My HTPC build (March 2006) [Archive]

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Lastblade

03-29-2006, 11:27 PM

I finally got all the parts last week and put everything together configuring it. It is alot of work to get everything working nicely, and I am still working on it (need to grab music covers, configure more emus and ripping movies to hdd), but here are the results.

I am running the Meedio front end and so far, it is working great. I originally wanted to use XLobby but since it keeps crashing on this computer (for whatever reason), Meedio replaced Xlobby!

This HTPC case has a 7in touch screen LCD so I don't have to turn on the TV to play music (works so nicely except for the minor overscan in the LCD screen, which is remedied by Meedio's internal setup).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/kof21/HTPC/meediofrontend.jpg

Another look at the Meedio front end on my RPTV

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/kof21/HTPC/meediofrontendtv.jpg

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Here is some of my movies that I have ripped so far (except for Brokeback Mountain, it is actually Monsters, Inc, hehehe).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/kof21/HTPC/movelist1.jpg

Another look, I am still setting everything up so the HTPC is sitting on the couch for now.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/kof21/HTPC/movielist2.jpg

Batman Begins playing, and outputted to 1280x720p resolution with ZoomPlayer Pro via Nvidia Purevideo decoder and FFDShow post processing.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/kof21/HTPC/batman3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/kof21/HTPC/batman4.jpg

Kill Bill being played. With Napoleon being nosy and wondering what I am doing :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/kof21/HTPC/killbill1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/kof21/HTPC/killbill2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/kof21/HTPC/killbill3.jpg

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Just for fun, I put a few episodes of Rome in there. My wife is very happy about this.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/kof21/HTPC/romelist.jpg

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My Cantonese music MP3's.... and me touching the LCD screen to select the album.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/kof21/HTPC/musiclisttv.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/kof21/HTPC/musiclistLCD.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/kof21/HTPC/musiclistLCD2.jpg

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The NES emulator through Meedio.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/kof21/HTPC/emu-nes1.jpg

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And finally, I decided to give Oblivion a try. After all, it is time to give that Radeon X850XT a workout! It runs very smoothly (not highest detail though, obviously). I have never game on a PC via a TV, so this is really cool! :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/kof21/HTPC/oblivion1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/kof21/HTPC/oblivion2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/kof21/HTPC/oblivion3.jpg

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Well there you have it. This was not a cheap build (I originally budget around $1200 but that case blew that budget out of the water), but I am very happy with the end result. I am not done yet though, I have not bought a HDTV tuner and I need some wireless keyboard/mouse + control pad very soon. But those will come once I configured everything. I have a ton of fun researching and building this so hopefully this will inspire others to take the HTPC plunge :)

Lastblade

03-29-2006, 11:30 PM

Here are the parts to this:

CPU: AMD Opteron 146
CPU cooler: Zalman CNPS7700-ALCU CPU Cooler
Mobo: ASUS A8N-E
Mobo Chipset cooler: Zalman ZM-NB47J Northbridge Cooler
Case: Silverstone LC18
RAM: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory
Harddrive: 1 x Seagate SATA 250Gig; 1 x Seagate SATA 300Gig
Videocard: Sapphire Radeon X850XT PCIe
Sound Card: ChainTech AV710
PSU: Seasonic S12 380W
Wireless Adapter: Netgear WG311T PCI
DVD Drive: NEC 3550A
Misc: 15 Ft DVI to HDMI cable

Software

OS: XP Pro
Frontend: Meedio
Codec: PureVideo + FFDShow
DVD Player: ZoomPlayer Pro
Misc: Speeddrive to quiet that NEC drive
Emu Management MyGames Professional

Devil24

03-29-2006, 11:45 PM

Sweet setup, dude... congrats!

morpheus6d9

03-30-2006, 12:53 AM

thats sweet i was partial to htpc but i think i might have to build one :p

Devil24

03-30-2006, 02:27 AM

How much did you pay for the case? $600-$650?

Lastblade

03-30-2006, 09:40 AM

How much did you pay for the case? $600-$650?

SunDial Micro has it the cheapest that I can find for $615.

iownyou14

03-30-2006, 03:30 PM

Wow thats awesome!

spotdog14

04-06-2006, 07:39 AM

that really looks sweet! it puts my little Asus barebones to shame!

BootSector

04-07-2006, 01:04 PM

That is a very sweet set up. :cool:

rayman2k2

04-07-2006, 09:25 PM

saw this on AVS Forums. Really good!

Willsonman

04-08-2006, 08:53 AM

What resolution are you running your front end at?

Lastblade

04-08-2006, 11:17 AM

What resolution are you running your front end at?

I was running it at 1280x720, but my HDTV has alot of overscan (but the touchscreen LCD is perfect). I switch to 1152 x 648 and it fits perfectly on the tv, but then, the touchscreen has overscan. This problem was solved with a few tweaks in the ATI control panel + Meedio's internal screen stretch.

Thanks for all the comments, the hardest part is definitely get all the software to work nicely.

Bighitter

04-08-2006, 11:31 AM

Very nice build man. I love the look of a nicely integrated touchscreen.

Willsonman

04-08-2006, 04:56 PM

Yeah I was curious about that one.

paradoxblue

04-10-2006, 11:19 AM

wow im inspired. but I doubt i'd spend that much on a case. lol. wow. but the touch screen is a damned good idea. hmm

sitheris

04-11-2006, 02:26 PM

Very cool, grats.

Been wanting to build an HTPC for a long time but I don't have the TV for it so TV is higher priority for me atm.

That case is nuts :)

stelleg151

04-16-2006, 05:04 AM

Thats gorgeous. Ive never seen medio in action either, looks nice.

Is it hard to setup the touch screen, or is it pretty much plug and play?

Dark Prodigy

04-16-2006, 05:21 AM

Lastblade

04-16-2006, 09:55 PM

Ok... An HTPC with the touchscreen is soooo my next project. Very classy build friend. Question..Why not Windows Media Center Edition 2005? I have it on my setup and its gorgeous...Meedio doesn't detract from your build in ANY way....and how loud is it if at all?

My friend can get XP SP2 for cheap (legit copy), so I don't want to spend extra for the MCE (plus I really want to use FFDShow, I read that it is not easy (or not possible) to use that with MCE). It is loud, I need to replace the factory Radeon video card fan....

pcstuff

05-04-2006, 03:37 PM

Ever considered MediaPortal? I've tried it on my regular PC and I think I will use it whenever I get the dough for an HTPC.

Lastblade

05-04-2006, 08:50 PM

Ever considered MediaPortal? I've tried it on my regular PC and I think I will use it whenever I get the dough for an HTPC.

Never heard of it... I am not completely happy with Meedio (and now that it is dead). I will look into it.

Vader

05-09-2006, 01:10 PM

jebo_4jc

05-09-2006, 01:46 PM

That's the exact case that I plan on using for my build in a couple of months. I was planning on using MCE 2005 since I already have it running my Media Server to push content the Xbox 360.

My issues are the crappy DVD picture that the XBOX 360 gives. You would think new technology would have a DVD player that upscales but this is not the case. Anyway, my question is in regards to Meedio and your DVD playing.

Does Zoomplayer automatically launch within Meedio? Does anyone know if it can be launched within MCE 2005 so I can upscale DVD's?I would imagine it's possible...I'm currently using the "My Movies" plugin for MCE05, and it has the option to launch TheaterTek as opposed to using MCE's DVD player. Theatertek can be configured to use FFDShow.

Edit: I think the My Movies author made his decision to use TheaterTek because it uses the MCE remote natively, which ZP doesn't, AFAIK

jebo_4jc

05-09-2006, 01:50 PM

Lastblade: Great setup! After using the LC-18 for a while, you'll have to update us on your opinions of it. As in, how often do you use it as opposed to firing up the TV, how easy is it to use, limitations, etc.

I'm VERY interested in buying one, I just have to muster up enough to justify the 6 bills!

Lastblade

05-10-2006, 01:08 PM

Does Zoomplayer automatically launch within Meedio? Does anyone know if it can be launched within MCE 2005 so I can upscale DVD's?

I can't answer the MCE2005 part, since I am using XP SP2.... but Zoomplayer can be launched within Meedio (I use it to launch all movies/avi's, etc). There is a plugin to do that, it is fairly easy to configure, so it is possible and definitely worth it.

As far as the case/LCD screen is concerned, it is very helpful if you play alot of music. I do that every morning by firing up the LCD screen, pick a bunch of albums I want to listen to the rest of the day and let it play. I recently bought a Firefly remote so it works very well with the Meedio/Zoomplayer/etc. But if you don't listen to much music, it might not be worth the $600. Of course, it has a cool factor if you have friends and want to show off when playing movies, but IMO, that is not worth $600 to impress your friend.

The only other issue I have with the LCD, actually, is more of an issue with my TV because the TV's resolution is 1152 x 648 in order to get perfect pixel mapping, and the LCD does not recognize this resolution so it is set to 800x600 which cuts off alot of the screen property. But I only use the LCD screen for Meedio so I can adjust the screen size within Meedio to compensate.

jebo_4jc

05-10-2006, 01:16 PM

Yea my TV works nicely at 1280x720, so I think the touchscreen would play nicely with my setup.

The cool factor is nearly worth $600, IMO. The problem is, I am probably just as likely to fire up my TV with a remote and change songs that way as opposed to walking over to the PC to use the touchscreen.