[mythtvnz] recommendations for HTPC

[Mark George]

Hi All.

I recently upgraded from a 720p screen to a 1080p and my old EEEBox EB1012 (first gen ION chipset) is struggling to play 1080p video smoothly even with all deinterlacing off.

So I guess I need a new HTPC for the frontend.  I haven't been following hardware much over the last few years so am not sure what works well with MythTV/XBMC and what doesn't.

My requirements are:

  - Works with Mythbuntu with minimal effort.

  - HDMI out.

  - Optical audio out.  My current receiver doesn't have HDMI support.  If I had to I could update my receiver but only if I knew the HTPC could do out-of-the-box 5.1 HDMI audio.  I didn't have a lot of luck with 5.1 HDMI audio on the current EEEBox.

  - Able to do smooth 1080p playback with deinterlacing.

  - Small form factor, ideally with a vertical stand so I can sit it behind the TV.

  - Quiet.

Apart from the smooth 1080p video my current EEEBox can do all this.  It is a shame that the ION line of HTPCs seems to have died out since an upgraded version of what I have would be perfect.

What do you recommend?

Cheers,
Mark