V. Cheap AMLogic box for Server Duty?

General
1

I have quad DVB-T and quad DVB-S Sat>IP tuners in the system, with tvheadend managing all the tuner/recording/epg/icons etc for the client devices. All housed in media press and distributed over LAN to client devices.
This necessitates the ethernet connection to bring into and send out of Tvheadend, all the data for the live TV and video the clients demand.

Presently a Tanix TX3 mini is doing the job, but I need something with 1GB ethernet ideally.

To the question:

Are there any cheap boxes that do not concentrate on video output but rather on general data handling?
If it comes to it I can always use a second TX3 mini (I have it) and use one for DVB-T and the other for DVB-S duty, which should do for some time, hence this is not an immediate requirement, but something I am looking at for the short to medium term.

I had intended to use an aging NUC but that got hit by lightening some time back :frowning:

So, anyone see anything really cheap that might do this better than what I can already use?

Thanks.

2

You can get a X96 Air, S905X3 4GB/32GB with Gigabit Ethernet (2x USB2.0, 1x USB3.0) for about $30 now. I don’t want to post a link again as I’m not affiliated with them and don’t want it to seem that way, but if you check my post history you’ll find it.

Personally though I’d go with a Raspberry Pi 4, it’s much more suited to this sort of thing (and a lot more support + documentation).

2 Likes
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I’ve been pondering this move myself. Seems like my server is the last high wattage device in my chain. At the moment, Comskip is the factor preventing my progress.

I’m with vmce in my current thinking that the Pi4 my be the path forward.

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I expect that Comskip does not require large resources (never used it myself), hence the R-Pi would be suitable.
In that case I expect the 905x3 would also be well capable.
I do not need it to do any transcoding.
I am presently leaning that way … but its graphics capabilities are rather a waste, but in the absence of something more suitable it seems like a reasonable option.

Using all devices on which CE will run will make life a little easier.

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I just checked out the prices of the R-Pi 4 … 2GB model with case & PSU is €85 plus delivery here.

IMO the specs for my use case do not warrant the price.

Back to cheap Asian devices methinks :slight_smile:

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That’s a pain, my 4gb one was €42 from an ebay store. Psu was €4 on aliexpress and i 3d printed the case but they’re only about €5 as well.

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Presently I can get an x96 Air 905x3 4GB/32GB for €31, and worst case I will have to pay €7.31 VAT.

So provided I have no difficulty waiting for the delivery this seems to be a good deal … and I might escape the VAT on import with some luck.

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Why not give the extra and order from Spain? No VAT, speedy delivery.

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Check my post history for the link, I got one of those from China and it took 5 days to the UK, $30 for the 4gb/32gb with gigabit ethernet (I got like $3 in coupons as well so it was like $27).

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For general purpose computing the Raspberry Pi is still a winner simply because of the community.

If it’s too expensive there is a list of alternatives here: https://all3dp.com/1/single-board-computer-raspberry-pi-alternative/

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Because they will not send it here :frowning:

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Prices seem to be rising for those 905x3 Air devices.
I attempted to buy from Aliexpress and all seemed good at first, but I had to make a correction to the delivery address and when I went back into the payment method, the Paypal option had disappeared! :frowning:

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The one I ordered is still $30.49 (€27.50), I got it from China in under a week. I can’t comment on PayPal, I’ve used aliexpress hundreds or times and always paid directly with my credit card.

1 Like
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Thanks for that info.
I decided to use my credit card … and placed the order.
It is hard (near impossible) to beat at that price for the job I want it to do.
Now the wait and wonder if it will be pulled for charges :smiley:

Thanks to all for the feedback and suggestions.

1 Like