Since the "deal breakers" of the PIXBMC, have been pointed out, I'm not sure just how much detail in my particular setup one would want to see, but...
Really simple. OpenELEC (basically a bootable standalone build of XBMC) gets installed on an SD card. There are multiple builds but its not too terribly difficult to find an image for download that can be directly installed- OpenELEC can be downloaded from their hompage:
Home - OpenELEC Mediacenter
It should be pointed out that other builds are available- Raspbmc for example. I found the boot time and configuration simplicity preferable with OpenELEC.
Once you have the image, it has to be extracted. The one I downloaded was not a zip file and using a windows machine required an installed too. I use WinRar frequently and this did the trick. Most folks probably have that already installed that would be interested in the device, but pointing out the varying levels of Geekiness.
WinRAR download and support: Download
Once the Image file is extracted, its ready to be installed on the SD card, but the SD card might not be quite ready. Its recommended that it be formatted thoroughly. I tried skipping this step and failed to boot. Reformatted the card writing zeros using SDFormatter.
https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/
I used an 8GB SDXC from Sandisk. The Sony 4GB SD Card I have doesn't boot quite as quickly. Recommended to use a high quality SD card. 8GB is proving to not be necessary. I've yet to load a single file onto it. It gets broken into two partitions in the end and the storage partition is above 5GB. Space and 7 dollars I'll never use or get back.
Once the SD card is formatted and the image is ready to be installed.. Head on over to
Win32diskimager's wiki to read up and download a program that allows you to install a linux image on a Windows box. Follow the prompts. Yada yada yada... SD card is ready to be installed (er.. baked?) into the pi(e). I'm so funny.
Still awake? The Pi has multiple connections. It has HDMI and Composite video outputs. Keep in mind that the Pi was designed so that ANYBODY in the world could use a computer. All it takes is a TV (keyboard, mouse, power adapter, internet, USB hard drive) to have a computer. I chose to use the HDMI to hook up to my 1080p 30in Display in my bedroom. I also hardwired internet, hooked up a dongle (that word makes me laugh a little) for wireless keyboard with trackpad and thats it.
I realize that I had done nothing up to this point that was even the slightest bit innovative. I didn't have the tiny computer in a case at all but after inserting the SD card and making all the various connections (2) and using the Micro USB power cable recommended from MCM electronics (there are specific power requirements. Your Pi will NOT come with a power cable) that little guy lit up and after about the longest 38 seconds of my life- the XBMC interface showed up on my screen. It was awesome.
OK.. back to real data. It took a reasonable amount of configuration. The video had to be calibrated for some overscan in the upper left corner and I minimized the amount of "extraness" XBMC offers. Get rid of the weather widget- thats what windows and smart phones are for. I also chose to stick with the default skin. I noticed immediately that there were options I hadn't seen before on my other XBMC boxes. OpenELEC has a built in set of tools.. makes sense since it would be difficult to change these the options via UI since it is the operating system. The ones of interest to me were the network settings.
This is where things got a little tricky. I like to use the "Library" feature so when I show it off, my audience can immediately see that I have all the seasons of "Boston Legal" with artwork installed. Beyond that, it makes remote control of the device super handy with the Yatse app on my android tablet, phone, and windows 8 laptop. I really like browsing artwork than file structures. Here's where I ran into a problem. Using the UI to set a static IP didn't work correctly. The settings entered into OpenELEC's network dialogue box didn't "take" even after multiple attempts and reboots and I would have to find the IP and adjust my remote settings. That was horrible. All media on my devices and media queue'd on my phone and tablet were ready to be sent to XBMC- had the DHCP lease not changed. I finally figured out to access it via SMB on my laptop, and change the Settings XML file to a forced IP address and it works. I have my NAS, the Pi, and my WDTV's outside the DHCP lease settings of the router for a reason and I didn't just want to have a reserved IP for those who are going to mention that.
SO THATS IT! Wait. Finding the networked media and setting content isnt exactly a breeze. XBMC takes a little patience in that regard. This after already renaming media and making it scraper friendly for another XBMC box.
SO THATS IT! Piece of cake- mainstream stuff, right?
Here's how my WDTV works. Take out of box- don't eat the packet of tiny rocks- plug it in.
I imagine thats how the Popcorn device works as well.
Anything that you want to work exceptionally well takes effort. I know first hand that HTPC's take some research, some know-how, some troubleshooting, etc. But they are customizable beyond imagination. Stand-alone boxes require almost no know-how and offer zero customization.
The Pi solution isn't perfect- but at 35 bucks, its pretty tasty. (hyuck hyuck hyuck) My library has over 500 movies, 2000 tv episodes, and 30000 songs. In my bedroom (or even a main system) once its setup (I haven't touched it since) I can grab my phone, my tablet, my computer, or a keyboard and be playing anything I want (in full HD) almost instantly. I enjoy projects like this and couldn't be happier with the outcome. ITS 35 DOLLARS. 1/3 the price of the POWER SUPPLY in most HTPC's. Its a brilliant solution for a streamer on a budget. Simple as that. Myself? I just had to try it. The API and Remote support are enough for me to abandon the WDTV- save Netflix.
BTW- took a minute to hook up to a Yammy receiver (I don't use) with HDMI and pass through enabled.. (have to change that back- my tv doesn't care it for it at all) and DTS showed up on the display. Its its molested or not, I don't know.
Anything else? I'm not proofreading.