Review: Acer Aspire Revo AR1600-U910H

Recently, more and more video content has been shifting towards Internet streaming for delivery to consumers like you and I. The biggies have been Netflix, Hulu, Boxee, Youtube, and many others. I have been without a satisfactory means to consume said web video content from the comfort of my couch. A recent purchase of mine is an attempt to remedy this: the Acer Aspire Revo AR1600-U910H. I got this from a generic reseller online for $130 shipped. No a bad little score, eh? Well, that sort of remains to be seen.

Basically, I want this thing, first and foremost, to be used to playback SD and HD Flash content. This is mainly Hulu and Youtube for now. The hardware of this nettop is Intel Atom 230/Nvidia Ion-based. I upgraded the RAM from 1 to 2GB. Hardware decoding for H.264-based content. HDMI audio and video. Low power, but might do the trick with the right software. My first setup in software looks like this: Windows 7 Ultimate (32-bit) running Windows Media Center as a frontend, Boxee, Hulu Desktop, XBMC, Macrotube dashboard plugins. Flash 10.1 RC2. Latest Nvidia Ion drivers. After a few days of testing, here's what I found:

1. XBMC cannot yet decode 1080p content under Windows w/ this system.
2. Media Player Classic does 1080p just fine.
3. Youtube vids up to 1080p are relatively smooth w/ 70% CPU. Some slight jerkiness.
4. Some Hulu clips play similar to #3. Some are a mess w/ 100% CPU.
5. Revision 3 shows (720p?) play fine.

Summary: So far, this little box might be a great computer for light tasks, but Flash is spotty, and 1080p H.264 movies only play w/ certain apps. At this point, I'm not setting this thing up permanently in my living room until after the offical Flash 10.1 drivers are released and I have a chance to test them. Similarly, I need to test 1080p movies w/ various media center plugins to see if a rock-solid solution exists. Stay tuned for Part 2...

My CES 2010 Top 5

This year's CES was, quite frankly, boring. Nothing truly groundbreaking was announced or demoed, in my opinion. Having said that, here's my personal list for the best of CES 2010:

Tegra 2/Android Tablets

I'm very interested in a lower-power 1080p chipset. Tablets are kinda cool, too. Android has what it takes to run these well. The combination could mean cheap, portable and highly useful touchscreen interfaces/front ends in every room and car. This is what I always hoped we'd see.

Boxee

The Boxee Box definely looks cool. Love the Windows version. In time, it maybe the perfect media streamer. All content on one box with a nice remote and UI. Sweet.

Android 2.1

Of all the open source OSes, I'm most optimistic about Android. It seems to have the right combination of services, UI, and supoort. Phones will get it first, but the real proving ground for Android is the x86 port of it. If people start using it on laptops, look out MS and Apple.

Netgear Push2TV

If I can send my PC's video wirelessly and reliably to my TV, that's a game-changer. Let's see the hardware first, though.

Windows 7 Mediaroom Support

If I can get my FiOS content on a Windows PC with no extra hardware, that, too is a game-changer. We'll see if it actually happens.


In closing, I'd just like to say, "Fuck 3D!" I do not now, nor will I ever care about watching a movie or TV show in 3D. There is nearly 100 years of 2D footage, the vast majority of which looks like shit on current hardware. Industry, stop trying to make me buy a completely new hardware iteration, when the current 2D devices are FAR from perfect. I want cheap, thin, light, bright 2D 1080p displays with NO MOTION ISSUES!!!! Make this happen, then we'll talk about next-gen hardware.

Boxee (Alpha) for Windows

Boxee (Alpha) for Windows is probably the best free streaming media application out there. Nowhere else will you find Digg, Revision3, Hulu, Netflix, NPR, Comedy Central, Apple Trailers, Pandora, Last.fm, etc. all in one place. If it's good streaming content, it's on Boxee. Originally for modded Apple TV units, this app is now available for all Windows, Mac and Linux. There are video channels, music channels, and picture channels as well. I tried it out for the first time last night. Wow. The interface is clean and easy to use. The video quality is great. The sheer amount of content available is enough to quench anyone's entertainment appetite. I liked it so much that I immediately installed it on my netbook as well. Boxee is perfect for travelers who either miss their favorite shows, or need PC based entertainment because that's all there is. Ah, if only it was available for modded Xboxes. One can only dream...