Advice on Hardware for mediaportal (1 Viewer)

[x3nomOrph]

Gentlemen,

I would like to use Mediaportal. I just bought a Netgear EVA9150 Mediacenter, boy does that thing have a crappy GUI. So I will use that EVA on my bedroom and install a new mediacenter in my livingroom.

Therefore I need you guys to help me out on the hardware. Because I don't want to again spend money on a system I dislike, I would really appreciate if you guys help me out.

Now in 2010 what is the best solution: buy my own components to build a pc or are there "mini-pc's" to run mediaportal on.
Also keep in mind, I don't want it to be TOO expensive. Saving energy would also be nice.

Thanks in advance!

Bart
Belgium

 

[elliottmc]

Gentlemen,

I would like to use Mediaportal. I just bought a Netgear EVA9150 Mediacenter, boy does that thing have a crappy GUI. So I will use that EVA on my bedroom and install a new mediacenter in my livingroom.

Therefore I need you guys to help me out on the hardware. Because I don't want to again spend money on a system I dislike, I would really appreciate if you guys help me out.

Now in 2010 what is the best solution: buy my own components to build a pc or are there "mini-pc's" to run mediaportal on.
Also keep in mind, I don't want it to be TOO expensive. Saving energy would also be nice.

Thanks in advance!

Bart
Belgium

Hi,

If you build your own, you will get exactly the specification you want, but it will probably end up costing more. Bear in mind that you will need a licence for Windows (I would recommend Windows 7).

MediaPortal does require a reasonably modern graphics card for full HD resolutions. I have a GeForce 210 card, and I cannot run it in 1920 x 1080 smoothly (video playback is fine but the UI stutters).

Many of the budget PCs that you buy will have integrated graphics. Good modern integrated graphics should be fine, and of course you can add a dedicated graphics card if you need to.

Personally the approach I have taken is to decide what case I want (it has to look nice in a living space) and then think about components. I think it is fair to say that if you have a fairly modern processor and a couple of GB RAM then you should be fine, so go for a motherboard from a reputable brand and a good chipset (I have generally had good results with NVidia chipsets) and with all the features you need (good onboard graphics, sound, gigabit ethernet, etc).

At least this way you can try out the onboard graphics/sound and if you are not happy, slot in a card. Bear in mind that if you are using MP for TV you will need to keep enough expansion slots available for TV tuner cards.

You'll need plenty of storage. I tend to use a small drive for the OS and a separate drive for media. That way you can expand your media storage without reinstalling the OS.

As you can tell, I prefer to have a custom-built machine that I understand and that does everything I want. Sure it probably costs more initially, but if you use good components, it will last longer.

Hope this helps.

Mark

 

[VdR]

If I where you, I would seriously consider going for a seperate server and clients. My MP experience since I split the two is so much better. That is; very stable, no issue with recordings when there is an issue with a client or I'm fiddling with it, no noise from drives used for streaming or timeshifting.

I put quite something into my server, but with hindsight that wasn't necessary. I thought I would be using it to encode video, but I never do. Instead I use a lot of disc space.

The clients can be simple (low cost). One of mine is a Zotac MAG, it plays HD content without any problems. I'm contemplating to replace my HP HTPC with a Zotac because it is so nice and small.

Two side notes:
The user interface is slower on the Zotac (1.6 Ghz Atom) compared to the HP (Pentium HT), but it is not disturbing.
I do not have HD TV, I can't confirm that the ION could de-interlace 1080i).

VdR