With the release of the Google Chromecast streaming USB stick it seems apropos to revisit Google's other foray into the HTPC business, Google TV. Specifically it is the ASUS Cube up for review at Bjorn3D which will be offered as an example. At less than 5" a side it is a tiny device with HDMI input and output, an pair of USB 2.0 connectors, an ethernet port and a connector for an IR sensor for the remote. It does have wireless connectivity to help keep down on the clutter if you install it somewhere noticeable. Inside you will find a 1.2 GHz Marvell Armada 1500 chip, 1GB of RAM and 2GB of user accessible storage. There are a variety of apps to help you find streams to watch and is certainly easier to set up than a full HTPC. At $125 is is more expensive than the Chromecast but it is also more powerful, see how in the review.
"Asus Cube is the device that features latest Google TV OS that want to be part of your living room entertainment setup. With a good design, an unique remote, and $139 price tag, can it push Google TV further where others may have failed? Let’s find out."
Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
- Ebode VLHD30 Full HDMI Wireless Audio/Video Sender System Review @ Madshrimps
- Hauppauge HD PVR2 Gaming Edition Plus @ Kitguru
- Streacom ST-FC8B EVO Mini ITX Case @ NikKTech
- Zotac Zbox Nano Plus: A mini with more @ Hardware.info
- Intel NUC DCCP847DYE @ eTeknix
- Gigabyte Brix review: compact mini PC @ Hardware.info
Nothing covers all the bases
Nothing covers all the bases and is cheaper to implement than hooking my PC up to a large-ish monitor with a $1.58 on sale from Fry`s HDMI cable and using Windows Media Center.
4 tuners of HDTV , BluRay , PC games , internet…the whole enchilada. Have been doing this since 2010.
Cable card is only $2/MO and WMC updates the listings for free.
Wow your cable co actually
Wow your cable co actually charges you for the cable card? that sucks!
Well, the main difference is
Well, the main difference is that I want my computer on my desk; not tethered to the television in my home theater 50 feet away, down the stairs in the other half of the house and I’m not interested in building a second machine dedicated to just that purpose, because if I’m going to play videogames, I want to play them on the more powerful system (unless I somehow become rich and don’t flinch at like $7k worth of hardware every time around just to duplicate things).
That’s pretty cheap for a cable card, though. I’ve seen cable providers basically charge you the same price for a cable card as they would charge you for their own digital box and DVR.
My Sony blu ray player has
My Sony blu ray player has built in Google TV. Its the perfect combo.
Don`t get the
Don`t get the user-agent-blues…use a PC !
If you need a decent home
If you need a decent home theater PC on the cheap, look for some older used office computers.
They are cheaper than the google tv and more functional.
Generally on amazon you can find some core 2 based office computers for less than $100 that are fully working with a copy of windows. They are generally very quiet, and can be made near silent by using a fan adapter and a 140mm fan on a speed controller, then you can find the cheapest modern GPU from ati or nvidia and you will have some decent hardware acceleration.
In total you may spend about $120 on the system and parts to make it into a near silent htpc that will handle any video you throw at it.
“At $125 is is more expensive
“At $125 is is more expensive than the Chromecast but it is also more powerful”
Per the article:
“In fact, it feels even slower than a two to three year old phone like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Sometimes when we press a button on the remote, we are not sure if the command was registered because the screen will appear to have frozen and we inadvertently will hit the key again, which will cause it to register twice. In addition, the device seemed to also slowed down when there were many applications opened.”
powerful != fast
powerful != fast
Neither is GoogleTV.
Neither is GoogleTV.