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Anyone thinking of getting an Arctic MC001-XBMC the wait time is 6-8 weeks. I'm still (not so) patiently waiting for mine to ship.
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Feb 26, 2013 23:09
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Ok so I recently got an ad12. I have it running xbmc directly from the machine but I also have it running plex media server for my roku box downstairs. I used to have a large desktop doing the same thing. Now, when I try to watch stuff on Plex from the roku box it has to stop every 2 minutes and buffer. It never used to do that. My bandwidth hasn't changed or anything. The only thing that might have changed is that now my shows are .mkv and they used to be .avi Is there anything I can do to eliminate the constant buffering without taking a gigantic loss in quality?
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Feb 27, 2013 02:26
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Not powerful enough to handle transcoding the files for Plex?
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Feb 27, 2013 02:36
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wolfbiker posted:Not powerful enough to handle transcoding the files for Plex? Well after I posted this I started google searching. Apparently direct play is broken in the roku so it tries to transcode and the antenna is really finicky. I'm going to move the router and see if that does anything.
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Feb 27, 2013 02:44
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Daric posted:Well after I posted this I started google searching. Apparently direct play is broken in the roku so it tries to transcode and the antenna is really finicky. I'm going to move the router and see if that does anything. The Zbox can't even do direct streaming over wifi. You have to go ethernet for that to work.
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Feb 27, 2013 09:28
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Hey all, I've tried reading through a handful of past pages and the initial links but to be honest I'm not very technical. Maybe if I explain what I'm looking to do you would be able to link a few resources which present the basics it would be much appreciated. My wife and I dropped our Canadian cable / internet provider due to ridiculous costs and gone with someone local for Internet only. We are looking to use a HTPC(s) for two TVs in two (three once basement is redone) different rooms to stream content from Hulu, Netflix and iTunes for movies. Maybe something to control other than the traditional remote/mouse/keyboard. Nothing too fancy or overly pricey. Any resources would be amazing!
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Feb 27, 2013 14:37
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If you want iTunes and simple as possible, try an AppleTV. If you have some local stuff you want to stream alongside Netflix and Hulu, check out a Roku or Western Digital streaming box. Either will get come with a pretty simple remote to control the box, and will just plug into your TV via HDMI. But it from somewhere with a decent return policy in case you hate the interface. Just an assumption, but if you're not too technical and don't want to get into a lot of research or tweaking, then building a full on HTPC probably isn't for you. It's a labor of love, but it's still labor in most cases. It does give you MUCH more flexibility in what you can do, though.
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Feb 27, 2013 15:17
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I was really just trying to convey that I'm not particularly knowledgeable but I am looking to learn! Start small with the basics and once I have a better understanding move up from there!
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Feb 27, 2013 16:56
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Is there an Android apps that can be used as a virtual keyboard/mouse that supports the Windows 8 edge swipe gestures? There's a lot of virtual mouse/keyboard apps but none of them work like that.
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Feb 27, 2013 22:47
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Does anyone know if the AD10 can do 24p?
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Feb 28, 2013 00:02
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wolfbiker posted:Does anyone know if the AD10 can do 24p? Yes it can, though i have no idea about all that steady 23.xxxxx whatever bullshit i read about.
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Feb 28, 2013 00:07
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That's fine, I'll use reclock to get the video stable. Thank you.
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Feb 28, 2013 00:11
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Is the Zotac AD12 picky about RAM? I recently purchased one and tried using corsair value select but the system doesn't seem to post. No beeps or display, just a flashing red/green light. This is actually my second AD12 since I RMA'd the first one, thinking it was DOA. I am having the same issue with the new one. What kind of memory is everyone using?
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Feb 28, 2013 00:35
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I got a AD-10 and it just won't stop giving some 3 beep error code every time I boot it up. Searching their site or Google doesn't give you any kind of table for what these error codes mean, and they manual is devoid of it too. I've tried a different stick of ram, taking the SSD out, taking everything out, and still nothing when I power it on. I'm already regretting this purchase, so unless their tech support gets back to me soon I'm already left with a bad impression of it.
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Feb 28, 2013 03:17
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I remember a few pages back someone was talking about the AD10 beeping and how the beeps normally mean one thing but on the AD10 they meant something else. Can't remember exactly.
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Feb 28, 2013 03:31
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Is it an error code or is it just beeping three times for three USB devices?
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Feb 28, 2013 04:18
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There's nothing plugged in at all except for the power cable. Doesn't matter if the ram/SSD are in it, or any combination of those two. I've submitted a ticket to them, let's see what their reply is.
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Feb 28, 2013 04:31
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http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2386006&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=183#post412610643 Find some documentation that describes what that number of beeps means so you at least know what the problem is.
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Feb 28, 2013 17:16
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Delta-Wye posted:http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2386006&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=183#post412610643 That's the thing, there's nothing on their site, on Google, or their message board that lists what the beeps mean. It's incredibly frustrating.
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Feb 28, 2013 17:34
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IUG posted:That's the thing, there's nothing on their site, on Google, or their message board that lists what the beeps mean. It's incredibly frustrating. It's an AMI bios, so presumably this list will tell you what the problem is. There's also this from their official site (Ctrl-F for "beep").
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Feb 28, 2013 20:45
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Just an update, I installed some kingston valueram today and my AD12 booted immediately. Had some trouble installing Windows 8 from a flash drive to a crucial m4, it was throwing out these odd partition errors, that was solved by removing the usb drive, reformatting the drive, then reinserting it 
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Mar 1, 2013 01:49
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Is there an awesome frontend like XBMC but for emulation?
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Mar 1, 2013 01:55
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Advanced Launcher and Rom Collection Browser are both plugins you can use to manage that stuff in xbmc.
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Mar 1, 2013 02:31
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You can do it within XBMC with an add on like Rom Collection Browser. How easy it is to set up and play games depends on what platform you are running (really easy on Windows, a bit harder on something like openelec)
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Mar 1, 2013 02:32
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bub posted:Is the Zotac AD12 picky about RAM? I recently purchased one and tried using corsair value select but the system doesn't seem to post. No beeps or display, just a flashing red/green light. This is actually my second AD12 since I RMA'd the first one, thinking it was DOA. I am having the same issue with the new one. What kind of memory is everyone using? I think I might have that exact RAM but in an 8 gig stick. I was having big stability problems and rare problems with not starting until I bumped the RAM voltage up. edit: Here's the post I made about it! SubCrid TC posted:My last system died, so I grabbed an ad12 to tide me through for a while. Unfortunately, I was getting random reboots. Since it was all new hardware *and* it had Windows 8 installed I had absolutely no idea what individual item was causing it. So, I hosed with the BIOS for a while trying different things, confirmed that the RAM voltage and timing matched the spec for the RAM I had (since that's hosed me before) and did a scan for memory errors. When that didn't help I dug through Windows logs to see if there was something common happening right before the crashes. After disabling services that looked like they might have been related I managed to reduce the amount of crashing but not actually get rid of it. I also tried all sorts of exciting driver swapping. T.C. fucked around with this message at 08:26 on Mar 1, 2013 |
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Mar 1, 2013 08:21
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fletcher posted:Is there an awesome frontend like XBMC but for emulation? What the other guys said, but libretro is being pulled into XBMC (preview video), and the developer responsible has already brought everything up to date for Frodo, but if you want to use it now, you'll have to build from source.
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Mar 1, 2013 14:16
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Fillerbunny posted:What the other guys said, but libretro is being pulled into XBMC (preview video), and the developer responsible has already brought everything up to date for Frodo, but if you want to use it now, you'll have to build from source. Although it is under active development, it's probably better to setup Advanced Launcher now than wait for something like libretro to be fully integrated.
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Mar 1, 2013 14:21
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Speaking of HTPC emulators, since most emulated games are old 4:3 games, and nearly everyone has a 16:9 tv, why don't any of them implement custom pillarboxes? For TV or old movies, you don't really want graphics on the side distracting from the image, but for a game I feel like if you made the sides look like an arcade cabinet or something, that would be a lot cooler than black bars. Something like this (had a hell of a time even finding an example image): 
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Mar 1, 2013 20:00
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I got my AD12 with 8gb of the Crucial value select and Samsung 120gb SSD, plugged into a USB 3 enclosure to my 2 TB internal drive from the old PC, and Windows 8 with the $15 trick mentioned here. It's a solid computer, playback is sluggish but I know when I get a chance to tweak it and explore XBMC it should be fine. One issue I have is the computer is louder than I anticipated. People said this AD12 was quiet, it is marketed as silent, but those fans are loud to me. I didn't tweak any settings or play with the BIOS, it just is that way before I touched anything. I think I'm just accustomed to a completely dead-silent PC I designed before long ago and this machine, though only marginally louder than a Direct TV receiver and perhaps quiet by most standards, is a bit loud for my liking. Has anyone tweaked the fan settings or anything else to make it quieter?
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Mar 2, 2013 00:01
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I found my AD10 to be loud but tweaked the settings in the BIOS (I think someone here posted some settings that they used and I copied that) and it's pretty much silent now.
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Mar 2, 2013 01:12
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wolfbiker posted:I found my AD10 to be loud but tweaked the settings in the BIOS (I think someone here posted some settings that they used and I copied that) and it's pretty much silent now. If anyone has the settings for that I'd really appreciate it if it could be posted. The fans seem unreasonably high powered given that the thing draws so little power, and aside from the fans has no moving parts (though I know that doesn't mean no heat). I tried all sorts of google searching to find something like this and had no luck.
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Mar 2, 2013 01:44
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WeAreDevo posted:If anyone has the settings for that I'd really appreciate it if it could be posted. The fans seem unreasonably high powered given that the thing draws so little power, and aside from the fans has no moving parts (though I know that doesn't mean no heat). You might want to look at updating the BIOS if its not already at the latest. I think I remember reading something about them making changes regarding fan noise/temp readings.
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Mar 2, 2013 04:28
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KingKapalone posted:How do I get the AD10 USB IR receiver to work my Harmony 880? I already got the Harmony working with the internal IR, so I thought I could just plug in the USB IR. I posted this question a while back, but still don't know a solution. Any help? It's really annoying controlling this thing without the USB IR.
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Mar 2, 2013 07:12
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It's me. I'm the idiot (although Zotac's customer service could be a bit faster). The three beeps means "no ram detected/bad ram", and I thought it was weird I was getting the same beeps for ram in and ram out. Turns out I wasn't pushing in my ram stick far enough it's its slot before securing it in place. Therefore, basically not connecting the ram at all. I could still see the pins and the clips weren't securing it quite properly in the ram's grooves for the clip. Pushed it in a bit more and then it was complaining about having no boot disk (because I hadn't given it one).
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Mar 4, 2013 17:39
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iceslice posted:You might want to look at updating the BIOS if its not already at the latest. I think I remember reading something about them making changes regarding fan noise/temp readings. My BIOS is the latest version (the one in late October 2012). I see settings over the fan but if I reduce the fan at all the temp climbs up until it gets too hot and the high powered fans come on - I guess the fans do in fact need to be powered as they are on the default settings. Of those of you that have an AD12, how loud is it? Mine is about as loud as a hairdryer on low, and while it is a good PC otherwise and is running great, I feel mislead that the box said "extremely silent", it is my loudest a/v device of all, louder than my Wii U, Ps3, receiver, etc. I think they just used crappy fans when making this PC, or fans that are too powerful but don't scale down to reduced RPMs so there is no balance in the right amount of airflow vs noise. I want to believe there is some setting I'm just not seeing but it might just be that this is quiet for a PC but not quiet enough for my standards (my last PC I built, although ancient and a power hog, I made it so quiet that there was no way you could tell it was on unless you put your hand next to it to feel the warmth and vibrations). I'm considering returning it, as much of a hassle that would be, but how loud is everyone else's AD12? Is it about as loud as a somewhat quiet hairdryer on low? I wonder if they are all like this or if I for some reason got a crappy one. edit: http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/zotac_zbox_nano_ad12_plus_review,12.html It looks like the AD12 is in fact just a loud PC and the "extremely silent" is a lie. WeAreDevo fucked around with this message at 17:58 on Mar 5, 2013 |
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Mar 5, 2013 17:55
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I have an AD10, not an AD12 but I can give you some fan settings when I get home. It's also possible the thermal pad or paste they used is hosed. Some people says theirs is fine but mine was like yours so I took off the shroud and discovered they had done the worlds shittiest thermal paste job. Redoing that and tweaking a few settings got me the silent PC they advertise. Keep in mind though that whenever you're pegging the CPU over 50%, the fan will kick in and it's a small fan so they're a bit loud. If you use it primarily for video playback this won't be an issue since video hardware acceleration will keep your CPU usage below 10%. If you use it for emulation or playing Source games then the fan will be audible, though you likely won't hear it above the game sound most of the time. I'm at work but I will reboot that box when I get home and give you the fan settings I'm using. For reference, I cannot hear it during 1080p playback, its inaudible unless I put my head next to the box. The Gunslinger fucked around with this message at 18:11 on Mar 5, 2013 |
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Mar 5, 2013 18:03
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Keep in mind doing that will void your warranty. The main reason I got the zotac is so I didn't have to gently caress around with anything. If you feel that the hardware is not running properly just RMA it. Might be kind of a pain but worth it to keep the warranty imo.
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Mar 5, 2013 18:35
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Yeah good point and they do use a multi-part breakaway sticker for warranty check. I'd try the fan settings first and see what happens. I will post them later, assuming another poster doesn't get to it first.
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Mar 5, 2013 19:07
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The Gunslinger posted:Yeah good point and they do use a multi-part breakaway sticker for warranty check. I'd try the fan settings first and see what happens. I will post them later, assuming another poster doesn't get to it first. Great, thanks for the info guys. Yes, please do share your fan settings. I suspect it won't be anything I haven't tried but I may be wrong, or if nothing else, it gives me useful info to share with the company should I RMA it for reference.
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Mar 5, 2013 19:34
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WeAreDevo posted:Great, thanks for the info guys. Yes, please do share your fan settings. I suspect it won't be anything I haven't tried but I may be wrong, or if nothing else, it gives me useful info to share with the company should I RMA it for reference. What are you doing with it by the way, just playing videos? If so, what are you using to play them and what's task manager showing your CPU usage at during playback? I'd start there. It should never be as loud as you're describing unless the CPU is pegged which should be rarely (windows updates, gaming, etc).
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Mar 5, 2013 19:48
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