We get asked what is the difference between the two boxes, in regards to which one to buy so just to help that decision I think in a nutshell the smaller box is about the size of a CD about 3 in depth and the larger one is about the size of a small router. From a personal point of view I think the smaller one is great if you do a lot of travelling otherwise I would pay the slight exta.
So to clear this up I have asked Ray to compile a list of differences too
1. Size : The 1200 box is bigger than the 520 box, see the dimensions in The Shop details. This makes the 520 box better for portability if you travel a lot and want to take the media box with you.
2. USB Ports: The 1200 box has 4 USB ports whereas the 520 box has 2.
3. SD Card Port: The 1200 box takes full size SD cards and the 520 box takes micro SD cards, we supply 1 x 8GB card duly set up and appropriate type for the box model.
4. Video Output Ports: Both boxes' main video output is HDMI ( which carries digital or analogue audio too of course) and should be used solely where you TV and/or Home Theatre allow. The 520 box has no other video or audio output ports. The 1200 box also has both Composite video (yellow phono socket) not really usable as our boxes output HD only, and Component (RGB phono sockets) which is usable with non HDMI fitted TVs/Home Theatres that are compatible with 720 and/or 1080 resolution signals.
5. Audio Output Ports: The 520 only outputs audio via the HDMI port. The 1200 box additionally has Stereo Analogue output (Red and White phono sockets) and in addition Digital Audio outputs from both a Toslink (Optical) and a Coaxial output socket. If your TV / Home theatre accepts HDMI inputs then no need for any other audio or video outputs form our boxes.
6. Power Button: The 1200 box has an on/off power button on the front whereas the 520 box has no power button and requires disconnecting with the power plug to power it off.
7. Operating System: The 1200 box ships with the latest Linux XBMC Gotham 13.x build, whereas the 520 box uses Linux XBMC Frodo 12.3 build. The reason is that the 520 box uses a different physical WiFi chipset than the 1200 box, which currently is incompatible with the Network WiFi Manager add-on built into Linux XBMC Gotham 13.x builds. Thus we have to ship the 520 boxes with an earlier but very good and stable Linux XBMC Frodo 12.3 which allows WiFi to be switched on and off in the main XBMC System settings menus.
8. Video Resolution: The 1200 box by using the latest Gotham 13.x Linux builds will if selected actually output true full 1080i HD video signals via its HDMI output port. Because we have to use the older Frodo 12.3 Linux build with the 520 boxes (see 7 above) the 1080 resolution it outputs is in fact upscaled 720 resolution, so is not true full HD, though still very excellent quality indeed.
9. Price: There is currently a £10 price difference between the two box types with the 1200 box being the more expensive of the two
10. Miscellaneous : There are NO DIFFERENCES with the CPU as both boxes use the A9 Dual Core processor. Other than the WiFi differences as in 7 above all else is pretty much identical and both stream equally well dependant on the users internet connection suitability.