I know that a few of you 3610 Ion users are not getting fluid playback of Flash or DX in a browser or in Boxee even with the updates and all. It is typically a high CPU usage that causes it. I’m stumped. I really am. As I’ve had great, smooth playback with my unit since day one. Though, it seems to be random that a few are having a poor experience. And the symptoms are very similar to 1600 ION LE users and this just should not happen on the 3610 with its dual core CPU. So, here is a listing of my exact set up. It should be mostly complete.
My Personal Revo 3610 Set Up that works well
Revo Specs & Setup:
- Revo 3610 Ion 330 2 gb ram With Windows-7 64 bit preinstalled.
- Connected via Cat-5 wire via a 100 mb network. (wifi sucks
) Wifi uses a lot of CPU and may hinder playback. Especially Revo 1600 users with the single core and ION LE chip. - Windows Aero is still activated and SHOULD stay on! Turning it off will cause GPU acceleration to stop working and video will lag horribly
- Turn off UAC This should be the first thing you do for annoyance factor alone
- Uninstalled all Bloatware to free up ram after boot.
- Kept Acer Keyboard and back up programs
- Configure Acer Backup not to run or prompt at start up
- Can run MSCONFIG to toggle off anything else you want to at start up. Be careful!!!
- Currently, ram after boot is 1.1 gb!
- Updates- ALL MSOFT updates except Windows Live junk
- Uninstalled factory Flash 10.0.22
- Installed-
- DX 11 update for DX 11
- Installed Flash 10.1 1p Beta RC-2 RC-7 Final Release add-in & activeX (see download link below) For ALL windows platforms 32 & 64 bit systems.
- Silverlight 3 4 via the MSOFT update center
- Installed Nvidia 195.62 197 WHQL 257.15 Beta 258.96 WHQL
- Installed Nvidia Chipset 15.51 (see mega zip pack below)
- Installed MPC-HC 64 for DX and MKV,MOV, WMV (HD) movies outside of Boxee
- Installed FireFox
- Installed Move Networks Player For Boxee use No longer needed.
- Installed the Nvidia HDMI audio update (cant remember version 8/2009)
- No other codec packs or other junk installed.
- Did not touch video card memory settings in Bios. Left it stock
- Installed Microsoft Security Essentials
- Boxee Beta-every version that has been available
- Factory sleep and screen saver options-changed to 1 hr delay.
- This is strictly a HTPC for Boxee and to surf the net on a 40″ 1080P HDTV. No other software or programs or anything is installed!!!!
- Connections and settings
- Directly to the HDTV via a 6ft HDMI cable with the audio.
- Have Revo set to 720P 60 Hz
- I feel that with Hulu and other streamed shows streamed in about 480P resolution anyway, the picture clarity is better at 720P rather than magnifying it further at 1080p and reducing picture clarity. When I do want true 1080P playback using the Revo, I change it back. The TV auto detects the feed. Video playback with the Revo set to 1080P is the same and fluid as 720P is.
- Video playback
- Flash-Smooth as can be in Hulu Desktop and IE. In Boxee there can be juuuuust a hair of a stutter every once in a while. Heck, this varies depending on each Boxee Beta build.
- DX/HD MKV Full 1080p file-Flawless in MPC-HC 64! Boxee does not yet support HD playback with DX, so it is way laggy. Soon to be updated. Boxee supports GPU acceleration only with HD 720p & 1080P files that are H.264 .mp4 file containers! Any other file container (mkv, mov, wmv etc) in 720P or 1080p may/will lag if played in Boxee.
- Move Networks- Flawless and fluid in IE 8. Pretty good in Boxee, but this is due to Boxee and not the Revo. Again, can vary depending on the current build of boxee All Network TV sites have gone to Flash and Move Networks is no longer being used by any major show sites. No longer needed.
- Netflix- Flawless via IE. Flawless via Boxee. I watch this DAILY! I’m addicted….
Files to Download:
- Many users have had smoother playback with the older Flash 1p Beta version vs. the 2p version. It’s no longer available, but I made a Mega Zip Pack below.
- Beta 3 is now available and I am testing it now with good results so far…. More later.
- Flash RC is out now. I’m using RC-2 RC-7 as it is far better than RC-4 when using Boxee Beta
- Flash Beta 10.1 Final Release Add-in & ActiveX . Get the latest at www.adobe.com. IE needs the Active X and FFox uses the Add-in. Use the actual browser to download each.
- If you want older versions of flash, see my : Flash Archive Download Zip Page
- Nvidia Drivers- 195.62 197.57 257.15 258.96 WHQL and included Chipset 15.51. For ALL windows platforms 32 & 64 bit systems.
- DirectX Update DX 9 & 10-Here Just do it! (Win-7 users get DX 11 with Windows Update)
- Silverlight- Via Windows Update There was just another update too!
- Install–FireFox 3.6.8 or Higher – Here
- Install–Move Networks Plug-in – Here (need this for IE or FFox or Boxee Beta to show NBC, ABC and Fox TV shows) All Network TV sites have gone to Flash and Move Networks is no longer being used by any major show sites. No longer needed.
- Media Player Classic HV 64 – Here
- Microsoft Security Essentials AV – Here
- Boxee Beta – Optional, but I’m biased
Here
Test Video Files
- Test File MKV 1080P 24 fps- Here
- Should play flawlessly in MPC-HC 64 or WMP!
- Boxee will be laggy until the DX acceleration is enabled in future builds.
- There are a few scenes in it that have some slight distortion, but that’s due to the quality of those shots not the Revo. The point here is that the file is full 1080P @ 24 fps and to test fluidity of playback.
- Test File H264 .MP4 hd720p 30fps – HERE
- Revision3 HD Nation Episode #30 (direct download from their server)
- This will play flawlessly in MPC and Boxee at under 15% CPU
- Mentions my Revo blog at about the 19-20 minute mark. Shameless plug…
- Test File WMV hd720p & HD1080p – HERE
- Microsoft WMV HD Content Showcase
- You may have to log in with your Hotmail account to see the links to the files.
- I seem to recall this plays well on MPC-HC 64. May pixelate at the start.
- Boxee is laggy.
- Test File YouTube Flash hd720p & HD1080p – HERE
- Youtube: YOKID37 Channel
- This user has nice 1080p HD Flash files. Typically, movie trailers.
- Due to streaming over Internet, bandwidth will affect smoothness. May have to pause and fully buffer before playing back video on FFox or IE or Boxee. Youtube’s bandwith sucks.
- Use Boxee Bookmarklet for FFox to que files to your Boxee Que.
- You can toggle the HD version in boxee once it starts, but it looks like it’s only the 720p option.
UPDATED-Installed Programs, Free/Available Ram info
People have been asking for a complete list of the programs I have installed after removing the bloatware on my Revo 3610. Plus, how much Free/Available ram do I have left. Well, here goes:
Installed Programs:
- Revo 3610 Installed Programs
You’ll notice I have an MCE TV and WHS Connector program. That’s just for my usage, so most will not need them . I left out all the MS updates. That’s pretty straight forward as you should install all security, drivers etc. I left out all the Windows Live crap.I have a total of 37 programs installed. I could stand to kill off the Acer Screen saver and the Nero 9, but I’m not in a hurry to do so.
TaskManager:
- Revo 3610 Taskmanger
This is after boot and the machine has had a few minutes to settle down. Now, don’t freak out when you see Free 149 as that’s not all that is available after boot. With Win-7 combines and lists memory differently than XP.
- Total is the amount of RAM installed on your computer, listed in megabytes (-the 256mb ram for the video card).
- Cached refers to the amount of physical memory used recently for system resources.
- Available is the total of standby and free memory from the Resource Monitor. Set aside for instant use by programs, drivers, etc. (this is what you want to look at!!)
- Free is the amount of memory that is currently unused or doesn’t contain useful information (unlike cached files, which do contain useful information).
So Revo has the following:
- Total 1791 mb or 1.79 gb total ram after the video card takes it’s 256 mb
- Cached 1000 mb or 1 gb
- Available (+free) 1134 mb or 1.1 gb
- Free 149 mb or ….149 mb.
As you can see, I have 1.134 gb of ram remaining after boot to run all my programs and processes. Not bad.
If you want a better breakdown of the total-cached-Avail-free, click the Resource Monitor button and mouse over the same words in the Memory section. You’ll get balloons with the a little bit more info on what each means.
Acer Revo Video Demos:
I’ve made three more videos since last November that highlight the Acer Revo using Boxee Beta with Flash. Check my latest Blog Post link for the details and link to my YouTube Channel
http://www.pauljroberts.com/boxee-beta-on-acer-revo-video-review
Paul:
Thanks for this post. My 3610 arrives Friday and I’ll use this detailed prescription for initial setup.
Thanks, too, for providing links for necessary drivers, etc.
I don’t, however, note a location for this one:
…the Nvidia HDMI audio update (cant remember version 8/2009)
Can you point the way?
Kevin,
No problem.
I checked last night and the HDMI driver can be updated in Windows device manager. I selected the HDMI audio driver and let it find download the update. It goes from one dated something like 6/9/09 to 8/15/09. I think the version was 10052??? don’t hold me to it. It’s not mission critical anyway. I’d rolled mine back to the older version, then redown loaded it through windows Device Manager.
Paul,
Another great post. Do you mind sharing the type and brand of HDMI cable you are using? I was looking at a cheap one, but am amazed at the variety of cables. I want to push my video and audio via a single hdmi cable to my HDTV.
This one below is HDMI 1.3 and supposedly CAT2 Certified. Look good?
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0018CAJXM/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=A3LJ5WMKNRFKQS&v=glance
Thanks,
Brian
Brian,
I’m not a fan of big dollar cables, but I needed one when I got the tv and had little choice at that time. I think it’s a Phillips 6ft. I’ll find the box it came in and give you the exact specs and SKU too.
Hi Paul, Thanks for the postings since November. I have a Revo 3610 and have followed your advice. There is also a new NVidia graphics driver 196.21 (release date 19.01.10) and I am wondering how you and others feel this works with Flash 10.1 beta2. Of more interest though is that you have left aero on. I had some stuttering using live TV on a Kworld UB424D hybrid TV tuner (analogue used from RF on a UK sky digibox). I decided to try a basic theme. It fairly whizzed along as might be expected. Not sure I need aero as the Revo is used as a PVR. What say you? Martin
Martin,
I’ve decided to stay with the first Nvidia Driver 195.62 due to the fact that it matches the Flash Beta 10.1 1p. The Flash 10.1 2p uses the newer Nvidia drivers 195.81 or the new 196.21, but Flash 2p has shown to create high CPU usage and lag. So, I’ve not budged off of 1p or it’s matching driver. I’m willing to bet that using the 1p and the newest 196.21 driver may be a good pairing.
Aero? Hmm, I’ve had no playback issues to need to turn it off. But, if it frees up some CPU or GPU power in order to run a TV tuner as a PVR or get better overall playback, then that’s a good tip.
I’ve just been leaning to the Kworld unit as of late myself. How’s it working out for you with Live Playback and recording? Do Tell.
Updated set up details slightly:
Added UAC, Aero settings. Windows 7 is preinstalled. Added a Test video link to a full 1080P @ 24 fps. Boxee Beta link. New Nvidia driver 196.21. HDMI cable type later today…
Hi Paul, Well I might just uninstall Flash 10.1 2p and give 1p a go with the new driver 196.21 to see what’s up. I like the Kworld with all the latest driver (V6.0113.1125.091125). I run the Kworld from an RF output from a Sky digibox on analogue. TV from the sky box goes via a scart direct to a Panasonic 26″ so Live TV on MC is not as good as TV direct to the TV from Sky but not significantly worse. Recorded TV on MC is as good as Live TV on MC. I have not bothered with the Kworld TiVme software and only use Win7MC. I paid £40.00 after much research. My old XPMCE had a PCI hauppage which has also been fine and is still in use on a Dell after 4 years with no hitches.
By the way for anyone reading this with a skybox it is a good idea to change the default RF channel of 68 to something as low down on the 21-68 UK spectrum as will avoid interference from any other digital or analogue station. My channel of 45 reduced some broad lines crossing from left to right at regular intervals. This was not HDMI cable related, nor Kworld, nor mains cable related as I tried all these before faffing with the channel change.
I still recommned you try no aero. Basic Windows 7 is cool enough unless you need live thumbnails of windows. After all CPU/GPU has to work hard to make all those whizzy effects and store all the windows positions and contents. Everything feels brisker.
Martin,
Thanks for the info on the Kworld tuner. May pick one up next week then.
Aero-I’ve seen no issues with it on. I’ll turn it off just to see, but with no playback issues or situations of low CPU as a result, I see no reason to turn off the feature on my rig. I do like the window options when using multiple tabs and apps.
Though, users of the Revo 1600 may benefit the most from turning it off or people with 3610 that are having CPU troubles. But If I got a 3610 with the playback issues and high CPU usage, I’d return it and get another under warranty or return policy.
Paul,
I have one of these units coming in the next week. Do you see any problems with using this unit laying horizontal? I’d rather put it in my tv stand, which is open on all four sides around it but would not allow a vertical placement. Any potential heating problems that you forsee?
Craig,
I don’t see why you couldn’t lay it on its side. There are no vents to block. Sure, heat rises and you get better chimney like flow standing vertical, but it’s not like it gets red hot or anything. Beside, it has a fan and it says nothing about having to use the stand.
The sides are very shinny and smooth. You may want to get some of those rubber stick-on dots and put them on the side without the power button and it should sit still when you push the power button…..though, I’ve not turned mine off in over 60 days. There’s no need to..;-)
Please, keep us posted on your experience.
Thanks very much for all the great info. As a result I finally bit the bullet and bought an r3610 (250gb/2gb/windows 7) this morning!
Getting delivered on Friday and I can’t wait!
Would really appreciate one last piece of advise if you have time though? I’ll be mainly using it for boxee and It’s not clear if you recommend upgrading to Flash Beta 10.1 1p or not for boxee? in an older post you said something about reverting to the older dll??? but more recently it looks as though you are using 10.1 1p ?
Any help would be great.
Scott.
Glad you enjoyed the blog posts and getting a Revo.
Flash .dll? Well, that was a tweak for Boxee Alpha that did not work well anyway it seems. DO NOT do that on Boxee Beta.
Do install Flash Beta 10.1 1p. Be sure to first uninstall all Flash in windows Uninstall Programs section. Then if you have FireFox already installed, be sure to uninstall the Adobe Flash plug in from the Add On area of FFox. Now Install Flash Beta 10.1 1p ActiveX and Add-in. Done. There is no need to install any other Flash browser plug ins! Now flash will work for any browser or program perfectly.
Lastly, follow everything in this post that I did on my Revo and you should be good to go.
You Sir, are a superstar!
Thanks for clearing that up. I’ll post back once I’ve got the revo up and running and I’ve applied all the tweaks you’ve mentioned above.
I just wanted to add my positive experience with the AR3610 to the pool of information here. I received my 3610 yesterday, set it up today — exactly as Paul described above and with his mega zip pack — and it works great. No performance issues at all.
The only difference in my setup is the use of Firefox 3.6, which doesn’t seem to have any adverse affects. Boxee still works great.
Also, I ended up getting a $15 HDMI cable, and it works fine. No need for an expensive HDMI cable.
Brian
Brian,
Glad the Revo is working well and for the positive feedback.
Yeah, FFox 3.6 just came out…so it will work just fine.
Cheap HDMI is all you need. I have a Philips unit I got at Walmart for $15 and it rocks!
Great Post.
I followed the instructions and everything is working great on my new Revo with Boxee – thx for taking the time to post.
Joseph,
Great! Another satisfied customer! Thank you for stopping by and posting your results!
Well my experience wasn’t great.
Followed your post above but flash was terrible for me (BBC Iplayer). Loads of tearing. Tried all sorts of combos of ion drivers and flash versions. Latest ion driver plus latest flash seemed to have least problems (in fact hd iplayer was perfect, but there was still tearing in the sd version). However, when I went back into boxee and watched a movie it was filled with tearing! Tried reverting to different drivers/flash etc.
In the end I reset to factory settings, and installed nothing but direct x 11. Leaving flash 10 installed. Now boxee is perfect and flash is pretty good. No tearing in either at least.
On sunday night I was ready to return, but looking like I’ll keep it. Worse case senario I’ll boot linux from flash and run boxee/flash etc which apparently works well.
Your posts have been fantastic Paul and very helpful, however I’m not impressed with the revo and wouldn’t reccomend to anyone yet. Having said that, my issue is really with flash not working properly with the revo which will hopefully be resolved with the final release of the new flash!
Scott,
Your experience is not a Flash issue, but rather some issue with the Revo itself. Seems most that experience your poor playback are outside the USA and no amount of tweaking fixes it. Not sure if it’s a production issues or hardware issue with the way the Revo is assembled or what. Most people do experience perfect playback in all regions (mine is an example), but there are a few that are not. Unfortunately, the ones that do not play well are what I hear about most here. ;-(
The unit does play as intended. For those that don’t, I’d return it for exchange, warranty or refund. The Asus EEE or the AsRock 330 (no OS) or the Zotac all use their own version of the hardware and I’ve not yet heard any issues. I really feel this is a production issue with Acer, but until I get my hands on one of this misbehaving units, I’m only speculating.
Thanks for the kind words and glad I could help. Wish it had better results.
Hmm, I’m leaning towards BBC Iplayer as the culprit actualy (which might explain why people outside the US are complaining most). As I said, the hd flash content generally plays better. The tearing was much more of a problem on the sd content which surely rules out hardware fault?
Also when boxee was tearing (after messing about with loads of drivers etc) the same files were playing fine in media player.
I think it’s boxee/iplayer/flash issue rather than the revo…
So tried installing the flash beta 1p and 2p plugins again tonight for the hell of it and all went well.
Standard def flash perfect. HD Flash very close. No tearing at all in either. Haven’t installed the active x plugin so can’t test in boxee but more importantly for me no tearing at all in boxee when watching a movie.
720 flash on youtube is flawless. 1020p laggy and jumpy.
The only hing different this tim is I haven’t touched the ion drivers. Looks like updating these were the culprit as far as the tearing was concerned.
Scott,
Yeah, If your issues are isolated to the BBC player, that would explain things. But, I’ve had others outside the US say that ANY flash and some HD content is doing the same thing. I’ve really tried to coach posters to test specific things in specific ways…and found that many seem to have a Revo hardware issue as a result.
Maybe you and I were mixing up player types. I.E. Test a Youtube flash in IE get results. Test same video in Boxee and get results.
Test MKV 720 P file in a media player Then test in Boxee. Etc.
Boxee does have limitaions with HD 1080P MKV files…as Boxee does not yet accelerated DirectX files. But 720P MKV files don’t seem to hit the Revo too badly played in Boxee.
I’m rambling….Hope that your’s is mostly a boxee issue and not a Revo issue. ;-
Scott,
Ok, so what FLash version and video driver version produced these results?
The active X will enable IE and FFox to play Flash via Beta when viewing these items on line. Just DON”T go to the Adobe site and install the FFox add-in as that will put you right back to Flash 10.0.42 non-beta..
Hey,
I just found your blog site and you really pushed me towards getting a revo. Setting it up last night, I was having some problems with streaming video. I installed the flash 10.1. beta 1 from your mega pack, but I also installed the lastest nvidia drivers (chipset and graphics). I used revision 3 hd nation as a test video for streaming. streaming in the normal window was smooth, however when I went fullscreen it started stuttering and the video became slower than the audio. The same thing happened when I went fullscreen on the http://www.collegehumor.com site. Also, I found that there was no hardware acceleration from the GPU, even on youtube (which was smooth even at fullscreen) the CPU clocked in at around 75%.
Any suggestions?
Anthony,
Glad I could help you out via my site!
I would roll back the video driver and install the 195.21 in my pack. That should be paired with the Beta 10.1 1p for best performance.
The newer 10.1 2p and the newest Nvidia 196 driver are known for issues and high CPU usage.
Also, go into the Nvidia control panel and be sure to set your output to the correct cable and monitor. HDMI should be set to the correct output for your TV and VGA should be set if you are using a CRT computer monitor. Set the refresh rate to about 60. Try that first and report back.
Hi Paul,
Excellent post. I am so glad I found this! I have the R3610L (came with linux) that I got from Taiwan on eBay (Seller was 23port or something like that). Anyway, the 3610 was hard to get here in the US when I wanted it, plus I got a bigger HD (320gb). I added an extra matched 2gb of RAM just for good measure, and I turned up the video RAM usage in the BIOS all the way, why not.
I bought my own Win7 license and did a full wipe of the HDD and fresh install. I updated all software and drivers to the latest and greatest and things were working “OK I guess” for the last couple of months.
But after following your advice on going back to the drivers in your pack, my playback has improved quite a bit. Thanks a lot!!
-Matthew
The rig:
ACER R3610 ION Atom 330 bolted on to the back of my Sony BRAVIA HDTV with a adapter plate and using HDMI video and sound, D-Link DNS-321 with 2 WD 1TB Caviar Green HDDs acting as a media server via complete gigabit ethernet connections and cat6 cables. Running Windows Media Center 7, Boxee Beta, Hulu Desktop Beta, Netflix through Boxee and thru WMC, all running smoothly now.
(Also using a WMC remote, Boxee remote for iPhone and Hippo Remote for iPhone instead of keyboard and mouse.)
Matthew,
Thanks for the props on my post! Yes, I spoke to many buyers of Revos from Taiwan on eBay with the Linux install. Those were mostly slatted for other countries and not the US, but work pretty much the same. You will get better playback overall and a broader vid type coverage (netflix) with Windows 7 too.
The driver pack is basically all the matching video, chipset, HDMI and Flash Beta 1p that were all paired at the first release of Flash Beta 1p. Which worked the best. All later versions of Flash Beta (2p) and each matching Nvidia vid driver after that has caused issues with playback for many people, not just Revo or Ion users. Just don’t mix the older Flash 1p with the newest Nvidia vid driver (196) as it will play crappy again.
I’ve found no need to change the video ram in the bios nor up the ram. After deleting all the bloatware and turn off any unneeded windows services, I have 1.2 gb of ram after boot. Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it … at least for me.
Can you tell us what brand ram and the part number you used? We could all use the info.
Great site Paul–this site alone made jump for the revo 3610!
Everything is working great plus a usb tv tuner card, except no multi-channel audio. I have the latest drivers but no DD/DTS via hdmi. Windows device manager says hdmi only supports a max of 2 channels. do you use the spdif output for multi-channel or is there an hdmi fix?
*I do not have a hdmi AVR, just the tv.
thanks
Jeff,
Thanks for the kudos on the site. Glad it helped you!
HDMI should get you 5.1. Seems odd you’re not getting it. Be sure to update the HDMI driver and see. Other than that, I’m lost. The spdif does support 5.1 also.
Paul wrote: “Can you tell us what brand ram and the part number you used? We could all use the info.”
——
Yes I can answer that. My R3610 came with one 2GB stick and one open slot. After some research, I determined that I needed RAM with the following specs to pair with the original:
Make sure to get:
800MHz
200-pin SoDIMM
DDR2
PC2-64000
The brand shouldn’t matter too much. I have had good luck with Crucial. I got a bad stick from PNY before. Just make sure to run memtest overnight to check for errors after installing.
I got my RAM from Amazon, by the way: “Crucial Technology CT25664AC800 2GB 200-pin SODIMM DDR2 PC2-6400 Memory Module”
The system shows that it is running ~3.75 gigs or so if I remember correctly, which is a common response. I believe no systems show the full 4 gigs, according to others in Revo forums. But it does show that the RAM is running in dual channel and all is well. Plenty of RAM to spare. By the way, I’m running W7 x64.
I’ve been having some issues with poor quality playback on my Revo 3610… then, I uninstalled the anti-virus software. it made a huge difference! The machine is much more responsive now.
Matthew,
What adapter plate are you using to attach the revo to your Bravia? I’d love to mount mine to the back of my KDL-40XBR7, but obviously the holes don’t line up. Any help would be appreciated.
Also, Paul, I just followed your instructions and I’m currently watching 24 through boxee and it looks amazing. Nearly indistinguishable from my MacBook Pro. Thanks a lot.
-mark
Matthew,
Thanks for the details on the Ram brand and part number!
Bill,
Well, all the factory crapware should be uninstalled and anything you do not intend to use. Doing so rids some services that use CPU and ram. Then install the Microsoft System Essentials AV and it uses almost nothing to run in the background.
After a fresh reboot, my 3610 has 1.1 gb of ram available!
Mark,
No problem! Glad I was able to help you get things running smoothly!
Hi,
Congrats for the very intuitive and useful setup.I have both a Acer Revo 3610 with 4GB of RAM.It came with Linux pre-installed. I have purchased a Windows 7 64 bit licence and I installed the unit as instructed above. All works fine but Windows sees only 3GB of RAM useful out of 4 GB installed. If I change the ammount of memory used by Video Card (up to 512 Mb max) Windows sees only 2.75 GB. So, even I have a 64 bit SO installed the system reports the same memory as I had a 32 bit SO.
Anyone can help me fix this ? I think it need a Bios update but I was afraid to do it.
Thanks !
Dan,
Thank you. Glad it worked for you.
The ram issue is due to a Bios limitation that Acer has to offer an update for, which they have not yet done so. Until they do offer a Bios updated, the Revo will be limited to showing and using only 3 gb or less ram.
Honestly, I’ve got the original 2 gb of ram and have not seen any performance reason to increase it. If I were to do more multitasking or use more programs other than needed for HTPC, then yes I would want to increase the ram in the Revo.
Paul – Thanks for sharing your experience w/ the Acer Revo 3610. I’m strongly considering following in your footsteps. I posted on AskMeFi this weekend to gather additional input.
http://ask.metafilter.com/145216/Help-me-cut-the-cord-with-no-regrets
I’m really interested in how the TV tuner cards work out. Would be great if the Acer Revo could handle PVR duties in the background while watching Boxee or Hulu…
Thanks.
Thanks for the quick answer. Just exploring all possibilities. I have another question tough. I put my Acer Revo in one bedroom with no LAN access so I need to use only wireless. Unfortunately the wireless performance is not great. I want to exchange the Atheros Wi-Fi with Intel 5100/5300 Wi-Fi. Do you know if this card is compatible with Acer ?
Bobby Van,
I’ll warn you that a USB TV tuner does tax the revo very, very hard. Particularly if it is also recording. Another poster here and what I’ve read elsewhere are using the HomeRunHD units. They are a separate OTA and Cable tuner that connect to your network and stream the content to MCE. The Home Run box does all the decoding and simply “serves” the shows to the Revo just like a shared file. Then WMC can also record two shows and still run Hulu with ease!
I have not done either, but am considering the HomeRun HD dual tuner for about $150 USD. It just makes sense given what I do know about USB TV tuners and the hit they put on the Acer Revo 3610.
Dan,
No, I do not know about any wifi card swapping in the Revo. Sorry. The notebook style wifi card is not that strong. I avoid wifi for video at all cost and hardwire my house. I realize that’s not always possible for all users.
You may want to get another Linksys wifi router (or your favorite brand) and use it as a bridge and put it somewhere between the first router and the Revo.
That should help your signal…
Thanks for the tip on HDHomeRun! If I’m going to go w/ that solution for TV, why not go for the $199 Acer Revo 1600, and use it for collecting and serving up content to my home theater?
Thanks for all the Revo 3610 related info on your site Paul!
I’ve got one on the way to be delivered later this week and came across your site while I was building my knowledge base of ‘anything revo’ before it before it arrives.
Everyone talks about removing the bloatware and that it is tedious, a pain, etc. I am wondering if you could instead do a quick format and install from scratch (after you boot the initial time and make your OS backup of course). Would you be given the option not installing the other programs, or will it just reinstate everything to what it was when you made the initial backup?
I’ve only ever done clean installs using retail versions of OS’s which of course don’t come with bloatware.
Bobby Van,
Honestly, I’d stay faaaaaarrrr away from the Revo 1600 for $199. It is just too under powered to do anything other than play local files at 1080P. Most everyone is claiming poor Flash playback (hulu, Youtube etc) and Move Networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox) as a result. Now add in a HomeRun HD to record? Wow, that’s just too much for that little guy.
If you head only one thing I suggest, it should be to stay away from the 1600. Especially, if you want to use it for recording TV! And Boxee? Forget about it. ;-(
Or are you saying to use the 1600 as the server of your files? Now that would be ok. It still may be too underpowered to Serve the shared files AND run the HomeRun software to record TV shows. That recording software and MCE will hit it hard. Install the HR and record shows on one of the 3610′s and use the 1600 as the server.
Joe,
I’ve not tried a clean install after making the restore discs from the Revo. Removing the Bloatware may be a pain, but not any harder or longer than doing a reformat and reinstall. It will take just under 2 hrs to remove the programs and reboot when necessary.
I’d simply uninstall the crap. Run Windows Update and install everything except Windows Live. Install the Flash Beta and Nvidia driver in my Mega Zip Pack, install MS Security Essentials AV. Now if you want to, install Boxee, FFox and the Move Network player. Done.
Paul can you help me out with cables i’ve a 3610 on the way but am a total beginner with this learning alot on the way.
I’ve a 42″ HDTV in my living room and 10ft away i have a 24″ DVI connection monitor, I basically want to know what cables i require. I want to play poker, browse web etc on my monitor and then turn the TV on and watch a movie through my Revo separately.
Where should i even place the Revo next to the monitor or TV (dont suppose it matters)
I’m from the uk any help much appreciated i can’t find an answer anywhere.
Darren,
If you are trying to hook up a DVI monitor and a HDTV, you would need both cables. Revo has only a VGA and HDMI out. Though, the REvo video out settings require setting it to VGA or HDMI…not both. So, even if you purchase both cables it does not mean you may still have to manually reset the video every time you change from the monitor to the TV.
Why not just use the Revo with the HDTV full time. Surf the web, play poker and then watch movies all on the HDTV. Do away with the DVI monitor altogether. ???
Right, thankyou i feared that might be the case.
So if i sold my DVI monitor for a HDMI monitor would this work outputting to them both?
I’ve been reading about a 2 way HDMI splitter, if i inserted that into the Revo, could i buy a DVI to hdmi adapter and insert both in the HDMI splitter or is this not possible or does it degrade one of the picture’s quality etc?
Your suggestion about using the HDTV as a monitor would be fine for me but i’d get too much earache from the mrs and my little girl.
I’ve got the 4GB 500GB HD version on the way, got the extra ooomph for the poker playing really, can’t wait.
Thanks
Hi Paul,
I’ve just bought a Revo 3610 an I’m following your guide to set it up. Trouble is, I can’t find a download source for DirectX 11. Please can you point me in the right direction?
Cheers,
Alan