Asus EEE...xcellent Performance and Fit
As we searched over and over for a way to play Netflix movies using either our MacBook Pro or the Air, we came up far short of the excellent streaming that we were seeing on our Vista Machine. While Netflix is not the subject of this rambling, it is the cause.
We debated whether or not to move the Vista machine in the office to the family room. Due to the size of the box and that fact that we actually use it for keeping track of finances and business ventures, moving the large computer did not make much sense. So, we considered the alternatives...
A Roku box...but that is limited to just Netflix movies...
An Apple TV...this is limited to iTunes and others with some simple and not so simple hacks...
Another PC, maybe a laptop...however, the prices were a bit more than we wanted to spend to have the simplicity of watching Netflix movies and connecting our external hard drive with our other family movies and such...
Enter the Asus EEE Box...
With its form factor being the same size as the Apple TV and functionality of a full PC, not to mention the price lower than a PC and about the same as the Apple TV with a hard drive half the size, we could not pass it up.
You turn it on and it is almost ready to go. You answer a few questions about basic settings and such for Windows and away you go. After which you can choose to load Windows XP or use the ExpressGate and get to your media quicker. We chose to load XP. I forgot how snappy XP could be without any added items running at start-up...
Updates took a little while as it came installed with XP Home SP2. Total time for updates 90 minutes. An additional 3 hours was spent adding other programs such as: Live OneCare, Live Mesh, Live Services (Writer, Photo Gallery, Mail, and Messenger) Skype, iTunes, Slingbox, the Netflix player, and Firefox.
With our 37 inch Vizio tv, the RGB/PC monitor connection seems to work best. We tried the DVI connection to an open HDMI port. However, we could not seem to get the video setting just right so that it fills up the screen and maintains readable text. Trying the recommended settings for other graphic cards, 1280X768,1280X720, and even 1366x768, we gave up after about 2 hours of playing with it and hoping we just missed something. We even updated to the recently released 9.01 bios update during this process...the RGB connection using an adapter on the EEE's DVI connection was still the best option.
With the RGB being the best choice, we needed to connect the audio with a 3.5mm headphone cable. It provides OK sound. Nothing to knock your socks off, but enough to make it very capable to play back movies in iTunes and Netflix. The full screen feature looks great and video playback does not seem to suffer. We have not tried an HD movie yet, but standard definition is very good.
The wireless N network card on top of the gig ethernet connection work great. It connected well to our N and G networks without any challenges. Data flow was steady and solid for upload and download speeds.
Currently, there are three things for the future that we are holding on an answer...
1) The unit, given its size does not have a CD or DVD drive. When we think of loading other programs, or even our children's games on this, it will be a challenge.
2) The four usb ports are OK for now, but with the keyboard and mouse taking up 2 and an external hard drive with media a third, we will run out when we add the video camera for Skype calls.
3) Speaking of keyboard and mouse...well, one may hope for a wireless option. Unfortunately, this unit only comes with a wired keyboard and mouse. We will need to invest in an alternative if this will truly work for better TV usage.
The unit runs extreme fast and cool. While other reviews from CNET and the like will tell you that you can not play high performing games and can get a better alternative for a multimedia pc at about the same price, try not to believe it. The other units are much larger, much louder, much more of a pain to connect, and much more full of bloatware. If you are looking for a simple box, don't buy the others, check out the...
ASUS Eee Box PC (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, XP Home) Pure White
More reviews to follow as more programs and connections are tested...Enjoy...
We debated whether or not to move the Vista machine in the office to the family room. Due to the size of the box and that fact that we actually use it for keeping track of finances and business ventures, moving the large computer did not make much sense. So, we considered the alternatives...
A Roku box...but that is limited to just Netflix movies...
An Apple TV...this is limited to iTunes and others with some simple and not so simple hacks...
Another PC, maybe a laptop...however, the prices were a bit more than we wanted to spend to have the simplicity of watching Netflix movies and connecting our external hard drive with our other family movies and such...
Enter the Asus EEE Box...
With its form factor being the same size as the Apple TV and functionality of a full PC, not to mention the price lower than a PC and about the same as the Apple TV with a hard drive half the size, we could not pass it up.
You turn it on and it is almost ready to go. You answer a few questions about basic settings and such for Windows and away you go. After which you can choose to load Windows XP or use the ExpressGate and get to your media quicker. We chose to load XP. I forgot how snappy XP could be without any added items running at start-up...
Updates took a little while as it came installed with XP Home SP2. Total time for updates 90 minutes. An additional 3 hours was spent adding other programs such as: Live OneCare, Live Mesh, Live Services (Writer, Photo Gallery, Mail, and Messenger) Skype, iTunes, Slingbox, the Netflix player, and Firefox.
With our 37 inch Vizio tv, the RGB/PC monitor connection seems to work best. We tried the DVI connection to an open HDMI port. However, we could not seem to get the video setting just right so that it fills up the screen and maintains readable text. Trying the recommended settings for other graphic cards, 1280X768,1280X720, and even 1366x768, we gave up after about 2 hours of playing with it and hoping we just missed something. We even updated to the recently released 9.01 bios update during this process...the RGB connection using an adapter on the EEE's DVI connection was still the best option.
With the RGB being the best choice, we needed to connect the audio with a 3.5mm headphone cable. It provides OK sound. Nothing to knock your socks off, but enough to make it very capable to play back movies in iTunes and Netflix. The full screen feature looks great and video playback does not seem to suffer. We have not tried an HD movie yet, but standard definition is very good.
The wireless N network card on top of the gig ethernet connection work great. It connected well to our N and G networks without any challenges. Data flow was steady and solid for upload and download speeds.
Currently, there are three things for the future that we are holding on an answer...
1) The unit, given its size does not have a CD or DVD drive. When we think of loading other programs, or even our children's games on this, it will be a challenge.
2) The four usb ports are OK for now, but with the keyboard and mouse taking up 2 and an external hard drive with media a third, we will run out when we add the video camera for Skype calls.
3) Speaking of keyboard and mouse...well, one may hope for a wireless option. Unfortunately, this unit only comes with a wired keyboard and mouse. We will need to invest in an alternative if this will truly work for better TV usage.
The unit runs extreme fast and cool. While other reviews from CNET and the like will tell you that you can not play high performing games and can get a better alternative for a multimedia pc at about the same price, try not to believe it. The other units are much larger, much louder, much more of a pain to connect, and much more full of bloatware. If you are looking for a simple box, don't buy the others, check out the...
ASUS Eee Box PC (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, XP Home) Pure White
More reviews to follow as more programs and connections are tested...Enjoy...
Labels: Apple TV, Asus, Asus EEE Box, Netflix, review, streaming content, Windows XP
posted by John E. Murray, III at
9:51 PM
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