Ultimate HTPC Build Guide

I mean horrible as in quality and service from the company. I really wanted something cheaper as well, as $100 is closing the price gap between this and a h55/i3 setup.

RMA/support quality is one of the last things on my list to care about when purchasing a motherboard. they're so cheap, and i hate to say it but they are rather disposable. still, i only buy asus/gigabyte and even then i've had some duds.
 
AVS forums guides for hardware and software, figure the OP can take a gander and everyone can get another opinion. All credit goes to those AVS forum memebers for wrting and doing all the testing/background leg work for these threads

March Edition of AVS sticky hardware guide for HTPCs ( they are not [H] type people looking at this, so it might be more skewed towards the beginner PC builder, but some good ideas. the posters suggestions are skewed towards media playback/recording/etc NOT gaming or overclocking)

he also goes into DAS/NAS systems, rack mount drive arrays, etc


Great guide for windows Media center and ripping, etc

HD HTPC Software GUIDE for Windows 7 Media Center


Alternate to using Windows media Center (I am currently playing with it) Open source and much more configurable. Great community supporting them, lots of plug-ins and skins
MediaPortal install guide

http://www.team-mediaportal.com/

Forums for media portal
 
Thanks for the guide.
Question
How reliable is the intel graphics for outputting audio over hdmi. I am reading about issues with some receivers. the idea of having gfx built into the cpu seems awesome, but i just want to make sure it is ready for primetime out of the box. Like, no quirky tweaks i have to do/ adjusting of settings to make it work. That is the only reason i would consider the amd system over the intel.
 
Thanks for the guide.
Question
How reliable is the intel graphics for outputting audio over hdmi. I am reading about issues with some receivers. the idea of having gfx built into the cpu seems awesome, but i just want to make sure it is ready for primetime out of the box. Like, no quirky tweaks i have to do/ adjusting of settings to make it work. That is the only reason i would consider the amd system over the intel.

Any of their s1154 boards will do it pretty reliably but some receivers *might* have issues. I can only think of a couple of slightly older Denon and *I think* Yamaha receivers that had that issue.

If it's a G45 based board, those are a tad more finicky.
 
Thanks Crim. I'm guessing you have tested all of these system configurations? I'm pretty set on the midrange intel. I think i might do 32bit windows 7 and add in an extra gb for 3gb of ddr3. other than that, i plan to use those same components.

a lot of neweggians are saying that the psu on the antec is faulty though?

I'm going to be using media browser with 7mc. TMT3 for blurays, MPC-HC for everything (PQ is better in my eyes).

I hope to have zero issues bitstreaming audio. Also, i would like to be able to do 24p playback.
Audio should sync perfectly with video as well.
 
Thanks Crim. I'm guessing you have tested all of these system configurations? I'm pretty set on the midrange intel. I think i might do 32bit windows 7 and add in an extra gb for 3gb of ddr3. other than that, i plan to use those same components.
Half the hardware or at least similar hardware. Either way, most of it's been "battle tested" among the HTPC community as well.
a lot of neweggians are saying that the psu on the antec is faulty though?
Don't believe Norwegians. They lie... and they're Norwegians.
I'm going to be using media browser with 7mc. TMT3 for blurays, MPC-HC for everything (PQ is better in my eyes).

I hope to have zero issues bitstreaming audio. Also, i would like to be able to do 24p playback. Audio should sync perfectly with video as well.
Awesome. Good luck on your build. :)
 
ATI TV Wonder HD 650 - $60.98
This guy will let you watch and record one analog TV channel and one digital TV channel at the same time. You can either get your HD digital channel into it using an antenna (ATSC broadcast) or through your cable (ClearQAM).

Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Dual Tuner - $121.97
Just like the ATI 650 this card will let you record both SD and HD (ClearQAM and ATSC) but it's a dual tuner card so you get two HD or two SD at the same time. Very nice card if you're looking for a dual tuner.

I need some clarity on these cards. It sounds like the 650 has 1 HD tuner and 1 SD tuner so you can record one HD channel and one SD channel at the same time, essentially giving you a crippled dual tuner. Does that mean that the 2250 will let you record 2 SD channels and 4 HD channels at the same time givingyou a crippled quad tuner? I am trying to decide between a silicone dust dual tuenr and a 2250 card. If the 2250 gives me the added bonus of 2 Sd tuenrs that I can use at the same time as the 2 HD tuners then I will get it.
 
Other then the CableCard Ceton tuner, there is no such thing as a quad tuner. The 650s will record only one SD and one HD at the same time, the 2250 will record two SD or two HD at the same time.

The 650 is an "advanced" single tuner; the 2250 is an "advanced" dual tuner.

I wouldn't call them "crippled" because being a dual/quad tuner isn't what they are.
 
advanced single or crippled dual...soundes like the same thing to me ;)

that was the clarification I needed. in your OP it says the single tuner 650 can record one analog and one digital at the same time, thus my question. If they would tune SD content when there was no HD content scheduled then it would hold an advantage to a card that can only record HD content.
 
advanced single or crippled dual...soundes like the same thing to me ;)

that was the clarification I needed. in your OP it says the single tuner 650 can record one analog and one digital at the same time, thus my question. If they would tune SD content when there was no HD content scheduled then it would hold an advantage to a card that can only record HD content.

But that's the point of them, they're meant as digital tuners that, when no digital signal is available, will instead tune the older analog signal instead. They can do both at the same time because they have a digital and an analog tuner module on them with a defined pathway from the input for each. Being able to tune two HD and two SD channels from any of it's inputs would require an entirely redesigned package or to offload the SD tuning to software which is entirely unacceptable.
 
which is why your comment of "at the same time" confused me and is misleading. I appreciate the clarification and you might want to adjust the wording in the first post. They are capable of alternately recording analog or digital but not actually at the same time (aka simultaneously). In the quote above you specifically stated that the single tuner card could record them at the same time. That is erroneous according to your last statement. The dual tuner is capable of recording SD and HD at the same time. That statementis accurate.
 
The 650 will record one SD and one HS signal at the same time. That's exactly what I've said before and in my above comments. What you asked is if it could then be used as a dual tuner to do two HD or even two SD signals at the same time. It doesn't work like that since it's not a dual tuner, it's a hybrid HD/SD single tuner. I know it is because I used to have one that I used all the time. It has hardware onboard to handle both one HD (ATSC/QAM) and one SD signal at the same time. That's hardwired into certain inputs on the card which is why you can't use both inputs to record two HD signals.

So yes, they work simultaneously but they are dedicated to a certain task. The 2250 works in the exact same manner except that has the additional hardware onboard to handle an extra HD and SD signal.
 
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I need some clarity on these cards. It sounds like the 650 has 1 HD tuner and 1 SD tuner so you can record one HD channel and one SD channel at the same time, essentially giving you a crippled dual tuner. Does that mean that the 2250 will let you record 2 SD channels and 4 HD channels at the same time givingyou a crippled quad tuner? I am trying to decide between a silicone dust dual tuenr and a 2250 card. If the 2250 gives me the added bonus of 2 Sd tuenrs that I can use at the same time as the 2 HD tuners then I will get it.

first off I have to apologize, I went back and read this from my first post and saw a typo. I intentionally didnt edit the typo so you could see my unaltered original question in its original post with no markings of edits. I asked if the 2250 coudl record 4 HD channels. I meant 2 HD and 2 SD for a total of 4 channels at the same time. My question about the 650 was only clarifying htat it could do 1 SD and 1 HD at the same time. I never asked if the 650 could do 2 HD or 2 SD at the same time. So let me restate in terms that should be answerable with a simple true/false response.

the 650 can do 2 channels at the same time, with the caveat of one being SD and on being HD

The 2250 can do 4 channels at the same time, with the caveat that 2 are SD and 2 are HD.
 
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honestly, it sounds like I asked the right question and you answered the right answer but somehow neither of us realizes it. You ahve confirmed what I asked even though you may have misunderstood my initial question and I misunderstood a part of oneof your previous responses. This one sentence answers my actual question entirely.

But that's the point of them, they're meant as digital tuners that, when no digital signal is available, will instead tune the older analog signal instead.
 
Crim, any chance of enhancing the Media Server post with more selections of hardware, such as hotswap cases with backplanes, rackmount storage and so on? I'm looking around myself, but I always welcome another eye, especially from someone who knows their stuff in case I miss something. A lot of them are really expensive, in the thousands of dollar range, but I'm sure there's something out there for us (besides the HP MediaSmart Server).

In addition, with drives getting larger and larger, are there limits per boards, or is the size limit per SATA port?
 
If you have one of those HTPC cases with a tiny LCD screen on the outside is there a way to get that to display the channel number of the channel you're on just like you're accustomed to on a cable box?
 
Yep. Antec screens have that ability in their software. Other lcd screens can probably get it done using a free controller program.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
No Boxee? No XBMC? Hmm....

Call me when they're actually mature. XBMC is getting there but I wouldn't waste time on it for an HTPC. Not a main HTPC at least, I am thinking about rolling it onto a client system to access media in a different room (an extender like system).

Boxee I tried and totally hated it. I don't see much point to it.
 
the 650 can do 2 channels at the same time, with the caveat of one being SD and on being HD

The 2250 can do 4 channels at the same time, with the caveat that 2 are SD and 2 are HD.

I realize this post is almost 2 months old, but since this thread is a sticky and considered a reference guide, I thought I should correct it anyway.

The 2250 is a dual tuner card, period. The maximum number of channels(SD or HD) that you can record at any one time is 2. The reason people get confused about this is that the 2250 is a hybrid tuner card and people misunderstand exactly what that means.

In Windows Media Center there are 2 types of tuners: Analog and Digital. Analog can record NTSC signals. Digital can record ATSC(OTA) and/or QAM signals. Prior to the Hybrid feature, every tuner had to be one or the other. You had to declare what type of signal each tuner could record during MC setup. Once you defined it as Analog or Digital, that was it, it would only be used for that signal type, even if it was capable of doing both.

This was a real problem in Vista. You had to decide in advance how to allocate the 2250's 2 tuners. You could assign MC either 2 Digital tuners, 2 Analog tuners, or 1 of each. All of those options are less than ideal.

Windows 7 fixed that problem by enabling hybrid tuners. Hybrid tuners allows you to set up each tuner as both Analog and Digital capable. Win7 handles all of the switching on the fly. This allows you to record 2 Digital channels at 8pm, then 2 analog channels at 9pm followed by 1 Analog and 1 Digital channel at 10pm. This was not possible in Vista with the 2250.

The problem, and all of the 4 tuner confusion, is the way that Win7 handles hybrid tuners during MC setup. During the hardware detect segment, it finds the 2250, and sees that Tuner #1 has an Analog and a Digital tuner. It also sees that tuner #2 has an Analog and a Digital tuner. When Win7 finishes the hardware scan, it reports back that "Windows has found 2 Digital and 2 Analog tuners" and asks you which ones you want to use. That's really misleading. It makes you think it found 4 independent tuners. It really only found 2 physical tuners that are each capable of decoding 2 types of signals. They could clear all of this up by simply reporting that "Windows has found 2 Hybrid Analog/Digital tuners" instead of their current message.

Sorry this turned into such a long reply, but I wanted to make it as clear as possible to any first time HTPC builders exactly what they were getting with the 2250.
 
really nice!
very useful guide, many thanks.
smileynormal.ico
 
ok i'm lost with the cablecard tuner...what can it do that an hd tuner can't do?

i have 2 tv's in the house...is the only difference the cable card tuner allows me to watch cable tv on the second tv?
 
ok i'm lost with the cablecard tuner...what can it do that an hd tuner can't do?

i have 2 tv's in the house...is the only difference the cable card tuner allows me to watch cable tv on the second tv?

Cablecards are able to decrypt your cable signal and tune into all of the channels that you subscribe to. All other forms of tuners are only able to tune into channels that your cable company chooses to broadcast without encryption. Usually these channels are limited to your local channels and your basic cable networks.

In simple terms, a cablecard tuner gets all of the channels that you cable box gets. All of the other tuners are generally limited to your basic cable lineup, ie channels 2-99.
 
Cablecards are able to decrypt your cable signal and tune into all of the channels that you subscribe to. All other forms of tuners are only able to tune into channels that your cable company chooses to broadcast without encryption. Usually these channels are limited to your local channels and your basic cable networks.

In simple terms, a cablecard tuner gets all of the channels that you cable box gets. All of the other tuners are generally limited to your basic cable lineup, ie channels 2-99.

so a cablecard is the only way for my htpc to dvr encrypted channels?
 
ok i'm lost with the cablecard tuner...what can it do that an hd tuner can't do?

i have 2 tv's in the house...is the only difference the cable card tuner allows me to watch cable tv on the second tv?

A cablecard tuner lets you cut out the set top box completely. If you use a set top box the only way to get HD out of it is to use an HD-PVR and component out.

The only HD an "HD tuner" does is either OTA ATSC or (unencrypted) QAM which is pretty much just the basic broadcast channels but in HD.
 
Well I have been on laptops for a while now, I have a older p4 3.0 EE with 2 or 4gb of memory on an Asus P4P800-E mb The ATI card in it died and its been shelved since.

I was looking into a system to do some basic DVR and DVD play back through something like the Sony DVP-CX995V along with some ISO/MDS image files. Right now I am not doing anything HD or Blue Ray.

So will that work with the supporting hardware ( new vid card and tuner cards ) or will I need a lot more horse power ?

Thanks for your suggestion, this is a great thread.

-Roebrt
 
Has anyone got links to newer hardware for cable cards? The ones in the original post are dead links and I would like some onsight on some good cards.
 
"1. The WD EARS model use the 4kb sectors and that may have a problem with WHS."

just curious as to what the issues are for these drives. i currently have 3 of the EADS drives in my system. are there any issues with those?
i bought a 2 tb EARS drive a few months ago and was going to integrate it into my whs but im holding off now and may just use it for someothing else if its going to cause problems. ill be upgrading my server soon anyways. so i guess from that post i should stay away from the 4kb sector drives?

ive never used hitachi drives. how are the warranties/customer service? are there any other 2TB drives that are recommended?
 
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I SO appreciate this post - permanently pinned now.
But I'm further confused by the last section which I'm sure most of you understand but I'm thickheaded... I still need a cable box with any of the preceding tuners??? I guess THAT is the message I've gotten by implication from asking the question so many times of hdtv sales guys and lesser forums than this one..... Summary: "there are a lot of paths to tuning SOME of your cable feed, but no path to tuning ALL of your cable feed except with something they provide"..... surely that is not true. CAN'T be true.
But... I have a lot of regard for Sony firmware/software as they seem to stay on the edge of developments, and their HDTV was as summarized above: tuning directly from raw cable, it got most of what TW was sending, but not all of it.... of all things, couldn't seem to tune the HD channels.

TV Tuners

Broadcast SD/HD cards
ATI TV Wonder HD 650 - $60.98
This guy will let you watch and record one analog TV channel and one digital TV channel at the same time. You can either get your HD digital channel into it using an antenna (ATSC broadcast) or through your cable (ClearQAM).

Avermedia AVerTV Bravo Hybrid - $66.97
The Bravo Hybrid is a hybrid digital tuner. It will only work with either a digital signal (ATSC or ClearQAM) or an analog signal (NTSC) but never at the same time.

Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Dual Tuner - $121.97
Just like the ATI 650 this card will let you record both SD and HD (ClearQAM and ATSC) but it's a dual tuner card so you get two HD or two SD at the same time. Very nice card if you're looking for a dual tuner.



HD only
Avermedia AVerTVHD Bravo - $51.98
Same deal as the Bravo Hybrid but with the analog support removed making it ATSC/ClearQAM only.

Hauppauge WinTV HVR-1250 - $57.55
While the 1250 will tune NTSC I highly suggest sticking to it's ATSC/ClearQAM tuning.

Avermedia AVerTVHD Duet - $71.97
Just like the Bravo above but with another HD tuner added on. Very nice if you want to tune more then one HD channel while using up only one expansion slot.

SiliconDust HDHomeRun - $155.97
A networked dual tuner, just plug it into your network and you can stream the video feed to your HTPC. Highly regarded, a favorite among the HTPC community.

Hauppauge HD PVR - $218.49
A component input tuner, this will let you take your HD signal from your Cable Box (STB). It should be noted that there is no native support for it in Windows Media Center but you can trick MC into using it but that's for another guide.



Lets Get Rid Of That Cable Box
Using Windows 7 means that it's possible to use a CableCard tuner letting you ditch your cable box altogether. The problem right now is that the ATI tuners that have been out for a few years are the only things out right now until around this Summer. Ceton will be releasing their Quad CableCard tuner around the beginning of April. Until then the ATI tuners are the only game in town (and they're signal tuners only). On the upside they will function as a 650 based SD/HD tuner until you plug in a CableCard.

Internal ATI CableCard tuner - $239
External ATI CableCard tuner - $269
External ATI CableCard tuner @ Dell

Right now, Cannon PC is the only place I would trust buying them from. Dell might still have them on their site but you can also check out eBay for one too.
 
What do you guys think of this build? I'm looking for a bedroom Media Center (Samsung LCD, no surround sound) I shall be using it for WMC 7, using a shared tuner from my ceton in my main media center as well as 720p/1080p content from my NAS. This should handle everything, correct?

SAMSUNG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model SN-S083F/BEBE - OEM
$25.99

Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT25664BA1067
$44.99

ASUS AT3IONT-I Intel Atom 330 PBGA437 NVIDIA ION Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Combo
Item #: N82E16813131653
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
$149.99

OCZ Agility 2 OCZSSD2-2AGTE60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
-$35.00 Instant
$159.99
$124.99

hec Black 0.7mm Thickness SECC (Japanese Steel Metal) ITX ITX200A Mini ITX Media Center / HTPC Case
$44.99
 

Thank you for this guide firstly.

Secondly I am testing it but I believe the Auto rip n compress program now handles blu-rays. You also might want to mention what formats windows media center plays (if thats all they are using). I spent a bit of time ripping in ISO and Original format using the Auto rip program only to find out the WMP doesnt support those...
 
Thank you for this guide firstly.

Secondly I am testing it but I believe the Auto rip n compress program now handles blu-rays. You also might want to mention what formats windows media center plays (if thats all they are using). I spent a bit of time ripping in ISO and Original format using the Auto rip program only to find out the WMP doesnt support those...

I was going to say file support is right under that bit:
A Note On Codec Packs
Generally speaking you don't want to install codec packs. Some of them are of dubious nature and work in a "shotgun" style of install: throw everything in there and see what sticks. This sucks because all it does is screw up your codec priorities. So, they can cause more damage then good, I'm mostly talking about the garbage that is Klite.

For myself I do use the CCCP Codec Pack, it's the easiest, most straight forward way to get everything I need working as I want. Subtitles can be a bitch to get working that I'd rather not deal with it and since I watch a lot of anime I need subtitle support; if subtitles aren't an issue for you then just install the base software needed and use the built in Windows codecs. Another alternative is Shark007's Codec Pack but I have no experience with it.
But you mention ISOs which I would consider different then your typical media file. Side note: I would never suggest using ISOs unless you're making archived copies because it's much harder to use them. If you have to use them then heres a guide for playing them back within WMC: http://www.simplehelp.net/2008/08/0...ndows-media-center-without-leaving-the-couch/

Alternatively you can also use Media Browser to this too which is highly suggested. It makes things a bit easier and prettier. You can use Media Studio, if you're feeling adventurous, to replace the stock DVD gallery in WMC with Media Browser.
 
Yeah, the problem is it's still stickied and ultimate-y, we need to get rid of these puppies.
 
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