Zotac Zbox Mini PCs in Thailand. My Zbox review.

[muratremix]

Hey folks,

I've been monitoring mini-mb.com for sometime as they are the only distributor of zotac mini pc in Thailand. I was going to buy a zotac id 42 (celeron dualcore 1.1 ghz, gt610m gpu) but at the last moment they brought much cheaper model: Zbox ID18.

Models with discrete gpu is more expensive, but provides better playback options for folks. However, instead of paying 8400 baht, I ended up buying 4850 baht ID18 model. Id18 has no builtin wifi (I have a spare wifi usb stick so..) and no zotac mce compatible remote in box (so no built in ir receiver either) but it has relatively faster and newer ivybridge celeron dualcore 1.5ghz cpu and stripped down intel hd2500 gpu (No 3D video playback, no quicksync, no AVX).

I set up it with windows 7 for testing, installed cccp codec and set up LAV video decoder to use DXVA2 gpu playback. It plays bluray files, 1080p mkv, anything you throw. It can even play them without DXVA2 but then cpu usage goes 90 percent in some scenes which is not preferred. It does bitstream audio to my denon entry level receiver / home theater.

Then I tried xbmc 12 on windows. Again it can play everything except bluray iso files, somehow hardware acceleration doesn't work on them (they say it works on linux <deleted>?) and it simply doesn't work. Perhaps its related to mpeg2 hw acceleration in XBMC.

Anyway I've been using this box with chinese mini keyboard/mouse (designed for android mini pcs) but you'll need a mce compatible remote and receiver if you want to enjoy it all. I had a spare sata2 60gb ssd so I used it on my htpc. Windows 7 boots pretty quick but I am sure windows 8 can boot even faster. I put 1600 mhz ddr3 single ram (1140 baht) and it was ready to use.

Because I still have my Xtreamer Prodigy that can play everything including 3d bluray iso, I choose this cheaper model to try. For HTPC only usage zbox id 42 would suit better. However zbox id18 has a lower power cpu (22nm ivy bridge, 17w tdp) and almost 40-50 percent higher cpu power which might come handy if you use it for anything but htpc. I plan to hook up some more wireless ip cameras into home and plan to record them into external usb3 drive.

Btw, box is pretty darn quiet and warm. It is also much smaller than my xtreamer prodigy media player.

[muratremix]

Just an update.

I just flashed openelec (latest version) onto flash drive and booted it up. I used live version instead of flashing it to the ssd drive.

It recognized my old, outdated usb wifi (TL-WN821N V2). Everything works out of the box. In fact, xbmc 12.2 on openelec seemed a little bit faster than in windows 7.

I tried 2d bluray iso, that previously failed on windows 7, and it worked perfectly. There is also 24,25,30 and 60hz options in settings menu which is great. I thought Intel HD graphics was bad under linux os.

I also tried other 1080p movies and they also work just fine. So placing an ssd or 2.5" drive just for windows was really unnecessary. Anyways, I've plans to use it more than just htpc so I'll keep sticking with windows for this.

However, for the 4850 (+200 for ems) and 2-4gb ram and a usb stick price, you can set up a fairly small and decent htpc in your living room.

[worgeordie]

Hi muratremix, I agree these little Nettop pcs are great, I have an Aopen ,a G-net and have

just had delivery of a Minix HD barebones from China, they do everything I need ,take up no

space and are economical to run.

I did not realize they sold Zotac here in Thailand, but see more are coming on the market

like the Lenovo Q190 and the Intel NUC,

I just use the Aopen to stream movies and series to the telly and it does this very well.

That seems a very reasonable price for the Zotac,

regards Worgeordie

[muratremix]

They sell intel nuc here in Pantip but its almost 10,000 baht and no slot for 2.5" drive.

mini-mb.com has plenty of mini pc models and they used to have zotac nano models aswell (I missed my chance to buy it...).

Minix nettop pc from china is cheap, but much bigger than zbox models.But hey, you can't complain for this price eh?

[mikewet88]

Interesting topic here. Was looking for a media streaming device since I brought a NAS and store all movies, TV Series on it.

Tried RapberryPi, Android Stick, the result is bad. Cant stream 1080p smoothly.

Intel NUC had a very cheap version using Intel Celeron 847. Link: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/desktops/desktop-kit-dccp847dye-product-brief.html

[joncl]

the Pi with openelec will stream local 1080p perfectly over the lan from my NAS (homebuilt) and wifi and also on the WAN for streaming movies .. sounds like you must have an old V1 Pi 256 or your LAN is bad ..

[muratremix]

Interesting topic here. Was looking for a media streaming device since I brought a NAS and store all movies, TV Series on it. Tried RapberryPi, Android Stick, the result is bad. Cant stream 1080p smoothly. Intel NUC had a very cheap version using Intel Celeron 847. Link: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/desktops/desktop-kit-dccp847dye-product-brief.html

Unfortunately this model sells for expensive in Thailand. Also, mSata ssds are expensive and harder to find. You can boot of the usb stick though, but then you will limit yourself. These machines can do more than media streaming.

raspberry pi is slow and incapable of playing every file. Yes it plays 1080p files due to hardware decoder, but gui is slow, everything else is slow. Software decoding almost impossible.

[mikewet88]

Ya. Intel NUC with mSata is not budget solution for 1080p media streaming.

For Rasphberry pi, mine is the latest version. 512mb ram. But still Like muratremix said, UI slow. CPU also close or above 90% on Rasphmc or openElec. My LAN is good. Gigabit LAN from Asus RT-AC66 router with Dlink gigabit switch. It will stream ok for a while.. Then start to lag out toward mid or end of movie.

Guess I will overkill by using MBP 2011 on 1080p streaming.

By the way, those with Mac. Latest OSX Marverick had improved Multiple screen. If you have AppleTV connected to TV. It will act as 2nd screen instantly without cable. Cool!

I Airplay 1080p movie to my AppleTV, Quality is no bad. But still cant beat the hardwire connection.

Edited July 29, 2013 by mikewet88

[jdogweb]

Have you seen the little black box? www.thelittleblackboxna.com

[muratremix]

Have you seen the little black box? www.thelittleblackboxna.com

Looks like an android media player, not an htpc. There are cheaper alternatives to this one.

[jdogweb]

Have you seen the little black box? www.thelittleblackboxna.com

Looks like an android media player, not an htpc. There are cheaper alternatives to this one.

True but it's Linux not android.

[justsumhelp]

Ya. Intel NUC with mSata is not budget solution for 1080p media streaming.

For Rasphberry pi, mine is the latest version. 512mb ram. But still Like muratremix said, UI slow. CPU also close or above 90% on Rasphmc or openElec. My LAN is good. Gigabit LAN from Asus RT-AC66 router with Dlink gigabit switch. It will stream ok for a while.. Then start to lag out toward mid or end of movie.

Guess I will overkill by using MBP 2011 on 1080p streaming.

By the way, those with Mac. Latest OSX Marverick had improved Multiple screen. If you have AppleTV connected to TV. It will act as 2nd screen instantly without cable. Cool!

I Airplay 1080p movie to my AppleTV, Quality is no bad. But still cant beat the hardwire connection.

What kind of LAN equipment are you using?

[justsumhelp]

Ya. Intel NUC with mSata is not budget solution for 1080p media streaming.

For Rasphberry pi, mine is the latest version. 512mb ram. But still Like muratremix said, UI slow. CPU also close or above 90% on Rasphmc or openElec. My LAN is good. Gigabit LAN from Asus RT-AC66 router with Dlink gigabit switch. It will stream ok for a while.. Then start to lag out toward mid or end of movie.

Guess I will overkill by using MBP 2011 on 1080p streaming.

By the way, those with Mac. Latest OSX Marverick had improved Multiple screen. If you have AppleTV connected to TV. It will act as 2nd screen instantly without cable. Cool!

I Airplay 1080p movie to my AppleTV, Quality is no bad. But still cant beat the hardwire connection.

What kind of LAN equipment are you using?

[dharmabm]

i was so bummed this week, as this thread had me really interested in this device, and when i finally went to purchase it they were out of stock! i got so worked up about it that i bought one from ebay hongkong just now for about 1200 baht more. it seems to be the best available in this price range, i don't want wifi, it has a max 16gb memory, and i couldn't find anything in its class to match the price. i hope you didn't get me all worked up for nothing, but i really want 2 of them, so we'll see how the first one works and then hope i can still buy another somewhere! ;>} thanks for the heads-up!

[dharmabm]

just out of curiosity, i noticed you mention camera monitors in the OP. are you using zoneminder? one of the reasons i wanted something new for my HTPC is that i was running zoneminder on the same machine (acer laptop with good graphics and AMD chips) and it was running 60-80 Celsius whenever ZM was running, so it would occasionally shut down when it overheated. i want to re-purpose that laptop to my sons gaming machine, but wanted to have XBMC and ZM on separate, low-power devices. so i wonder if you have any results to share about the CCTV aspect on the zbox.

thanks,

k

[muratremix]

i was so bummed this week, as this thread had me really interested in this device, and when i finally went to purchase it they were out of stock! i got so worked up about it that i bought one from ebay hongkong just now for about 1200 baht more. it seems to be the best available in this price range, i don't want wifi, it has a max 16gb memory, and i couldn't find anything in its class to match the price. i hope you didn't get me all worked up for nothing, but i really want 2 of them, so we'll see how the first one works and then hope i can still buy another somewhere! ;>} thanks for the heads-up!

To be honest I was into Zotac Nano series but they were out of stock. Now, they are in stock. So if somebody wants to buy my zotac id 18 (protective film still on top, like new in condition) I can sell for the same price I bought. Of course in your case you have to cancel your order on ebay if you can.

[muratremix]

just out of curiosity, i noticed you mention camera monitors in the OP. are you using zoneminder? one of the reasons i wanted something new for my HTPC is that i was running zoneminder on the same machine (acer laptop with good graphics and AMD chips) and it was running 60-80 Celsius whenever ZM was running, so it would occasionally shut down when it overheated. i want to re-purpose that laptop to my sons gaming machine, but wanted to have XBMC and ZM on separate, low-power devices. so i wonder if you have any results to share about the CCTV aspect on the zbox. thanks, k

I never used zoneminder as I don't have classical cctv in home but we have in village home with dvr machine. My aim was to use 1Mpixel 720p ipcam recording in htpc under windows. However the camera I bought came with terrible software and doesn't work with the terrible alternative softwares (only works on web view).

Now I ordered a tenvis camera with better software support and ability to record on windows. Each 720p HD IP camera is under $100 usd and provides much much better quality than analog classical cctv systems. So, it would cost less or same compared to a 4 camera cctv + dvr system (with better cameras and full d1 recording dvr of course).

However, capturing video streams would cause a load on cpu. So perhaps you can playback a 1080p video using gpu decoding and capture video but that would make device hot no matter what. Thats why I put an aliminum laptop cooler with big fan under our H.264 chinese dvr machine in village.

[Turkleton]

Hmm, I like to tinker with this kind of gadgets too

...BUT...

Add decent Ram, a HDD, Wifi, a camera, (possibly UPS) and you are very quick in the price region of new, cheap Notebook (NOT Netbook).

That always prevented me from buying one of this barebones.

Ok, you have to tinker a lot less with a Notebook, but that's no major issue, I think...

But I agree, XBMC is running much better/smoother on a "real PC", than on any Android device.

[MrWorldwide]

Apologies for the thread necro guys, but Zotac have just released a series of fanless ZBOXes - seems they are currently only available from European resellers atm but given that they are undoubtedly made in China I wouldnt rule out the possibility of finding them in a Thai store.

http://www.computeruniverse.net/en/products/90551893/zotac-zbox-ci320-nano.asp

There are core i3/i5 versions as well as a second low-cost option using an AMD GPU, but given that all I want is a low cost music server I have no interest in anything beyond the Celery. Linear PSU for this thing will probably cost as much as the barebones unit, but it's tempting nonetheless. I wont go into the issues around fans in a music server, but it's less about the audibility of the fan than the electrical noise generated internally - most people couldnt care less with modern PCs and laptops but I've decided to try a fanless PC for myself and see if it's an improvement over my Mac Mini.

http://www.zotac.com/en/products/mini-pcs/zbox-c-series/product/zbox-c-series/category/mini-pcs/main-category/mini-pcs.html

[Chicog]

Google Chromecast, $30.

Streams from the PC, including 3D 1080p MKVs.

I can't think of a cheaper or simpler solution.

[MrWorldwide]

Google Chromecast, $30.

Streams from the PC, including 3D 1080p MKVs.

I can't think of a cheaper or simpler solution.

Groovy, but I already have Deezer for music streaming to my laptop and it's free. The ZBOX represents a whole other level of audio quality that streaming services just cant match in 2014. You wont find this at your local megamall Sony Store, but it's indicative of the kind of thing I'd like to build from one of these Zotac boxes, minus the pricetag.

http://store.sony.com/hi-res-music-player-with-1tb-hdd-zid27-HAPZ1ES/cat-27-catid-All-Res-Audio

[Chicog]

All digital isn't it?

HDMI-HDMI effectively.

[Turkleton]

Google Chromecast, $30.

Streams from the PC, including 3D 1080p MKVs.

I can't think of a cheaper or simpler solution.

Which program/app do you use, to stream your local content or any internet-streams from your PC to the Chromecast?

I know, there are different apps for Android, like Allcast, BubbleUpnp, etc. but for PC?

......

But I agree, XBMC is running much better/smoother on a "real PC", than on any Android device.

Now, one year later I have to revise my statement.

XBMC is now running smoothly on the Amlogic S802 Android boxes and video hardware acceleration works out of the box.

Meanwhile, I use my Android box for almost all video/audio content.

It's not perfect, but for these purposes, I find the Android apps much more convenient than the bulky PC programs .

Also the Chromecast support is much, much better, compared to a PC

Edited August 25, 2014 by Turkleton

[muratremix]

XBMC on Arm can not be compared to a real pc / htpc.

HTPC offers real 24 hz (23.976 hz) output, hd audio bypass, supports all codecs / formats you may not be able to play on arm devices.

core i3 based intel nuc can play 4k content without sweat (youtube 4k videos look sharper than 1080p on a 1080p screen)

Finally, you can calibrate your TV with htpc using TV as a monitor. I did, and now I get better colors that is more suitable for cinema. I realized I was watching everything blueish all this time.

A htpc can be used for something else when you have no use for it, but Android / Arm devices have a limited life expectancy. Can't be upgraded, Will not get further OS upgrades, no new codecs etc etc.

[Turkleton]

XBMC on Arm can not be compared to a real pc / htpc.

Nowadays (with Gotham 13.1) it can, the boxes based on S802 are powerful enough, at least for the average user.

Most of the boxes now contain a, manufacturer optimized XBMC version, with full hardware support.

My Android box plays 4k with hardware support and DTS passthrough also works.

All my movies/series and streams are played or streamed without any problems (mostly h264/aac or mp3 and older divx/xvid).

And so will it work for ~95% of all users

There might be some "very exotic" formats (I have not even one) which can't be played in hardware, but the CPU should be powerful enough anyway.

XBMC and MxPlayer can use ffmpeg/libav, so there shouldn't be any noticable difference between Android - PC regarding codec support.

The coming generation of Android boxes will also support h265 and VP9 codecs with hardware support.

And I hardly doubt, that any I3 will decode these streams without hardware support sufficiently.

On Android, VPN, SSH and proxy services are easily installed system-wide, useful if want to watch streams from EU or USA.

But the most important nogo on PC's for me:

There's not even one Media Player, which is able to buffer or cache the popular HLS streams (and no: not even XBMC, VLC, Mplayer MPC.)

I use to watch Live sports/TV events streamed by "Wilmaa" which use this format and the non existing buffer causes stuttering and the stream is unwatchable.

With MXPlayer on Android (but not XBMC!) n.P., you press "pause" and the stream is downloaded in the background (timeshifting).

A htpc can be used for something else when you have no use for it, but Android / Arm devices have a limited life expectancy

......no new codecs etc etc

Except h265/VP9 I can't see any new codecs on the horizon.

And they are more or less useless (Intel I3 and esp. Android), if they are not implemented in "hardware" except you fancy running your machine on 100% CPU and watching slideshows instead of movies.

I use my retired Android devices as Internet radios all around the house, you can even run a small web server with php/mysql, if you really need this

However, since they are cheap as chips, just buy the next generation after one/two years, if something is no more playable.

Sorted.

Edited August 26, 2014 by Turkleton

[muratremix]

No MadVR on Arm boxes.

Soft-decoding with weak arm cores is next to impossible with high bitrate / high res. videos.

core i3 just an example. next gen broadwell i3 cpus will be even stronger and comes with a better gpu.

I can watch old 576i/480i tv series with help of HD4000 using MadVR in higher quality. The difference is very noticeable.

HTPC can also work as NVR, record ipcam streams. Add a webcam and enjoy skype. Skype on Android boxes is nothing but a joke, you can't put every webcam etc.

I'm not suggesting 400-500 usd investment in htpc, nowadays they can be bought for much cheaper. I bought 1st gen i3 nuc for 214 usd including tax and shipment from USA.

Another thing is, 5ghz is usually problematic in Android devices including several Android phones.

S802 is powerful soc, but no any serious home theater enthusiast will choose it over a good media player (popcorn etc) or htpc.

I use such android box on 1360x768 27" lcd tv in front of my treadmill (TOT IPTV Box) thats it. I don't expect full 24hz support or 1:1 pixel mapping or anything.

[Chicog]

Which program/app do you use, to stream your local content or any internet-streams from your PC to the Chromecast?

I know, there are different apps for Android, like Allcast, BubbleUpnp, etc. but for PC?

Someone else here pointed it out to me (can't remember who, but I did thank them!):

The VideoStream plugin for Chrome.

For Internet streams, just the Chrome Browser with the Cast extension will do that.

Edited August 26, 2014 by Chicog

[joncl]

But the most important nogo on PC's for me:

There's not even one Media Player, which is able to buffer or cache the popular HLS streams (and no: not even XBMC, VLC, Mplayer MPC.)

I use to watch Live sports/TV events streamed by "Wilmaa" which use this format and the non existing buffer causes stuttering and the stream is unwatchable.

With MXPlayer on Android (but not XBMC!) n.P., you press "pause" and the stream is downloaded in the background (timeshifting).

This is not correct as of April this year, where XBMC is concerned as programming and technology have moved on.

I wrote two HLS/F4M add-ons for XBMC one for the BBC (no proxy required) Channels and one for RTE Channel in Eire in both SD and HD, you can see more about them here

BBC Player

http://www.xbmchub.com/forums/threads/22002-RELEASE-MX-BBC-Player

RTE Player

http://www.xbmchub.com/forums/threads/25533-RELEASE-MX-RTE-Player

Enjoy

[Turkleton]

S802 is powerful soc, but no any serious home theater enthusiast will choose it over a good media player (popcorn etc) or htpc...

....No MadVR on Arm boxes.

never heard about "MadVR", however I am not a benchmark.

Can Madvr somehow improve my Internet Live TV streams?

And yes, there is always a superior solution for some "enthusiasts", some of them even buy only HDMI/VGA or audio cables, which were produced under the next full moon, after a "solar eclipse", where all electrons in the cable were personally consecrated.

But seriously, I thought, we are talking about the average user, like me, the Op and al the others who just want to watch their movies/series and streams like Netflix/Hulu or Wilmaa.

Or maybe just listen to Internet radios.

All these things are much more easily done with an Android box and definitely for a fraction of the price of an Intel NUC or similar.

However, if somebody likes to tinker with Pc's, why not..I like it too.

But after some HTPC's based on "VDR" and similar, I am happy, that everything just works nowadays without installing an OS, Codecs, etc...

Someone else here pointed it out to me (can't remember who, but I did thank them!):

The VideoStream plugin for Chrome.

Tried it, but compared to the Android solutions, this more than crippled and unstable.

This is not correct as of April this year, where XBMC is concerned as programming and technology have moved on.

I wrote two HLS/F4M add-ons for XBMC one for the BBC......

Do your plugins work with Wilmaa? If not, I am not interested.

My last tests were with Gotham 13.2 and it still doesn't work.

The XBMC developers blame ffmpeg for this issue and the ffmpeg devs blame all the others and won't implement this.

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=154016

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/22462821/issues-playing-hls-on-xbmc-for-android

Edited August 26, 2014 by Turkleton

[muratremix]

MadVR is not a benchmark. It improves (for real) video quality of low res videos like dvds, interlaced videos etc.