Completed My HTPC (or money pit!!) (1 Viewer)

[defraguk]

Finally got this beast up, running and stable!!!

Specs:
Case: Accent HT-200
MB: Abit NF7-S
CPU: AMD 3200 XP
Mem: 2x512mb
Sound: onboard soundstorm via spdif
GPU: Gigabyte 6800 fanless
Network: PCI Wireless (802.11g)
PSU: Seasonic!!!!
DVD: Pioneer DVD RW (firmware mod to silent use)
Remote: Imon pad inside
VFD: Samsung 2x16 parallel
Cooling: 2x60mm rear AcoustiFan, 1x120mm side AcoustiFan + psu fan!!
Keyboard/Mouse: BFC Wireless combo
GamePad: Logitech wireless

Media served via a seperate media server hidden away upstairs!!!!

Pics!
Whole setup - (tv wires to be hidden next week!!!!)
Front with Amp
Front with fan controller
Side showing 120mm fan mod
Inside - Still need to clean up those wires!!!

Mods:
First up this case got hot!! I was getting internal temps of 30-35c never mind what the cpu was getting. Naturally the fanless graphics card didn't help, so out came the hole saw and in went a 120mm fan on the left side of the case.
The graphics card is full length and I had to remove the hard drive cage - fortunatly the Enermax fan controller could mount a hd - so that problem was solved.
I did have an Imon RSC to start with which was a real pain to work with MP, so found someone selling the Imon Pad on ebay - so got that and after a bit of messing around (the IR is incompatable between the RSC and PAD) I swopped over the circuit boards of the original and new imon receivers and hey-presto it all worked!!!

Setup:
Video output to LCD TV (Hitachi 32LD7200) via DVI @ 1360x768 (powerstrip!!!)
TV in via svideo from Sky+ (i only record to back up on the pc)
Sound into my Morantz amp via spdif - awesome!!!!

 

[adibbins]

Questions

Hi,

Thanks for the insight into your htpc, I'm hovering around with a similar project, and am intersted in solving one issue I'm experiencing, that you may have solved.

Your using a sky+ connected via svideo to your capture card, how are you doing this, because there's a thread that suggests it doesn't work.

I have a scart connection out of my vtr sky stb to an svideo connection on my pvr-350, I only get black and white.

Swapping the cable for a scart to composite cable and using an composite-2-svideo adaptor plugged into the svideo port on the pvr-350 still gives black and white.

The sky+ box is set for rgb on the scart setting, the alternative being pal, which I will try, but I'm stumped.

I'm interested in how yours is working and whether there's something wrong with my cheap maplin cables or elsewhere.

Lastly, how are you changing channels?

Thanks

Andy

 

[defraguk]

Hi Andy (from one Andy to another!!)

My Sky+ box has a svideo output which I route straight to my hauppuage 150, just make sure that the hauppuage software and MP are set to svideo input. I do not record live onto the pc, but record using the sky+ box and then copy onto the pc stuff I want to keep. For that I do not use MP but the hauppuage software and the hauppuage scheduler. I don't see much point in having Sky+ if you are using MP to do what Sky+ does. MP for me is my music/avi/dvd/gaming platform.

Before having Sky+ I had to use a scart splitter to run RGB to the screen and RGB to a RBG->SVideo converter to get a good image to capture.