Completed HTPC in old VCR case (1 Viewer)

[DeadMan]

a make my HTPC in case from my old VCR. For why i use VCR case ?
in Russia is hard to find good, small HTPC case

in HTPC i have this H/W
CPU Athlon X2 BE-2300 (1.9Ghz)
RAM Kingston DDR2 2Gb PC-6400
M/B Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H
Video Ati Radeon HD4550
HDD now i use external 80Gb 3.5" sata drive connected trought eSATA and wait small 2.5" sata drive to place it inside the case
MCE Remote Control and Keyboard
128x64 graphical screen (white letters on blue screen with white led backlight)
OS Windows 7
MediaPortal 1.1.0 RC1
for TV and medialibrary i use my homeserver

my HTPC attached to LCD TV Sharp Aquos 26" thought hdmi

todo list
Make button's on front VCR panel functional (now work only power button)

this photo from inside the case

https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=58434&stc=1&d=1268841874

this foto from outside

https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=58435&stc=1&d=1268841874

 

[Gixxer]

great way of saving some good $$$ !!! I like it.

actually i had in mind doing the same thing when i build a new client. i dont want to spend a lot of money so i much rather spend it in hardware than in a fancy case. (not that i prefer it though)

 

[Goodmane1980]

That looks cool! I think I would like to do the same for friends or family, as getting non-techies to spend approx €100 on a case without psu is always tricky! One question, is it fairly safe to strip a vcr if its unplugged, or if not, where do you have to be careful? (I'm not very electrically literate.) Cheers.

 

[muellinger]

Just unplug the VCR and wait about half an hour. This should be enough to clear the capacitors on the VCRs PSU. You can also push the power button with the VCR still unplugged. This can help. Then it should be safe to strip that stuff out. But nevertheless. BE CAREFUL!

regards
Carsten

 

[Goodmane1980]

Thanks!