Using Ion. I Mean Really Using It.
It’d be easy to set this platform up on an open-air test bench, marvel at its size, rattle off its specs, run a couple of benchmarks that show it to be better than Intel’s own Atom-based boards, and give it an award. There’s nothing wrong with open-air testing. There’s nothing wrong with specs, benchmarks, or awards, for that matter. But you’re not going to get the feel of this diminutive little box unless you use it.
So, with a HTPC usage model in mind and the issues first encountered in our review addressed, I built up a mini-ITX system around Zotac’s Ion offering, using Windows 7, 2 GB of DDR2 memory, an OCZ SSD, and a slim Blu-ray player that Nvidia was kind enough to send along.
Let’s start with DVD playback. This is one area where the Ion is destined to shine given its GPU-based hardware capabilities. I played through several Blu-ray titles with Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, and they were delivered smoothly. Though my modest theater room isn’t large enough for 7.1-channel sound to make sense, PowerDVD 9 had no trouble decoding the latest lossless codecs and outputting a 5.1-channel LPCM stream to my Onkyo SR507.
All in all, as a platform for playing movies, Ion handles business—though once you’re done buying storage, memory, and a chassis, I almost wonder if it wouldn’t be easier to just grab that Playstation instead.
Next up is TV programming. I don’t watch any cable television, but I do hit Hulu on occasion when I eat dinner in front of the PC. The site employs Adobe Flash 9, which is going to need to be processed on the dual-core Atom processor. And indeed, this becomes a problem. In watching the pilot for Glee, it simply wasn’t possible to go full-screen at either low-res (320p) or high-res (480p) on my 50” Samsung running at 1280x720 (in the words of my wife, “It’s too distracting to try watching like this Let me know when you’re done playing around”). The standard browser window mode worked fine, but from 10 feet away, you’re really defeating the purpose of pulling this platform into a home theater environment.
Of course, I didn’t expect .mp3 playback to be an issue, so I tried to give the Ion setup a slightly more challenging task constrained by I/O performance instead: streaming audio wirelessly from a NAS attached to the network via Gigabit Ethernet, while indexing a folder in the background. This is something that happens almost-transparently on most desktops; however, it brought this HTPC build to a stuttering stand-still (even with an SSD).
Purpose-Built HTPC, Perhaps
Fortunately for me, movies are all I really do in the theater room. For that purpose, Ion works. And it’s hard to argue against the board’s form factor (though, to that end, I’m still a fan of the LGA-775 mini-ITX alternative). Keep your expectations in line on this one, though. Any time you’re not taking advantage of the GeForce 9300’s GPU acceleration, you’re at the mercy of Intel’s Atom CPU. On the desktop, that’s really a recipe for frustration.
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Call protected audio path by it's real name DRM.
Look at all the extra kit you have to invest in just to be able to use their DRM. Awful flawed by design stuff. TrueHD, DTS-HD = DRM-HD.
Shouldn't we split DRM-HD into audio and video subsets? After all each has it's own set of hoops to jump through!
DRM-HD-A
DRM-HD-V
DRM-HD-V and 5.1 sound S/PDIF optical out is me all set up and almost happy.
Content should live on HDD. Get those disc out of the room and into the loft where they belong. No need for all the clutter. It's not like I care about them. LP on vinyl with top artwork they have some value. Digital files shouldn’t live on plastic!
I'd love to ripe all my ps3 game (5 of them) to the Hdd. It's a pain to change the dvds. The demos are less hassle to play, why can't I do that with the games? Oh that right DRM checking!
Here is a project for you to complete - something that should cater for everyones needs.
I'm looking into building a fully integrated Home Entertainment Solution, that is to say, one box to do everything. I'd like to be able to plug in one box insert any payed decoding sim cards and be able to watch any broadcast signal whether Terrestrial, Cable or Satellite, whether subscription or free (view/sat), in addition to playback of CD/DVD/BluRay and intranet/internet based media. As a bonus, I'd like the option to output any content from a HDMI 1.3 (or even 1.4 now it has been defined) connection or via Gbit LAN/Wireless N to a home distribution system allowing me to watch all or most of the content from this box on a screen in any room of the house with little or no loss of quality. Remote Control (room to room) for this would then be a boon. Given the potential for a multiscreen system, different screens might be used to view different channels or services, and the box should also be capable of recording at least 2 or more different programs while playing back a third.
That is not to imply that I have TV's in every room, however I'd like to have something that is versatile and not have to install boxes in other rooms.
One big no-no, absolutely no proprietry or integrated wireless devices as the distance/bandwidth and obstructions/interference would render these ineffective. Standard Wired or Wireless devices that may be customised to avoid snooping that may be possible with proprietry locked/limited technologies would be acceptable, and in the case of wireless signals would allow for the distribution interconnection of wireless repeaters to overcome distance and interferance problems.
Emphasis should be given to procuring and integrating all the latest technologies, where such technologies are compatable and available, less emphasis should be given to size and appearance of the case and aesthetics that might otherwise compromise on the capabilities.
You might consider the benefit of an integrated proper LCD Display into the case or consider the possibility that the box itself might be stuffed in a cupboard (i.e. hidden from view) somewhere and may be controlled by a small wire connected ancilliary box with the actual user interface (built in display (touch sensitive)/keyboard+mouse/IR Remote/etc). The ancilliary box itself need not have any substantial power but be an alternative aesthetically gratifying interface and could essentially be connected via USB2/3 to the main unit.
In choosing hardware components I would appreciate a selection of each type of components, perhaps you might provide a list of 5 and nominate best choice for low budget (