I've had this for about 2 weeks now and absolutly love it. It comes with everything pictured (although I had to get a euro to us power adaptor 2$). The machine boots from the USB stick and out of the box runs XBMC, Boxee and their ubuntu linux OS (you can install a HDD and install windows). There is a slot in the machine for a 2.5 HDD and through the xtreamer forums you can find instructions to install all of those and a version of windows to the internal hard drive pretty easily. I think the xbmc is faster from the HDD than the usb stick, but that's just my observation. Both ways, there is no lag or slowdown and the machine plays all kinds of movies with ease. I own about 250 DVDs that I converted to .ISO files and have on an external 3T drive works great, I never have to search for a dvd or worry about it being scratched.The only cons the included keyboard remote is not the greatest, I would reccomend getting a wireless keyboard/trackball combo. The machine does get hot, but mine constantly runs and has had NO problems at all.
Would definately reccommend to anyone looking for a digital media server / HTPC.
If you are not the type of person who can put a 2.5 drive in a pc, then you should not buy this. If the menu appearance is not too important... and you want simplicity, then go buy a Tvix or Popcorn hour. However, if you are comfortable with computers, then for the price, this really is a great product.
Pro: Very quiet, Can play around with loads of options (Boxee, XBMC, load windows, etc.), can customize like a pc to load Tversity to stream your media collection to your portable devices.
Cons: running the device with the usb thumb drive should only be a workaround until you can get a 2.5 hdd. If you are cheap, buy a $10 hdd drive. The xtreamer ultra might not be a good fit for someone who is not comfortable with computers.
This is hands down...the best packaged HTPC in the market. There is not many products that make me act crazy like Droopy Dog...
... I'm happy.The XTreamer Ultra is a nice little machine hardware-wise, but running the included OS from USB is WAY too slow. I bought a 120GB SSD drive and installed Windows 7 Home on it, and now it works great! I'm considering installing the Linux OS that comes with it onto the hard-drive and dual booting from there instead of the USB. That should make it less frustrating to use XBMC and Boxee.
The main reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 is that the included mini-keyboard would simply not pair with the USB stub. I tried it on existing Windows 7 machines as well, and it just would not work. I went to the Xtreamer web site and used their contact us form to inform them, but never got anything at all back from them. Apparently since this was sold to me via a 3rd-party vendor (Xtreamer US Distributor), I needed to inform the 3rd-party, but I just didn't feel like dealing with it anymore, so I simply bought an equivalent mini-keyboard via Amazon, and this one works great. I love not having to have a large keyboard sitting next to me on the coach.I upgraded from the sidewinder 2 which for the money still is one of the best media players out there, had it since they came out and never had any issues with it. The Ultra rocks, it is faster, it can be expanded, you can stream just about to any other device in the network and it performs superbly. I just got a NAS and consolidated all task to it, now I can stream, transfer and share from it. The Ultra is running Windows 7 on a 128 GB SSD, it is fast, quiet and it allows me to run any application I desire. It does have a fan on the side but it is quiet very quiet and efficient.The connection to the network is made using the Rosewill RPLC-500KIT Powerline AV Wall-Plug Gigabit Adapter, it will never do the advertised speed but it is faster than wireless and is steady again streaming to and from is not an issue in my case. I have it hooked up to an inexpensive Onkio 5.1 system and again works and sounds great. My experience with customer service was outstanding, I had an issue and they took care of it very efficiently, communications, and great attention to detail. I"m just a regular customer here, but if I had to do this all over again I would without hesitation. I hope this info will help someone, please if you got any questions send them to me.The HW is good, but the OS it's a headache. It does not even recognize the 4MB it comes with, so many adaptations are required. I ended up removing this useless OS and putting plane Ubuntu on the box. The HW is nice and has good interfaces, but the OS and the Tech-Support are terrible..
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