Multimedia Box/Entertainment Center Server

[jungerer]

Okay guys need some input if you would. I'm thinking of building a small little box to include in my entertainment center to hand movies (divx/vcds) and mp3s. I'm curious if anyone has done this at all or if you have suggestions on hardware. Ideal would be a small rack mount type case, with a mobo that has nic, video out, possibly sound included. Not sure if such a thing exists, but the smaller the unit the better. I did some testnig with a laptop with video out and the divx files played pretty well...so hence the thought.

Any recommendations? Specifically a video card with tv out if a mobo doesn't exist, or suggstions on cases, mobo and speed. Thinking at least a Celeron 500+ or Duron 700+. Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

Planning on running win2k with netmeeting for over the network management. Thanks.

 

[DerProfi]

For remote control, I'd recommend VNC which gives you a web-based interface and is relatively platform-independent. Once you've got it installed on the box you want to control, just point your browser to http://boxiwanttocontrol:5800 and you're in business.

 

[jungerer]

Thats cool. Now I just gotta figure out the hardware. Thanks for the tip.

 

[jobuRAVE]

Greetings. I am in the process of doing that right now. My advice to you is this, the biggest decision you are going to have to make is whether to go with a flexatx board and case or a microatx board and case. After you choose the board you want and the case to go with it, the rest of the components will begin to fall in place. You mentioned you wanted a rackmount. Note: You know that you can get a mATX case that is almost as small as a rackmount, but offers more expansion possibilities. I choose a single 5.25" mATX case that is only 5.3" wide, which is almost in the rackmount realm, but which lets me use 1 AGP and 3 PCI in addition to the onboard 10/100 NIC.

 

[jungerer]

That sounds pretty cool. Any chance you got a link so I can take a look. I definitly like the idea of having some expansion. Who knows how much things will change down the road. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Cnuke]

I am looking at the same issue, but I want the smallest case/motherboard I can find. I found a motherboard made by pc chip, but the ratings for that are so poor that I would not build one for my enemy.

I would like to get more info on this as well.

 

[jungerer]

I'm looking into an Epox Duron board at the moment, but still haven't found a case I like yet.

 

[Maverick]

My advice is to get one of those BabyATX cases that are just super small but fit almost anywhere.
Get an integrated motherboard with sound/video (look at anandtech's round up of integrated video systems to pick one)
Don't bother trying to get one with an integrated NIC....getting a NIC integrated jacks up the price of motherboards (usually you have to get RAID or SCSI with it too). Just buy a cheap one from CompUSA.

One of the guys I work with (who lives down the street) has done this in his house with a cheap Duron 650 system. He actually got a TNT2 video card, an SB16, and a cheap 5400 RPM 30GB hard drive. He said he spent about $300 on the entire system. He got the video card since it has pretty good TV-out capabilities. Now that I think about it, you're not gonna get TV-out on integrated video so you'll have to buy a card. If you need any more information LMK.

Good luck.

 

[jungerer]

Thanks appreciate the info. I'm checking around now. I've got an extra Sb Live + mp3 I'm planning on using. Just a matter of getting a decent mobo cheap and deciding on a case. I like the ultra slim at cases, but like you said it's easier to go with a micro atx case. Just gotta shop around now and see whats out there. Thanks again.