Acer Revo, or just a NAS

Boopop

Boopop

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Tom
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Well, for starters, I adore XBMC. Those of you who aren't in the know, that's Xbox Media Center. I have a Crystal Xbox with it installed, which also has a 250GB hard disk inside. My videos however take up far more than 250GB. Also, leaving my computer on 24/7 costs a lot! Then there's the fact that I'd like somewhere to backup my photos and Uni work other than my second hard disk or my external USB disk.

Now, the decision I need to make. I can either buy a NAS and put a couple of hard disks inside it, or I can buy an Acer Revo, get a couple of external hard disks, and use that as a half HTPC, half NAS, replacing my crystal Xbox. A Revo would of course be a more expensive option, but it would also certainly be more fun as I'd have a 1080p capable HTPC and I'd also be able to have it exactly as I wanted.

What's everyone's opinions on the matter?
 
i run a revo bolted to the back of the tv.. hdmi to the tv and spdif optical to the amp. linked via 200mbps powerline adapters to my synology NAS in the spare room/office.

works okay, need to finish faffing with the revo to get it playing back HD content smoothly (poxy nvidia and the lack of a "enable hardware acceleration" option natively in its driver). but it handles blu-ray playback from a drive in a USB caddy playing back with Arcsoft TMT3 very nicely. need to finish setting up XBMC and its external players too.
 
I'd look into Windows Home Server. The license will cost you about £80 and then all you need is a cheapo £100 P4 system from flea bay, a couple of disks which will probably cost you £90 and job done. Then you have:

  • A media player
  • An automated backup solution
  • Centralised storage
  • Remote access to your files and computers
  • The ability to restore dead PC's from backup
  • A server platform from which you can run website/blog/email etc

Not bad for around £270. There's even a new beta out right now which has even better media centre support and integration with Windows 7 Home Groups. It even supports Macs! I reckon it's worth a look as an alternative to more traditional solutions in this area.
 
neil_g said:
i run a revo bolted to the back of the tv.. hdmi to the tv and spdif optical to the amp. linked via 200mbps powerline adapters to my synology NAS in the spare room/office.

works okay, need to finish faffing with the revo to get it playing back HD content smoothly (poxy nvidia and the lack of a "enable hardware acceleration" option natively in its driver). but it handles blu-ray playback from a drive in a USB caddy playing back with Arcsoft TMT3 very nicely. need to finish setting up XBMC and its external players too.
Click to expand...

What do you think about the idea as using the revo as a NAS too however? I don't have the money for a revo and one of those lovely synology NAS boxes :(
 
Boopop said:
What do you think about the idea as using the revo as a NAS too however? I don't have the money for a revo and one of those lovely synology NAS boxes :(
Click to expand...

granted its got quite a few USB sockets (only 1 esata) its not really what id call a server.. youll end up with it and a multitude of external drives as you upgrade etc..

is space the only reason why you want to move away from using the xbox to stream to?
 
I use a media "player" which is DLNA, which links to a NAS, also DLNA. Really good solution, and it means I can use the rest of the NAS for pictures etc.
 
neil_g said:
granted its got quite a few USB sockets (only 1 esata) its not really what id call a server.. youll end up with it and a multitude of external drives as you upgrade etc..

is space the only reason why you want to move away from using the xbox to stream to?
Click to expand...

Thad and I'd like the ability to play HD (720p in my case) videos. Added to which having a computer in the lounge would be nice.
 
the acer revos are cute little boxes, we used the for office/net cafe pcs for an event I was working this summer...

guess you could hook up an external drive and use it as a nas as well as a media centre - on the other hand, dedicated NAS units are dead cheap now (the netgear stora comes to mind, about £40 once you include the value of the hard drive you get free with it), and a simple, dedicated thing - letting you need less control, configuration etc on your revo, and meaning that you can just use a revo as a dedicated media box, without worrying about people messing it up. Also means you don't have the hard drive spin noise in your lounge :)
 
The Revo is a great bit of kit - especially when you add in xbmc (the latest version i think can use the inbuilt hardware acceleration & look really slick). As for using it as a NAS, it's fine with a large external drive plugged into it but it's not a great solution ...i'm hoping that there will be a raid NAS released soon using the same dual core ion chip as in the revo - and for similar cost, as that would be perfect - quick. quiet, cheap to run!
 
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