Cubox vs Rasp Pi Vs Rasp Pi 2

Pitchucold

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Hi Guys,

I am currently using an HTPC with XBMC. It is becoming an hassle to start and shutdown the PC. Though it is not taking a long time, but thinking of moving towards something with a small foot print. I thought i would use HTPC for something else, but realised just like others it is only for xbmc / movies

I am trying to restrict my budget to 6-8 K Max. My Requirements are as follows :
1. Play movies from EXpenology / Synology NAS (Synology sw on non syno hardware)
2. 3D Support
3. XBMC on the device
4. Small foot print
5. Budget Rs. 6-8 K

I tried with RAsp PI but it seems to be slow to me and also i had issues connecting to Expenology NAS. So options seems to be limited to Cubox Vs Rasp Pi2.

I heard good feedback about Cubox from Dheeraj Jotwani ..has anyone already tried RasP pi 2?

Cheers
Prasanna KV
 
My experience with Cubox was more or less same as Raspi, however I personally have preferred Raspi simply because of the huge community backing and supporting it. XBMC (OpenELEC to be precise) on RaspPi though was a wee bit slow (just the navigation), I still was super impressed given the fact that I was able to have a full blown HTPC that could play pretty heavy 1080p files flawlessly on a device that did not cost me more than 3000 bucks, and this is Rasp Pi mobel B I am talking about not even B+. NOw we have Raspi 2 with better processing power and better RAM as well and I sure OpenELEC will perform much better (I do not have Rpi 2 , yet! so havent tested it) but the below thread will put some doubts on ease ..

OpenELEC Mediacenter - OpenELEC Forum - Topic: Raspberry Pi 2 showing as 600mhz is this correct (1/2)

3D (Frame Packing, not SBS or TB) is another ball game all together and I am pretty sure rpi will not able to play it. Personally speaking if I was on a super tight budget Rpi would have been a god send for me specially rpi2 as just for like 2500-3000 bucks I would have been able to build a pretty decent HTPC.

Lastly I was pretty easily able to connect my Rpi with my synology (not EXpenology) NAS over both SMB and NFS.
 
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If you are looking for something beefier than Rasp Pi then checkout Banana Pi. By the specifications it is a better hardware than the Rasp Pi. I plan to give it a test run this week
 
Consider the 100 USD Amazon Fire TV. More powerful hardware than the alternatives + easy to sideload Kodi (XBMC) + appears to fit your criteria and budget.
 
Well if want to venture in to the territory of Media Players .... I can vouch on MINIX NEO series of android boxes, MINIX NEO X6 will comes under your budget.............. Supports the latest h.265 HEVC Hardware decoading. 8GB eMMC, Amlogic S805 Quad-Core, Cortex A5 1.5GHz proc, and no need to side load XBMC, its included with the product. and BTW it also comes with Androind 4.4.4 KitKAt pre installed.
 
Hi Sam, Zam, Bobbby,

Thanks for your inputs and the recommendations and the links shared.

In Xpenology i have minor glitch, when i used Rpi. Earlier i had issue connecting to xpenology but after sharing the directory issue was resolved. But sometimes i need to click twice to navigate to the folder from Rpi. It doesnt work the first time. anyways it is not a show stopper.

I dont watch 3d content much but incase if i need to watch, i thought i shall go in for a device which supports it as well. anyways finally it is cost vs benefit analysis.

cheers
Prasanna KV
 
these small boxes ( Cubox vs Rasp Pi Vs Rasp Pi 2) stream DTS HD MA and Dolby True Hd through HDMI ?

Or there are Hardware - or software or Licencing restrictions?
 
a) How can I buy Cubox ?
b) Has anybody has experience on Raspberry PI with Wolfson DAC available on Element14 India ?

-Amit
 
cubox-4 is very good, not slow like raspi. I use it for audio though I tried openelc with it for a few weeks and liked it - the priority then was audio.
just buy it directly from solidrun. They will ship form Israel to India via SpeedPost.

I just got the Neo-X8h last week, yet to plug it in.

G
 
Hi pitchucold, I did not find any incentive ever to get away from an HTPC to move over to mini footprint boxes. What is your startup and shutdown problem?
 
I use Cubox-i4Pro with Volumio OS loaded. I have nothing bad to say about it. Wirelessly receives files & streams them to the DAC. I tried a Raspberry Pi before that. Wasn't happy. Don't have any clue about video since it's controlled remotely via Android phone. It's very powerful for a size smaller than Rubik's cube. Looks very cool
 
Hi Haisaikat,

I have ATX PC with a large footprint running windows 8 OS. I primarily use it only for Kodi / XBMC and foobar. XBMC is the primary use. I was reusing the existing 8 year old hardware with Zotac 520 card for HTPC Purpose. I thought i can reduce clutter by moving to a small footprint like Rasp Pi or Cubox.

I tried Rasp Pi earlier operated thru infrared remote, but felt it was slower. So wanted to get feedback on Cubox / Rasp pi. Looks like Cubox supports 3D as well but seems it is not supported widely as rasp pi.

Cheers
Prasanna KV
 
a) How can I buy Cubox ?
b) Has anybody has experience on Raspberry PI with Wolfson DAC available on Element14 India ?

-Amit


Hi Amit,

Dheeraj Jottwani was testing Rasp Pi with Wolfson DAC, you may IM him and he is available on whatsapp. I remember he writing a thread on hfv forum as well.

Regards,
Prasanna KV
 
a) How can I buy Cubox ?
b) Has anybody has experience on Raspberry PI with Wolfson DAC available on Element14 India ?

-Amit
I have tried Wolfson DAC with rpi and it was pretty clean implementation and clean sound as well ..... what else would you like to know.

yes I hav

Hi pitchucold, I did not find any incentive ever to get away from an HTPC to move over to mini footprint boxes. What is your startup and shutdown problem?

Even I feel the same way, the only reason I probably would have gone for rpi as an HTPC was if I was on a super slim budget.(and I didnt care about 3D) Apart from that, a decent C2D with a card like GT440 or GT630 performs rock solid even on 3d and 4K front. POwer foot prints are not much of a concern to me as the only time my HTPC is switched on is when I have to watch a movie on my HT.

For my NAS yes I would have been very finicky about the power foot prints as it runs 24x7 with torrents and all.

My gaming PC is also only switched on while I game coz that the most taxing PC as far as power foot print goes.
 
Hi Haisaikat,

I have ATX PC with a large footprint running windows 8 OS. I primarily use it only for Kodi / XBMC and foobar. XBMC is the primary use. I was reusing the existing 8 year old hardware with Zotac 520 card for HTPC Purpose. I thought i can reduce clutter by moving to a small footprint like Rasp Pi or Cubox.

what is the clutter you feel is there? You can probably ditch windows with OpenELEC. Plus you can have a small 32GB SSD for like 2500 and install openELEC on it, this would make it boot super fast. Much like a media player, specially if you use the sleep mode (that does not take any power <1W)
Probably also replace 520 with 630 for better 3D experience.

Dont worry much on the size, power and performance are two aspects that needs to be considered, unless you really must keep in a room where space to toooo much of a concern ...

BTW My HTPC is also an OpenELEC pc over 32GB Scandisk SSD with a GT440 which essentially is a GT630.... :)
 
Pitchucold is from chennai, whereas sam you are from Delhi where electricity prices are halved every other day :) so no wonder a Delhiwala would no longer care about power consumption :) just joking
 
^^ Hehehe :) No Bro I am from Ghaziabad, which is Delhi NCR, and comes under UP, so no power subsidiary for me ....:) ...though I whole hearted support AAP ... :)
 
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