I recently ran across a deal on an Acer Revo that was too good to pass up. As a computing nerd, it was time to push my computer to my television. This came with several challenges.
- Not enough HDMI ports on my 5 year old 1080p TV
* solved with an HDMI switch, IOGear GHDMIS3 - It came with a wired keyboard and mouse
* solved with IOGear GKM561R (keyboard/trackball combo)
The Revo is categorized as a set-top, but in this instance it is really an inexpesive netbook without a screen but with HDMI output. Lots of people try building custom solutions to drop next to their televisions, but I doubt they could do it for $188 as the folks at Acer did.
Why did I choose to do this instead of using a different device, such as my XBox 360?
Whereas my gaming rig does indeed give me the ability to connect a drive (or computer on the network) and share photos, video and music, it does not give me the ability to cruise the web as a full-blown computer can. Nor does it support video formats such as .mkv and .mov, as my Revo does. But it does not come without problems.
Right now I’m struggling to figure out why I get choppy performance with flash-based video playback. Sites with video playback in HD such as Hulu (desktop or web) and Youtube, are choppy and becomes annoying really quick. The system plays .avi video straight from my Creative Vado without issue and any converted .mkv file I generate using Handbrake. I sure wish this one came with a DVD drive, but I can drop an external if need be.
Have you seen similar issues with your Netbook (or Acer products)?
I should note that right now I have kept the as-sold OS of XP SP3 on the Revo, but my Acer Aspire One D250 (netbook) is running Windows 7 Ultimate. Both systems have the same issue with video playback with Hulu and Youtube.
