Another reason to go with something that isn't just the bare minimal is content that isn't currently hardware accelerated. Hi10P is going to start to become very popular now that software is starting to support it, and that currently isn't hardware accelerated. It will be interesting to see how it runs on atoms and e350s meaning it will play but how the dithering is handled.
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Maximum PC's HTPC. Opinions?
- Thread starter The_Adm0n
- Start date
True. However, from what I've seen so far streaming Hi10P is less than desirable which pretty much assures no one will use it until there is better support within the codecs for it. Even if you had an i7 the feed would look like crap. It's not the CPU that's creating the dithering. It's the way the file format needs to be read in order for you to watch it properly. So far from what I've read people are saying it needs to be stored locally which means..... you are going to be capacity constrained.
I wasn't referring to just the CPU doing the dithering, but how the chipsets would react with those types of files. Turn off the acceleration and the processor can't handle it. Turn it on and deal with color banding issues.
And the streaming issues is more from trying to stream shows from the web, not over your lan. Put it on a file server or NAS and you'll be fine. Hi10P will be more of an format people who are archiving will want to use because files can be potentially smaller, and not a format people ripping shows as they air will use because of the additional processing needed to create the files. Speedrippers aren't going to change overnight unless it's faster and it's not there yet.
And the streaming issues is more from trying to stream shows from the web, not over your lan. Put it on a file server or NAS and you'll be fine. Hi10P will be more of an format people who are archiving will want to use because files can be potentially smaller, and not a format people ripping shows as they air will use because of the additional processing needed to create the files. Speedrippers aren't going to change overnight unless it's faster and it's not there yet.
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AMEN! there is a point where anything more on the hardware side is 100% pointless. It just does the job and thats it, nothing more, nothing less.kac77 said:
We'll see.. hard to claim that a new encoding profile is going to become very popular when the hardware that people run it on doesn't decode it properly and the #1 use is in illegally downloaded rips.
YeuEmMaiMai
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for $900 buy a i5 laptop with dedicated graphics and all the connectivity options you will ever need along with 4+GB and 500+GB 7200rpm drive BD-Rom and call it a day.......best bang for the $$ as it is portable in additon to being a HTPC.
Have you ever done this? I'm really thinking of doing it. It sounds so easy. And I have the KB and monitor built in if I want to work on the side. Sounds like a great solution, but I just wasn't sure I wanted to go that route yet.
I have an i7 laptop that will do this well. I've done it and it works just fine. Has HDMI, BD software, internet, Win7/MC. I just don't like using such a laptop for an HTPC, though. But it works on the fly, too, like the poster said.
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I think the hard drive is the loudest thing in my HTPC. I have a Scythe heatsink that is pretty quiet and my power supply is quiet as well, but my HD just makes that whine that you can hear if your room is quiet.
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if your room is quiet enough to hear the HD while you're watching movies, then you're doing it wrong
if your room is quiet enough to hear the HD while you're watching movies, then you're doing it wrong
It's possible to hear the HD during quiet passages if they are long enough...but I mostly hear mine when NOTHING in playing. In a totally quiet room, the HD can be heard (at least the ones in the TIVOs).
The ones in Tivos are the cheapest of the cheap. A WD blue is quiet as shit. Seriously my Xbox and PS3 each alone are louder than my HTPC. You literally could not tell my HTPC was even on if the blue light wasn't lit. I don't know what loud HD's people are buying but mine are whisper quiet. The case insulates all of the noise. The case fans are low RPM. As is the one for the CPU same as well for the GPU. If you got up close you would hear the Plasma TV (even if the sound was off) and the STB long before you could even hear the HD's. Personally I think a lot of it is a psychological justification for spending 80+ for a 60 GB SSD when a $20 USB stick would do. Since my Seagate drive died yesterday I should record both with and without the SSD installed and see if people could identify which had the SSD and which didn't.
D
Deleted member 233889
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So build one for me.
D
Deleted member 233889
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Interested as well. You guys have a brand or model that you recommend? I know it's not the forum but it would be cool to see some examples.
1) The ones in the tivos are older HDs...the quieter WDs are more recent to the market
2) Lots of people build HTPCs on the cheap buy using older drives. I have a WD Caviar SE 250GB sitting here that I'm going to use in my second HTPC that I will build up on Monday.
3) This is nonsense for you to keep talking about using a USB stick for an HTPC. If you want to build your box around that, be my guest. But the lower capacity SSDs do have a place in the HTPC...especially if you plan to stream ALL your content. Again, there are many options and building the absolute cheapest box you can is not going to be the goal of everyone. Some will choose to go high here, low there, etc. So why don't you live and let live rather than preaching as though you are the only one here with a clue about anything?
OK
Did I say anything about people not using old parts? NOPE. In fact if you really want to build on the cheap I thoroughly recommend it.
First many people have used USB sticks for extenders it's not new. Second that wasn't my first recommendation. Most mechanicals are more than fast enough except in the most extreme cases to which SSD's do serve a niche. I've said it before. However if you are building on the cheap to me it's over kill since it's performance really is only realized at boot (which most HTPC's of all kinds are usually always on), extreme seek of 1080 content (who watches shows at 32x?), and those individuals who have frontends which aren't too efficient when dealing with large collections. From an economic standpoint all of that can be dealt with using cheaper alternatives. That is the point I'm making, NOT that you should never ever buy a SSD.
Did I not say that SSD's serve a niche? I did. The only thing that I've said contrary to that is that if you are streaming like in the article and you are spending 900+ to stream and you have a SSD+ a $125 CPU and not a decent GPU (which is far more important than the CPU or SSD in this application then you need to rethink some things because you're a component away from a budget gaming machine.
You mean like you are preaching to me now? Did I say I was the only one with a clue? If it came out that way then you probably need to boost your self esteem a little cause forums have a lot of opinions in them and many times they will be different from what you believe. Deal with it.
I don't understand some of his component selections.
The only reason to get the 2100T (power use is essentially identical to 2100 for HTPC workload) is for the low profile cooler and then he tosses it away?
The stock cooler is pretty much inaudible, you are not overclocking and the chip will likely never break 60C even under full load.
Why pick $160 ITX "Wifi" motherboard when you can buy a kickass USB dual band N adapter for $40 and an equally good ITX board for like $70-80?
No bulk storage HD is also a bit ehhhhh (especially his reasons given!) but if you have a gigabit connection to a NAS I think its OK. I don't think I would go SSD only with just a wireless connection. Even 300Mbps N is too slow IMO.
Anyhow, I just built two identical HTPC boxes for a friend and myself:
(actual prices paid)
Lian Li PC-351 $100
Intel I3-2100 $116
Asus P8H67-LE mATX $95
Kingston V100 64GB SSD $80
Hitachi 3TB drive $140
2x2GB Corsair CL9 1333Mhz DDR3 $28
Enermax Liberty ELT400 Power Supply $FREE (old but still good and modular too)
Looks great and it works well with MPC-HC and MadVR at 720p output using the HD2000 IGP clocked to 1450. Audio bitstreaming works great as well using LAV Audio. (or ffdshow)
That's less then $600 for something that is still very appropriate for your living room but is significantly more flexible and expandable.
If you want upgrades you can add:
- up to 3 more 3TB drives to make it a basic NAS box too ($140 each)
- a 5.25" BD drive $1xx
- a wireless USB adapter ($40 for dual band N)
- a discrete NVIDIA card for MadVR + LAVCUVID with 1080p output (GT440 DDR5 $80)
Toss in the wireless adapter and discrete card for maximum video quality/performance and you are just breaking the $700 barrier with way more machine then this limited ITX build.
Further if you really want to do it on the cheap you can drop the SSD and go for a 1TB drive and cut $150 out of the price bringing it down into the mid $4xx range.
The only reason to get the 2100T (power use is essentially identical to 2100 for HTPC workload) is for the low profile cooler and then he tosses it away?
The stock cooler is pretty much inaudible, you are not overclocking and the chip will likely never break 60C even under full load.
Why pick $160 ITX "Wifi" motherboard when you can buy a kickass USB dual band N adapter for $40 and an equally good ITX board for like $70-80?
No bulk storage HD is also a bit ehhhhh (especially his reasons given!) but if you have a gigabit connection to a NAS I think its OK. I don't think I would go SSD only with just a wireless connection. Even 300Mbps N is too slow IMO.
Anyhow, I just built two identical HTPC boxes for a friend and myself:
(actual prices paid)
Lian Li PC-351 $100
Intel I3-2100 $116
Asus P8H67-LE mATX $95
Kingston V100 64GB SSD $80
Hitachi 3TB drive $140
2x2GB Corsair CL9 1333Mhz DDR3 $28
Enermax Liberty ELT400 Power Supply $FREE (old but still good and modular too)
Looks great and it works well with MPC-HC and MadVR at 720p output using the HD2000 IGP clocked to 1450. Audio bitstreaming works great as well using LAV Audio. (or ffdshow)
That's less then $600 for something that is still very appropriate for your living room but is significantly more flexible and expandable.
If you want upgrades you can add:
- up to 3 more 3TB drives to make it a basic NAS box too ($140 each)
- a 5.25" BD drive $1xx
- a wireless USB adapter ($40 for dual band N)
- a discrete NVIDIA card for MadVR + LAVCUVID with 1080p output (GT440 DDR5 $80)
Toss in the wireless adapter and discrete card for maximum video quality/performance and you are just breaking the $700 barrier with way more machine then this limited ITX build.
Further if you really want to do it on the cheap you can drop the SSD and go for a 1TB drive and cut $150 out of the price bringing it down into the mid $4xx range.
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