Blogs Reader Advised HTPC Buyers Blog, Oct 09 #1

pointless to get an SSD, htpc is about having a small form factor case with lots of storage for your videos + recorded tv, and obviously a tv tuner. in terms of performance, an SSD is simply not needed. the 'hard drives make lots of noise' does not have to apply anymore. decent case mounting and generally quieter drives make them inaudible.

the last 3 or so years ive been recommending the hauppauge nova-t 500. However, given the switch to dvb-t2 isnt so far away, it seems difficult to justify the ~£50 (it hasnt dropped in price for years) for a dual tv tuner than may well be redundant soon.

the cpu + mobo makes sense.

the case is difficult. i ended up cheaping out and going for a Jou-Jye Nu-1290 (was only £30 inc a 300W psu). Obviously there are much better options, but i cant complain considering the price.

 

Freeview HD is years away in some areas. Nova-T 500 is certainly worth the money if you are in one..
Are there any dual tuner DVB-T2 cards around?
Are there any DVB-T cards with 3 or 4 tuners?

 

I agree with Mr Tad I have read from many sources that the Antec NSK2480 + Scythe Mini Ninja are ideal choices.

The case also 380W Earthwatts 80%+ Eff PSU. Granted it probably isn't as quite as other PSUs but it will help keep the price down

I believe the NSK2400 was developed with help from silentpcreview to buid the best possible HTPC case.

 

They do look rather nice indeed, especially in black - I never fell for the "I must have all my A/V equipment in silver!" style. Though I'll bet they will come with a pretty stiff price tag!

 

I've been reading this quite closely as I am currently looking to upgrade my HTPC. I have to agree with quite a few of the posts especially regarding XBMC and HD size. After trying a large selection of media front ends I found that XBMC is the most compatible (plays most media types) and easiest to operate of the lot. Running a stripped down version of Linux with XBMC works like a dream.

As most people suggested your media will probably be stored externally, so i wouldn't recomend a SSD due to price. Most recent hard drives are silent enough to not be heard above the fan noise. Personally I've not had much luck with networking (wireless always a bit flaky) so I would recomend a good external hard disk to enable easy connection to multiple pc's for transfering/backup and sharing that way.

No one has yet mentioned a Shuttle PC, does anyone still use these or are they not as popular anymore?

The best item to purchase for any media centre has to be a good remote control for your pc. ATI remote wonders can be had from ebay for only a couple of quid and work perfectly. Radio based rather than IR makes them work even without direct sight!

I'd also recomend getting a gfx card with s-video/composite out for those who haven't upgraded to a HD TV!

 

You don't need a massive disk in your HTPC, just something like a NAS or windows home server - like Paddy said though, it's has to be on a wired network! Having an SSD in your htpc will also make it snappier on boot (nobody wants to sit around waiting for their TV to load...), and snappier in your chosen interface.

 

"I'd also recomend getting a gfx card with s-video/composite out for those who haven't upgraded to a HD TV!" - If you have a CRT TV I'd knock the media centre idea on the head. It looks awful and the text isn't readable. It does make for a good 'new TV' excuse though.

"You don't need a massive disk in your HTPC, just something like a NAS or windows home server. Having an SSD in your htpc will also make it snappier on boot (nobody wants to sit around waiting for their TV to load...), and snappier in your chosen interface." - Why turn it off? Use sleep mode. It'll wake up to record TV still and go back to sleep when finished. Or you could leave it awake and use it as a media server so you don't need a separate server or NAS box.

 

Don't quite understand why people want to rely on a NAS, the mediaPC can be your NAS, webserver, whatever, blimey a loaded up 2 disk synology takes 30w, my HTPC not doing a great deal (bit of recording) sits at 45-50w, why would I want to have both running when one machine can do the whole job and cut my daily power consumption.

Never had disk performance issues, no interference with recordings etc, this HTPC could be the central hub. Ok I might not see full network interface performance, but never felt the need for a NAS, I've toyed with the idea as a gadget, Perhaps your doing it for noise or something but I never hear disc thrashing, I'm running XP though which I guess doesn't do any fancy indexing etc.

 

Wow, that was more controversial than I thought it would be

I suppose it all depends on the the uses of your HTPC and other devices around the house. If your simply watching, recording tv, storing music, etc - then the most logical solution is to whack a 2TB drive in to your media box and, if required create shares, or in the case of win7 attach it to your homegroup.

I jumped to a NAS / WHS really because I use it for many more purposes than for the media centre PC - I also store a lot of films (totalling approx 1.5TB now and still growing), I don't really want to end up with 2 or more HDDs in a small enclosure in my living room.

 

fair enough, I've only got 1TB which I only half fill but then as I've bought DVD/Bluray and have the discs which need to be stored in the house there is not much point in my mind in having them on a fileserver, course it does mean I have to get off my arse and put in disc in when I want to watch one, sure i'm a fat git but even I'm not that lazy to got to the effort of transferring them all, Bluray are a bit big too.

 

Good looking and cheap don't really seem to go together with HTPC cases so i will be interested in the recommendations.

Can i make a small request that you measure how much power the systems use in standby please? I have requested this for motherboard reviews before but you have always been strangely reluctant to do so. If all your doing is playback then how does an ION based system compare?

 

I have that exact case and heatsink and can confirm the machine is completely silent even with a normal HD in there (i'm using an old 120GB samsung drive). I have the two case fans on the lowest speed as exhausts and no other cooling, and my athlon 5400 x2 (i think, it runs at 2.8GHz anyway) never has any complaints. The case includes a PSU that should be more than enough and is quiet to boot. You also get a built in (though not great) IR port, display, and a shiny volume control knob for those inexplicable times you feel like crossing the room to turn something up.

 

Not necessarily - I just bought one of these (ATI All In Wonder X800 GT) second-hand for my media centre build, primarily as it has a SCART output (as well as composite video in and a TV Tuner - TV tuner doesn't work under Vista, but it isn't DVB-T anyway, so I've got a separate card). I've tested it out on my main rig and it works brilliantly - normal desktop resolution is a bit hard to read on the TV, but when using a "10-foot interface" media centre software package, it looks fine.

It may be tricky to find the hardware you need (such as a card with SCART output, or a TV with S-Video in - forget about composite, as it really sucks), but it's not impossible.

EDIT: Apparently, I lie - the AIW X800 does have a DVB-T tuner, but it still doesn't work in Vista...

 

I used to run my mediaPC on a 28" crt years ago, around the time freeview was launched, it was fine, fonts and icons aren't an issue particularly if you are using one of the many software front ends, even using straight up windows was fine with some tweak of fonts and menus.

 

When I had a stab at building a media pc a couple of years ago there was no linux support for playing back blu-ray discs. There were a few guides to play it in linux after ripping and messing around, which did not sound as convenient as poping the disc in and pressing play. So I went down the Windows XP route with the playback software that came bundled with the drive.

Has linux support for blu-ray caught up yet? Can you rent a film and pop it in the drive and play it immediately in linux? Windows 7 does not come with native blu-ray playback to keep the cost down, so you still need a third party player installed to manage this. And that will cost if you dont use or have one that comes with the drive.

What do you all think?

 

PowerDVD 9 integrates into media center on Win7 so you don't have to launch a separate program. Works well in my experience.
ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre 3 also integrates but I've not used it so can't comment.

 

If i was building a new HCPC today id go for :-

AMD Athlon II X2 240E - 45w goodness

785G AM3 or nvidia 8300 Mobo AM2+ ( as then could do 7.1 lpcm and use old ddr2 ram)

2gb ram

Be quiet 350W jobby, or the OCZ ModXstream if space was tight and a modular psu was needed.

BlackGold BGT3540 - uber versatile tuner

Hdd - Samsung F2

OS - Windows 7

Software - GBPVR

TMT3 has to be recomended over pdvd as cyberlink are just money gouging gits!


My current HCPC if anyone cares...:-
Amd BE-2350 cpu
stock cooler
Gigabyte 690g mobo
2gb crucial 10th anniversary ram
Ati 2600xt passive graphics card
Hauppauge nova 500 dvb-t dual tuner
2x samsung 1tb drives
LG Bluray/Hd-dvd drive
400w OCZ Modxstream PSU
thermaltake (i know i know) lanbox lite case
keysonic wireless keyboard/trackpad

running Win7 HP, GBPVR, Squeeze Server,squeezeplay, powerdvd 7.3, VLC
Connected to optoma 720p projector, and pioneer reciever.

 

In search for the <a href="http://mymediaexperience.com/guide-to-build-optimal-htpc-in-2010/">best HTPC</a>, my setup has been as follows:
- Antec Fusion HTPC Case (looks like a receiver)
- Asus P7H55 Intel H55 LGA1156 motherboard
- Corsair cx400w power
- Intel Core i3-530 2.93GHz processor
- Kingstom 4GB RAM 1333MHz DDR3
- Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB hard drive
- Samsung SH-B083L/RSBP Blu-Ray

I have been really happy with this HTPC setup and plays nicely full HD and some games as well.

 

Sorry here was the link to the best HTPC for HD video usage I was referring to.