Building in-wall PC system for home-automation.

T

Theorie

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 4, 2005
Messages
154
I'm helping a guy out to 'pimp-out' his house which is currently under construction.

We are in the process of wiring the whole thing with cat-5 for gigabit networking.

I also came up with the idea to have flush-mounted wall-PC's in some of the rooms (like the bedrooms).

Here's what they should be able to do:
* Control the home server's central-stereo system (music played in all rooms)
* Control the in-room audio (streamed from a central server though the specific room's ceiling speakers)
* Stream music/movies to the in-room TV
* View security cameras
* Browse the internet
* Run as a photo slideshow (show artwork, photos, whatever)
* Have a clean, flush-mount installation
* Easy sleep/wake function

Here's the hardware we're looking at using. We want to keep each unit under $400.

* VIA EPIA-800 Motherboard $99.99 +shipping
* 8" touch-screen LCD, about $175 off eBay
* 512mb RAM (we have a bunch of sticks sitting around...no need to buy)
* micro PSU $24 +shipping
* 2.5" HDD 40gb $53.99 +shipping
* slot-loading DVD drive (maybe...not sure if we want to put these in or not)
* bluetooth usb adapter (for keyboard / remote control / etc)

The VIA motherboard has an onboard 800mhz cpu; plenty of power for what this thing will be doing. it also has onboard vga & svideo out: the vga connection will be for the touch screen, and the svideo will run though the wall to a wall-jack that the tv will plug into. that way, if you want to stream something to the TV, (a movie from the central server for example) all you have to do is turn the TV on to "video input 2" for example. I was also thinking of putting a USB jack into the switch plate, that way one could plug in thumbdrive, videogame controller, etc. since the pc will connect to the TV, it can also be used for game emulation if one hooks up a bluetooth or USB controller.

Here are some quick sketches I came up with to give an idea of how it would feel. I just threw a screen shot of win media center in for kicks. we will probably be using our own in-home user interface.

room-switch-concept-2.gif


close up of the switch plate. this will have the sleep/wake switch & the audio selector
room-switch-concept-1.gif




so, any suggestions? i'll probably keep a work log on this, so check back soon for updates/photos or whatever.
 
Keep a running log of what you come up with, please - I plan on doing this to my home as well and will be interested in what you come up with.

Personally, I would leave out the video streaming portion - leave that for media PC's. It steps out of the realm of home automation. A wall panel should be used to control the home: lights, security, audio, etc. Heck, you could even build it without a HDD at all. You can boot them off of a central server or, at the most, boot off of a memory stick. No moving parts means a simpler build and more reliability.
 
Yeah! I'd really be interested to find out how you are going to stream different media to different rooms.

I'd make the room "computers" basic terminals that would access a server. Then you could rip your dvd's to the server, and then play them in any room. Hmmm, I'm not sure how that would work either...can you play a dvd to multiple outputs at different times? Or would you need multiple dvd's/images for that? (ie. I start playing a movie in the bedroom at 8, the kids start playing the same dvd at 8:45)

Heck, why bother with the lcd panel in the wall, other than the "gee whiz" factor. Unless it is going to be a touch screen. Just have a panel that would tie in to a remote, say a Philips Pronto Pro, that you could program. Then it would be able to control all the functions you wanted.

This sounds like a really fun project! Keep us up to date with your progress!!
 
Suggestion - don't have them control a central stereo system. If there is more than one person living in that house and one of them wants to listen to country and the other wants to listen to rap or nothing well... you get the idea.

My parents house has that and it drives you nuts. You can mute the speaker, but it's also tied into the intercom so you have to remember to unmute it the next day.

If you have individual PCs, better to have them control their own music.

Those 8" Lilliput touch screens are flakey. It would add to the cost, but get a Xenarc. It beats yanking it out of the wall and spending more down the line.
 
Why are you installing Cat5 to save money? I would put in Cat6 to be safe. It is alot easier to do it now, even though it may not be necessary. It seems like installing Cat3 when Cat5 is available. Maybe then it would be fine, but you would be pissed right now.
 
ok just an update. met with my friend tonight.

we went over some stuff and he decided to go with a different motherboard, same brand and everything but it has a 1ghz cpu and some other nice features.

VIA / VPSD EPIA M10000 VIA C3 1GHz with FanProcessor Socket 370 VIA CLE266 Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Set - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813181016
13-181-016-02.jpg


also, found this nice thin PSU on ebay for $50 shipped (same thing, different auction)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170010637768
1806325.jpg

it's nice and thin so it will fit in the wall perfect

we decided to use a 3.5" hdd instead of a laptop hdd, because we have the space for it and its cheaper

we ordered everything else off newegg and it comes sometime next week. ill update again when we get the parts
 
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Make sure to get some sort of insulation around the parts, wouldn't want the heat killing it too fast.
 
I think I would mount the components to a board between the studs at the base of the the wall and cover it with and A/C return grill. This would give you an cool air source and give you access to the components and it will just look like an air return in the wall. This is just an idea for keeping it on the cheap, there is likely boxes specifically for this purpose. I built an in wall cabinet for all my networking components which cost me about $25. Keeps everything tidy and hidden and looks like it was meant to be there.
 
wow. sweet lil PSU, too bad we had already ordered the dell one off ebay.

anyway, all the parts came. we put the system together and loaded windows xp media center

wow, what an awesome little setup. the screen is PERFECT. 8in with a USB touch screen interface. we were worried that the screen would only work with a stylus, but it works great using just your index finger (not even having to use your nail)

i was going to take pics of it running, but my camera phone seems to be messed up right now.

ill get some pics saturday when we test fit everything into the wall (before the drywall gets installed!)
 
I love the idea and have done similar stuff myself.

But..I got to ask....why are you using such small parts? If it's in the wall couldn't you use a full atx motherboard for example? Or am I not understanding?
 
I love that idea. I'm actually saving some big bucks on my TV I'm planning to buy (I'm only 16 so money is tight as I won't be making any once schools starts again and I'm back out of work). My family owns a car stereo store so there should be some touch screen LCD's around there somewhere (probably not 8 inches though), and I don't think I'd need a via system as I have some old P3 and P2 computers laying around in the garage. My dad is a contractor so he could help me out with cutting a hole in the wall (although I don't know if he'd be okay with the idea). all I really think I'd need is a slot-loading DVD drive. :)

Your work (or sketches), are pretty damn inspiring! I'd love to see some pictures!
 
ullyeus said:
I love the idea and have done similar stuff myself.

But..I got to ask....why are you using such small parts? If it's in the wall couldn't you use a full atx motherboard for example? Or am I not understanding?
Click to expand...

Thats what I was thinking. :confused:
 
Sounds cool. I'll keep an eye on this. The touch screen interfaces w/WinXP like a mouse control? No special drivers?
 
sleepeeg3 said:
Those 8" Lilliput touch screens are flakey. It would add to the cost, but get a Xenarc. It beats yanking it out of the wall and spending more down the line.
Click to expand...



I agree I have an 8" xenarc and it is great.........
 
What about power and maintenance? How easy are they to get at? How is power run to it? Off the hot wire to the light switch?
 
AMD[H]unter said:
What about power and maintenance? How easy are they to get at? How is power run to it? Off the hot wire to the light switch?
Click to expand...
im assuming the same power that powers this wall computer...

im thinking there needs to be easy access to this computer.. eventually you NEED to get to the computer.. as long there is a cabinet on the other wall or something that would be cool...

( or the door that opens to this cabinet has the computer mounted to the cabinet....)

interesting idea ill admit
 
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