Hi,
My old HTPC motherboard died and I'm now looking for a new one to become a vdr-sxfe "thin" client. The old Silverstone case is for normal ATX board but I no more need PCI slots so a smaller one, even a Mini-ITX would do. Since the PC runs 24/7 I'm interested in low-power motherboards with Atom CPU. There should be VDPAU support for MPEG-2 SDTV decoding + high-quality de-interlacing. I'm watching also sometimes H.264 HDTV channels from satellite. There should be 1080p50 video + up 7.1ch multi-channel PCM audio over HDMI. I'd like to get rid of SPDIF connection to AV-receiver.
My HTPC box has a home-brew LIRC receiver that connected to motherboard (Asus style) COM port heading. If COM ports are history I could change to Bluetooth remote control with a PS3 Blu-Ray remote. Therefore integrated BT support would be nice (otherwise some USB-BT dongle). WLAN is not mandatory since I stream from vdr server over gigabit ethernet. Are there still issues with some ethernet chipsets and Linux?
I found some options such as Asus AT3IONT-I DELUXE, Asus AT3IONT-I, Asus AT5IONT-I. I would be happy to hear experiences about these motherboards with Linux and Xine. Are there problems with some motherboard features? Other recommendations are welcome too!
Cheers, Seppo