Dylan wrote:

I currently have a dedicated backend running knoppmyth r5a26. For a front end, I am using a Roku photobridge. The roku hooks up to my hdtv (via component) and my home theater receiver. The Roku is great, since it is silent and the video quality is great, but I have issues:

- no commercial skipping (I haven't tried transcoding my recordings to see how reliably I can generate commercial free recordings)
- mythroku application is at a dead end (not a full myth frontend, no upgrade path)
- can't delete programs from my frontend (mythroku or setup bug)

So now I've been spoiled by having an absolutely silent, small footprint, pretty, and great video quality frontend. I'd like to retain all of that goodness, but add the benefits of a full featured front end that is still capable of 1080i.

I've web researched various options, but can't really nail down anything that seems solid. A few options:

epia sp*000 fanless/diskless system booted over the network (not clear to me that this will actually do hd mpeg2 decode)
mac mini (same issue, not clear to me that hd mpeg2 decode is possible)
some micro-atx form factor solution (you can make them quiet, but the case will be large and obtrusive)
network media player (seems like upnp is the only option, which still doesn't give a full featured myth frontend)

I'd be interested to hear if you've solved this problem, what are you using?