Acer Aspire Revo R3600, £159.95 delivered to Ireland from Ebuyer

I'd like to try one of these out again. I'd be installing XBMC as per the lifehacker tutorial so it doesn't matter what OS is on it. Could someone recommend a deal for me please?

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

I'd like to try one of these out again. I'd be installing XBMC as per the lifehacker tutorial so it doesn't matter what OS is on it. Could someone recommend a deal for me please?

eBuyer it is then! Ok what about controlling it with my Harmony 300i? Will any cheap usb ir receiver off eBay do? Anyone got a recommendation?

zuroph

i dont get why people like these crazy priced remotes so much?

Wossack

have you used one? they're universal remotes that actually work

wouldnt consider 30-40e to be crazy priced either

zuroph

I thought they were much more expensive

I got a oneforall unversal in tkmaxx for about a tenner, with a RF receiver for the pc, and IR output to control the telly. all sorted

zuroph

zuroph wrote: »

I thought they were much more expensive

I got a oneforall unversal in tkmaxx for about a tenner, with a RF receiver for the pc, and IR output to control the telly. all sorted

Tight Arse!!

zuroph

the ones I've seen were around €190, what was I lookign at?!!

the one I want is the amulet from USA, MCE remote, with built in microphone so you can voice command it!

Wossack

true, there are some mental priced harmonys, but they come with fancy programable touchscreens and the sort

the RF ones are a gift!

Raiser

zuroph wrote: »

i dont get why people like these crazy priced remotes so much?

I actually bought one and instantly regretted it.

- It worked well - sometimes, broke my heart most times and was so happy to sell it on.

Keysonic Wireless Keyboards with trackpad are the true path to happiness.

vibe666

Raiser wrote: »

Keysonic Wireless Keyboards with trackpad are the true path to happiness.

yep, very happy with my Rii too.

keane2097

Which of the Keysonic Keyboards would people recommend?

vibe666

keane2097 wrote: »

Which of the Keysonic Keyboards would people recommend?

if its for a HTPC where it's not actually likely to get used for much typing and you just want to do some mouse/trackpad work on it for the most part then imho the Rii is a much better option as it fits in nicely with the size of your other remotes.

and if you have cats, as a double bonus it also has a built in laser pointer to drive them potty with.

i picked mine up off ebay, cheap as chips although the wireless range on it isn't great if it's not line of sight but will work anywhere in the room if it's got a clear view.

BionicRasher

Purchased this today - seems similar to the OP machine not as good a price but it is a bargain I think as it is showing at 400+ on some Irish sites. Got the whole lot delivered for approx 290 Euro

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-EeeBox-EB1501P-Factor-Premium/dp/B0043D29H2/ref=br_lf_m_1000488813_1_1_ttl?ie=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&s=computers&pf_rd_p=232261967&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_i=1000488813&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=0CDZWEVW4J9VK83VB4DV

Voodu Child

Yeah, not as good value as the Revo's were going for before xmas, but those bargains are long gone and I don't think you'll see them again until the 3700 is near EOL.

That Asus a nice machine, comes with a media remote and the wifi has an external antenna (the reception on the Revo is woeful). And obviously its got the DVD drive which the Revo doesnt.

I'd also keep an eye out for new AMD Fusion based netboxes. Should be an alternative to Atom+Ion for low powered HTPCs.

BenEadir

My laptop is stuffed full of downloaded movies, home movies, pictures etc and I'm tired connecting my laptop via HDMI to my Onkyo amp which then streams the picture to my Panasonic HD TV and the sound to the Jamo surround sound system.

Time to get a media dedicated PC with lot's of storage me thinks!!

Just looking at the Aspire Revo R3700 Win 7 Home Premium for £285 + delivery on eBuyer.

I'm not that technical so Win 7 would be a familiar environment and I do want a high degree of out of the box usability. I'm happy enough to de-crapify it and install better/alternative apps but it needs to be easy to set up particularly in terms of connecting to my home wi-fi network which is 20MB with the router sitting about 30ft away through a partition wall. Is this the right machine for me?

What additional HD storage should I go for? I guess a 2TB drive would be advisable. Any particular models recommended over others?

Ben

Shulgin

I don't think Ebuyer ship to Ireland anymore.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=71067969

http://forums.ebuyer.com/showthread.php?71163-Ebuyer-stopped-delivery-to-Ireland-why&p=1274227#post1274227

BionicRasher

BenEadir wrote: »

My laptop is stuffed full of downloaded movies, home movies, pictures etc and I'm tired connecting my laptop via HDMI to my Onkyo amp which then streams the picture to my Panasonic HD TV and the sound to the Jamo surround sound system.

Time to get a media dedicated PC with lot's of storage me thinks!!

Just looking at the Aspire Revo R3700 Win 7 Home Premium for £285 + delivery on eBuyer.

I'm not that technical so Win 7 would be a familiar environment and I do want a high degree of out of the box usability. I'm happy enough to de-crapify it and install better/alternative apps but it needs to be easy to set up particularly in terms of connecting to my home wi-fi network which is 20MB with the router sitting about 30ft away through a partition wall. Is this the right machine for me?

What additional HD storage should I go for? I guess a 2TB drive would be advisable. Any particular models recommended over others?

Ben

Ya seems good if it can be delivered to Ireland.

I bought this last week http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-EeeBox-EB1501P-Factor-Premium/dp/B0043D29H2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1299871995&sr=8-2 and plan to buy this storage next week http://www.harveynorman.ie/seagate-3-5-expansion-2tb-hard-drive-2.html

The PC was in the clearance section last week so I got it all delivered for €290 (Euro) and the Seagate is the cheapest I can find for 2TB at €99 its great.
PC price has gone up a bit now but its highly recommended. its small, almost silent and has a few things that are better than the Revo I think.
It has a DVDRW slot and 2 x USB 3 connections and has a wireless antenna which seems to help with streaming on my wireless network. Only downside is that it says its got a wireless keyboard and mouse but they are wired but that's no big deal as I will eventually get some wireless stuff for it. Oh and it also has a full Windows Media Centre remote control - much like a TV remote control and that's really cool

The PC has a bit of crap on it that is easily cleared down and its running Win 7 with Media Centre on it. I have installed Boxee on the PC and use that as my media portal as its really fool proof. I have a 1TB Iomega Screenplay full of movies and thats plugged in to the wireless router I also have some small portable drives hanging off the PC at the moment but all that content will go on the 2 TB as soon as I get it.
Boxee on the PC streams stuff no bother from the wireless router about 30ft away.
Can also use it as a basic PC for regular stuff too which pleases everyone in the house.

I plan to stream more stuff to other TVs soon around the house so I willl post any results soon.

peckerhead

The R3700 (Linpus, 2GB, 160GB) seems to be back down to £185 plus shipping.

Voodu Child

peckerhead wrote: »

The R3700 (Linpus, 2GB, 160GB) seems to be back down to £185 plus shipping.

They don't ship to Ireland any more.

Voodu Child

Voodu Child wrote: »

They don't ship to Ireland any more.

Are you sure? I just tried Google Checkout with them and it didn't stop me. It had "Delivery to Eire £10" as a delivery option.

Voodu Child

Deleted User wrote: »

re you sure? I just tried Google Checkout with them and it didn't stop me. It had "Delivery to Eire £10" as a delivery option.

It says so on their site and a few people have mentioned it. I RMA'd something faulty to them the other day and they sent me an email saying they don't ship to Ireland so they gave me a refund instead of replacement.

Maybe you can trick them into sending something by using Google Checkout but it may be more hassle than it's worth if they don't send it and you're looking for a refund.

NeedaNewName

Voodu Child wrote: »

It says so on their site and a few people have mentioned it. I RMA'd something faulty to them the other day and they sent me an email saying they don't ship to Ireland so they gave me a refund instead of replacement.

Maybe you can trick them into sending something by using Google Checkout but it may be more hassle than it's worth if they don't send it and you're looking for a refund.

It says the following on their site?

Delivery options outside mainland UK

Delivery to Northern Ireland, Eire, Scottish Offshore, Scottish Highlands, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man

A table of delivery options Delivery options Price & delivery times Within 2 - 3 working days Only £9.99 7am - 7pm

Right at the bottom of this page?

http://www.ebuyer.com/help/delivery

kaisersose77

read second post

http://forums.ebuyer.com/showthread.php?71163-Ebuyer-stopped-delivery-to-Ireland-why

NeedaNewName

kaisersose77 wrote: »

read second post

http://forums.ebuyer.com/showthread.php?71163-Ebuyer-stopped-delivery-to-Ireland-why

I stand corrected.

Irish Kev

just bought the Acer 3610 on ebay, I will be reading this thread again and lucking for some ideas about using either linux or Win 7, booting straight in to xbmc etc

Cant wait to get my new toy:D

event

lads, is this a good deal?

wonder if i should get one, id want to use it as a media centre really. if i have to get one of those remotes, the Rii, how much would it cost?

is it worth it?

BionicRasher

event wrote: »

lads, is this a good deal?

wonder if i should get one, id want to use it as a media centre really. if i have to get one of those remotes, the Rii, how much would it cost?

is it worth it?

I think Ebuyer wont post to Ireland anymore but I found this today and it looks like they will post for 9.95 to Ireland
https://www.simplyasus.com/ASUS_Eee_Box_EB1501P_1042227.html

All told it works out at about €330 delivered (its reduced from 360 Sterling) and is great for a media PC - it even comes with a remote control included and has a DVD slot too. I have one set up and the only downside is the keyboard and mouse are wired - you can get the wireless version but its a little more expensive

vibe666

Irish Kev wrote: »

just bought the Acer 3610 on ebay, I will be reading this thread again and lucking for some ideas about using either linux or Win 7, booting straight in to xbmc etc

Cant wait to get my new toy:D

you can install win7 or a different version of linux from a usb flash drive very easily. most linux distro's now have a self extracting bootable usb image you can download an write straight to a usb drive from windows and microsoft made a little tool to write windows ISO's to a USB drive so they are bootable which is handy as using diskpart to do it was a little long winded by comparison. you can get the MS tool to do it HERE and iirc it should work with any bootable ISO, not just windows 7.

NOTE: *any tool you use will reformat your USB key, wiping any data on it, so be careful and unplug any other USB drives you may have just to be on the safe side*

my original plan was for my R3610 to replace my existing original xbox media centre and boot directly into xbmc live, but i stuck win7 on it just to see how it would run on a dual core atom with 2gb of ram and it actually runs fine, so i've left it on there and now use a combination of media player classic, vlc & xbmc within windows depending on what exactly i'm doing. if i'm playing back 720p video with just 2gb of ram in win7 I do need to close down any extra running apps (browsers, skype etc.) to claw back some memory, but its a small sacrifice and i think with more ram it would be fine.

event wrote: »

lads, is this a good deal?

wonder if i should get one, id want to use it as a media centre really. if i have to get one of those remotes, the Rii, how much would it cost?

is it worth it?

the r3700 in the link further up the page seems like a decent deal to me, if you can get it delivered from ebuyer (maybe a UK based relative could send it on to you?). the rii (imho) is great, a perfect size for what you want in a media centre, useful as a remote control, built in trackpad and a keyboard that is small enough to fit in the compact size so it's not too bulky but useful enough to be used for instant messaging in windows and putting in passwords and stuff like that.

the battery life is okay and uses miniUSB to charge it up, altho the battery isn't removable without taking it apart and i'm not sure what you'd use to replace it if you ever needed to, but for </> €30-40 delivered off ebay its hard to argue and I'd probably just buy a new one if it ever came to it.

downsides with the rii are that the 'F' keys only go up to F8, so if you want to use F11 in windows for full screen internet browsing (if like me your TV only does 720p) you're SOL, although chrome does have a button for full screen browsing as a workaround.

the other downside is that altho the Rii is a 2.4Ghz RF remote, the signal is pretty weak and can be affected by line of sight obstructions (like the arm of my sofa) so for accurate text entry you'll want LOS or you'll end up missing out characters. i've noticed that some buttons seem to be more sensitive to this than others, but your mileage may vary.

that said, its still (imho) the best solution out there if you won't want anything larger than a regular remote control cluttering up your TV room.

ThunbergsAreGo

Bought this for Media Streaming

Anyone know of a way i can play games which require a DVD?

I have a laptop that i can put the DVD in if there is a way to mount an image or something to that effect

event

vibe666 wrote: »

the r3700 in the link further up the page seems like a decent deal to me, if you can get it delivered from ebuyer (maybe a UK based relative could send it on to you?). the rii (imho) is great, a perfect size for what you want in a media centre, useful as a remote control, built in trackpad and a keyboard that is small enough to fit in the compact size so it's not too bulky but useful enough to be used for instant messaging in windows and putting in passwords and stuff like that.

the battery life is okay and uses miniUSB to charge it up, altho the battery isn't removable without taking it apart and i'm not sure what you'd use to replace it if you ever needed to, but for </> €30-40 delivered off ebay its hard to argue and I'd probably just buy a new one if it ever came to it.

downsides with the rii are that the 'F' keys only go up to F8, so if you want to use F11 in windows for full screen internet browsing (if like me your TV only does 720p) you're SOL, although chrome does have a button for full screen browsing as a workaround.

the other downside is that altho the Rii is a 2.4Ghz RF remote, the signal is pretty weak and can be affected by line of sight obstructions (like the arm of my sofa) so for accurate text entry you'll want LOS or you'll end up missing out characters. i've noticed that some buttons seem to be more sensitive to this than others, but your mileage may vary.

that said, its still (imho) the best solution out there if you won't want anything larger than a regular remote control cluttering up your TV room.

brilliant, cheers mate.

i wasnt clear earlier, that was the one i was actually referring to. i can probably get it delivered to a work mate up north.

i have a guide or two for setting up xbmc, so it should be ok id imagine. i don have much experience of linux, so would it be hard to put xbmc on it from that?

i should read through this thread i suppose

vibe666

you can either install xbmc on top of your OS like any other media player application, or you can install it as part of a cut down version of linux where xbmc is basically the only visible component, the rest is just 'under the hood' command line stuff that takes up far fewer resources than windows or a full blown linux desktop would, leaving much more horsepower free for xbmc to use to do its thing.

it's called 'xbmc live' and you can run it from a cd or USB (burnt from a downloaded disk image) without actually installing it, or install it onto a usb stick, internal hard drive or sd card so that the revo boots straight into xbmc when you turn on the pc.

there's plenty of guides online on how to do it and a wealth more info than i could ever hope to provide you with at the xbmc.org forums, so its a good place to start reading up on it all to get a feel for it.

naughtb4 wrote: »

Bought this for Media Streaming

Anyone know of a way i can play games which require a DVD?

I have a laptop that i can put the DVD in if there is a way to mount an image or something to that effect

if you won't want to fork out for a usb dvd drive then alcohol120 or daemon tools might do the job, but most games will have copy protection preventing you from playing them on anything but an original game disk. of course in a lot of cases there are ways of circumventing copy protection, but it would be against the boards.ie charter to discuss that kind of thing, even if it is for legitimate purposes, sorry.

if it makes you feel any better, most modern games would give a sucky framerate on a revo anyway. some of the older titles might work okay, but for the most part you'll find it pretty bad if it's anything 3D.

for a laugh i tried just cause 2 on it when i first got it and with all the details and screen res at minimum i was only getting around 60 frames per second (just kidding:pac:) minute.

it occured to me that something like half-life might work a tad better, but i never got around to actually testing it, so i can't say for sure, sorry.

event

thank you very much, cool.

one last question. if i did install xbmc live over the OS, I assume I could still use the OS to browse the net on the PC instead if i chose?

if so, could I install windowx XP handily enough on it?

vibe666

if you were going to do that, you could dual boot it with windows xp (or even windows 7 runs fine if you have 2gb of ram or more) no problem.

i'd install xp first and when you set it up, just choose the custom installation and tell it to leave a few gb free on the hard drive and you should be able to install it to that no problem.

you don't even need to do that tho either, you could just get a 2gb sd card (there's a memory card slot on the revo) and install it straight to that instead, or even just run it from a usb flash drive.

plenty of options anyway, just remember that xbmc was written by geeks for geeks, so if you think something is a good idea as a feature/option then chances are it probably already is.

a good rule of thumb when installing OS's is, install windows first, most other OS's play nice with windows, but it doesn't always go well the other way round.

Irish Kev

vibe666 wrote: »

you can install win7 or a different version of linux from a usb flash drive very easily. most linux distro's now have a self extracting bootable usb image you can download an write straight to a usb drive from windows and microsoft made a little tool to write windows ISO's to a USB drive so they are bootable which is handy as using diskpart to do it was a little long winded by comparison. you can get the MS tool to do it HERE and iirc it should work with any bootable ISO, not just windows 7.

NOTE: *any tool you use will reformat your USB key, wiping any data on it, so be careful and unplug any other USB drives you may have just to be on the safe side*

my original plan was for my R3610 to replace my existing original xbox media centre and boot directly into xbmc live, but i stuck win7 on it just to see how it would run on a dual core atom with 2gb of ram and it actually runs fine, so i've left it on there and now use a combination of media player classic, vlc & xbmc within windows depending on what exactly i'm doing. if i'm playing back 720p video with just 2gb of ram in win7 I do need to close down any extra running apps (browsers, skype etc.) to claw back some memory, but its a small sacrifice and i think with more ram it would be fine.
.

thanks for the link.The plan is for this to be my media player, nothing more. Plan on leaving it in another room feeding HDMI to main tv.Will need to sort a remote that works with xmbc.It will have to be wife friendly.

Plenty of reading for me to do

vibe666

Irish Kev wrote: »

thanks for the link.The plan is for this to be my media player, nothing more. Plan on leaving it in another room feeding HDMI to main tv.Will need to sort a remote that works with xmbc.It will have to be wife friendly.

Plenty of reading for me to do

pretty sure any of the Windows MCE remotes will work well with XBMC, you should be able to pick one up on ebay pretty cheaply.

EDIT: maybe not 'well', but they should work at least and they're cheap and easy.

does anyone have any recommendations for a remote to use with xbmc?

i just use my Rii for now as i use the revo for more than just xbmc, but i always assumed an MCE remote would work well given how common they are as a PC remote and that they can be got hold of cheaply off ebay.

mcgovern

vibe666 wrote: »

pretty sure any of the Windows MCE remotes will work well with XBMC, you should be able to pick one up on ebay pretty cheaply.

They'll work, but not particularly well. You might need something like EventGhost to re-map buttons. Should be a lot of detail on the XBMC forums (including EventGhost configs to download).

webels

Its been mentioned here before but consider using event ghost with most of the MCE remotes. Serious level of automation available, you could do some really nice scripts to open/close most programs, control xbmc etc. If you have an Iphone/android you can get the event ghost app and use your phone as a remote. It works using wifi so no need for line of sight to your acer if you want to hide it away. Just a thought.

Edit: McGovern you just got there before me snap.

TekDes

Does anyone knows where to get a wireless keyboard and mouse for an ACER REVO 3610?

Quaderno

TekDes wrote: »

Does anyone knows where to get a wireless keyboard and mouse for an ACER REVO 3610?

A bit steep pricewise, but here you are: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Acer-MAC-Style-Wireless-Keyboard-Mouse-Laptop-PC-/350400954507?pt=UK_Computing_ComputerComponents_KeyboardsMice&hash=item519586408b#ht_2237wt_1139

TekDes

Quaderno wrote: »

A bit steep pricewise, but here you are: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Acer-MAC-Style-Wireless-Keyboard-Mouse-Laptop-PC-/350400954507?pt=UK_Computing_ComputerComponents_KeyboardsMice&hash=item519586408b#ht_2237wt_1139

Thanks Quaderno, you think that is a genuine set?

Kotek Besar

TekDes wrote: »

Thanks Quaderno, you think that is a genuine set?

They say: "100% Genuine or we will TRIPLE your money back! (as there are a lot imitations out there)"

TekDes

Kotek Besar wrote: »

They say: "100% Genuine or we will TRIPLE your money back! (as there are a lot imitations out there)"

Thanks, I think I'll go with it.
Have you found any others? (I don't want to take too much of your time anyway)

about this one?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Wireless-Acer-keyboard-and-mouse-BRAND-NEW_W0QQitemZ150575864041QQcategoryZ15389QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BIEW%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D10%26pmod%3D150550396154%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7989116193612477972

Do-more

A keyboard with trackpad is a good option for surfing from the sofa....

event

so i got this anyway lads, xbmclive is installed and all.
i know I can connect my HDD to it and play files from that but how can i transfer some of those files to the acer itself

i installed filezilla but dont really know what to do with it?
what would i select as the host?
does my laptop need to be connected to the Acer machine?

event

event wrote: »

so i got this anyway lads, xbmclive is installed and all.
i know I can connect my HDD to it and play files from that but how can i transfer some of those files to the acer itself

i installed filezilla but dont really know what to do with it?
what would i select as the host?
does my laptop need to be connected to the Acer machine?

If the HDD is connected by USB can't you transfer the files by means of XBMC's file manager? As regards FileZilla you SFTP into it with the IP address of the Acer as the host. Your laptop does not need to be connected to the Acer if they're all on the same network you should be able to SFTP wirelessly.

event

ill try the transfer over the file manager, didnt know you could do that

event

cant figure out file manager at all

when i open it up, i can access my files from the HDD on the left hand screen. on the right hand screen, its the same thing. i cant figure out where to copy the files to. on the right hand screen, it gives three options:
HDD, profile and add source

how do i creat a folder on the acer that i can copy the files into?

event

cant figure out file manager at all

when i open it up, i can access my files from the HDD on the left hand screen. on the right hand screen, its the same thing. i cant figure out where to copy the files to. on the right hand screen, it gives three options:
HDD, profile and add source

how do i creat a folder on the acer that i can copy the files into?

event

figured it out

event

i tell a lie, havent figured it out at all.

now when i go into the library section there is nothing there.
the files are on the scer though, i can access them through the file manager, they play through that way but thats not the way to use it at all.

jesus i thought it would just pick up everything easily, maybe im doing it wrong though