Hey folks, been busy with normal life and have taken side jobs which hinders me from keeping my blog updated. Anyways back to my normal vs blog. This time i tested OpenElec and CrystalBuntu on my old AppleTV 1st Gen (ATV1 - Silver).
I upgraded my ATV with CrystalHD card and removed internal wifi card. I am currently using Edimax 300Mbps card which is great compared to internal draft n card which runs at half the speed. I must say 720p videos run flawless, and 1080p from hard drive run great w/o stuttering.
Now back to OpenElec vs CrystalBuntu.
OpenElec 3.2.4 & 4.0.x (catered to various devices)
Pros:
- Faster Bootup time.
- OpenElec system settings.
- Support for Wi-Fi (we all hate wires, but wired is faster unless you tweak your Wi-Fi).
- up to date XBMC Software.
- Fast shutdown.
- CrystalHD support.
- Faster Scroll through list
Cons:
- slight lag at interface
- Slow playback - this happens when you start a movie it takes approx. 15-20 (for OE 3.2.4) to nearly 1 minute (OE 4.0.2) to stream 720p video.
CrystalBuntu 2.x (catered to AppleTV1 and possibly Raspberry Pi in future)
Pros:
- CrystalHD Support
- Little to no lag at interface.
- Faster Playback (playing HD movie takes approx. 3-5 sec to start).
- Stable XBMC build.
Cons:
- takes longer to boot up to OS/Interface
- no native support for Wi-Fi only for Wired. You have to rely on addon (network manager - outdated) to connect to Wi-Fi.
- Drops Wi-fi connection over the time and requires either reboot or reinsert USB Wi-Fi Adapter.
- CB2 takes longer to shutdown (i know these devices are meant to stay on, but still).
I would say it is a tie in between both, however I prefer CrystalBuntu since i have option to hardwired (Cat 6), this gives me slightly stable/faster connection. I also have edge over playing movies faster than OpenElec.
If you do not have any option to go with Wired Connection, i'd suggest sticking with OE 3.2.4 for now until OE 4.0.x sorts out playback issues with ATV and various other devices.
Next i will try to bring vs thread for Raspberry Pi 512MB Model OC'd to 950 to 1000Mhz (xbian vs OE).
