HTPC

[blakecarter]

hey guys, i sold my ps3 a while back and really want a blu-ray player/entertainment.. i have no idea where to start with one of these.. my budget would be like 500-600 no more than $700... my tv is 1080 res, and id like a hdmi port, would i need a GPU or could i use the intgrated one? how much ram and which cpu should i use? please let me know where to start lol.. i would think it wouldnt take much to run one of these machines..

 

[Outlander_04]

Silverstone GD 05 case
AMD fusion APU A6 3600 triple core
Asrock A75M-HVS motherboard
2 x2 gig of 1600 Mhz RAM running at 1.5 volt
blu ray drive
small modular psu like the silverstone strider 500 watt
TV card
Hard drive ....... shame these cost lots , but ideally a WD green or smaller blue drive

Mythbuntu operating system . Combines Ubuntu Linux and Myth TV which is a PVR program . Free download

 

[Outlander_04]

SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum / 0.8mm SECC Grandia Series GD05B $105 inc shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163166

AMD A6-3500 Llano 2.1GHz (2.4GHz Max Turbo) $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103951

ASRock A75M-HVS FM1 AMD A75 $75 inc shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157261

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W Modular $45 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016

Western Digital Caviar Green WDBAAY5000ENC-NRSN 500GB SATA $107
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136801

SUS Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray $58
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135247

Like that its $519

And you probably need a TV card so add around $80 for a dual channel tuner with a remote .

 

[blakecarter]

thanks man. once i posted this i thought about maybe changing my micro hp case into some kind of HTPC machine to save a little cost. my case looks as if it could go on its side so maybe i can install it and try it on its side and add a fan or so to push the air out so it doesnt overheat.

i might get something together like youve posted here and see if you think id do alright? could i make it running a dual core or is triple the lowest youd go?

 

[billj214]

I have a media PC on every TV now, it seems over time I have upgraded them all to non-integrated graphics and quad cores but your PC doesn't need more than 2 cores (Core 2 Duo or better) and the PCIx graphics helps immensely when playing video, especially Blu-Ray. I suggest any PC and a decent graphics card with HDMI and audio over HDMI. Also if your budget supports it get an SSD boot drive (40g) since the worst part of any HTPC is the boot up time and lag when changing channels etc.

Tuners:
Hauppage (QAM compatible) or Ceton InfiniTV but not both since the seem to clash!

Media storage:
NAS (best solution for multiple HTPC's except when using Ceton)
Non-raid HDD setup, drives get less use since one can be used and other(s) don't have to spin.

Choose a very quiet and cool case, the best are Silverstone IMO, and worth every penny.
Store your PC in a well ventilated place, this helps temps since they will get hot otherwise.

Motherboard:
Most boards come with Realtek NIC cards but they are nowhere near as good as an Intel integrated NIC or external card, helpful when streaming to other PC's.

Memory:
32 bit OS = 4g, 64 bit OS = 8gb recommended.

Windows Media Center and IR remote control will do everything, keep the keyboard hidden when you need it later.

Have fun!

 

[Outlander_04]

thanks man. once i posted this i thought about maybe changing my micro hp case into some kind of HTPC machine to save a little cost. my case looks as if it could go on its side so maybe i can install it and try it on its side and add a fan or so to push the air out so it doesnt overheat.

i might get something together like youve posted here and see if you think id do alright? could i make it running a dual core or is triple the lowest youd go?

I have a dual DVB-T tuner . A terrestrial UHF 1080p tuner and it will play one channel and record another with a core2 duo processor , but its working very hard at times .
If you have a single tuner , and one in the TV itself then maybe a dual core would be fine .

The real advantage of the Fusion APU is that the whole system is going to draw about 80 watts at full load . And less than half that at idle . If you could find a 300 watt modular PSU then that would be even better

 

[billj214]

TV tuners with internal decoders will do all the work your CPU is doing right now, I have 8 tuners and typically only get 10-20% usage when recording on 3-4 tuners. I believe the tuners labeled MCE edition use software based decoding.

 

[blakecarter]

how what exactly does the tuner do? does it run my cable thru the HTPC? and also would i still hook up surround sound thru the tv or in my HTPC? dont really have much research in any of this but trying to figure it all out.. will be using a 47 inch tv 1080, would just a simple gpu card work? nothing to expensive?

 

[billj214]

You can buy a graphics card with HDMI output which also has audio over HDMI which will send digital audio to your TV, check video card options for audio.
Or you can run your motherboards audio to a receiver or to the TV using SPDIF optical or coaxial digital outputs.

When you buy a motherboard check for the available audio ports you will be using.

I am using a ATI HD4830 with audio over HDMI, runs quiet and cool.
My motherboards are micro ATX with SPDIF output to my stereo receiver and also audio over HDMI for TV in case I only want to use TV speakers.

Your TV tuners will have a single or dual input, the single input splits the signal to the two tuners which is helpful when running QAM, the dual inputs are good when using one input for OTA and the other for cable. If you cable provider sends un-encrypted HD channels you can view these using a QAM tuner.

 

[Outlander_04]

TV tuners with internal decoders will do all the work your CPU is doing right now, I have 8 tuners and typically only get 10-20% usage when recording on 3-4 tuners. I believe the tuners labeled MCE edition use software based decoding.

I have a TV tuner with decoders and it recommends a dual core for single channel operation and a quad core for dual channel decoding . Obviously it can run both channels on a C2D . But giving each channel a core , and then another for system overheads makes sense

The fusion board I mentioned above will output audio and even 3D via HDMI

 

[blakecarter]

hmm, so if i ran a quad core its possible to watch two channels at once? sorry if i sound way outta place. this is all confusing to me -.-

okay so its possible to run just on the motherboards audio thru HDMI. and i was looking at TV tuners and which would be the best, single or dual input? the price is around the same so i can buy either.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103887

would the processor work fine? ^^

i got a WD green 1TB HDD
60gb SSD
TV tuner- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116044
500w PSU--- too much wattage? could i go loweR?
8gb ram 1600
blu-ray drive
silverstone case/ maybe my hp case..
mobo- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131659

i havent really looked into intel much for this build but this mobo/cpu is about $200 so idk if a i3/intel mobo would be cheaper or not.

 

[Outlander_04]

I dont live in North America, and so tv standards are different here .

Presumably newegg only stock cards with relevant tuners for the types of signals you can get via broadcast and cable .

Heres what my tuner card can do . It ONLY works with DVB-T UHF digital since thats all I get where I live . It has two tuners so even connected to a monitor I can record two channels , or watch one and record the other , or I can have both on screen at the same time , or picture in picture .

If you are connected to a TV that has a tuner already so you can watch with that and record with the tv tuner card as well .

Hauppage make good hardware . Id buy a unit with a remote .

Yes you can go lower with the PSU wattage . 300-350 would be fine . But in a small HTPC case like the silverstone it had better also be modular

The mb you listed is mini-ITX . Really tiny . It has very weak on board graphics compared to the Llano APU I mentioned above and sill use more power .
If you want a quadcore then the Llano A6- 3650 is not much more than the fusion APU I listed above

 

[Wolfshadw]

You really don't need much in the way of processing power and RAM in an HTPC. I'm currently running an AMD Athlon II X2-240 processor with 4GB of RAM and a Radeon HD4670 graphics card. I've not had any problems with recording using my Ceton InfiniTV4 TV Tuner Card, video play back, or blu-ray movies on either my 32" 720p HDTV (connected via HDMI) or my 1080p projector (connected via DVI --> HDMI).

The TV Tuner you linked is fine for your needs, but I have to ask if you currently use a set top box to watch cable TV?

-Wolf sends

 

[blakecarter]

no i dont wolf, i just have basic cable. runs directly to my tv...

sorry if thats not what you were asking.

 

[Wolfshadw]

@BlakeCarter

That's exactly what I was asking

The issue is cable companies requiring the use of a set top box to decode encrypted content. This is something that your normal TV Tuner card cannot do. It makes recording TV a bit of an issue. However, since you do not have a set top box, then there shouldn't be a problem.

Personally, I'd spend the extra four dollars and get the full retail box, rather than the white box.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116015

IMO, the remote control is worth the extra four bucks.

-Wolf sends

 

[blakecarter]

oh yea most def, ive been told to get a remote control that comes with it, i put that one in my cart but must of copied the wrong one,

@ wolf, will my cable from the wall to into the tv tuner then from the tuner into the tv ? or how does that work?

 

[Wolfshadw]

Your set up will be from the wall to the input of the TV Tuner card. Then from your graphics card to your HDTV.

-Wolf sends

 

[blakecarter]

i planned on using integrated video from the mobo via hdmi. but thanks that helps alot man.. now to find the parts i need and start the ordering. im currently building a new pc for home use and maybe once i get that done i was going to look into moding my slim case to maybe use for HTPC but if not ill find $80 bucks for another case