XBMC - Matricom G-Box MX2

[bjaminnyc]

I'm considering buying the Matricom G-Box MX2 as a gift. The feature set including XBMC seems to put it well ahead of the other media streamers.

The G-Box including a remote and fly mouse is $107 @ amazon, which seems like a steel.
http/goo.gl/pxY7hv

My question is has anyone in the forum owned or used the G-Box? Also is there possibly another solution/product you believe is superior?

A prerequisite for this device is local content management, which XBMC excels at. I'd almost prefer the Apple TV for simplicity but Plex at this point is a hack and I'm unsure if iTunes can effectively manage a large library.

I've considered going with a full blown HTPC XMBC solution, I already have all of the necessary components laying around. MY problem with the full pc OS route is complexity and this gift is for my folks.

Any advice will be appreciated. I want to keep the device as simple as possible but still have that wow factor for my folks new projection room theater.

 

[bjaminnyc]

Side note - local content will be a USB drive, not a network share.

 

[crxsi71]

I own both the g-box and the apple tv 1st gen. I'm not sure why people dog on the atv1 so much b/c it works quite seamlessly for me. Sure it has some weak specs but if your running xbmc and your not a complete videophile its fine. The g-box is a bit more to have to mess with. Both work and both connect to my network no problem, I'm hardwired no wireless. I can watch movies on either from xbmc or from my computer(meaning I have movies stored there not from web sites streaming from my computer) but this should be obvious considering that's what xbmc does. The atv1 runs better than the g-box for sure. If its for your parents I would get them a used atv1 from an auction site(duh) and also a guy on a certain auction site sells for $25 a usb stick with an extension to keep it away from the heat of the atv1 and instructions to go with it so you don't even have to think about it. The one I bought plugs in runs xbmc and unplug it and your back to atv so that's my 2 cents. If you want to know where i got my usb of xbmc for atv1 here: seller scconsing on ebay for $24.99 awesome purchase. I would just post link but not sure if that breaks the rules on this forum.

 

[bjaminnyc]

crxsi, thank you for the response. I ended up just building a full win 8.1 based HTPC. With the uncertainty I had about the Gbox and not knowing about the A-TV1 solution just going full blow computer seemed to be the easiest and not much more expensive. What ultimatly made my decision was the ability to remote into the HTPC for maintenance and trouble shooting.

What ended up being a nice surprise was 8.1. I've been using it on my main rig for awhile and 7 on my HTPCs. Low and behold 8.1 might be the best HTPC OS I've ever used, that is unless you plan on extending tuners via WMC. The app store ecosystem has evolved to the point where every streaming service has a live Metro tile and fairly easy to navigate with arrows and a mico KB with a touchpad. A HTPC actually is well suited for W8 Metro, the desktop becomes far less important which is nice since you're likely using a non-traditional input device. I've sense changed all my personal home HTPCs (3) to 8.1, and just convert DVR recordings to Mp4.