features of a HTPC

[gotensan01]

What exactly constitutes a HTPC? Better yet, what are all the functions of a high end HTPC? The main things I've read are dvd/file playback, watching/recording tv using a tuner card, encoding video files, etc. I'm looking into making a HTPC with my 1 gig athlon and I thought it would be best to find out exactly what I am trying to build first. Sorry if this is a stupid/repost question.

 

[Cogman]

The most intensive part of a HTPC is Encoding and Decoding Media. This will make or break your system. If I remember correctly they say an 1800+ Athlon XP can do 2 channels at the same time. Correct me if Im wrong, I dont think ram is really a major part of the system and hence not really essencial. The next big thing is a HD, The larger the HD the more media you can record. Those are really the only to main things needed (Besides a tuner card and a vid card with TV Out capabilities).

I would recommend getting a faster CPU for the task. A faster CPU can Record and Playback at a much higher quality and even save space on your HD (meaning more mins of playback) CPU's for such tasks are fairly cheap for one that can suit all your needs. My recommendation is to get a Athlon-XP Mobile CPU. This because it runs at much lower temps, which translates into quieter computing (another needed feature).

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: gotensan01
What exactly constitutes a HTPC? Better yet, what are all the functions of a high end HTPC? The main things I've read are dvd/file playback, watching/recording tv using a tuner card, encoding video files, etc. I'm looking into making a HTPC with my 1 gig athlon and I thought it would be best to find out exactly what I am trying to build first. Sorry if this is a stupid/repost question.

1Ghz Athlon will easily be able to handle it if you have an MPEG2 encoding card / TV tuner. For quality reasons, I'd suggest you buy a TV Tuner that also has an MPEG2 encoder on it. Hauppauge makes a few good models - the PVR250 goes on sale about once a month or so for $89-99 at local and internet vendors; the PVR-USB2 does the same but costs a few bucks more. Either would be great in your setup (assuming you have USB2 for the latter choice).

I have an MPEG2 tuner card in a MS Media Center 2004 PC. At one time it was an AMD 1800. At no point in time would the CPU get over 5% or so utilization while recording, because the MPEG2 tuner card handles everything.

 

[gotensan01]

Wow, thanks for the great replies guys. The thing is that I have a 1gig athlon system sitting around so I thought I would play around with it. I don't know how much I want to drop on this project though.

Is there another HTPC thread that is kinda like a beginner's guide? I see some floating around for watercooling, choosing a case, choosing memory, etc.

 

[wexsmith]

I stress the "HARDWARE" encoder card that the responses before me talk about. When I made my HTPC at first I got a software encoding card and nothing worked quite right. The hardware encoding card allows me to do a LOT of stuff I otherwise wouldn't have been able to do.

It also depends on what you really want your HTPC to do. The hard drive size is a big deal if you want to do things besides record shows. Personally I would create a seperate partition just for recorded shows. On the "show" partition it's wise to do an NTFS format with 64Kb clusters. That will create smoother playback for your recordings, since they'll all be 1GB+ in size at least.

My personal HTPC records shows, plays DVD's, plays movies off the hard drive, plays Sega, NES, SNES, etc, plays my music library on it, shows me the weather and more. The functions you get from your HTPC are reliant on the software you choose for it. I'm not going to push a single piece of software, or point out a single tuner card mfg. However, read up on any software you choose and do the free trial if they offer one. And remember.....HARDWARE ENCODER!! That is by far the most important part of an HTPC for ease of use.

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: wexsmith
It also depends on what you really want your HTPC to do. The hard drive size is a big deal if you want to do things besides record shows. Personally I would create a seperate partition just for recorded shows. On the "show" partition it's wise to do an NTFS format with 64Kb clusters. That will create smoother playback for your recordings, since they'll all be 1GB+ in size at least.

Can you quantify any difference in performance between 64kb and 32kb clusters while watching TV shows? Either it loads at 1000K/s or so or it doesn't - and it really, really should, no matter what hard drive or such you have in there, and no matter how it's formatted...

 

[imported_Kiwi]

Originally posted by: gotensan01
What exactly constitutes a HTPC? ...

Go to this site and browse around. Most everything you need to know is covered.

http://htpcnews.com/main.php?id=guides

 

[wexsmith]

Can you quantify any difference in performance between 64kb and 32kb clusters while watching TV shows? Either it loads at 1000K/s or so or it doesn't - and it really, really should, no matter what hard drive or such you have in there, and no matter how it's formatted...

I don't have any hard numbers for you, unfortunately. Technically you're correct in stating that the video will play no matter how the drive is formatted. I should have made it clear that is affects fast forwarding and rewinding in a huge way. You'll notice a much better response with the larger clusters.