Hello all. I've been following SPCR for quite a while and was able to make some good purchases based on the forums' posts and reviews. Personally I run a Linux based HTPC with mythtv based on MoDT components.
A friend of mine asked me to put together a HTPC for him with the following characteristics:
- Bluray and DVD support
- Play DVD rips off the internal disk
- Play music
- native 5.1 Sound output via HDMI (whatever format the disk or file contains)
- PVR functionalities via a Hauppauge PVR-500 card he already owns
- run a virtual machine with Linux that he uses for work
No gaming will be done and the machine will probably be on 24/7.
He uses a Sanyo projector @1280x720 that is hooked up to a Pioneer AV receiver via HDMI as well. So that would be the resolution we'd like to output.
The HTPC will be based on Vista and its media center software. As he does not wish to turn on the projector to select a music track a case with a built in TFT would be nice. We've looked at the OrigenAE S16T for this matter. VFD are too small for large music collections and don't allow comfortable searching. Hence the TFT solution.
I think I read somewhere that Nvidia has some trouble with sound output if the signal is routed via a receiver. Or has this issue been resolved with the latest 9300/9400 chipsets?
I am wondering what you guys would recommend in respect to the platform.
I've looked at an Asus M3A78-T with an 4850e Athlon X2 or possibly at the Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H or Asus P5N7A-VM with a Core2Duo 8200 or so. Which would you prefer for what reasons? As a CPU cooler I was looking into a Scythe Ninja Mini.
Probably I'll just throw in 4GB of memory given the current prices.
Does anyone know what happens with the Display of the OrigenAE when playing a Bluray disk? Does it just go black during playback and come back on as soon as plaback is stopped?
In your opinion, would it make sense to use a smallish SSD for Vista and Programs and a regular WD GP or Samsung for storage? That way when the storage disks spin down Vista can still do it's thing without making additional noise.
I am happy to hear your suggestions.
EDIT: As I use Linux personally I don't have much experience with the possible pitfalls of a Windows installation for a HTPC.
Bluray capable HTPC build
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
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david_f1976
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Thu Feb 07, 2008 12:16 pm
- Location: Plymouth, UK
Re: Bluray capable HTPC build
I've never liked this dilemma for an all-in-one HTPC build. You either have to turn the TV on for music control or buy a big and expensive case with a TFT in it. My personal solution was to buy a Squeezebox. However, if I was building an all-in-one these days I'd be tempted to use a touch device such as an iPod Touch as a means of remotely browsing and controlling my HTPC music library. Probably works out cheaper than a TFT and has numerous other purposes too.simeli wrote:The HTPC will be based on Vista and its media center software. As he does not wish to turn on the projector to select a music track a case with a built in TFT would be nice. We've looked at the OrigenAE S16T for this matter. VFD are too small for large music collections and don't allow comfortable searching. Hence the TFT solution.
For an example of an application check this out:
http://thedigitallifestyle.com/cs/wikis ... ntrol.aspx
I really think this is the future for HTPC navigation, rather than be limited by the navigational constraints of a traditional remote and the "10' GUI interface".
Just my thoughts.
Dave
If you are going with Vista, take a look at MediaPortal as an alternative to Media Center Edition.
As for managing music without having the TV on, Dell has a very nice wireless RF remote with LCD. It's the M2010, and it's a Dell clone of the Gyration remote. Check out this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=893705
You can buy the remote from the Dell accessories site for about $100.
Then, you should be able to scroll and pick music from the remote.
As for managing music without having the TV on, Dell has a very nice wireless RF remote with LCD. It's the M2010, and it's a Dell clone of the Gyration remote. Check out this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=893705
You can buy the remote from the Dell accessories site for about $100.
Then, you should be able to scroll and pick music from the remote.
I would agree completely. Personally I use my iPhone for my Mythtv box as well. Windows Sideshow would allow precisely that as well but there seem to be no two way capable remotes available so far. Othe than the Ricavision that's not available none I think.
The squeezebox is a fine piece and would do what we are looking for as far as music is concerned.
There's a few issues that brought us to the TFT version:
- my friend wants to avoid additional boxes and cables - hence the HTPC that "does it all"
- the squeezebox does not replace the regular remote
- programming the PVR would still require the projector to be turned on
Thats what I love so much about the iPhone remote. It does all of that with ease. Unfortunately my friend is handycapped and has somewhat restricted abilities with his hands that make the iPhone or similar less ideal. Hence a traditional remote with the little screen seems ideal. He would not even need the touchscreen abilities of the screen. So at least the calibration problems that exist would be a non issue for him.
The squeezebox is a fine piece and would do what we are looking for as far as music is concerned.
There's a few issues that brought us to the TFT version:
- my friend wants to avoid additional boxes and cables - hence the HTPC that "does it all"
- the squeezebox does not replace the regular remote
- programming the PVR would still require the projector to be turned on
Thats what I love so much about the iPhone remote. It does all of that with ease. Unfortunately my friend is handycapped and has somewhat restricted abilities with his hands that make the iPhone or similar less ideal. Hence a traditional remote with the little screen seems ideal. He would not even need the touchscreen abilities of the screen. So at least the calibration problems that exist would be a non issue for him.
I'll have to look into MediaPortal. In your experience, is it stable, so one does not have to hunt troubles and install funky updates every couple weeks? I am fine doing that myself but rather not on someone elses box. should be as easy as it can be... In your opinion, what's the biggest advantages over Vista's MCE?
The remote looks promising. I'd have to see if I can get that here in Switzerland. Dell does not sell it directly here. Does it also allow to search for individual tracks?
Many thanks for everyones input so far!
The remote looks promising. I'd have to see if I can get that here in Switzerland. Dell does not sell it directly here. Does it also allow to search for individual tracks?
Many thanks for everyones input so far!
To be honest, I can only speculate on the remote's functionality... the point being though that you can do with it is only limited by Dell/Gyration's drivers for it.
As for mediaportal, it is essentially media center but skinnable, pluggable and extensible. Otherwise, it's clean looking and stable and has an active user base and support base. But you can integrate, say, last.fm or youtube into it, but have fun trying to get that kind of integration into Media Center.
As for mediaportal, it is essentially media center but skinnable, pluggable and extensible. Otherwise, it's clean looking and stable and has an active user base and support base. But you can integrate, say, last.fm or youtube into it, but have fun trying to get that kind of integration into Media Center.
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hybrid2d4x4
- Posts: 310
- Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2007 1:45 pm
- Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
I use MediaPortal on the outdated-hardware HTPC in my sig, and it works ok. It has never crashed or froze up on me, but when trying to customize it, I got the impression that even with a few major releases/version updates under it's belt (and no, the updates are not frequent nor forced on the user), it still has not matured completely. I've been trying to find a good way of mapping the controls/actions to keyboard keys or combo keys (CTRL+P, SHIFT+X, etc) which are in turn mapped to my remote, but the default setup utility is extremely frustrating to use for this, and I have not been able to find a plugin that addresses the issue in the current version. The online community seems good, but they haven't been able to help me or others who have the same issue. The good news is that there is much you can integrate into it and once (if) you get it set up to your liking, you'll probably never have to touch the settings again.
I also use Vista's MC, and like the look and feel a lot more (it just feels a lot more polished and refined), but as mark mentioned, it lacks the kind of sandbox openness that MP has going for it. If you're planning on installing vista, keep the MC if you're vLite'ing to try it out and also give MP a try and see what suits you/your friend better.
I also use Vista's MC, and like the look and feel a lot more (it just feels a lot more polished and refined), but as mark mentioned, it lacks the kind of sandbox openness that MP has going for it. If you're planning on installing vista, keep the MC if you're vLite'ing to try it out and also give MP a try and see what suits you/your friend better.
I use Sage TV on my HTPC but I've recently started to play around with Vista MC. But I can't get any sound from "LIVE TV". I think I may need to use a physical audio cable to do so. I've heard or Media Portal but can't remember my reason for not using it.
I'd like to play Blu Ray disc through too but my case will only allow for slim DVD drives and those aren't Blu Ray yet as far as I know.
GMC Case HTPC
I like my setup. I use an external storage drive (400GB) that I might increase to 1TB. I sometimes use a USB mouse when I want to do some more specific things like labeling music and such. I may plan a new build with a Blu Ray drive for next year.
Good luck with you project.
I'd like to play Blu Ray disc through too but my case will only allow for slim DVD drives and those aren't Blu Ray yet as far as I know.
GMC Case HTPC
I like my setup. I use an external storage drive (400GB) that I might increase to 1TB. I sometimes use a USB mouse when I want to do some more specific things like labeling music and such. I may plan a new build with a Blu Ray drive for next year.
Good luck with you project.
After quite a bit of researching, we have decided on the components we'll use.
Board: Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H
Processor: Intel E8400
RAM: 2x2GB Kingston ValueRAM DDRII 800
Disk: 2x Western Digital GP 1TB (it is the newer Version with 32MB cache)
Optical: LG GGC-H20L HD-DVD/Bluray ROM, DVD Burner
PSU: Enermax MODU-82+ 425 W
Case: OrigenAE S16V (no Touchscreen) with anti noise mats
Fans: ichbinleise.de case fans 2x80mm and 1x 92mm
CPU cooler: Scythe Ninja Mini
Remote: Philips SRM 7500 Windows SideShow
Keyboard: Logitech DiNovo mini
We have tested Vista MCE on an open system I am currently working on and found it to be what he wants. So we'll stick with that.
The remote allows you to browse your music directly via the integrated display either in iTunes or Media Player. My friend also plans on getting an iPhone. We've tested with mine and Intelliremote and Apple's own Remote app for iTunes makes a fine tool. The only downside is, that you cannot feel the buttons and have to look at the screen and the phone display to control your media center. Hence he chose to also get that Philips remote.
The components should arrive within the next week or so. We hope to be able to run the Ninja passively as it's fairly close to the PSU fan an the rear case fan. I could imagine that the north/southbridge get very warm with only a light airflow - hence we might stick on a Thermalright HR-05 on there for better cooling.
I guess the Ninja will be a tight fit behind the optical drive, possibly a fan will not fit in between. So hopefully it won't be necessary. Otherwise a modded Zalman 9500 with a quiet fan could be an option.
As for the disks, we have decided that we may get an SSD once the price for decent ones are coming down to the $250 range for 60GB or so. For now we'll use a 500GB GP he already has for system/programs/VMs and a 1TB disk for media. The second 1TB disk will serve as a backup disk.
I'll report back once the components arrive.
Board: Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H
Processor: Intel E8400
RAM: 2x2GB Kingston ValueRAM DDRII 800
Disk: 2x Western Digital GP 1TB (it is the newer Version with 32MB cache)
Optical: LG GGC-H20L HD-DVD/Bluray ROM, DVD Burner
PSU: Enermax MODU-82+ 425 W
Case: OrigenAE S16V (no Touchscreen) with anti noise mats
Fans: ichbinleise.de case fans 2x80mm and 1x 92mm
CPU cooler: Scythe Ninja Mini
Remote: Philips SRM 7500 Windows SideShow
Keyboard: Logitech DiNovo mini
We have tested Vista MCE on an open system I am currently working on and found it to be what he wants. So we'll stick with that.
The remote allows you to browse your music directly via the integrated display either in iTunes or Media Player. My friend also plans on getting an iPhone. We've tested with mine and Intelliremote and Apple's own Remote app for iTunes makes a fine tool. The only downside is, that you cannot feel the buttons and have to look at the screen and the phone display to control your media center. Hence he chose to also get that Philips remote.
The components should arrive within the next week or so. We hope to be able to run the Ninja passively as it's fairly close to the PSU fan an the rear case fan. I could imagine that the north/southbridge get very warm with only a light airflow - hence we might stick on a Thermalright HR-05 on there for better cooling.
I guess the Ninja will be a tight fit behind the optical drive, possibly a fan will not fit in between. So hopefully it won't be necessary. Otherwise a modded Zalman 9500 with a quiet fan could be an option.
As for the disks, we have decided that we may get an SSD once the price for decent ones are coming down to the $250 range for 60GB or so. For now we'll use a 500GB GP he already has for system/programs/VMs and a 1TB disk for media. The second 1TB disk will serve as a backup disk.
I'll report back once the components arrive.
I have this board. It's a good board, but I've found that the heatsink on the southbridge to be somewhat obtrusive. It was fine with the stock Intel cooler, but when I swapped that for a lower-profile HSF I had to bend the fins on the southbridge HS to get it to fit.simeli wrote:Board: Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H
I'm using one of the Hiper low-profile coolers (my HTPC is in a Silverstone LC19, so even the Intel 45nm stock cooler won't fit!). The fan is mounted at 45 degrees to the push-pins, so the corner of the fan touches the southbridge HS.
The danger with a Ninja is that the southbridge HS might get in the way of the heatpipes - I've had a quick measure of my HTPC and a Ninja in one of my other systems, it's *very* tight but I think it should fit, maybe a millimetre or two of clearance.
The danger with a Ninja is that the southbridge HS might get in the way of the heatpipes - I've had a quick measure of my HTPC and a Ninja in one of my other systems, it's *very* tight but I think it should fit, maybe a millimetre or two of clearance.
