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[The Chef]

Don't want to totally burst your bubble but that Zotac isn't the same as the one on Newegg. Amazon has two models. One at $250 and another at $299. Can't remember what the difference is offhand but at least memory if I recall. If you're aware of that, all is good so I hope I didn't drop any surprises on you.

Thanks for the heads-up. I figured they were the exact same - turns out the cheaper one only has 1 GB ram as well as a single core CPU as opposed to the dual core from the other one.

Glad you caught that for me - I canceled that one. Looks like the original one you posted is back on sale on Newegg so I think I'll nab that.

As a side note, do you have a recommendation for a simple remote that would work for that system?

 

[HisshouBuraiKen]

Games? What're you using? Just linking to another FE like hyperspin or something?

 

[Marty Chinn]

Thanks for the heads-up. I figured they were the exact same - turns out the cheaper one only has 1 GB ram as well as a single core CPU as opposed to the dual core from the other one.

Glad you caught that for me - I canceled that one. Looks like the original one you posted is back on sale on Newegg so I think I'll nab that.

As a side note, do you have a recommendation for a simple remote that would work for that system?

I'm probably not one to ask given how I've set mine up so I'm sure others can chime in with better recommendations. What I'm using is my old Xbox IR dongle which is attached to a USB converter cable to my HTPC. Within Linux, I've installed lirc which seems to handle it well. For the remote, I'm just using my already programmed Logitech Harmony that was setup to run with the Xbox IR. I figure it was the easiest path so I wouldn't have to configure my Harmony for it again but it might also be more limiting and not the most elegant solution.

Games? What're you using? Just linking to another FE like hyperspin or something?

Nothing yet since I've been lazy, but my initial idea was I could launch emulators from there. I've heard I could even link actual PC games if I wanted to. But so far it doesn't do anything other than me finding a nice picture for the category. One of these days when I get some time, and an Xbox 360 wireless PC dongle then maybe I'll have it better set up.

 

[Mecha_Infantry]

Hey guys,

So I've done some re-jigging and figured out that the HTPC will also be used for a little extra than just movies, so I think I've almost settled for:

ASUS M3N78-VM GeForce 8200 Socket AM2+ VGA DVI HDMI 8 channel audio mATX Motherboard
MSI HD 4670 1GB GDDR3 DVI HDMI HDCP Out PCI-E Graphics Card
AMD Athlon II X4 630 Socket AM3 2.8GHz 2MB L2 Cache Retail Boxed Processor
Antec Fusion Remote Veris Black MATX Media Center Case - No PSU
Antec 380W EarthWatts Green PSU - 80plus Bronze Certified 185183
Scythe Shuriken Quiet Low Profile Socket 1366, 1156, 478, 775, 754, 939, AM2, AM3 Processor Cooler
x2 Corsair 1GB DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL5 Heat Spreader Lifetime Warranty
Western Digital WD1001FALS 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache - OEM Caviar Black

Total Price: £516.99

I think everything there is OK. But I want the graphics card to do all the decoding as it's a VC-1/h2.64 full 100% decoder. Maybe I can still save money and heat/power on the CPU some more?

 

[Mecha_Infantry]

Oh, and everything there is chilled quietly except the graphics card, but if I can control the fans via software I can just do that

Gonna press by this evening, so please advise!

I'll also be running XMBC

 

[Marty Chinn]

Oh, and everything there is chilled quietly except the graphics card, but if I can control the fans via software I can just do that

Gonna press by this evening, so please advise!

I'll also be running XMBC

If you want the GPU to be decoding and you're running XBMC, you want an NVIDIA card not ATI.

 

[xblarcade]

Just a quick question for the front end gurus out there:

Is there any particular reason why everyone seems to be going with XBMC instead of Boxee? With Boxee being built on top of XBMC and how slickly they have the Web content working I would have though Boxee would be the better choice, but I'm guessing I'm missing something.

 

[Marty Chinn]

Just a quick question for the front end gurus out there:

Is there any particular reason why everyone seems to be going with XBMC instead of Boxee? With Boxee being built on top of XBMC and how slickly they have the Web content working I would have though Boxee would be the better choice, but I'm guessing I'm missing something.

XBMC is more customizable and flexible than Boxee. Boxee doesn't even let you change the skin interface at all where as there is a huge community developing interfaces for XBMC like the Aeon skin which I posted on the last page.

 

[Mecha_Infantry]

If you want the GPU to be decoding and you're running XBMC, you want an NVIDIA card not ATI.

Man!!!

Dude, do me a favour, please choose the best one from here (it's a UK site, I can;t all the cards you US guys get): http://www.ebuyer.com/search?sort=pricehigh&store=2&cat=215&limit=50&page=1

It's sorted price wise..man this is harder than I thought!

 

[Kamakazie!]

If you want the GPU to be decoding and you're running XBMC, you want an NVIDIA card not ATI.

Uh why? Does XBMC have problems with ATi cards or something?
Link please.

 

[Marty Chinn]

Uh why? Does XBMC have problems with ATi cards or something?
Link please.

I've seen stuff like this posted:

One big problem that all users have with ati cards is dxva limitations that ati has implemented in her drivers. Files , especially those at 1080p with high bitrates and more than 5 reference frames will not play correctly. You will be seeing a lot of green artifacts on screen. Do not be confused with the all green screen problem xbmc recenlty had . It's something that ati can , but as it seems intentionaly does not resolve.

Nvidia cards apparently do not seem to have such kind of limitations and they seem that they can handle everything, even up to 16 reference frames!

In my opinion if you want a card dedicaded to dxva , go ahead to nvidia and preferably to a gt 220 . You don't want to rely on dxva and soon discover that some of your files cannot play correctly.

It seems like if you're using VDPAU you have no choice but to go with NVIDIA and if you're using DXVA, it seems like NVIDIA as much better compatibility over ATI.

For those who don't know, VDPAU is GPU decoding under Linux and DXVA is GPU decoding under Windows Direct X. XBMC currently has VDPAU support and is in the process of getting DXVA officially in. Either way it sounds like to be safe, it's best to get NVIDIA over ATI if you're considering GPU decoding. If not, then it doesn't matter.

 

[Kamakazie!]

Ah ok thanks for that.
I've not started using mkv's or the like yet and so haven't noticed anything like that. Hopefully it gets sorted (if it's not just an XBMC problem as i'll be using MediaPortal) as my Radeon 5770 is on the way.

1080P PC gaming on a comfy couch here i come

 

[Marty Chinn]

Ah ok thanks for that.
I've not started using mkv's or the like yet and so haven't noticed anything like that. Hopefully it gets sorted (if it's not just an XBMC problem as i'll be using MediaPortal) as my Radeon 5770 is on the way.

1080P PC gaming on a comfy couch here i come

From what I've read in the past, it sounded more like it was how ATI works with DXVA and how it doesn't work at all for VDPAU rather than it being specifically XBMC. Not sure how well its progressed but it still sounds like a current problem so for now I've told people to just get an NVIDIA card if they want GPU decoding. Better safe than sorry for now unless there's a pressing need to get ATI. Given you're already commited to ATI, I hope it really isn't as bad as some people make it sound like it is. Since you're doing gaming, it sounds like you have a CPU that could handle the video anyway so it's probably a non issue for you. Good luck.

 

[Mecha_Infantry]

Hey Marty, I'm going o get this card instead: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176776

 

[Marty Chinn]

Hey Marty, I'm going o get this card instead: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176776

I think that should be fine. If I recall, there was some concern on bitstreaming TrueHD and DTS-MA, but I can't recall what that was offhand. You may want to look at that if that is a concern to you otherwise, I think it's fine with outputting multichannel LPCM. I remember my friend mentiong it about 5 months ago but can't remember what it was exactly.

 

[Ovid]

Okay guys here's the deal. My PS3 died a few months ago and I am now in the market for a Blu-Ray player. My HTPC is currently at the center of my entertainment set up. Do think it would be wise to purchase a Blu-Ray drive and install that into my HTPC or somehow rearrange my set up and purchase a standalone player?

 

[Marty Chinn]

Okay guys here's the deal. My PS3 died a few months ago and I am now in the market for a Blu-Ray player. My HTPC is currently at the center of my entertainment set up. Do think it would be wise to purchase a Blu-Ray drive and install that into my HTPC or somehow rearrange my set up and purchase a standalone player?

I think you can get a Blu-Ray ROM drive for about $60 these days and Sony and Samsung players can be had as cheap as about $99 so either way it's a fairly inexpensive way to go. Given that you already have a HTPC setup, it might not be a bad way to go. If you are utilizing HD audio formats or plan to sometime in the future like Uncompressed PCM, Dolby TrueHD, or DTS-MA, you may want to go with a dedicated player depending on how you have your system setup.

 

[Mecha_Infantry]

I think that should be fine. If I recall, there was some concern on bitstreaming TrueHD and DTS-MA, but I can't recall what that was offhand. You may want to look at that if that is a concern to you otherwise, I think it's fine with outputting multichannel LPCM. I remember my friend mentiong it about 5 months ago but can't remember what it was exactly.

Nah that's fine, for now I'm using just normal TV audio for now, so not an issue at all!

 

[Marty Chinn]

Nah that's fine, for now I'm using just normal TV audio for now, so not an issue at all!

Cool, then it sounds like you're set. Report back when you get it all together and let us knw how it goes.

 

[Ovid]

I think you can get a Blu-Ray ROM drive for about $60 these days and Sony and Samsung players can be had as cheap as about $99 so either way it's a fairly inexpensive way to go. Given that you already have a HTPC setup, it might not be a bad way to go. If you are utilizing HD audio formats or plan to sometime in the future like Uncompressed PCM, Dolby TrueHD, or DTS-MA, you may want to go with a dedicated player depending on how you have your system setup.

Thanks Marty.
I think I will go with the internal drive. What BD-ROM read speed should I look for?

EDIT: I decided to go with this: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Internal-Lightscribe-SH-B083L-RSBP/dp/B0032XJDJ6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1272239948&sr=8-1

 

[Marty Chinn]

Thanks Marty.
I think I will go with the internal drive. What BD-ROM read speed should I look for?

EDIT: I decided to go with this: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Internal-Lightscribe-SH-B083L-RSBP/dp/B0032XJDJ6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1272239948&sr=8-1

Looks good. Only reason for having higher read speeds is for reading data off a BluRay disc or ripping BluRays to your HDD or network. Otherwise it'll play at 1x. Looks kinda nice too =)

 

[Deleted member 1235]

tried to get some new skins installed via ubuntu using the repo installer. for some reason I get to 3% and lock up on the aero skin (and I think all other skins)

any way to choose repositories on that?

Currently my system has no disc drive at all, what's a basic BD player that does DVD as well go for roughly these days? I don't know anything about the format, but the goals of my system was that it should be cheapish.

so far at 327 euro I wouldn't want to push it over 400. Is this doable to get a BD drive?

For ease of use, american $ pretty much equals euros when figuring in pricing.
I know nothing of speeds/good makers when it comes to blueray.

 

[Ovid]

Looks good. Only reason for having higher read speeds is for reading data off a BluRay disc or ripping BluRays to your HDD or network. Otherwise it'll play at 1x. Looks kinda nice too =)

Yeah, it's perfect. It completely matches my HTPC, blue lights and all. Thanks again!!!

 

[The Chef]

Got my Zotac MAG all setup and working great. Getting multi-channel audio through HDMI was an absolute bitch though.

Getting Aeon to look as bad ass as everyone has it is proving to take some serious time too. But Im sure i'll get it dialed in.

 

[bionic77]

Do they make pre-built HTPCs with cable card support?

If yes, any recommendations?

 

[Cheeto]

Do they make pre-built HTPCs with cable card support?

If yes, any recommendations?

Not yet, there aren't very many cable card solutions at all yet. It just very recently opened up... and most likely will die in the near future.

 

[Ovid]

Do they make pre-built HTPCs with cable card support?

If yes, any recommendations?

Yeah they do. I know Dell doesn't make 'em anymore. Check HP and Sony. I know for a fact that they had pre-built PC's with CableCard support.

I bought mine from Dell two years ago and I'm really happy with it.

 

[taylor910]

I'm using an in-wall touch screen monitor as a 'jukebox' which is hooked up to a pc in a closet.

I would like to find some software that can pull up a virtual keyboard and be used across all programs, ie music player, browser, etc.

Anyone know of any software with this capability? I have seen it before at a university computer kiosk, just haven't been able to locate it for purchase. Thanks!!

 

[Cheeto]

I'm using an in-wall touch screen monitor as a 'jukebox' which is hooked up to a pc in a closet.

I would like to find some software that can pull up a virtual keyboard and be used across all programs, ie music player, browser, etc.

Anyone know of any software with this capability? I have seen it before at a university computer kiosk, just haven't been able to locate it for purchase. Thanks!!

Windows? Linux?

 

[Marty Chinn]

Got my Zotac MAG all setup and working great. Getting multi-channel audio through HDMI was an absolute bitch though.

Getting Aeon to look as bad ass as everyone has it is proving to take some serious time too. But Im sure i'll get it dialed in.

Cool. Glad you got it all up and running. Ya, Aeon is a bit of work in the beginning but it's worth the payoff in the end. Once it's setup, you don't have to do much with it.

For anyone else, here's a pretty damn amazing deal for someone looking to build a cheap HTPC.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Combo...rgains&cm_mmc=AFC-TechBargains-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA

$159 gets you almost what I have which is a case, power supply, motherboard, cpu, and gpu. All you do is add RAM and a HDD and you're set.

 

[The Chef]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Combo...rgains&cm_mmc=AFC-TechBargains-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA

+
2 Gb Ram - $58
1 TB HD - $89


$308

Damit Martin that build is dirt cheap. Makes me want to return my Zotac for this.

Anyone try out this XBMC iPhone Remote App?

http://itunes.apple.com/app/xbmc-remote/id289316916?mt=8

Looks pretty cool. Might have to give it a shot when I get home.

 

[mooooose]

I've got like 400GB of media on an external hard drive as it is, streaming to my Xbox with XBMC. If I ever made a real HTPC, I don't know how I could cap myself at 1TB. I'd end up streaming everything from a rack of like 30TB drives.

 

[Marty Chinn]

+
2 Gb Ram - $58
1 TB HD - $89


$308

Damit Martin that build is dirt cheap. Makes me want to return my Zotac for this.

Ya that deal is crazy cheap. I was tempted if it wasn't for having to pay tax and shipping on it. I'm still kinda holding out for an ION2 device to see what they're like and how much they are for making a second HTPC for the bedroom. Definitely tempting though.

Don't return yours though. I think what you got is good and while the HDD storage is limited, you really should be thinking of keeping stuff external. It'll give you better flexibility in the long run, especially has HD content becomes more dominant. 1080p stuff starts eating space fast.

I've got like 400GB of media on an external hard drive as it is, streaming to my Xbox with XBMC. If I ever made a real HTPC, I don't know how I could cap myself at 1TB. I'd end up streaming everything from a rack of like 30TB drives.

Heh, to me the HDD size in the HTPC is pretty irrelevant as I don't really store anything there, so the cheaper the better to a certain extent. Like, I'll take a 250GB HDD over something bigger unless it's only like $5 more to get a 500GB then I'll just spend the extra $5. So, my HTPC is just a content client and all my media is stored elsewhere. I have a nice large media server handling all that. It's nice just ripping all my old DVDs to it directly so it has full menus and I never have to get up to get a disc.

 

[The Chef]

Yeah I will keep mine - newegg has a 15% restocking fee :O
And I do really like how small it is. Im planning on hiding it behind my TV.

Also my Aeon skin has all the text is smashed into eachother. So instead of nice spacing in between MOVIES VIDEO GAMES SETTINGS etc mine looks more like:

MOVIETVSHOWSVIDEOSGAMESSETTINGS


Did you ever have that problem?

 

[Marty Chinn]

Yeah I will keep mine - newegg has a 15% restocking fee :O
And I do really like how small it is. Im planning on hiding it behind my TV.

Also my Aeon skin has all the text is smashed into eachother. So instead of nice spacing in between MOVIES VIDEO GAMES SETTINGS etc mine looks more like:

MOVIETVSHOWSVIDEOSGAMESSETTINGS


Did you ever have that problem?

I only had it when I tried to add something that wasn't on by default. You can see in my screen grabs that they're reasonably spaced out. I've been actually doing work that has given me some insight on XBMC skinning so it might be something I can figure out how to adjust if you can't figure out the problem, but no promises at the moment.

 

[Odious Tea]

My current setup. Took a while to get it to look how I liked, but it eventually worked out. Skin is called Alaska Revisited, it's unfinished and unsupported but publicly available. I'm rather happy with it, minor niggles aside.

 

[The Chef]

I only had it when I tried to add something that wasn't on by default. You can see in my screen grabs that they're reasonably spaced out. I've been actually doing work that has given me some insight on XBMC skinning so it might be something I can figure out how to adjust if you can't figure out the problem, but no promises at the moment.

Thanks dude.
I took a crappy pic with my phone to show you how it looks.

 

[Nif]

Ah, I don't remember if I ever posted in this thread, but another HTPC fan here. I think mine is set up a bit differently from the people here's. I try to avoid having one frontend to rule them all. In haven't found any frontend that does everything I want it to, so I decided to use EventGhost and my Logitech 550 remote to launch a few seperate programs sort've like starting a console.

My remote's screen shows this:
Watch TV
Xbox 360
PS2
PC (straight up cloning hdtv with monitor for using keyboard/mouse on couch)
Windows Media Center 7 (PVR and Netflix mainly)
Boxee (I prefer the interface to XBMC)
Hulu
PowerDVD 9
Maximus Arcade (custom skin, has all of my emulated or gamepad games)
XBMC (Purely for the GiantBomb plugin at this point)

EG is set up with a seperate folder for each case involving the PC, each folder has all the commands for the application that starts. The remote tells eventghost which program I want, EG runs a special folder that disables all the other folders and enables the one for the application I want to run. Remote will send a special command each time I want to turn off the application or switch to another and closes whatever is open.

For some applications I used autoit to automate opening, bringing to front and maximizing. It's handy since I'll sometimes use apps like Hulu or PowerDVD while I'm at the desk and it'll need maximizing after being reopened. I also have a "Quit _____" and "Restart _____" on the remote, and using autoit for each application to force close the applications and restart if needed in case there's a bug or freeze.

 

[Marty Chinn]

Thanks dude.
I took a crappy pic with my phone to show you how it looks.

That looks to me that you have the wrong font or something.

 

[taylor910]

Windows? Linux?

Sorry, windows

 

[scissorfight]

That looks to me that you have the wrong font or something.

i don't use aeon but i do remember the fonts for it used to be downloaded separately...

edit: The Chef, check here:

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?t=50344

Before downloading the rest of the Aeon skin, you will need to download the fonts from the aeonproject.com website (direct link). Download the fonts and put them in a temporary location for now. After you have downloaded the rest of the skin files as described below, extract the fonts and place them in a "fonts" subfolder in the same root folder as the rest of your Aeon skin.

 

[The Chef]

i don't use aeon but i do remember the fonts for it used to be downloaded separately...

edit: The Chef, check here:

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?t=50344

You are the man, thank you! I will try this out when I get home.

Now lets see, whats next on my Ubuntu/XBMC problem list:

Ahh yes, when I select 1920x1080 resolution in Ubuntu everything looks great except the top and bottom Ubuntu menu bars are outside the screen. I did some research on this last night - looks like a lot of people have this problem without much of a solution.

Any ideas?

 

[Toby]

Saw earlier in the thread a couple of you guys tried out the Lenovo mini pad. Just wondering how it is holding up, if you still like it after continued use.

 

[SuicideUZI]

Im still waiting on that Shuttle XS35 to act as my HTPC but god damn I was expecting a price/release date by now. :/

you and me both, i was just looking it up before i came on gaf to see if any new info has come out yet. As long as its a decent price ive pretty much decided on getting that and a HP mediasmart server

 

[iosef]

Is the Acer Aspire 1600 acceptable for 1080p video? Newegg reviews seem OK...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103228

If not, any other suggestions at $200 price point or below?

 

[Ovid]

Lovin my set up after Blu-ray suggestion Marty gave me. After the installation I decided to do a RAID 1 set up on my HTPC. So far so good.

 

[Marty Chinn]

Is the Acer Aspire 1600 acceptable for 1080p video? Newegg reviews seem OK...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103228

If not, any other suggestions at $200 price point or below?

It should be able to do 1080p just fine. I've been debating on that one myself for a secondary bedroom HTPC.

Lovin my set up after Blu-ray suggestion Marty gave me. After the installation I decided to do a RAID 1 set up on my HTPC. So far so good.

Cool, glad it's working out so far.

 

[dLMN8R]

Saw earlier in the thread a couple of you guys tried out the Lenovo mini pad. Just wondering how it is holding up, if you still like it after continued use.

Still loving mine

 

[PhoncipleBone]

I asked this before and I forget the answer, but do any of those nettops like the Acer output video over VGA that will be 1080i? I have an old RPTV that only has component, and just want a HTPC for watching ripped DVDs and maybe some MAME action.

 

[Marty Chinn]

I asked this before and I forget the answer, but do any of those nettops like the Acer output video over VGA that will be 1080i? I have an old RPTV that only has component, and just want a HTPC for watching ripped DVDs and maybe some MAME action.

In that case, the best hting to do is soft mod an Xbox. You can get those used for $39 if that is all you want to do on it.