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Pls help uber noob to spec out first HTPC - Printable Version

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Pls help uber noob to spec out first HTPC - baltik - 2009-10-30

I have a brand new PS3 slim sitting in front of me but since I have a rapidly growing MKV movie library (4-8GB) I am considering returning it and pursuing a HTPC solution. The HTPC will be connected to my Onlyo SR805 via HDMI and then to my 1080p plasma via HDMI as well.

I am fairly techy but have no Linux experience - so would prefer to run windows 7, but if necesarry and with the help of a few how to's willing to give it a shot


My needs
Case: small footprint low heat and quiet, PC will be sitting in an enclose media cabinet...

Blueray Support = Crucial and should be as smooth as PS3
HD Support = 720p and 1080p files to play smoothly from HDD and LAN.
Audio: Really hoping to get all the latest audio formats such as DTS-HD/True HD via bitstream or LPCM, based on my research this could be an issue.
Formats: MKV and all common codecs, would prefer HULU and others..
Power on: Via remote, in fact all daily operation should be via remote

Other thoughts: I would like to run a fairly slick skin (aeon or derivative)

I really like the Asrock package but it seems like it can't handle the audio and I'm concerned about the ability to run a big front end

- joshlukas - 2009-10-31

I can't tell you everything you need to know but I think that's a start:

AMD or Intel PC. Something that is energy efficient. You don't want the PC to be noisy. Take a look at this piece of hardware.
  • AMD X4 600e (Propus - AM3 socket- 45W)
  • Gigabyte GeForce 9600 GT, Passive cooling
  • Some RAM. About 2 GB should be more than enough for a HTPC
  • Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB (Fast, quiet and cool)
  • DFI LANparty JR 790GX-M3H5 (Because of its build quality and BIOS support)
  • Corsair CX 400W ATX 2.2 power supply
  • Silverstone La Scala SST-LC10B-E (Decent build quality for its price and relatively good looking)

I have no idea what TV card, or remote is best for XBMC + VDR. Maybe the Logitech Harmony remote control and TeVii S420 DVB-S card.

For the case you should buy better fans. These two which are mounted are quite low-noise, but there are better fans out there.

As for the software part. The easiest way to get your system up and running is to use an ubuntu os. If you don't need TV on your HTPC, with Debian you get a bit more smooth running system.

- baltik - 2009-10-31

Thanks for the advice - super helpful, given my space considerations - I don't think I can swing the full ATX form factor, was hoping for Micro ATX or Mini ITX

- joshlukas - 2009-10-31

There are some better, more expensive mATX cases out there. Take a look.

- crash123 - 2009-10-31

Only problem with what you want is that XBMC does not play back blue-ray discs and I don't think there is any linux based software which does. This is due to the amount of protection and things running through blue-ray. I think you would have to use some other closed source 3rd party windows application to play blue-ray discs.

Also instead of building an HTPC why not go for one of the Nettop options like the Acer Revo (see this) or something similar that has the Nivida Ion chipset. They will nicely play back all your HD mkv's on xbmc using VDPAU in Linux. Also there are a lot of tutorial and scripts out there for getting them easily set up with XBMC linux or Live.

Cheers,
Robbie

- natethomas - 2009-10-31

If you absolutely need bluray support and not simply HD mkv support, your best bet is to go with a Windows solution that includes a modern Intel CPU that runs about 2.6ghz. An nvidia video card is typically best. The one listed above is probably fine.

- mjjstorey - 2009-10-31

I would see if you can find someone who already has an ASrock ION330. I have not had chance to test fully, but had 720p video running without a problem on windows xp using around 35% CPU.

I thought that the audio problems had been fixed for the linux version anyway.

Check out http://www.mini-itx.com - you can get a motherboard that will cope with dual / quad core in a small case.

What kind of price you looking at spending?

ION330BD (bluray) is about £300 so an absolute bargain if you are wanting just 720p and Bluray playback. Remember to overclock the processor tho, completely stable and still pretty much silent!

I am going to be building a ION330 xbmc/vdr setup at some point soon when I get the chance so will update this post when I do.

- baltik - 2009-10-31

Gotcha looks like like the Asrock solution or a zotac Ion running windows 7 is the way to go. These 2 appear to have everything I need with one major exception - bitstreaming.

- baltik - 2009-10-31

crash123 Wrote:Only problem with what you want is that XBMC does not play back blue-ray discs and I don't think there is any linux based software which does. This is due to the amount of protection and things running through blue-ray. I think you would have to use some other closed source 3rd party windows application to play blue-ray discs.

Also instead of building an HTPC why not go for one of the Nettop options like the Acer Revo (see this) or something similar that has the Nivida Ion chipset. They will nicely play back all your HD mkv's on xbmc using VDPAU in Linux. Also there are a lot of tutorial and scripts out there for getting them easily set up with XBMC linux or Live.

Cheers,
Robbie

Dumb question - it seems to me that there is very little upside to playing bluray discs within XBMC since there is very little interactivity? taking place. Couldn't I just have the computer automatically launch another standalone player within windows as soon as a disc is inserted?

- crash123 - 2009-11-01

I don't think there is any interactivity although the Blue-ray stuff is going to need an answer from someone a little more knowledgeable than myself (don't have a blue-ray drive Laugh).

I don't know how the external player settings work I'm not sure if you could rig it up so that it would work when you insert a Blue-ray disc.

Also the only problem with using Windows 7 is that you are not going to be able to use GPU decoding of your high def video the only platform that can currently do that is XBMC Linux or Live (has a linux base) using VDPAU. There is currently no GPU off loading solution avaliable for XBMC Windows.

Cheers,
Robbie