home
products
contribute
download
documentation
forum
Home
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
All posts
Latest activity
Members
Registered members
Current visitors
Donate
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Search titles only
By:
Menu
Log in
Register
Navigation
Install the app
Install
More options
Contact us
Close Menu
Forums
MediaPortal 1
MediaPortal 1 Talk
Calling all MP New Zealanders (Both of you!!)
Contact us
RSS
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Bleazle" data-source="post: 629140" data-attributes="member: 53582"><p>Hi All </p><p></p><p>Figured I'd give you a run-down on how the building the new HTPC went for anyone that might be interested....</p><p></p><p>Firstly - why'd I do it? A few reasons:</p><p>- The TV side of my HTPC was cr@p - it was basically a lottery as to whether TV would play or record (more on that later*)</p><p>- Playing DVDs was virtually impossible (every time I went out of town to work I would get a call from my wife complaining <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite4" alt=":mad:" title="Mad :mad:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":mad:" /> that it wasn't working <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite4" alt=":mad:" title="Mad :mad:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":mad:" />)</p><p>- I download the US supercross & motorcross for my boys and I to watch (no Sky in this house - don't have time to watch it, probably because I'm too busy doing MP stuff..) and about 6 months ago the guy that up-loads the files started encoding them to an HD format, which gives a great picture but unfortunately my HTPC couldn't handle it and would get stuck after about 5 seconds (no matter what playback software I used)</p><p></p><p>So after doing a lot of "Googling" and taking into account the advice some of you posted I finally decided on what I needed for the new system:</p><p></p><p><strong>Motherboard:</strong> Gigabyte P55A-UD3</p><p><strong>PSU:</strong> Zalman silent PSU</p><p><strong>CPU:</strong> Intel i5 750 2.66Ghz</p><p><strong>RAM:</strong> 4GB DDR3</p><p><strong>GPU: </strong>Sapphire Radeon HD5670</p><p><strong>TV Tuners:</strong> 2 x Hauppauge Nova-S Plus DVB-S</p><p><strong>Video Software:</strong> PowerDVD10</p><p><strong>O/S:</strong>Windows 7</p><p><strong>MP Version (as of now - I generally run the latest release): </strong>MP 1.1 RC4</p><p><strong>Skin:</strong>BleazleWide (yeah I know, that was a given <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite7" alt=":p" title="Stick Out Tongue :p" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":p" /> )</p><p><strong>Sound:</strong> Handled by the GPU: HDMI out - Amp - TV (HDMI)</p><p><strong>Case:</strong> Accent HT-400 Black with VFD (this and the DVD driver are the only things I didn't change)</p><p></p><p>Backing things up and pulling the guts out of the old system then installing the new hardware was pretty straightforward, if a little time consuming.</p><p></p><p>I got a bit of a fright the first few times I tried to fire the system up - I got three Blue Screens of Death <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite9" alt=":eek:" title="Eek! :eek:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":eek:" /> before I realised I had to go into the BIOS and set it to boot from the optical drive so i could install the new operating system (whew!). Installing Windows 7 was a breeze, especially compared to the time it takes to install XP <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite4" alt=":mad:" title="Mad :mad:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":mad:" /></p><p></p><p>Then it was pretty much just a matter of installing MediaPortal, Power DVD (+ the latest version of AnyDVD of course <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />), tuning in the TV and installing ForTheRecord + Comskip (right?). Unfortunately I wasn't quite that straightforward because no matter what I did I couldn't pick up any TV channels on either of the cards <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite11" alt=":rolleyes:" title="Roll Eyes :rolleyes:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":rolleyes:" /> After battling with MP TVServer for hours I gave johns11 a call and we figured out that the problem was probably due to both TV tuners having the same drivers installed... back to Google.... different drivers installed on one card -> 105 channels found <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big Grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></p><p></p><p>Naturally a little bit more tweaking went on here and there but that's pretty much the guts of it. One change I made yesterday (and would recommend to anyone that hasn't done it) is that I now have my music being played using the Winamp plugin and ASIO4ALL - the difference in the quality of sound is huge! I bought a Marantz amp recently and I've got decent speakers to go with it but I didn't realise how bad the quality of the music MP puts out was until I made this change! The only "drawback" is that when you play music via ASIO the computer remote doesn't control the volume but I don't care about that, it gives me an excuse (not that I need one) to go and buy a fancy remote to control everything <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big Grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /> <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big Grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /> (anyone using one that they can recommend?) </p><p></p><p>Apart from installing PowerDVD I haven't installed any additional video codecs and don't intend to, everything is running fine as it is and I don't use plugins like OnlineVideos etc because I found setting them up previously was more hassle than it was worth.</p><p></p><p>I haven't added up the cost yet but I guess this setup cost around $1,200 to build (Pricespy took a hammering). Was it worth it? So far (touch wood) hell yes! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big Grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /> <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big Grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /> - For starters it's much quieter than my old system was, TV is (so far) working without a hitch, as I said above my music sounds better than it ever has, I really like Windows 7 (for example, to add the HTPC to my wireless network all I had to do was plug in my D-Link USB wireless thing & push a button on my router - the driver installation was handled automatically and it just works - it's great!) and the videos I download play without a hitch (which they should because this thing is way overpowered for an HTPC - that i5 CPU packs some grunt!)</p><p></p><p>* Re TV: Not all TV tuners are created equal (that's for sure!) - after finding 105 channels on each of my Nova-S cards I thought I'd drop the TechniSat Skystar 2 tuner from my old system in so that I could (if required) record or watch SBS while recording (or watching) any of the Freeview channels**. I installed the latest drivers for the card (I had to because W7 won't let you install "unsigned" drivers, which the ones on the install disk were) and then scanned for channels - it found <strong>1 channel</strong> - the Test Channel <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite11" alt=":rolleyes:" title="Roll Eyes :rolleyes:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":rolleyes:" /> That card is now disabled and will be going in the bin the next time I take the hood off my HTPC...</p><p></p><p>**Since I couldn't try this out I'm just assuming that it would have worked if the card had found any channels...</p><p></p><p>Thanks to johns11 for giving me some pointers and those of you that chipped in with some ideas a couple of pages back <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big Grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /> </p><p></p><p>Note: I haven't installed a Blu-Ray drive yet, I decided that could wait for a bit - I need to spend some money on my KTM to get it (and me!) ready for a 160k enduro at Tarawera race next month <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big Grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></p><p></p><p>Bleazle</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Bleazle, post: 629140, member: 53582"] Hi All Figured I'd give you a run-down on how the building the new HTPC went for anyone that might be interested.... Firstly - why'd I do it? A few reasons: - The TV side of my HTPC was cr@p - it was basically a lottery as to whether TV would play or record (more on that later*) - Playing DVDs was virtually impossible (every time I went out of town to work I would get a call from my wife complaining :bitch: that it wasn't working :growl:) - I download the US supercross & motorcross for my boys and I to watch (no Sky in this house - don't have time to watch it, probably because I'm too busy doing MP stuff..) and about 6 months ago the guy that up-loads the files started encoding them to an HD format, which gives a great picture but unfortunately my HTPC couldn't handle it and would get stuck after about 5 seconds (no matter what playback software I used) So after doing a lot of "Googling" and taking into account the advice some of you posted I finally decided on what I needed for the new system: [B]Motherboard:[/B] Gigabyte P55A-UD3 [B]PSU:[/B] Zalman silent PSU [B]CPU:[/B] Intel i5 750 2.66Ghz [B]RAM:[/B] 4GB DDR3 [B]GPU: [/B]Sapphire Radeon HD5670 [B]TV Tuners:[/B] 2 x Hauppauge Nova-S Plus DVB-S [B]Video Software:[/B] PowerDVD10 [B]O/S:[/B]Windows 7 [B]MP Version (as of now - I generally run the latest release): [/B]MP 1.1 RC4 [B]Skin:[/B]BleazleWide (yeah I know, that was a given :P ) [B]Sound:[/B] Handled by the GPU: HDMI out - Amp - TV (HDMI) [B]Case:[/B] Accent HT-400 Black with VFD (this and the DVD driver are the only things I didn't change) Backing things up and pulling the guts out of the old system then installing the new hardware was pretty straightforward, if a little time consuming. I got a bit of a fright the first few times I tried to fire the system up - I got three Blue Screens of Death :o before I realised I had to go into the BIOS and set it to boot from the optical drive so i could install the new operating system (whew!). Installing Windows 7 was a breeze, especially compared to the time it takes to install XP :wtf: Then it was pretty much just a matter of installing MediaPortal, Power DVD (+ the latest version of AnyDVD of course :)), tuning in the TV and installing ForTheRecord + Comskip (right?). Unfortunately I wasn't quite that straightforward because no matter what I did I couldn't pick up any TV channels on either of the cards :rolleyes: After battling with MP TVServer for hours I gave johns11 a call and we figured out that the problem was probably due to both TV tuners having the same drivers installed... back to Google.... different drivers installed on one card -> 105 channels found :D Naturally a little bit more tweaking went on here and there but that's pretty much the guts of it. One change I made yesterday (and would recommend to anyone that hasn't done it) is that I now have my music being played using the Winamp plugin and ASIO4ALL - the difference in the quality of sound is huge! I bought a Marantz amp recently and I've got decent speakers to go with it but I didn't realise how bad the quality of the music MP puts out was until I made this change! The only "drawback" is that when you play music via ASIO the computer remote doesn't control the volume but I don't care about that, it gives me an excuse (not that I need one) to go and buy a fancy remote to control everything :D :D (anyone using one that they can recommend?) Apart from installing PowerDVD I haven't installed any additional video codecs and don't intend to, everything is running fine as it is and I don't use plugins like OnlineVideos etc because I found setting them up previously was more hassle than it was worth. I haven't added up the cost yet but I guess this setup cost around $1,200 to build (Pricespy took a hammering). Was it worth it? So far (touch wood) hell yes! :D :D - For starters it's much quieter than my old system was, TV is (so far) working without a hitch, as I said above my music sounds better than it ever has, I really like Windows 7 (for example, to add the HTPC to my wireless network all I had to do was plug in my D-Link USB wireless thing & push a button on my router - the driver installation was handled automatically and it just works - it's great!) and the videos I download play without a hitch (which they should because this thing is way overpowered for an HTPC - that i5 CPU packs some grunt!) * Re TV: Not all TV tuners are created equal (that's for sure!) - after finding 105 channels on each of my Nova-S cards I thought I'd drop the TechniSat Skystar 2 tuner from my old system in so that I could (if required) record or watch SBS while recording (or watching) any of the Freeview channels**. I installed the latest drivers for the card (I had to because W7 won't let you install "unsigned" drivers, which the ones on the install disk were) and then scanned for channels - it found [B]1 channel[/B] - the Test Channel :rolleyes: That card is now disabled and will be going in the bin the next time I take the hood off my HTPC... **Since I couldn't try this out I'm just assuming that it would have worked if the card had found any channels... Thanks to johns11 for giving me some pointers and those of you that chipped in with some ideas a couple of pages back :thx: Note: I haven't installed a Blu-Ray drive yet, I decided that could wait for a bit - I need to spend some money on my KTM to get it (and me!) ready for a 160k enduro at Tarawera race next month :D Bleazle [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
MediaPortal 1
MediaPortal 1 Talk
Calling all MP New Zealanders (Both of you!!)
Contact us
RSS
Top
Bottom
