I have been wrestling with what I should do for a frontend for my 40' LCD TV (it will only be used run MythTV, nothing else). I have been looking at the Zotac boxes because they seem to have the right specs. I am, however confused about the difference between these two units:<br>
<br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Zotac-MAG-Intel-NVIDIA-HD-ND01-U/dp/B0030UH2J4">http://www.amazon.com/Zotac-MAG-Intel-NVIDIA-HD-ND01-U/dp/B0030UH2J4</a><br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Zotac-Intel-Mini-PC-Memory-Drive/dp/B003N198TM">http://www.amazon.com/Zotac-Intel-Mini-PC-Memory-Drive/dp/B003N198TM</a><br>
<br>In particular, I am confused about the the audio systems. I did a <a href="http://www.zotacusa.com/catalog/product_compare/index/?act=idx&app=forums&module=forums&section=boards">side by side comparison on zotac's site</a> and found this:<br>
<br>MAG's Audio: Onboard 8-channel Digital Audio, Stereo Analog Audio
<br><br>ZBox's Audio: Onboard analog stereo high-definition audio/ 7.1-Channel LPCM digital
audio (HDMI)/ Optical Digital S/PDIF audio output
<br><br>Does this imply that the MAG won't be able to output sound via HDMI? Is the MAG not capable of outputting surround sound? Eventually this will be hooked up to a stereo system, so I would like to make sure that is an option down the line.<br>
<br>Ideally, I would like to get the MAG because the HD and RAM are already included; saving me some setup time. That being said, if the Zbox really is a better choice, I can go in that direction...<br><br>Any thoughts/personal experiences with either of these would be greatly appreciated!<br>
<br>Thanks - <br>Rob Shields<br>Email: <a href="mailto:rwshields@gmail.com">rwshields@gmail.com</a><br>CWRU Computer Science PhD Student<br>S.A.G.E. Project Developer (<a href="http://darwin.cwru.edu/">http://darwin.cwru.edu/</a>)<br>