[dazex]

i'd also like to know which config has the best boot times and best performance between the three. has anyone tried all 3 methods?

i'd really like to dual-boot xbmc live and win7, but i don't think its possible to install both on the harddrive... yet.

I have tried all three method and the HD is fastest by FAR.

The boot performance of the SD will depend on the speed of the SD card in use, but it's still lags behind the HD.

I don't see any reason why you can't dual boot Win7 and XBMC. Just google instruction on how to dual boot linux and Win 7 and adapt any of those guides for your own purpose. You won't be able to use XBMC Live per se because XBMC Live will take over an entire HD by design. But you should be able to manually install mini Ubuntu and cofigure XBMC following a few of the guides already posted on this forum.

[myrison]

Hi all - first of all, thank you for posting this thread and all of the useful information. I'm considering getting an Acer as well (two of them if it works as well as claimed).

One question... one of my TVs does not have an HDMI input and will only be using analog audio. The TV has VGA or DVI for video inputs. Are there limitations in the Revo of using the VGA output for streaming HD content? (i.e. can I get 720p resolution over VGA (the max that TV supports) or should I plan on using an HDMI/DVI conversion cable?)

Secondly, are there any issues within XBMC of using HDMI for video and analog for audio? I'm pretty sure it'll work fine, but on the off chance anyone has tried or had issues with this, please let me know.

Fortunately, my 2nd setup has HDMI so in that case I just need to decide on Linux vs. Windows as I prefer the XBMC player because of its ability to allow control via iPhone. I'm just not sure I trust my Linux skills to get it up and running based on what others have said here.

Thanks again, can't wait to get my own and jump into these discussions.

Jason

[schneidz]

I have tried all three method and the HD is fastest by FAR.

The boot performance of the SD will depend on the speed of the SD card in use, but it's still lags behind the HD...

... but generally faster than usb ?

[Qooop]

Qooop, it sounds like you've done this. So can you (or anyone) tell me the exact specs of the included RAM so that we know what type/speed we should order if we want to match it exactly? FWIW, I have the 1GB ($200) model Revo, so hopefully that's the one you've got.

I have opened the case but I am still waiting for my RAM from Newegg. I is the slowest they ever shipped to me. DHL to USPS. Bad Newegg!

[Scott R]

I is the slowest they ever shipped to me. DHL to USPS. Bad Newegg!

Haha! I'm experiencing the exact same thing with them right now! I ordered an MCE USB IR receiver/remote from Newegg last Friday. I'm in the northern-central part of CT and they shipped it from NJ to Walpole, MA via DHL (I'm pretty much dead center between these two points - so they overshot me by a huge amount) and then handed it off to USPS on Monday. Tracking stopped at that point and I still haven't received it yet. Completely ridiculous and it will certainly have an impact on my future decisions to purchase from them and/or result in a nasty customer service email I send them. I've been worried over the last day or two that it got lost somehow. Chances are, USPS is just horribly slow. But I think it's totally unacceptable to purchase *anything* from any major online retailer (like Newegg) and not get a tracking number that can be used to track the status along the *complete* journey.

[wwarren]

I'm running XBMC Live from a USB stick on a brand new AspireRevo AR1600 from Amazon.com and I'm getting no network connection. The ethernet port light are on, but isn't getting an IP address and XBMC reports no link. In the network settings, the only network interface option is eth2 with most everything else unselectable. Is that what it should be? The ethernet port works correctly under XP.

Suggestions?

[schneidz]

^ try ctrl-alt-f2 and log in as root.
then try dhclient

[Qooop]

^ try ctrl-alt-f2 and log in as root.
then try dhclient

Then how do you get the XBMC GUI to load again?

[deadite66]

got one of these last week, karmic + xbmc only 17% cpu with vdpau and 720p wmv's.
streamzap remote arrived this morning so its now downstairs with no keyboard/mouse and connected via hdmi.
shame the linux version didn't have an 'n' wlan 'g' is too slow to stream HD movies from my other mediapc.

very nice machine though.

[schneidz]

Then how do you get the XBMC GUI to load again?

i forget what the default xorg.conf virtual terminal is for xbmc-live (for standard linux it is usually virtual terminal 7 -- ctrl-alt-f7).

for some live-usb distros sometimes they put it in vt-1 or vt-5 (play around to figure it out -- you wont break anything) ?
- edit: you can even try running startx again but it will probably just run another xbmc gui so you'll have two desktop environments running at the same time.

for my wireless card i put

Code:

ifconfig wlan0 up && iwconfig wlan0 essid [i]<my-router>[/i] && dhclient

at the end of my ~/.bash_profile so i wouldnt need a keyboard connected to my ion board in my living room.

[schneidz]

...shame the linux version didn't have an 'n' wlan 'g' is too slow to stream HD movies from my other mediapc.

um, you need an actual 802.11n capable wireless card and router to use higher transfer rates. if you only have an 802.11a/b/g wireless card and/ or router you wouldnt be able to use the higher transfer rates no matter what os you are running (linux, mac, windows, sun solaris, ...)

lspci will tell you the type of card you have.

[mitkaese]

I know I am a minority here, but is there a way to connect the Revo to an old CRT television? I'm looking for a low-cost file server/htpc to run XBMC, but don't plan to upgrade my TV anytime soon. The TV has composite video, but nothing newer than that. Is there a cheap way to hook the Revo up to my TV or should I look at something else to use with XBMC?

[wwarren]

My networking problem is resolved. I must have downloaded the wrong ISO that didn't contain the right driver. I went back to the original Lifehacker article and downloaded from the direct source they mentioned rather than from a torrent.

[deadite66]

um, you need an actual 802.11n capable wireless card and router to use higher transfer rates. if you only have an 802.11a/b/g wireless card and/ or router you wouldnt be able to use the higher transfer rates no matter what os you are running (linux, mac, windows, sun solaris, ...)

lspci will tell you the type of card you have.

i checked when i got it, AR5007EG a/b/g, i have a draytek 2820Vn 'n' router my other mediapc is connected via Gb ethernet.

[schneidz]

^ in case there is still confusion, your atheros AR5007EG a/b/g card is not capable of high transfer (wireless-n) speeds.

your router is wireless-n capable.