My Version of an HTPC Tear My Build Apart

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
hillmanant

hillmanant

Distinguished
Mar 28, 2011
458
0
18,860
Hello Techies!

Sorry for the novel I wanted to be thorough. This is a simple stripped down version of an HTPC, simply put its for ripped movies only, no tv cable connection, Maybe some YouTubing parties or Netflix, just a simple place to put all my DVDs and play them at home or in my camper if I take it on the road with me(I'm a seasonal construction worker in Minnesota). What I plan on doing is hooking the PC up to my home network in my living room and ripping and compressing my movies on my gaming system with more processing power (An OCd i5) in the other room and storing them on the PCs hard drive through the network so no disk drive is necessary. Any suggestions to keep the cost down even more would be awesome as if it isn't stripped down enough.

My Concerns:
Will the onboard HDMI produce 1080 video?
Will the little A4 handle everything?
Is XP a viable OS anymore or do I need to upgrade the RAM and OS for 7? Once the system is programmed and ready to go I plan on setting Windows Media Player to start on startup and utilize the HDD as the directory for movies.
Would Windows XP Media Center work better and where the hell can a guy find it for cheap anymore?
What is the best format, compression format, process, and program ( I have Nero, Handbreak, AnyDVD, Clone DVD) to do this and keep it at the original quality? An internet link to a video or site for this would be awesome.
Is 1Tb enough, how many movies can I store at original DVD, not Blueray, quality?

Potential Build:
CPU- AMD A4-5300 Trinity
MOBO- MSI FM2-A55M-E33 FM2 AMD A55 (Hudson D2)
Memory- CORSAIR XMS3 2GB (2 x 1GB)
HDD- Seagate Barracuda 1Tb
PSU- No Name 450 W
GPU- Onboard
Disc Drive- None
OS- Microsoft XP Home Edition
SSD- Cheapest Smallest one I can find for OS only Storage on HDD
Human Interface- Mini 2.4G USB Wireless TouchPad Keyboard
 
Solution
S
Hey looks like you are working on a nice project here.

To answer some of your questions:
Will the onboard HDMI produce 1080 video? : Yes
Will the little A4 handle everything? Yes

Would Windows XP Media Center work better and where the hell can a guy find it for cheap anymore?:I would go with windows 7 and use W7 media center (more on this later)

What is the best format, compression format, process, and program ( I have Nero, Handbreak, AnyDVD, Clone DVD) to do this and keep it at the original quality?: This depends. Do you want to preserve the DVD in its original format or are you ok converting the main title to another format? With only 1 TB, you should really consider converting to another format such as mp4 or mkv with handbrake...
Sort by date Sort by votes
S

superflykicks03

Distinguished
Sep 9, 2010
56
0
18,640
Hey looks like you are working on a nice project here.

To answer some of your questions:
Will the onboard HDMI produce 1080 video? : Yes
Will the little A4 handle everything? Yes

Would Windows XP Media Center work better and where the hell can a guy find it for cheap anymore?:I would go with windows 7 and use W7 media center (more on this later)

What is the best format, compression format, process, and program ( I have Nero, Handbreak, AnyDVD, Clone DVD) to do this and keep it at the original quality?: This depends. Do you want to preserve the DVD in its original format or are you ok converting the main title to another format? With only 1 TB, you should really consider converting to another format such as mp4 or mkv with handbrake (use the High Quality preset) as this will cut several GB per disc. Ripped DVDs in their native structure and format are 6-8 GB each. So you if you had 750GB free on your drive, that would hold approx 100 or so. Using handbrake you could get that down to 3-5, plus the reformatted files would play on a wider variety of devices.

I would skip the SSD for a video only machine. You will not notice much difference except when booting windows. Invest that money in windows 7 and use a program like XBMC or Media Browser as a front end to launch your videos. I use Media Browser, but that is because I like to stay in a Windows Media Center environment because I have a Cable tuner. Youtube both of these programs to see how they work. This is a much better solution to launching your movies as it provides a 10 foot interface that is easy to navigate and looks amazing.

A simple solution is to rip your dvds to your drive using Make MKV (free, but any other ripping progarm will work), and then use Handbrake on High Quality preset to convert them to mp4 (there will be very little difference in quality, most people cant tell the difference). Save them on your drive and point XBMC or Media Browser to your collection. Set your HTPC to launch XBMC or Media Browser at bootup. You will see the DVD box art with HD backdrops, movie information, etc, and be able to use a remote or keyboard to start your videos and stop, pause, etc.

Your hardware should be able to handle this. Media Browser needs WMC, so windows 7 is the only way. XBMC might work with XP, but check the website. Skip SSD for now.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
hillmanant

hillmanant

Distinguished
Mar 28, 2011
458
0
18,860



First off thanks for the reply and well said if I might say.

Ok you convinced me on Win 7 But I will have to upgrade memory to like 4 gig I think, yes?
I have researched compression and do agree with what you have posted about Mp4 and MKV compression, I have no qualms about getting rid of the original dvd info, just a stripped down plain video file of the main video with the forced subtitles is ok for me. Will MKV allow for the forced english subtitles like when they speak German or whatever?Whatever has close to the same quality with the minimum amount of space. I think I'm leaning toward MKV is this compatible with Droid, Media Player, and Nook?
I was looking to utilize an SSD simply to keep the OS off the storage drive in case of crash, if the system fry's I can simply format a new drive re-install windows and plug the storage drive back into the new system and presto back in business, plus the HDD has no reason to be spun up 24/7 less wear on a drive motor. The idea of a small SSD was simply for the quiet factor, one less HDD spinning up. I was entertaining the thought of a small like 80 gig HDD but these boarder line on the price of a small SSD anymore with more noise.
Also I do agree with Windows 7 Media Center I do like it and is does work with directional buttons and OK clicks, easy navigation, so this is what I decided on, simple Media Center on Startup.

Edit: Ok definitely going with MKV quality looks as good or better than I expected and Handbreak condensed a 1:40 move into under 1 Gb. Condensing and file type decided. Thanks Superflykicks.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
S

superflykicks03

Distinguished
Sep 9, 2010
56
0
18,640
MKV is a good container and used by many people, and it works well with subtitles. If you use Media Browser as your front end with MKV files you might have some modifications to make. Media Browser uses the Windows Media Player which doesn't natively support mkv. You will have to install a codec pack or set MB up to use an external player, such as WMPClassic or JRiver Media Player (JR costs money). I think XBMC can play MKV, so you might want to give that a run. It might be a bit easier to set up as well. Chose a movie or two, install XBMC, and set it up to see if you like it. Perhaps use titles that have forced subtitles to make sure it works as you like.

MKV does not play as easily on other devices, although you can get it to work on android and apple devices with appropriate apps. MKV is becoming more widely supported, for instance my Samsung TV and BluRay player will launch MKV from a flash drive. You could also look at MKV and MP4 video side by side and do a little experiment, see if you can notice the difference between the two :)

Both Widows Media Center and XBMC support arrow input and "ok" and backspace to move back. They are designed to be used without a mouse, utilizing a keyboard or a RF media center remote. You can also use a Logitech harmony remote if you have one.

The only reason I suggested no SSD was to save you some money as performance wise you wont notice much difference. But if you have the money and want it to eliminate noise then by all means go for it. And you can run windows 7 32 bit on a 2GB machine. As long as you are only using it for playback and video streaming from netflix etc. 2gb should be ok. If you can swing the extra 15-20 bucks then go 4gb and 64bit.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
hillmanant

hillmanant

Distinguished
Mar 28, 2011
458
0
18,860
Ok final build if anyone cares I decided on a little bigger RAM 4 GB 2x2 1600 Mhz and windows 7 pro with XBMC as the media handler. I really like the look of XBMC and the easy navigation. I can run a movie through Handbrake in about 15 min and send it via network link to the media center in about 2 min. I did watch and compare the MKV to the MP4 and I like the look of MKV better looks a little sharper to me so that is what I decided on as a container. When I first tested the transfered movies they were laggy and jittery kinda freaked me out but I figured it was a codec issue so I just went here and downloaded and installed the CCCP, just for the codec pack then uninstalled right away after and the codec stayed and they play smooth and correct now. So everything is built and working famously. Thanks again SuperFlyKicks.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom