Zarch
Prominent Member
UPDATE: (18th May 2008)
The creation of HTPC mk2 starts here:
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7089148#post7089148
Built around a Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H 780G Socket AM2+ and a AMD Athlon 64 X2 4050e 2.1GHz with a Hauppauge Nova-S2 satellite card for ITV-HD! (as well as all other Free-to-air satellite channels)
Other threads I started that may be of interest and relevant:
HTPC Sticky - Builds, Hardware, Software, Specs, Performance, Advice, Links & More
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=705626
HTPC Codecs & Players,Help & Configuration Thread (ffdshow, CoreAVC, MediaPortal etc)
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=652538
NAS Basics (Data Protection, Performance, Configuration and more)
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=627725
One more thing, if you post a question up and someone goes to the trouble of answering you, please have the courtesy to use the "thanks" button to show your appreciation.
Rudeness is not a welcome attribute on these forums.
Old Thread: HTPC MK1 starting 4th July 2007...............................
Inspired by Azzin's epic of the last month or so i'm going to go through similar trials and tribulations with my build and try and detail things as i go along so other people can find inspiration and confidence from it to go ahead and build their own HTPC.
Background & Current Kit:
Sony KV32-LS60 100hz TV
Sony DAV-SC5 Surround Kit
SKY+
To be replaced and end up with:
Panasonic TH37-PX70 Plasma
Sony DAV-SC5 Surround Kit (staying!)
SKY HD
Custom HTPC
New TV Stand.
The decision to get the Panasonic LX70 has been a long a winding road, but i'm very happy with the selection after considering various LCD and Plasmas (wont bore you with that saga)
SKY HD is a given, especially with new footy season only just over a month away!
Apologies for the state of the pictures i've taken. My Canon digi-cam has given up the ghost, so i'm having to use my phone for most of them until i can get the Canon back from repair!!
Current Set-up Picture:
As you can see i'm dealing with a tricky corner situation. No, the chimney breast(to the left) was never an option for the new screen as it would have been too high. So to decide on the size of screen i had to resort to 2 methods.
1) graph paper and 2) lifesize models.
"To Scale" diagram of "the corner" on graph paper
Lifesize model of the 37" PX70.
As you can probably see, i couldn't get anything bigger than a 37" screen in the corner and the graph paper along with a to scale 37" and 42" panny cutouts proved it! LOL.
Okay, so i know what stuff i'm gonna end up with under the tv. So i measured all their dimensions to make sure the stand would take it all. And so there started the search for a corner stand to a)take the telly b) take all the equipment below and c) fit in the damn corner.
As you can see, plenty were considered.
But when it came down to it, there was only one stand that i could find that satisfied all three requirements.
And that was the Stil-Stand STUK-1403.
Proper image of it.
Now after a bit of searching i managed to find the stand at an absolute bargain price of £60. Its usually £100+ everywhere else. I also ordered the cable management for £25.
Both items where ordered from "For Your Home and Life"
http://www.fyhl.co.uk/store/product_info.php/products_id/2012
http://www.fyhl.co.uk/store/product_info.php/manufacturers_id//products_id/127
They also have some of the other STIL-STAND range at rock bottom prices, well worth a look.
So hopefully that will be here Friday.
On the Plasma front, i've got John Lewis currently pricematching a store for me at the moment on the PED version and then once that is approved(finsger crossed) i will be getting my John Lewis Vouchers through my MBNA credit card at 90% cost to get another 10% off!!! YYYEEEAAAAHHHHH!!
Right, finally onto the HTPC itself.
Its primary role in the first instance will be play back of files i get down from usenet/internet. So .ts files, wmv, h.264 and all other hi def file types.
At the moment i have a PC in the little box room upstairs with a router and cable modem. I do intend to get a NAS box down the line, probably 1 TB, but thats well in the future. (maybe a few months)
For network connectivity i'm gonna connect the HTPC to the router upstairs via a run of CAT5 UTP cable that i'm gonna have run up the side of the house following the coax i've got for my SKY RF feed!
That way i'll be able to transfer stuff from the computer room PC to the HTPC, the HTPC will get internet access and will be able to see the NAS later down the line, all at 100MB (max of the router, hopefully!). Wireless just isn't an option due to speed restrictions.
I've been building a bit of a kit list over the last week or so for the HTPC, its all from ebuyer (my preferred supplier). Take a look, tell me what you think.
All prices ex-vat. Total including VAT comes in at bang on £500.
Software wise i haven't decided whether to stick with XP or goto Vista yet for the OS.
For video playback i'm open to suggestions at this stage. I do like the look of MediaPortal as an all in one sort of tool as recommended on ProjectHTPC.
http://www.projecthtpc.co.uk/htpc_software.html
I like that its open source and you can get plugins etc, hopefully one for itunes!!!
I've got 2 weeks till payday when i'll be able to order the bits for the HTPC and maybe SKY-HD (just buy a box of ebay and self install) plus the Plasma money is already accounted for!! TV Stand on its way, so its finally all happening.
I think thats enough for the first post. I've got some thoughts and questions about sound connectiivty that'll post in a bit.
Any thoughts, questions, answers or anything would be most welcome.
The creation of HTPC mk2 starts here:
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7089148#post7089148
Built around a Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H 780G Socket AM2+ and a AMD Athlon 64 X2 4050e 2.1GHz with a Hauppauge Nova-S2 satellite card for ITV-HD! (as well as all other Free-to-air satellite channels)
Other threads I started that may be of interest and relevant:
HTPC Sticky - Builds, Hardware, Software, Specs, Performance, Advice, Links & More
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=705626
HTPC Codecs & Players,Help & Configuration Thread (ffdshow, CoreAVC, MediaPortal etc)
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=652538
NAS Basics (Data Protection, Performance, Configuration and more)
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=627725
One more thing, if you post a question up and someone goes to the trouble of answering you, please have the courtesy to use the "thanks" button to show your appreciation.
Rudeness is not a welcome attribute on these forums.
Old Thread: HTPC MK1 starting 4th July 2007...............................
Inspired by Azzin's epic of the last month or so i'm going to go through similar trials and tribulations with my build and try and detail things as i go along so other people can find inspiration and confidence from it to go ahead and build their own HTPC.
Background & Current Kit:
Sony KV32-LS60 100hz TV
Sony DAV-SC5 Surround Kit
SKY+
To be replaced and end up with:
Panasonic TH37-PX70 Plasma
Sony DAV-SC5 Surround Kit (staying!)
SKY HD
Custom HTPC
New TV Stand.
The decision to get the Panasonic LX70 has been a long a winding road, but i'm very happy with the selection after considering various LCD and Plasmas (wont bore you with that saga)
SKY HD is a given, especially with new footy season only just over a month away!
Apologies for the state of the pictures i've taken. My Canon digi-cam has given up the ghost, so i'm having to use my phone for most of them until i can get the Canon back from repair!!
Current Set-up Picture:
As you can see i'm dealing with a tricky corner situation. No, the chimney breast(to the left) was never an option for the new screen as it would have been too high. So to decide on the size of screen i had to resort to 2 methods.
1) graph paper and 2) lifesize models.
"To Scale" diagram of "the corner" on graph paper
Lifesize model of the 37" PX70.
As you can probably see, i couldn't get anything bigger than a 37" screen in the corner and the graph paper along with a to scale 37" and 42" panny cutouts proved it! LOL.
Okay, so i know what stuff i'm gonna end up with under the tv. So i measured all their dimensions to make sure the stand would take it all. And so there started the search for a corner stand to a)take the telly b) take all the equipment below and c) fit in the damn corner.
As you can see, plenty were considered.
But when it came down to it, there was only one stand that i could find that satisfied all three requirements.
And that was the Stil-Stand STUK-1403.
Proper image of it.
Now after a bit of searching i managed to find the stand at an absolute bargain price of £60. Its usually £100+ everywhere else. I also ordered the cable management for £25.
Both items where ordered from "For Your Home and Life"
http://www.fyhl.co.uk/store/product_info.php/products_id/2012
http://www.fyhl.co.uk/store/product_info.php/manufacturers_id//products_id/127
They also have some of the other STIL-STAND range at rock bottom prices, well worth a look.
So hopefully that will be here Friday.
On the Plasma front, i've got John Lewis currently pricematching a store for me at the moment on the PED version and then once that is approved(finsger crossed) i will be getting my John Lewis Vouchers through my MBNA credit card at 90% cost to get another 10% off!!! YYYEEEAAAAHHHHH!!
Right, finally onto the HTPC itself.
Its primary role in the first instance will be play back of files i get down from usenet/internet. So .ts files, wmv, h.264 and all other hi def file types.
At the moment i have a PC in the little box room upstairs with a router and cable modem. I do intend to get a NAS box down the line, probably 1 TB, but thats well in the future. (maybe a few months)
For network connectivity i'm gonna connect the HTPC to the router upstairs via a run of CAT5 UTP cable that i'm gonna have run up the side of the house following the coax i've got for my SKY RF feed!
That way i'll be able to transfer stuff from the computer room PC to the HTPC, the HTPC will get internet access and will be able to see the NAS later down the line, all at 100MB (max of the router, hopefully!). Wireless just isn't an option due to speed restrictions.
I've been building a bit of a kit list over the last week or so for the HTPC, its all from ebuyer (my preferred supplier). Take a look, tell me what you think.
- Motherboard , £35.17, 125831, ECS 945G-M3 V3.0 Socket 775 Core 2 Duo Ready FSB1066 DDR2 Onboard Audio mATX
- CPU, £85.72, 126904 , Intel Core 2 Duo E6320 (1.86Ghz) Socket 775 FSB1066 4MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor
- Graphics Card, £72.40, 128084, MSI 8600GT Silent edition 256MB DVI HDTV PCI-E
- Memory, £38.29 , 91124, Kingston 2GB KIT (2X1GB) DDR2 667MHz/PC2-5300 CL5 Non Ecc 1.8V
- Hard Disk, £55.99, 124228, Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB SATA II 7200RPM 16MB Cache - OEM
- Case , £93.60 , 129281, Antec Fusion V2 MATX MediaCenter Case - Aluminium Front Bezel with 430W PSU
- CD/DVD Writer , Got old NEC DVD Writer, will still do a job
- Keyboard/Mouse, £25.12, 104608, KeySonic 2.4Ghz Wireless Compact Keyboard with Integrated TouchPad
- DVI/HDMI Cable, £3.63, 88441, Ebuyer Extra Value HDMI to DVI Cable (Black) 2M
- SATA Power, £2.55, 57666, Belkin Parallel/ Serial HD Power Cable Converter 6"
All prices ex-vat. Total including VAT comes in at bang on £500.
Software wise i haven't decided whether to stick with XP or goto Vista yet for the OS.
For video playback i'm open to suggestions at this stage. I do like the look of MediaPortal as an all in one sort of tool as recommended on ProjectHTPC.
http://www.projecthtpc.co.uk/htpc_software.html
I like that its open source and you can get plugins etc, hopefully one for itunes!!!
I've got 2 weeks till payday when i'll be able to order the bits for the HTPC and maybe SKY-HD (just buy a box of ebay and self install) plus the Plasma money is already accounted for!! TV Stand on its way, so its finally all happening.
I think thats enough for the first post. I've got some thoughts and questions about sound connectiivty that'll post in a bit.
Any thoughts, questions, answers or anything would be most welcome.
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