My HTPC build (March 2006)

L

Lastblade

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 12, 2006
Messages
148
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).

meediofrontend.jpg


Another look at the Meedio front end on my RPTV

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).

movelist1.jpg


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

movielist2.jpg


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

batman3.jpg

batman4.jpg


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

killbill1.jpg

killbill2.jpg

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.

romelist.jpg


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

musiclisttv.jpg

musiclistLCD.jpg

musiclistLCD2.jpg


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The NES emulator through Meedio.

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! :)

oblivion1.jpg

oblivion2.jpg

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 :)
 
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
 
Willsonman said:
What resolution are you running your front end at?
Click to expand...

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.
 
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
 
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 :)
 
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?
 
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?
 
Dark Prodigy said:
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?
Click to expand...

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....
 
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.
 
pcstuff said:
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.
Click to expand...

Never heard of it... I am not completely happy with Meedio (and now that it is dead). I will look into it.
 
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?
 
Vader said:
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?
Click to expand...
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
 
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!
 
Vader said:
Does Zoomplayer automatically launch within Meedio? Does anyone know if it can be launched within MCE 2005 so I can upscale DVD's?
Click to expand...

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.
 
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.
 
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