Media server

[lid73]

Am thinking about building a media server PC which may hopefully take the place of my BluRay player, which can be moved to the bedroom for HD naughty movies . I really don't know what I need, and would love some input from anyone who has built one recently.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Mainly, the computer will have all my DVDs and BluRays backed up to hard drive, and will be able to stream to my TV in HD. Also would like the ability to record live TV and burn to disk. Aside from that, I would like an interface that is easy to operate and that my wife will not complain is too complicated. She already doen't like the Monster Universal remote we have because there are "too many menus".

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

As much as the wife will allow me to spend!!! Realistically, I think I can do this for about $800 - $1000.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

INTEL processors, Gigabyte Motherboards. While I have a leaning to these, I am not married to them

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

No.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

All the media server threads I have read seem to be a little outdated. WOuld like to see some new builds with the latest tech.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

No overclock.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.

1080 P

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

1-3 months from now

10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned.

Indians have thick milk choclatey skin, so criticism will be tasty and accepted.

 

[lid73]

Not so worried about aesthetics, just interested in MB, processor, video card, tuner card, and interface software recs. Thanks.

 

[mvbighead]

You plan on gaming in 1080P, but yet this is a media server? Do you intend for this system to do both? Or just be a media server?

 

[mfenn]

I'm going to assume (alert!) that you don't plan on gaming and that 1080P is the resolution that you're using for your TV. Given your intended uses, you won't have to spend anything near $1000 unless you need a lot of storage.

i3 2105 $140 - HD3000 graphics
ASRock H67M $85
G.Skill DDR3 1333 4GB $28 - 1 DIMM so you can easily upgrade to 8GB later
Hauppauge HVR-1250 $45
Blu-ray combo drive $65
WD Green 2TB $80 - Normally I wouldn't recommend a green drive as a system drive, but it doesn't matter in the case of a dedicated media playback box
Antec NSK2480 w/ Earthwatts 380 $118
Total: $561

That doesn't include OS, so add $100 for Windows 7 Home Premium if necessary. In terms of software interface, I'd probably use Windows Media Center to record TV, it works pretty well. I'd use XBMC as a playback interface and the later versions should handle the .wtv files produced by Media Center. It won't do live TV I don't think.

 

[lid73]

Guys, thanks for the replies. Have had family in town, so unable to respond recently. In terms controlling the PC, would you say wireless keyboard and mouse is the way to go, or is there a software solution of some sort which would allow you to use a remote? I really just want a simple setup where I can stream my dvds and blurays from a hard drive. They are all backups in the same structure as teh original disks (VideoTS, Stream, etc.). Is this PC overkill? Is there a simpler way of streaming this stuff?

 

[mfenn]

A wireless mouse/KB is good to have around when you have to do something a little complex, but a media center remote should be good for 95% of things withing XBMC.

No, the PC isn't overkill for playing back Blu-rays. Many of the GPU offload functions don't work when you're not playing back from the disc itself, so it's important to have a CPU with enough grunt to decode the stream completely in software. You can of course save some money by dropping the tuner and Blu-ray drive if you're only interested in playing back files from the HDD.

 

[lid73]

Mfenn, what do you think about this thing?
http://www.mediagateusa.com/mg800hd.html

 

[mfenn]

It could be good, but a lot of those Sigma Design-based streamers fall flat in one category or another. You'd have to find some comprehensive reviews and make sure that it can do what you want. The mothership has some very comprehensive reviews of similar devices.

 

[lid73]

OK thanks. Will do some due diligence now.

 

[KingGheedora]

A wireless mouse/KB is good to have around when you have to do something a little complex, but a media center remote should be good for 95% of things withing XBMC.

No, the PC isn't overkill for playing back Blu-rays. Many of the GPU offload functions don't work when you're not playing back from the disc itself, so it's important to have a CPU with enough grunt to decode the stream completely in software. You can of course save some money by dropping the tuner and Blu-ray drive if you're only interested in playing back files from the HDD.

Why doesn't GPU offload work when playing directly from the BRD? Does that apply only to XBMC, or is this a limitation of all BR playing software?

Can you rip the disc to the drive into a .iso (or whatever the .iso disc image equivalent is for blu-rays) and then play back from that image on the HDD with GPU acceleration?

 

[mfenn]

Why doesn't GPU offload work when playing directly from the BRD? Does that apply only to XBMC, or is this a limitation of all BR playing software?

It applies to XBMC because of DRM protections. It works find in PowerDVD and TMT though.

Can you rip the disc to the drive into a .iso (or whatever the .iso disc image equivalent is for blu-rays) and then play back from that image on the HDD with GPU acceleration?

If you rip the disc and crack the encryption, you're basically playing back normal h.264, VC-1, or MPEG-2 streams and the acceleration will work fine.