have you got that running on a dvi/vga connection straight into your plasma then?
ive built myself a lesser machine for playing movies etc using a mini itx and it peforms well granted it doesnt run wmce but it runs nicely. However it outputs to the tv using svideo which can be a bit grainy at times depending on what your watching.
I have been running an epia board as well for my mce machine and it has been more than capable for playing/recording freeview, as well as playing divx movies and mp3s and it does this extremely quietly as their is only a single 60mm fan which is running at 5v.
Originally Posted by Kipman725 ouch intell gets a real bashing.
Not really surprising though - personally, I think that recent batches of Intel processors are just too hot to stick into a small case, or a case that needs to be cooled quietly.
yeh, i got mce running on me old p4 2.0ghz with 1gb ram. running sweet to be honest, got the str s3 thingy working perfectly so that the pc switches it self on 4 recordings and then off again (tuff little cookie to get working)
and im using it with a pinnicale media center 300i, not the best but works.
if ne ppl need help setting up some things in the mce, give me a shout n i'll c what i can do.
laters
Epia was one thing I didn't really go into. Most Epia boards don't really have the I/O functionality and they're pretty expensive for what you actually get - but bravo for finding a combination that works for you.
Intel doesn't get a huge bashing, I recommended the Pentium D 820 :)
I can get some photos of all the cables plugged in sometime this week when I'm back in the office where it is.
Nmedia: erk, damn! Good spot, will alter.
STR S3 is a cow. So far I can get mine to come out of standby to turn on, but not from power off. That, to be honest, is an entire article in itself :)
I'll come clean I haven't read the whole article nor do I own MCE. But I would like to add a few comments.
On the analogue part of tv cards it mentions
Quote:
When it comes to analogue, try and get a board that has support for hardware encoding of MPEG 2 streams
well you pretty well have to get hardware encoder cards for analogue as out of the box MCE only supports them, there are hacks for ATi AIW cards and soon there will be a software mpeg codec that will allow software cards (http://www.gocyberlink.com/eng/press_room/view_886.html).
Quote:
Here is the final thing you need to know: although Media Center only supports dual tuners in most cases, you can, however, add a third one - purely for HD video.
Yes out of the box you are correct but some bright spark has overcome this limitation and I understand has 4 tuners going click here for more.
Just about to start planing a htpc, so this is handy!
Just looked at pics so far, il have to read it at work, i mean in my lunch break :p
Prob gonna use my athlon 2500 mobile with a Thermalright Si-97 and fan running below 20db (set clock speed so its below 50oc load), a7n8x-e deluxe, gig o geil value ram, and a silent rad 8500 pr0, then add remote and 2 of those Playstion controller adapters (for emulators) :)
although the review is great, sometimes people dont understand really what its all about, sure you can shell out ~1000 USD for a kickass media pc, my media pc cost me 30 dollars, 30 dollars being (15) for sheet metal (5) for screws (5) metal stripping, (5) for dremel blades...., maybe my first go at it didnt turn out 100% like i wanted it, but ill say this much, my shuttle has a volume of 550+ cubic inches, while my media pc has a volume of 400 inches.... and has everything a media pc should have:
AMD Athlon 1.4ghz (pull from dead computer)
512 Special Edition Server ram (pull from old compaq proliant)
ecs K7SEM motherboard (got it from my friend who thought it was fried)
20gb laptop harddrive (since media pc pulls media from network)
Linksys Super low profile wireless-g pci card (had it just laying around)
Nvidia Geforce 4 440mx 64mb AGP graphix card
NVTV eVGA Nvidia low profile tv tuner
CUSTOM SHEET METAL CASE W/ FLIP TOP LID!!!!
i use it everyday, for spending 30 dollars, i couldnt be happier
to get s3 str working properly, what i did was install 2 programs
one call close mce on standby
and the other one which sets up all the profiles for power management (coz i tired the hard way thru every menu, using some dos program everything u cud think of) but a program called Auto power on and shutdown.
and after that it worked perfectly... hope it helps mrhaz
@Who_me:
ATI AIWs don't have MPEG2 encoders, that I'm aware...so using them requires a much faster processor. The 3500+ Wil has in there will work fine, but you actually do need that much if you use an AIW (you want some processor power to spare in an HTPC). Second, you can't run dual tuners in MCE if you use an AIW, as you couldn't possibly have 2 identical cards. Also, keep in mind that not all tuners work well with MCE, which will be covered more in detail later...and some of the "supported" tuners work better than others.
@Warrior_Rocker:
Yeah, media PCs seem to fall into 2 categories: Either the really cheap, built from spares but work wonders jobs, or the higher end jobs. Since WMCE is (fortunately or un-) quickly becoming the standard, though, we are wanting to illustrate a system that works well for this program specifically. Yes, it is VERY possible to build a Media PC using almost all spare parts (I'm kicking one around with a P3 850 in it and an old NV Personal Cinema), these options don't always even handle WinXP well, much less WMCE.
As MCE2006 comes out, you will start to see more and more people building to it, because it really is a nicely integrated system, and it tends to get updated faster than other solutions (if previous versions are indicative of future). This is part of the reason Epia boards are not first on the list for this article...we're building for the finickiest, most power-hungry of the programs, and it does need to be fed. An Epia is a nice option for a smaller system, but with some of the stuff that's coming up... ;)
It does everything I want, and more. And it doesn't use crappy DRM'ed file formats for it's recording (mpg2/mp4/nuv all the way) so all the recordings are ready to be written straight to DVD for backup purposes.
What's more, it's cheap, and reasonably simple to set up. And considering the system supports the remotes supplied with the PVR-250, and the software is all free, it's very easy to get hold of.
Yay, me boss let me have the mobo cpu and ram outta a teacher laptop that I was stripping for spares. The Vga conecter needs resoldering somewhere but thats the only prob I found, and tbh il use s-video.
I just finished my HTPC a few days ago (almost)
I'm going to change the haupauge pvr150mce for a TwinHan DTV Ter-CI Check here And a CI module for Conax encryption that is used for my DVB-T topbox (dutch KPN digitenne)
the reason i want this, is that going from digital (topbox) to analogue (pvr150mce) to digital (LG plasma DVI->HDMI) is making a mess of the signal conversions. It will set me back 240 euro (129 for TwinHan and 100 euro for CI card reader) but it is al digital domain so i have absolutly no loss.
My HTPC:
Case: Greenpower HTPC ( See here )
Mainboard: Asus A8n-sli
Proc: AMD64 3000+
Mem: Kingston value pc3200 2x512mb
Video: Club 3D 6600GT
HD: 200gb wd
tv-tun: Hauppauge pvr150mce
Softw: winxp mce 2005 + ms remote
TV: LG 42PX3RV Plasma
Audio: Harman Kardon AVR335/S
Speakers: Left + right + RRear + LRear : B&W DM601
Center: B&W LCR600 (Center-front and Center-back)
Sub: B&W AWS650
Da_dego - In defence of the epia board, it was never designed to run hi-def especially with the onboard graphics. In fact I think you'll struggle to find any mobo with on-board graphics which could handle hi-def.
The epia board has a couple of options which make it a nice alternative for a current media pc. Its small so can sit quite nice next to your 32" lcd or plasma screen.
They are extremely quiet. For instance mine is at 4db. You just cant hear it. I used to water cool my pcs 2 years ago, and I know my epia is quieter than the eheim pump i had in that kit.
The epia handles MCE fine. I have zero problems with TV, playing divx movies, mp3s and dvd's. I can surf the web and do email. That is pretty much all I do on it.
From those using the linux htpc combinations Ive heard good reports of using epia's and you can now use the MCE remote (best hardware microsoft ever made) with myhtpc.
If you need a htpc to handle hi-def or have multiple tuners or be able to play games on too, the epia isnt the board, but it will be the quietest, and in your living room that is what counts.
Originally Posted by JonDixon Da_dego - In defence of the epia board, it was never designed to run hi-def especially with the onboard graphics. In fact I think you'll struggle to find any mobo with on-board graphics which could handle hi-def.
I'm not totally clued on all the current mobo's but I did some digging. I havent found any review which included running hi-def on the mobo, but the review of the EQS(?) board on here seemed to show the 480 still suffered on Doom 3 and Far Cry on low detail which I believe would mean stuttery playback when trying to do hi def at 720p.
Though on the plus it did get Doom 3 runnable which is more than the epia will.
Epia boards are not about powerfull performance. Though I imagine they will be looking to get hi-def playback possible on later boards as its quite a big market for them.
I have a 32" LCD and when I plug my main PC into it, its great to watch hi-def, its amazing. But the noise from my shuttle and the nvidia 6800GT card is just too much to actually want to keep it in the living room. The epia is more than acceptably quiet, and for recording freeview etc it meets the need.
My take on this is, you cant exclude kit, just because its not mainstream or meet future requirements. By the time hi-def broadcasts are mainstream and the pc tv cards are available, you'd probably be looking to replace everything in the pc anyway.
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ive built myself a lesser machine for playing movies etc using a mini itx and it peforms well granted it doesnt run wmce but it runs nicely. However it outputs to the tv using svideo which can be a bit grainy at times depending on what your watching.
looks like a smart setup anyway!
Nice article.
Got any more photos of that PSU? I've tried to find reviews but there are none. What does it look like with all the extra cables plugged in?
Thanks,
ch424
and im using it with a pinnicale media center 300i, not the best but works.
if ne ppl need help setting up some things in the mce, give me a shout n i'll c what i can do.
laters
ps
good guide btw
DVI into a 27" 1280x768 LCD.
Epia was one thing I didn't really go into. Most Epia boards don't really have the I/O functionality and they're pretty expensive for what you actually get - but bravo for finding a combination that works for you.
Intel doesn't get a huge bashing, I recommended the Pentium D 820 :)
I can get some photos of all the cables plugged in sometime this week when I'm back in the office where it is.
Nmedia: erk, damn! Good spot, will alter.
STR S3 is a cow. So far I can get mine to come out of standby to turn on, but not from power off. That, to be honest, is an entire article in itself :)
Yup :D
On the analogue part of tv cards it mentions
Yes out of the box you are correct but some bright spark has overcome this limitation and I understand has 4 tuners going click here for more.
Here is such MCE unit for sale
Just looked at pics so far, il have to read it at work, i mean in my lunch break :p
Prob gonna use my athlon 2500 mobile with a Thermalright Si-97 and fan running below 20db (set clock speed so its below 50oc load), a7n8x-e deluxe, gig o geil value ram, and a silent rad 8500 pr0, then add remote and 2 of those Playstion controller adapters (for emulators) :)
AMD Athlon 1.4ghz (pull from dead computer)
512 Special Edition Server ram (pull from old compaq proliant)
ecs K7SEM motherboard (got it from my friend who thought it was fried)
20gb laptop harddrive (since media pc pulls media from network)
Linksys Super low profile wireless-g pci card (had it just laying around)
Nvidia Geforce 4 440mx 64mb AGP graphix card
NVTV eVGA Nvidia low profile tv tuner
CUSTOM SHEET METAL CASE W/ FLIP TOP LID!!!!
i use it everyday, for spending 30 dollars, i couldnt be happier
one call close mce on standby
and the other one which sets up all the profiles for power management (coz i tired the hard way thru every menu, using some dos program everything u cud think of) but a program called Auto power on and shutdown.
and after that it worked perfectly... hope it helps mrhaz
ATI AIWs don't have MPEG2 encoders, that I'm aware...so using them requires a much faster processor. The 3500+ Wil has in there will work fine, but you actually do need that much if you use an AIW (you want some processor power to spare in an HTPC). Second, you can't run dual tuners in MCE if you use an AIW, as you couldn't possibly have 2 identical cards. Also, keep in mind that not all tuners work well with MCE, which will be covered more in detail later...and some of the "supported" tuners work better than others.
@Warrior_Rocker:
Yeah, media PCs seem to fall into 2 categories: Either the really cheap, built from spares but work wonders jobs, or the higher end jobs. Since WMCE is (fortunately or un-) quickly becoming the standard, though, we are wanting to illustrate a system that works well for this program specifically. Yes, it is VERY possible to build a Media PC using almost all spare parts (I'm kicking one around with a P3 850 in it and an old NV Personal Cinema), these options don't always even handle WinXP well, much less WMCE.
As MCE2006 comes out, you will start to see more and more people building to it, because it really is a nicely integrated system, and it tends to get updated faster than other solutions (if previous versions are indicative of future). This is part of the reason Epia boards are not first on the list for this article...we're building for the finickiest, most power-hungry of the programs, and it does need to be fed. An Epia is a nice option for a smaller system, but with some of the stuff that's coming up... ;)
AMD Sempron 2400+ (The 32-bit version)
512Mb RAM
ASRock K7S41 Motherboard
GeForce FX 5200 Graphics card
2xHauppague PVR-250
2xSeagate ST3200822A HDD
SilverStone LaScala LC11 mATX case (Black)
Debian 2.4.25 (KnoppMyth Build)
MythTV 0.19.20050712-1 (Custom Build)
It does everything I want, and more. And it doesn't use crappy DRM'ed file formats for it's recording (mpg2/mp4/nuv all the way) so all the recordings are ready to be written straight to DVD for backup purposes.
What's more, it's cheap, and reasonably simple to set up. And considering the system supports the remotes supplied with the PVR-250, and the software is all free, it's very easy to get hold of.
Just my £0.02
and can you recommend a cheaper alternative PSU?
-----
typo?
It was a HP - xe4100 :
1130mhz celeron (maybe replace it with a mobile p4 of higher speed from ebay)
256mb ram, get another 256 or get 2x 512.
add 20gb hardrive
add wifi using mini pci (from ebay)
and some other bits, like remote etc
Wack it all in a low profile case :)
I just finished my HTPC a few days ago (almost)
I'm going to change the haupauge pvr150mce for a TwinHan DTV Ter-CI Check here And a CI module for Conax encryption that is used for my DVB-T topbox (dutch KPN digitenne)
the reason i want this, is that going from digital (topbox) to analogue (pvr150mce) to digital (LG plasma DVI->HDMI) is making a mess of the signal conversions. It will set me back 240 euro (129 for TwinHan and 100 euro for CI card reader) but it is al digital domain so i have absolutly no loss.
My HTPC:
Case: Greenpower HTPC ( See here )
Mainboard: Asus A8n-sli
Proc: AMD64 3000+
Mem: Kingston value pc3200 2x512mb
Video: Club 3D 6600GT
HD: 200gb wd
tv-tun: Hauppauge pvr150mce
Softw: winxp mce 2005 + ms remote
TV: LG 42PX3RV Plasma
Audio: Harman Kardon AVR335/S
Speakers: Left + right + RRear + LRear : B&W DM601
Center: B&W LCR600 (Center-front and Center-back)
Sub: B&W AWS650
The epia board has a couple of options which make it a nice alternative for a current media pc. Its small so can sit quite nice next to your 32" lcd or plasma screen.
They are extremely quiet. For instance mine is at 4db. You just cant hear it. I used to water cool my pcs 2 years ago, and I know my epia is quieter than the eheim pump i had in that kit.
The epia handles MCE fine. I have zero problems with TV, playing divx movies, mp3s and dvd's. I can surf the web and do email. That is pretty much all I do on it.
From those using the linux htpc combinations Ive heard good reports of using epia's and you can now use the MCE remote (best hardware microsoft ever made) with myhtpc.
If you need a htpc to handle hi-def or have multiple tuners or be able to play games on too, the epia isnt the board, but it will be the quietest, and in your living room that is what counts.
Though on the plus it did get Doom 3 runnable which is more than the epia will.
Epia boards are not about powerfull performance. Though I imagine they will be looking to get hi-def playback possible on later boards as its quite a big market for them.
I have a 32" LCD and when I plug my main PC into it, its great to watch hi-def, its amazing. But the noise from my shuttle and the nvidia 6800GT card is just too much to actually want to keep it in the living room. The epia is more than acceptably quiet, and for recording freeview etc it meets the need.
My take on this is, you cant exclude kit, just because its not mainstream or meet future requirements. By the time hi-def broadcasts are mainstream and the pc tv cards are available, you'd probably be looking to replace everything in the pc anyway.