------------------------------------------Index-----------------------------------------
------------------------------------------Updated Sept 2009-----------------------------------------
Page 1: Details of original specs for my HTPC build and my PC upgrade.
Page 2: Lots of pics - my current setup, the bits arriving, and the build.
Page 3: More software testing, and then details of my PC upgrade.
Page 5: Windows Repair info
Page 6: monochrome 1.7 and Fan Art tinkering
Page 9: PowerDVD reskin info
Page 12: Full Guide to setting up TV Logos.
Page 13: Instructions for PowerDVD8 HD-DVD Playback
Page 19: Full Guide to MyEmulator (v1?) setup in Media Portal
Page 20: A quick temp guide on how to get MP1 and Monochrome 2.1 running. (See Post #300)
Page 30: I changed the icons for the MediaPortal Frontend, and tested the Moving Pictures Plugin for films - think myTV Series and its supurb fanart for movies! A busy page indeed..
Page 38: I Upgrade to the StreamedMP skin from my previous Monochrome skin.
Page 39: Extra details of conversion from Monochrome to Streamed, and plenty of pictures of my new spangly StreamedMP setup.
Page 41: March 2009's Updates and Configurations. I changed my wallpaper and also took the plunge in an attempt to sort out my iMon display problems. Read my fabulous tales to see whether at least 5 hours of uninstalling and re-installing Media Portal does the trick. I upgrade to MP version 1.0.1 here as well.
Page 42 - More tinkering for display purposes. I Try to work out why StreamedMP is still double applying playback in KMPlayer. More pics are added here as well.
Page 43 - May's Maintenance updates. I try to make speech more prominant than the soundtrack or background explosions. MediaPortal 1.0.2 is released, so I naturally upgrade to that. Pic's of the StreamedMP double playback problem added here as well. And finally, my review on the Zalman HD160+ case is added here.
Page 47 to 48 - Upgrade the Graphics card to a 4670
Also more PC upgrades - two Noctua fans and a Titan Fenrir heatsink, with tons of pics on both topics.
Page 48 to 49 - Overhaul of the way my HTPC is setup, removing KMPlayer from the equation, as well as trying out TMT instead of PowerDVD. Very very pleased with this change....
------------------------------------------My Web Site-----------------------------------------
------------------------------------------Last updated September 2009-----------------------------------------
Thanks for even trying to read a thread that has (as of Sept 09) 49 pages in it now, but to be honest, it would be really confusing for someone who has seen my sig for instance, and says - "..you know, I like the Zalman case, I will see what Theydon did with his..."
So to try and keep things nice and neat,
my website has my current configuration, the final build (seeing as how I did not even manage to work out what I wanted until Post 15 or so) and then my configuration steps should you choose to try Media Portal as your Media Front end software.
If you really are that bored at work though, have run out of the rest of the intermaweb to read and fancy digesting my whimsical notes - then who am I to argue, simply read on and thanks for taking the time to look.
---------------------------------------Original Post--------------------------------------
------------------------------------------Dated 3rd March 2008-----------------------------------------
I have been researching my HTPC build for a long time now, and I am using the excuse of getting parts to upgrade my Gaming PC, and re-using existing parts in the new HTPC.
My PC Upgrade
I have a P5B-Deluxe, a very respected board, but it does not have full support for 1066mhz RAM nor 1333FSB for CPU, as well as being on the older Intel965 chipset. The P5K series however, has support for 1066mhz RAM, 1333FSB CPU plus native support for 45nano whatsit for new CPU's.
I did look at the X38 ASUS boards, but they only differ from the P35 Chipset by having support for PCI 2.0 and DDR3 RAM. I intend to go to neither of these for a while, as £200 for RAM, and another £250+ for a GPU are not on my budget for some time to come. Plus, the X38 has been superceeded by the x48 already.
So,
P5K board it is. £95 for the wi-fi model, or £70 without it.
RAM -
4Gb of Corsair Dominator. Although staying with 32bit, 3Gb is better than 2gb..
CPU - The good old
Quad6600 OEM version, as I will being using my Artic Cooler 7 Freezer.
PSU - As I could be using most of my internals for the HTPC, I thought I would tidy up my Antec P180 case as well. My Tagen is very good, but not modular, and so really blocks up one of the lower fans. So, looking at this
Coolermaster 620w modular PSU for £70.
Total upgrade cost, around
£420.
My HTPC Project
I have used the following sites to get my information, as well as reading numerous posts from others already making or made their own HTPC's.
Info on HTPCs ProjectHTPC - HTPC Software Advice HTPC Project - My Build Story - Page 4 - AVForums.com Build Your Own Silent HTPC – Blu-ray, HD DVD and HDTV Combined : We Want HD - Resistance is Futile MY HTPC Case
The Antec Fusion - It comes in Black or Silver, and takes a microATX board. The display on the front of the case is different depending on colour - the
Silver is VFD, while the
Black is LCD.
Cost £120
Cases - Micro ATX / Media Centre Cases - Ebuyer
Pro's: A very nice looking case, comes with a decent PSU, and is a good price. Large fans and ventilation system aid in keeping the system cool and quiet.
Cons: VFD display can be very hit and miss, and it appears that if you try and get too much out of it, it will lock up. Other remotes (Sky?) can cause the display to freeze, requiring a reboot. Sleep modes sometimes does not work. Only takes a mATX board.
Info: The black case has LCD, which appears to be blue text on a blue background. Most people recomend the Silver over the black version, even if you have black AV equipment.
Other cases I thought about
: Antec NSK2480 + iMon display - Simply becasue of people having trouble with their displays, I thought of this combo. It totals around the same price £100, but you are still using iMon software (which the Fusion does) and the NSK only has a 300w PSU rather than the 400+ of the Fusion.
Silverstone LC16, the
Origen AE H6 and the
Silverstone LC20. All are very nice cases, as they get good reviews, plus they can take ATX boards. They just miss out of being used as they are £140+ ea, and both do not come with a PSU, meaning another £50+ on top of that, which nearly doubles the Fusions price.
HD/Blu Ray DVD Player
I am going for the LG HD-DVD/Blu-Ray combination unit. Yes, I know HD is dead, but I have a few HD-DVDs now from firesales etc, and when the time comes that my drive dies, the Blu-Ray versions of the films I own will be back to a reasonable price rather than £20+.
Cost £135 -
LG Electronics Blu-Ray & HD-DVD-Rom Combo 16x DVDRW Black SATA - Retail Box With Software - Ebuyer Processor
I am using my E6600, and upgrading my Games machine as mentioned. A higher CPU speed is needed to play HD avi or mkv files, and some people are taking lower spec'd Intel Core2's and OC'ing them.
Heatsink
A low profile one thats not a stock, and has better cooling. I have chosen the Sythe Ninja, not just for its name :D but because it gets a good few mentions in builds like this.
Mini Sythe Ninja £25
NINJA-MINI - Scythe Mini Ninja Heatpipe CPU Cooler S478/LAG775, AMD S754/939/940/AM2 - Scan.co.uk Mobo
I have an ASUS P5VD2-MX mATX board already, which I think I will be using - it can take my E6600 with no problems. I am missing the I/O Plate for it though, which is a pain.
Other considerations: The
Asus P5E-VM HDMI is pricey at £105, but includes onboard video supplied by a x1300, with a proper onboard HDMi output. however, I dont think it can run Blu-Ray DVDs through this, as the graphics card onboard is not powerful enough?
RAM
I am using the RAM from my PC, as I am upgrading my Games PC. Its Kingston 2Gb of DDR2 533mhz (4 x 512mb) - I need to double check how many slots though. Otherwise I will pick up some
Corsair or patriot for around £30 for 2 x 1Gb.
Hard Drive
If you look through other peoples component lists, 90% of them will have a Samsung Spinpoint listed. The other 10% will have 2..... For quietness and speed they seem to be unmatched, and I will probably end up with a pair myself.
Samsung Spinpoint 500gb £60
Hard Drives - 3.5" SATA Drives - Ebuyer Graphics Cards
The GPU is used in conjunction with PowerHDDVD to play original HD/Blu Ray DVDs, helping to relieve pressure from the CPU. You need a HDCP compliant card to play DVDs, and although I am a big NVidia fanboi, the ATi cards are the most recomended amongst HTPC users.
Ati 3650 Passively cooled £50 -
Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online - Scan.co.uk
Other considerations: I was looking at an ATi 2600 (minimum recomended card for HD playback),and the
8600GT passive range as well. There are some nice silent ones, but I need to make sure I have the clearance space in the case.
Quote from someone on AVForums (paraphrased)
I assumed that you need a fancy graphics card for playback of HD material. But after much reading up on the subject, it turns out you don't really need a fancy graphics card, its more CPU power. Its only when you play back Blu-Ray and HD-DVD original material that your fancy graphic card comes into the equation and you benefit from hardware acceleration.
So the advice is this, get a decent processor for your HTPC and you'll be fine to playback ALL filetypes. You'll only need a decent graphics card for playing back Blu-Ray and HD-DVD orignals. And by decent, i only mean something like a ATI 2400 XT or 2600 Pro.... no need to spend £100+ (unless you plan on gaming too) Keyboard
A wireless keyboard, which also turns up a few times on other peoples kit list. This one is more like a laptop keyboard and touchpad without the screen, so handy as you do not have a seperate mouse.
Keysonic Keyboard £25 -
KeySonic 2.4Ghz Wireless HTPC Compact Keyboard with Integrated TouchPad - USB - Ebuyer Operating System
Windows Vista Home Premium £60 - Having tried it on my laptop, its a nice bit of software - although not sure I would put it on my games machine yet, for a media PC, all its extra flashiness makes it look good.
I will also be buying a copy of Vista Home Premium as well, as I believe certain codecs and software requires Vista to run correctly (without anymore hassle than it already has been to set things up.)
Total Cost
£120.00 - Antec Case
£ 60.00 - 500Gb HD
£135.00 - HD/Blu Ray Drive
£ 25.00 - Wireless Keyboard
£ 50.00 - Graphics Card
£ 25.00 - Heatsink
£ 60.00 - OS
£ 30.00 - RAM
-----------------
£505.00 Total
-----------------
For others to build a similar spec'd machine, you would need to add around £150 to 200 for the CPU and Motherboard.
MY HTPC Software
Currently, I am testing the following software and configurations on the Sony FZ21M laptop I have, which has Vista Home Premium and a Blu-Ray drive.
Media Portal
Rather than the MCS that comes with Vista, I will be using software called Media Portal, which as I type this, is at revision 0.2.3.0. This
software is really something, being simplistic and functional. I have used the basic configuration
from here and have spent a great deal of time mucking about with Blu-Ray and SD-DVD rips as well. HD-DVDs not so much, as I dont have a player yet, but plenty of fire sale HD-DVDs ready to run when I do.
Settings Skin: Blue Too Wide
Settings: Exactly as per the HTPC Project website, using KMPlayer and CoreAVC.
Plug-ins: Some removed, like the TV part as I dont have a tuner card. The
HD Player plug-in is also installed.
KVMPlayer Keyboard settings: My personal settings are to make these amendments: ESC closes the application, double click toggles full screen.
PowerDVD
Latest Version installed
Conclusion MY VIDEOS - The settings allow me to browse and select either a DVD ISO rip which will lauch KVMPlayer. TV show rips can also be seen in this menu and will play in KVMplayer.
All play at full screen. DVDs are not upscaled though (yet - although I think I have seen another program that does it.)
Selecting a Blu-Ray ISO will mount the ISO in Deamon tools (as it does with a normal DVD) but as KVMPlayer cannot play Blu-Ray, nothing happens.
HD PLAYER - This is where the plug-in
HDStarter comes into play. Selecting this launches PowerDVD 'within' Media Portal, and then it will play the Blu-Ray ISO as normal. I believe it will also load HD-DVDs in the same way (yet to check)
-------------------------------
Massive Thanks to the following: tinners, Mickwall, Woozy, SilverSerpent (Samsung M86 settings), and everyone else I have thanked and scanned info from their HTPC stories. Ta!
Similar Threads 
And its true. 
Linear Mode
