Considering building a home theater p.c.
Knucklehead
Posts: 3,602
Does anybody have one in use? If so, what is your set-up?
Polk Audio Surround Bar 360
Mirage PS-12
LG BDP-550
Motorola HD FIOS DVR
Panasonic 42" Plasma
XBOX 360[/SIZE]
Office stuff
Allied 395 receiver
Pioneer CDP PD-M430
RT8t's & Wharfedale Diamond II's[/SIZE]
Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music. ~Ronald Reagan
Mirage PS-12
LG BDP-550
Motorola HD FIOS DVR
Panasonic 42" Plasma
XBOX 360[/SIZE]
Office stuff
Allied 395 receiver
Pioneer CDP PD-M430
RT8t's & Wharfedale Diamond II's[/SIZE]
Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music. ~Ronald Reagan
Post edited by Knucklehead on
Comments
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The new ones are pretty sweet
Less power, optical audio port, 802.11n, bluetooth, gigabit ethernet, firewire 800. Really a sweet little device. I use Front Row all the time for movies and music off this.
$599 for the current model is the only downside.
But you can grab a refurbished 1.83 Core2 Duo for $419. Just missing a few of the features, but I'm still using one from 4 years ago and haven't had the pressing need to upgrade yet.
Install Airfoil and you can use your receiver as a wireless set of speakers for your laptop.
http://rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/
We have ours ran into my Denon for both audio and video. It pipes it to my TV as a monitor, but you can just go directly to your TV if you don't have a switcher.
Install VPN or grab a wireless keyboard and mouse and you are set. If you really can't stand mac's you can even install windows on these boxes. The only other thing you will end up wanting is disc space, we have over a terabyte and are looking at doubling that. -
If you build your own, dont' forget to think about fan noise.If you will it, dude, it is no dream.
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WOW, 2 TB! But I guess video does take up a lot of space, i think I have a 500g and a 250g laying around, should get me started anyways. Thanks for the info.Polk Audio Surround Bar 360
Mirage PS-12
LG BDP-550
Motorola HD FIOS DVR
Panasonic 42" Plasma
XBOX 360[/SIZE]
Office stuff
Allied 395 receiver
Pioneer CDP PD-M430
RT8t's & Wharfedale Diamond II's[/SIZE]
Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music. ~Ronald Reagan -
bobman1235 wrote: »If you build your own, dont' forget to think about fan noise.
Excellent point considering i installed a cooling fan for my AVR and had to remove it because it was just too loud.Polk Audio Surround Bar 360
Mirage PS-12
LG BDP-550
Motorola HD FIOS DVR
Panasonic 42" Plasma
XBOX 360[/SIZE]
Office stuff
Allied 395 receiver
Pioneer CDP PD-M430
RT8t's & Wharfedale Diamond II's[/SIZE]
Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music. ~Ronald Reagan -
Antec makes several quiet cases. The power supply and fans are different,
and the drive mounts are isolated."The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson -
Since I don't need to take it on the road much I use my MacBook Pro 2.1 GHz. DVI/HDMI cable to 37" Sharp Aquos; optical audio out to Yamaha AVR provides 5.1 & 2.0 audio; 1.5 mbps DSL for online video (not quite enough bandwidth for HD internet video but the best available in my neighborhood). I use an external DVD burner for DVDs and CDs to save wear and tear on the slot loading player in the MBP and because I already had one. I also play my iTunes library through it. Until it developed a buzz, I used to use a Griffin iMic for 2 channel audio into the MBP for converting LPs to CD and MP3. Depending on whether I am using the Mac Front Row or Mac OS interface, I use either the Apple remote or Bluetooth Kensington SlimBlade trackball mouse for remote control.
Pluses: Saved money since I already had the DVD/CD burners. I already know the Mac OS GUI interface by heart. iTunes is the most convenient way to organize and play music. The MBP is quiet.
Minuses: The DVD burner is more finicky about the quality of the DVDs I rent; about one in ten disks won't play. It is also noisy when playing CDs (not DVDs for some reason). I can't turn off the MBP screen.5.1 System:
TCL R613 55" 4K
Front: SRS-3.1TL
Center: CS400i
Surround: Monitor 10B
PSW10 subwoofer
Onkyo PR-SC886P Pre/Pro
NAD T955 5 channel power amplifier
Technics SL-1710 MK2 turntable
Audio-Technica AT14Sa cartridge
Parasound P3 pre-amp
Oppo BDP-103 Blu-Ray
2014 MacBook Pro 2.8 GHz
2.0 Office System:
Monitor 10A (Peerless)
Outlaw 1050 receiver
Parasound HCA-1000A power amp
MacPro -
Knucklehead wrote: »WOW, 2 TB! But I guess video does take up a lot of space, i think I have a 500g and a 250g laying around, should get me started anyways. Thanks for the info.
750MB fine to start with, would probably keep you going for quite awhile. My wife and I just have a huge collection and TB drives are going for around $80 now, so cost isn't too much of an issue. Most important part of the drives is the speed for when you are ripping a disk. -
I'm looking into getting HTPC/home server soon. I have 3 TB of storage right now (1TB external, 1 500gb external, and 1.5TB internal), but i'm looking to get around 4TB more so that I can backup/archive my wife's 500+ dvd collection.
Keep in mind that backing up and transfering large files takes a lot of processing power, so make sure that your htpc isn't a slouch on the CPU/ram side."Dr Dunn admitted that his research could also be interpreted as evidence that women are shallower than men. He said: "Let's face it - there's evidence to support it."
My System:Best Buy is for people who don't know any better. Magnolia is for people who don't know any better and have more money to spend.
TV: SAMSUNG UN55B7000 55" 1080p LED HDTV
HTPC: Chromecast w/ Plex Media Server. Media streamed from Media Server. -
Hmmm... How were you planning on doing it? I actually have my HTPC networked with a server computer that holds all my media files. Therefore, I don't need to stuff the HTPC with HDD's and I can just have one HDD. Without the need for too much space, I was able to purchase a small form factor computer case so that the case sitting next to the TV could be small.
Also, did you want to shoot for pure HDMI or...? I decided to stick with SPDIF and DVI for now... HDMI is too iffy and expensive for me.SDA 1C, SDA 2A, SDA SRS 2, CMT-340SE, Swan M200MKII, Swan D1080MKII, Behringer MS40
Outlaw Audio M2200 x2, GFA 555 II, BGW 750C
GDA 700, Outlaw Audio Model 990, Sansa Fuze, X-Fi Platinum Fatality -
My setup consists of:
AMD X2 5050e (Brisbane) its thermal dissipation is a extremely cool 45 watts
Fanless Heat Sink is the Scythe Ninja
Mainboard is the GIGABYTE GA-MA780G-UD3H
2GB of Kingston RAM
320GB Samsung spinpoint (quiet)
Another 1.5TB in a machine downstairs
Power Supply is an Antec Earth Watts (very quiet) 380 watt (way more than enough juice for HTPC).
Vista 32bit edition
Case is the Antec 300. I have two 120MM fans modified to run on the 5V supply. Silent. -
Keep this in mind if budget is a concern:
Most of the ATI 4000 series have HDMI built in, or available through an adapter. That allows you to output 1080p and 7.1 surround sound with just 1 cable all through the video card. That could temporarily negate the need for a $200+ dedicated sound card."Dr Dunn admitted that his research could also be interpreted as evidence that women are shallower than men. He said: "Let's face it - there's evidence to support it."
My System:Best Buy is for people who don't know any better. Magnolia is for people who don't know any better and have more money to spend.
TV: SAMSUNG UN55B7000 55" 1080p LED HDTV
HTPC: Chromecast w/ Plex Media Server. Media streamed from Media Server. -
Dream HTPC Case: http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews.php?reviewid=757
Totally fanless as long as you have really good heatsinks.SDA 1C, SDA 2A, SDA SRS 2, CMT-340SE, Swan M200MKII, Swan D1080MKII, Behringer MS40
Outlaw Audio M2200 x2, GFA 555 II, BGW 750C
GDA 700, Outlaw Audio Model 990, Sansa Fuze, X-Fi Platinum Fatality -
Dream HTPC Case: http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews.php?reviewid=757
Totally fanless as long as you have really good heatsinks.
Typically, HTPC's are designed to fit right into your home theatre and not look out of place.
Obviously, some people don't care about that aspect too much (myself included).
I'd go with a full-tower size case, stuff it full of HD's, and let it roll. Fan noise isn't something I'm worried about since i'm partially deaf and have the volume cranked all the time."Dr Dunn admitted that his research could also be interpreted as evidence that women are shallower than men. He said: "Let's face it - there's evidence to support it."
My System:Best Buy is for people who don't know any better. Magnolia is for people who don't know any better and have more money to spend.
TV: SAMSUNG UN55B7000 55" 1080p LED HDTV
HTPC: Chromecast w/ Plex Media Server. Media streamed from Media Server. -
Hmmm... How were you planning on doing it? I actually have my HTPC networked with a server computer that holds all my media files. Therefore, I don't need to stuff the HTPC with HDD's and I can just have one HDD. Without the need for too much space, I was able to purchase a small form factor computer case so that the case sitting next to the TV could be small.
Also, did you want to shoot for pure HDMI or...? I decided to stick with SPDIF and DVI for now... HDMI is too iffy and expensive for me.
is it networked wireless or hardwired?Polk Audio Surround Bar 360
Mirage PS-12
LG BDP-550
Motorola HD FIOS DVR
Panasonic 42" Plasma
XBOX 360[/SIZE]
Office stuff
Allied 395 receiver
Pioneer CDP PD-M430
RT8t's & Wharfedale Diamond II's[/SIZE]
Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music. ~Ronald Reagan -
ryanjoachim wrote: »Keep this in mind if budget is a concern:
Most of the ATI 4000 series have HDMI built in, or available through an adapter. That allows you to output 1080p and 7.1 surround sound with just 1 cable all through the video card. That could temporarily negate the need for a $200+ dedicated sound card.
The 3200 integrated graphics on AMD's 780 platform is 1.3a with audio. Mainboards are right around $80-$110. -
Knucklehead wrote: »is it networked wireless or hardwired?
Wireless. Using a DWA-552 and DIR-655. LOVE D-Link (when you get the right products from them).SDA 1C, SDA 2A, SDA SRS 2, CMT-340SE, Swan M200MKII, Swan D1080MKII, Behringer MS40
Outlaw Audio M2200 x2, GFA 555 II, BGW 750C
GDA 700, Outlaw Audio Model 990, Sansa Fuze, X-Fi Platinum Fatality -
I wasn't sure if on-board hdmi suffered from what on-board audio does (noise from electrical components on the board)
But yes, there are motherboards out there that have HDMI and 7.1 surround sound built-in also."Dr Dunn admitted that his research could also be interpreted as evidence that women are shallower than men. He said: "Let's face it - there's evidence to support it."
My System:Best Buy is for people who don't know any better. Magnolia is for people who don't know any better and have more money to spend.
TV: SAMSUNG UN55B7000 55" 1080p LED HDTV
HTPC: Chromecast w/ Plex Media Server. Media streamed from Media Server. -
ryanjoachim wrote: »I wasn't sure if on-board hdmi suffered from what on-board audio does (noise from electrical components on the board)
But yes, there are motherboards out there that have HDMI and 7.1 surround sound built-in also.
Noise can be an issue with the analog section. I have found the digital out to be 100% clean. -
Yeap. What jinjuku said.
I know some guys who have HDMI coming out of their mobo and they say it works great and it eliminates need for other cards. I think there was a mobo with HDMI audio and has onboard HD graphics decoding? 9400 or something?SDA 1C, SDA 2A, SDA SRS 2, CMT-340SE, Swan M200MKII, Swan D1080MKII, Behringer MS40
Outlaw Audio M2200 x2, GFA 555 II, BGW 750C
GDA 700, Outlaw Audio Model 990, Sansa Fuze, X-Fi Platinum Fatality -
Yeap. What jinjuku said.
I know some guys who have HDMI coming out of their mobo and they say it works great and it eliminates need for other cards. I think there was a mobo with HDMI audio and has onboard HD graphics decoding? 9400 or something?
Nvidia and ATI have compelling and competing solutions. The 3200 and 3300 onboard by ATI has HD decoding built in.
Check out this ECS board -
For on-board solutions, wouldn't you need a more powerful cpu than you'd normally put into an HTPC? That means more heat/power.
Although having an add-in video card generates enough heat to cook popcorn..."Dr Dunn admitted that his research could also be interpreted as evidence that women are shallower than men. He said: "Let's face it - there's evidence to support it."
My System:Best Buy is for people who don't know any better. Magnolia is for people who don't know any better and have more money to spend.
TV: SAMSUNG UN55B7000 55" 1080p LED HDTV
HTPC: Chromecast w/ Plex Media Server. Media streamed from Media Server. -
ryanjoachim wrote: »For on-board solutions, wouldn't you need a more powerful cpu than you'd normally put into an HTPC? That means more heat/power.
Although having an add-in video card generates enough heat to cook popcorn...
No, not at all. The newer graphic chipsets have dedicated H.264 and other native HD hardware. They do the HD decode so your processor requirements go down to nil...
Nice thing about the computer based graphics from ATI/nVidia is they do a stellar job at upscaling DVD's.
Now if you plan on a gaming rig, that is where you get into some high temp cpu's and graphic cards.
