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Hi Mark,That's exactly my sentiments, too! - which is why I have built all the electronics into the sub-woofer box, so my entire hi-fi system/media centre is just a small case containing the PC and MediaPortal, a DLP projector and the 5.1 loudspeakers. And it is all controlled by one remote control - a MCE remote.Its all DIY, including the speakers. The current power-amplifiers are my own 50W discrete design, and there are a total of 9 power amplifiers. There are 2 amps powering the sub-woofer (with an active cross-over that splits the signal to the sub-woofer), 2 amps powering each front satellite (which each have an active cross-over to split the signal between mid-bass and tweeter), and 1 amp for each of the centre, left-rear and right-rear speakers. I have a little module containg a PIC microprocessor that receives the RS232 signal from the PC to turn the power-amps on and off, and to control the mute on the power-amps. This module is also built into the sub-woofer box, but is separately powered so that it is always on (so it can constantly monitor the RS232 lines).I use the PC's sound card to decode the digital sound (stereo, AC3, DTS etc) and feed the analogue outputs directly to the power-amps. Apart from the active cross-overs, there is no pre-amplifier or any other knobs and whistles! All the control of the sound is done from within MediaPortal and Windows.I use COM Controller to output the appropriate RS232 commands from the PC, and the COM Controller command-line script is executed by PVR Scheduler after a "Resume" or before a "Standby". At the moment, if the PC is resumed for a scheduled recording, or to grab the EPG, the power-amps come on too - which is unnecessary - but STSC (the author of PVR Scheduler) is going to add an option to disable the scripts when the PC is resumed by a Scheduled Event.My next challenge is to also control the DLP projector from the PC, and I am upgrading the discrete power-amps to a new (more compact) design based on the National Semiconductor's LM4780 & LM3886 power amplifier ICs.I am happy to share as much detail as you require, but being DIY, there is not much that I have documented! PM me if you would like more specific info....
Hi Mark,
That's exactly my sentiments, too! - which is why I have built all the electronics into the sub-woofer box, so my entire hi-fi system/media centre is just a small case containing the PC and MediaPortal, a DLP projector and the 5.1 loudspeakers. And it is all controlled by one remote control - a MCE remote.
Its all DIY, including the speakers. The current power-amplifiers are my own 50W discrete design, and there are a total of 9 power amplifiers. There are 2 amps powering the sub-woofer (with an active cross-over that splits the signal to the sub-woofer), 2 amps powering each front satellite (which each have an active cross-over to split the signal between mid-bass and tweeter), and 1 amp for each of the centre, left-rear and right-rear speakers.
I have a little module containg a PIC microprocessor that receives the RS232 signal from the PC to turn the power-amps on and off, and to control the mute on the power-amps. This module is also built into the sub-woofer box, but is separately powered so that it is always on (so it can constantly monitor the RS232 lines).
I use the PC's sound card to decode the digital sound (stereo, AC3, DTS etc) and feed the analogue outputs directly to the power-amps. Apart from the active cross-overs, there is no pre-amplifier or any other knobs and whistles! All the control of the sound is done from within MediaPortal and Windows.
I use COM Controller to output the appropriate RS232 commands from the PC, and the COM Controller command-line script is executed by PVR Scheduler after a "Resume" or before a "Standby". At the moment, if the PC is resumed for a scheduled recording, or to grab the EPG, the power-amps come on too - which is unnecessary - but STSC (the author of PVR Scheduler) is going to add an option to disable the scripts when the PC is resumed by a Scheduled Event.
My next challenge is to also control the DLP projector from the PC, and I am upgrading the discrete power-amps to a new (more compact) design based on the National Semiconductor's LM4780 & LM3886 power amplifier ICs.
I am happy to share as much detail as you require, but being DIY, there is not much that I have documented! PM me if you would like more specific info....
