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Anything I should know before building an HTPC?

G

gregulator

Senior member
I have a bunch of leftovers from an upgrade and want to build an HTPC (e7200, 2GB RAM, 8600GT video). It will primarily be used to streaming video (vimeo, shows from networks etc), might get a bluray player, maybe some games.

Anything I should know before buying a bluray drive? Any thoughts on OS (thinking of Win7), or input devices? Should I get a different video card? Thanks for any advice!
 
I think you are all set. The 8600GT is more than enough for 1080p video. As far as bluray drives just get one with good reviews. 2GB of ram is fine for Win7 so I would go with that.
 
Do you need OTA tuning as well? or just playing media and shows?

So looking at Win7 Media Center? Given any thought to the *nix distros out there like "mythTV"?
 
A note on the bluray players....youll most likely have to purchase additional software to play them natively. I usually just rip my blurays to mkv (untouched video/and hd audio tracks) and playt hem back that way. For 3d blurays or when i do watch a off the disc bluray i use total media theatre 5 which i got on sale for 25 bucks and it works well. Just a heads up that you might have additional costs.

Input device wise....

keyboard/mouse i have both the
Lenovo RF Keyboard and Mouse
and the "updated" Lenovo N5902 RF Keyboard and Mouse with Backlight

i actually prefer the first one (older model) for its trackball. I hate the mouse on the newer model. But my older one the keys dont always seem to get registered if i type fast. The newer model i hate the mouse and love the keyboard lol. i dont use either all that often though so if i had to pick again i'd go for whichever is cheaper.

Remote wise...i use a simple WMC remote.
Rosewill Windows Media Center Remote

Its a super simple remote that puts my htpc to sleep, wakes it up, browses my media through WMC and plays/pauses/records. Its a basic remote not much to say lol.


As for OS...i use W7 home premium on both my htpcs. Dont have any complaints with it.
 
Just did a quick search and found this thread. Since comcast doesn't want to give me another price break I'll be returning my HD DVR.

I was looking at the Ceton USB tuner w/ 4 feeds. Anyone have experience with this? Any recent htpc builds with pricing I could borrow? Any cheaper recommended HD tuners with atleast 2 feeds that supports m-cards?
 
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OP:
I use an old laptop with similar specs for CPU and graphics, and it works fine to stream everything to a TV. I also rip blu rays to MKV instead of playing them from disk.

For input devices I've got a cheap WMC remote and also use this input device: http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Keybo...3711521&sr=1-1

I've got one of the older Lenovo units mentioned above, and two of those Rii thingies. The Rii thingy works just as well and is cheaper. If I were really looking to go cheap, I'd skip the WMC remote and go with the Rii.



darkamulets said:
Just did a quick search and found this thread. Since comcast doesn't want to give me another price break I'll be returning my HD DVR.

I was looking at the Ceton USB tuner w/ 4 feeds. Anyone have experience with this? Any recent htpc builds with pricing I could borrow? Any cheaper recommended HD tuners with atleast 2 feeds that supports m-cards?
Click to expand...

I picked up an HDHomerun Prime on sale for $170 a couple weeks back. Takes an m-card, has three tuners, and is networked instead of put in a single machine. Now all the computers in my house have full access to all my subscribed channels. Works great (after three calls to Comcast to get it activated and working right). Note that Comcast has a special cableCARD number and the calls were actually pretty painless.

Looks like the Prime is a bit more expensive now, but still cheaper than Ceton: http://www.amazon.com/SiliconDust-HD...3711738&sr=1-3
 
darkamulets said:
Just did a quick search and found this thread. Since comcast doesn't want to give me another price break I'll be returning my HD DVR.

I was looking at the Ceton USB tuner w/ 4 feeds. Anyone have experience with this? Any recent htpc builds with pricing I could borrow? Any cheaper recommended HD tuners with atleast 2 feeds that supports m-cards?
Click to expand...

http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/01/ceton-infinitv-4-usb-tuner-now-shipping-offers-infinite-enterta/
At $300?? yikes.

Tivo is $80 right now - $20/monthly. I think you can haggle to move that around though.
 
Dirigible said:
OP:
I use an old laptop with similar specs for CPU and graphics, and it works fine to stream everything to a TV. I also rip blu rays to MKV instead of playing them from disk.

For input devices I've got a cheap WMC remote and also use this input device: http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Keybo...3711521&sr=1-1

I've got one of the older Lenovo units mentioned above, and two of those Rii thingies. The Rii thingy works just as well and is cheaper. If I were really looking to go cheap, I'd skip the WMC remote and go with the Rii.





I picked up an HDHomerun Prime on sale for $170 a couple weeks back. Takes an m-card, has three tuners, and is networked instead of put in a single machine. Now all the computers in my house have full access to all my subscribed channels. Works great (after three calls to Comcast to get it activated and working right). Note that Comcast has a special cableCARD number and the calls were actually pretty painless.

Looks like the Prime is a bit more expensive now, but still cheaper than Ceton: http://www.amazon.com/SiliconDust-HD...3711738&sr=1-3
Click to expand...

My only problem is that this would be for the bedroom, which is connected via wifi. Not sure how well HD streaming would work over that connection. Debating on trying out some powerline adapters as it's just not very feasible to run a wire.
 
I had extremely poor results trying to stream 1080p video over wireless.

No idea how powerline would work.
 
There is also the Hauppauge WinTV DCR-2650 cable card tuner. It has 2 tuners and is USB and is based off the HDHomerun unit. The price on it runs $100-$130. That is what I have since I didn't think I'd need 3+ tuners. If I could go back though 3 tuners would be nice.

My desktop is hooked up via wireless N to my xbox in my living room that I use as a WMC extender and it works fine most of the time. Every now and again when I change channels a "network issues" box pops up and my picture is fuzzy but if I wait 10-15 seconds it fixes itself.

darkamulets
1-877-405-2298
That is Comcast's cable card number. Don't bother to call their regular number.
 
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Wow, thanks for all the replies. Lots to consider now. Thanks for the input about BluRay. After thinking about it, I don't do Netflix anymore, and I am not sure if RedBox has BluRay titles.. so I am not sure if I would ever have those discs (I NEVER buy physical movies). What is the best source to stream HD video?

Also, the only reason I would get a tuner is for DVR purposes. Hauppauge sounds like the way to go?

Looks like there are a lot of remote options as well. I even saw a product called iRule for the iPad.. looks interesting, but expensive for all the hardware. I can see how this could easily turn into an expensive project.. but I will start small for now.
 
darkamulets said:
My only problem is that this would be for the bedroom, which is connected via wifi. Not sure how well HD streaming would work over that connection. Debating on trying out some powerline adapters as it's just not very feasible to run a wire.
Click to expand...

I have a dedicated draft-N device pair bridge (cuz it works and no reason to upgrade) that gets me close to 100mbit across the link. BR-rips are no issue. even 20+GB rips are about 27mbit. Might be a stretch on a single AP -> client though.
 
Dirigible said:
I had extremely poor results trying to stream 1080p video over wireless.

No idea how powerline would work.
Click to expand...

Depends on your set up. My HTPC has a mostly direct line of sight to the router, about 30 feet away, and I can stream 1080p 100% perfectly.
 
I used a dir-655 and an extender to a wireless bridge in my upstairs, and get about 240megabit throughput. Streams blu-ray with no problem.
 
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