probably not be available and thus a builtin IR receiver would be of little actual use.
With multiple USB ports available, I see a small and unobtrusive USB IR receiver placed near the video display device to be the solution for this. Much like the Wii has its receiver near the display.
@ zotac , how about passthrough HD-Audio ?
@Carlsberg
It can do LPCM output via HDMI. Unfortunately we can’t offer more than that, its a GPU limitation. However, we do support xvYCC and DeepColor HDMI 1.3a features. TrueHD and DTS-HD MA bitstreaming are not supported.
@eldowan
I agree. BUT it might be nice to have said receiver packaged w/the ZBOX. I got my receiver for cheap $5 at the CompUSA going out of buisness sale. I’m not sure if they are that easy to come by generally & packaging one, I wouldn’t imagine, would cost much but would add much value.
@Zotac
Any chance of XBMC based media player that competes with WDTV Live ? Currently XBMC supports VAAPI with proper driver support from intel D510( which should be soon ), we should able to run 1080P.
Thats a shame , prob alot people are looking for that nowa days ..
@CrashX
We have no plans to expand into the set top box market.
The market is enormous the “asrock + nas + DiNovo” (& variations) combi is so populair.
A dedicated XBMC device will be a huge success!
And I do think this device will come far, only if it was pre-configured with XBMC + Customer Support.
Like XBMC pre installed on flash orso.
What more do you need? (XBMC Live, Download station torrent + nzb) an a NAS for strorage……
Killer Combo!
Yes great news.
I see a problem for XBMC user on linux.
what about the problem of :
AtomD510 with IGP
WITH
NVIDIA GPU
The switch between atom igp and nvidia gpu is software.
Code name : “Nvidia Optimus”Nvidia didnt say a word (yet?) about release Optimus on linux.
So, if not, with XBMC on linux on ZBOX HD-ID11, we will get an extra graphic process without any use.
Maybe not the best choice, maybe it would be better to choose a CPU alone with a nvidia gpu. So not the ZBOX
Optimus is on the mobile version of Next-Generation ION only. The desktop version only has the NVIDIA GPU enabled.
@ZOTAC : on the ZBOX HD-ID11 there is a NVIDIA GPU and an atom D510 with IGP disabled ?
So why not used an atom 330 instead ? (cpu without igp) yes it’s two years old and it’s not the best low energy cpu.
Do you know if intel plan a kind of “atom 330 next generation” without igp ?
Found this while using xbmc on my xbox, it scrolled across my rss feed. :P I have been in love with XBMC since the beginning and use it every day. Its awesome to see that its actually getting some official recognition. Long live XBMC!
@NoMorgan
We have the ZBOX HD-ND01 and HD-ND02 that features the original ION + Atom 330.
Next-Gen ION is a discrete GPU that still requires the D510 + NM10 Express to function.
I’m looking to replace my HTPC in the next couple of weeks, and I’ll admit that this looks pretty tempting. Honestly, my only hesitation is the Atom CPU as I think I might want to be able to do more with it, but there aren’t a lot of other options at that power/size.
@eldowan
why IR ??
a bluetooth dongle from ebay for $1.50 and a ps3 bluetooth remote for $30 and you have a much better remote option than IR.
To Zotac, I just received 3 x ID11’s to replace my current HTPC’s, how do I configure XBMC for optimal use on the ID11?
Since you went to the trouble to make the video, it would really be great if you would publish a configuration guide?
@prupert
It is the shortfilm or full film 9. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472033/
Logic Supply has ZBox-HD-ID11 in stock:
http://www.logicsupply.com/products/zbox_hd_id11
I just got a ZBox-HD-ID11 and installed Gentoo Linux with the Nvidia driver and XMBC. The machine is fantastic! Expect for the friggin’ fan :-( My wife won’t even let me have the machine in the living room because of the fan noise. Does anybody know if the Shuttle XS35 will have a fan?
@Xbmc old school
I have to disagree with you on the Apple TV being better. I have a Zotac Ion. I payed $199 for MoBo/CPU and another $50 for 4GB ram. Now, 4GB is really just over kill. I was truly a n00b to this when I started and thought I would need it. I would not. With XBMC’s VDPAU rendering, I play 1080p movies, TV, and videos FLAWLESSLY. I use a Vista MCE remote. Well, I use the IR receiver of it. I actually use the Logitec harmony 510. I also use my iPhone as well. I use the iPhone mainly for when I hold poker tournaments and want to skip a song or artist from another room. But I digress. The Apple-TV work ok. But in my experience, it isn’t as solid a machine as the Zotac. My Zotac runs on 90 watts, and I run the XBMCLive from a 8GB flash drive. For your money, Zotac is the way to go. for around $350 you can have a sleek machine with remote options, very little power use, almost no heat, and 1080p playback on any size screen. I use a 55″ LCD. Seeing this video make me want to buy another one…..just cause. Now, back to my HD Library of 500+ and counting (Got to love the FreeNAS with 7TB’s!)
That’s too bad about the loudness. It’s loud with an SSD !
@XBMC Fanatic
@Xbmc old school
I guess.
@ptr727
It works out of box with analog audio and Gigabit. If you want to get the WiFi working, its an Azurewave NE785 that uses an Atheros AR9285 iirc.
To get HDMI audio working, I’ve compiled the list of resources Anand used on our ZOTAC blog – http://switch.zotac.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=how-to-enable-hdmi-audio-in-xbmc-livecd-with-zbox.html&Itemid=100013&lang=en