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[whataboutbob1]

Hi,

I am going to use a small computer that will be dedicated only to running Media Center on my upstairs system. I have found some tablets that have kickstands so they will sit like a picture frame on my dresser. They have touch screen capacity and I will use it in that way. My question is if they will have enough "power" to run Media Center up to DSD capability.  Here are the two most common specs I found when out shopping yesterday:

RAM 2.0 GB
32 bit operating system ARM-based processor
Processor:NVIDA(R) TEGRA(R) 4QUAD CORE CPU 1.71Ghz
Windows RT 8.1
32 GB memory

and:

RAM 4.0  GB
64 bit operating system ARM-based processor
Windows RT 8.1
64 GB memory

Will either of these run Media Center to DSD levels?

Thanks,

Bob

[HTPC4ME]

ive been looking into this recently, with all the new hdtv upgrades with dlna, and usb ports. i'd be interested in some opinions as well... buying pc's and setting them up for each tv can get quite tiresome.

wondering if others are using chromecast's, miracasts, widi hd technology? i've mentioned once before if that airtame ever gets released, i think that will be the cats meow. ( i can't really think of scenario where it would not solve all of the sync problems,  wireless transfer quality, having to buy extra pc's, remotes, cables, all of the setups and settings for each tv's pc, backing up all those pc's, etc.)

[6233638]

Windows RT devices will not run regular Windows applications such as Media Center.
 
You need to look at full Windows 8.1 tablets with Intel processors rather than ARM processors, such as the Surface Pro.

[whataboutbob1]

I neglected to mention that I will be using a 2 TB external hard drive for storage of the actual music files!

Bob

[JimH]

Depending on what you want, Gizmo on an Android tablet might work.  Please see the wiki for a description.

As said above, MC won't run on RT.  Surface Pro would work.

[whataboutbob1]

I currently use gizmo as a remote control for my main stereo system.  But if I were to use gizmo on an android tablet wouldn't I need the main computer to be running?  Or will MC run on the android op system (? jellybean?)?

Bob

[6233638]

You need a Windows, Mac, or Linux computer to run Media Center.
Intel tablets like the Surface Pro or Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet 8 are basically Windows PCs in a tablet form factor.
 
I'm not sure that they will be fast enough to handle DSD to PCM conversion though. (certainly not multichannel)
 
 
ARM-based tablet/phone devices only have client applications which can connect to a computer already running MC and play back files from it.
They cannot run Media Center themselves.

[eapool]

wondering if others are using chromecast's, miracasts, widi hd technology?

I am using two chromecasts currently to stream from my server to other locations. It works pretty well.  You need to use BubbleUpnp as a controller and install the bubbleupnp server to transcode anything that isn't natively supported by chromecast.  Depending on the horsepower on your server, you can get a pretty good picture/ sound.

Alex

[MikeO]

Hi

For what its worth , I deliberated long and hard and finally settled on cheapish lap top $ 500 ish ( I bought in SA Rands so ....).

i3 with 4Gb windows 8.1 . Only has 500g HDD but I have everything on externals so it doesn't matter. I wonder if a clean install helps , it has just Media Centre and BU Software ONLY.

I use it primarily for music , but it runs Blu Ray rips fine as well through Intel built in HD , (no additional video card)

Mike