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Setting up my HTPC tomorrow for the first time....anything you would suggest?
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<blockquote data-quote="chesh" data-source="post: 372670" data-attributes="member: 88249"><p>Ok, I'm finally making the leap. I've been reading all the different HTPC forums for the last couple of weeks and I decided on using MediaPortal. I've had a softmodded Xbox with XBMC for a couple years now and it's worked better then I can ever have hoped, but it's time to take the plunge into LiveTV and HD recordings. Anyway, as my title says, I'm setting up my first ever HTPC. I'll give ya the layout of my network first, then I'll ask the important questions. Anyway, here's the specs:</p><p></p><p>I already have a "server" that's running WinXP Pro sharing out about 5TB of movies and TV shows from multiple hard drives. It's got a 2.4Ghz HT P4 proc, and 2GB of RAM. I have a Movies and a TV share on every drive. With XBMC I just did a multi-path for a single source so that all my TV and Movies would show up in a single share on it. I'd still like to be able to access all of this and my MP3's being shared by this computer also. Doesn't sound like a problem with MP.</p><p></p><p>The HTPC: Some history on this computer first....I had thought my mainboard / CPU had gone out in the server PC after having a surge on the outlet. So, I built this one....wouldn't it figure after spending a couple hundred bucks on the SOB, the server PC started working again. So, this computer for the last 8 months + has been a glorified burning computer so that I wouldn't have to reset the "server" (With an uptime of 120 days now and counting) in order to burn a disk. Since this is the PC in question for all the HTPC stuff, I'm going to be a little bit more descriptive on it's specs.</p><p></p><p>Pentium 4 Core 2 Duo E4500 2.2Ghz</p><p>MSI P6N SLI Platinum Mainboard</p><p>2GB G-Skill DDR2 800 RAM</p><p>Leadtek PX8500 GT TDH 128-bit GDDR2 512mb RAM PCI-E 16x fanless video card (Dual DVI or Component out)</p><p>APEVIA 500W Power Supply</p><p>Samsung 20x +/- DVD-R/RW SATA</p><p>1x 250GB Maxtor HD SATA 3.0gb</p><p>2x 1TB WD HD SATA 3.0gb</p><p>Thermaltake DH101 HTPC Case</p><p>Hauppauge! HD-PVR 1212</p><p>Windows XP Pro</p><p></p><p>All the computers are connected via Gigabit switches or Wireless-N. The "server" is a gigabit connection, as well as the HTPC will be gigabit also. Pretty much just laptops are wireless-n. The TV is a 42" Vizio 1080P, and the surround sound unit is a Harmon/Kardon AVR147. The xbox has been connected to the TV via monster cable component out w/ the optical out for the audio. Also, using a Logitech Harmony Xbox360 remote for control of everything (muBWHAHAHAHAH)....You get the idea. I'm a techie nerd that loves playing with gadgets and my life gets really boring if I don't have some project that is challenging me.</p><p></p><p>Ok, so that's the specs. I live in Washington in the states and my TV provider is Comcrap. This is what I'm hoping to do with the HTPC and please correct me if I'm wrong, can't do it, or suggestions to make my life that much easier: I'd like to stream all my media off of my "server", be able to play games (Steam, etc) on the HTPC on the TV, watch liveTV with the ability to pause and rewind it, play .rar sets (Ex .rar, .r01, etc) from my "server" for the archived stuff, possibly use my xbox360 / xbox as a media center extender, change channels with the IRBlaster that came with the HD-PVR or firewire, weather / news available on demand, and anything else you could think of I'm forgetting here.</p><p></p><p>I've been researching the HD-PVR and from what I can tell, I'll have to install gary's patched version of the SVN in order to have support for it. I found the thread that has the Adobe Air version of the Hulu player and I plan on using MyShortcut to install that into the menu. I've found MyShortcut, so I should be able to do shortcuts for my games. I found Rar-Mount 2, and I'm pretty sure that will work for my playing from within .rar files. I'll try out a couple of skins and see how I like them.</p><p></p><p>Now, before I dive head in, does anyone have any suggestions for me? One thing that I haven't researched much (read, not at all in Windows) is how to change the channels on the STB with firewire. I've installed MythTV onto a laptop before and done it via that, but I've never tried in Windows. As for the gaming portion of the menus, is that something you have to hack in, or do certain skins make that available, or is there a plugin? Speaking of plugins, what are the need-to-haves, the should-haves, and I'm guessing everything that isn't listed is a don't bother unless you find a need for it. Is there anything I'm forgetting???</p><p></p><p>Anyway, to all those that come by this and read it, <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" /> . To those that got suggestions or have similar setups (HD-PVR and Comcrap), <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" /> to you too! I'm looking forward to being a part of this community and helping it grow wherever I can.</p><p></p><p>P.S. Should I install just MediaPortal or both MediaPortal and the TVServer. What is the TV Server really for? (The wiki is kinda confusing on that part.) Is DVI or component out better? Since the HTPC will be handling the recordings and the majority of the playback (due to it being hooked up to the main TV in the house) will I need to upgrade anything (RAM, CPU, GFX Card)? Thank you again for reading this!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="chesh, post: 372670, member: 88249"] Ok, I'm finally making the leap. I've been reading all the different HTPC forums for the last couple of weeks and I decided on using MediaPortal. I've had a softmodded Xbox with XBMC for a couple years now and it's worked better then I can ever have hoped, but it's time to take the plunge into LiveTV and HD recordings. Anyway, as my title says, I'm setting up my first ever HTPC. I'll give ya the layout of my network first, then I'll ask the important questions. Anyway, here's the specs: I already have a "server" that's running WinXP Pro sharing out about 5TB of movies and TV shows from multiple hard drives. It's got a 2.4Ghz HT P4 proc, and 2GB of RAM. I have a Movies and a TV share on every drive. With XBMC I just did a multi-path for a single source so that all my TV and Movies would show up in a single share on it. I'd still like to be able to access all of this and my MP3's being shared by this computer also. Doesn't sound like a problem with MP. The HTPC: Some history on this computer first....I had thought my mainboard / CPU had gone out in the server PC after having a surge on the outlet. So, I built this one....wouldn't it figure after spending a couple hundred bucks on the SOB, the server PC started working again. So, this computer for the last 8 months + has been a glorified burning computer so that I wouldn't have to reset the "server" (With an uptime of 120 days now and counting) in order to burn a disk. Since this is the PC in question for all the HTPC stuff, I'm going to be a little bit more descriptive on it's specs. Pentium 4 Core 2 Duo E4500 2.2Ghz MSI P6N SLI Platinum Mainboard 2GB G-Skill DDR2 800 RAM Leadtek PX8500 GT TDH 128-bit GDDR2 512mb RAM PCI-E 16x fanless video card (Dual DVI or Component out) APEVIA 500W Power Supply Samsung 20x +/- DVD-R/RW SATA 1x 250GB Maxtor HD SATA 3.0gb 2x 1TB WD HD SATA 3.0gb Thermaltake DH101 HTPC Case Hauppauge! HD-PVR 1212 Windows XP Pro All the computers are connected via Gigabit switches or Wireless-N. The "server" is a gigabit connection, as well as the HTPC will be gigabit also. Pretty much just laptops are wireless-n. The TV is a 42" Vizio 1080P, and the surround sound unit is a Harmon/Kardon AVR147. The xbox has been connected to the TV via monster cable component out w/ the optical out for the audio. Also, using a Logitech Harmony Xbox360 remote for control of everything (muBWHAHAHAHAH)....You get the idea. I'm a techie nerd that loves playing with gadgets and my life gets really boring if I don't have some project that is challenging me. Ok, so that's the specs. I live in Washington in the states and my TV provider is Comcrap. This is what I'm hoping to do with the HTPC and please correct me if I'm wrong, can't do it, or suggestions to make my life that much easier: I'd like to stream all my media off of my "server", be able to play games (Steam, etc) on the HTPC on the TV, watch liveTV with the ability to pause and rewind it, play .rar sets (Ex .rar, .r01, etc) from my "server" for the archived stuff, possibly use my xbox360 / xbox as a media center extender, change channels with the IRBlaster that came with the HD-PVR or firewire, weather / news available on demand, and anything else you could think of I'm forgetting here. I've been researching the HD-PVR and from what I can tell, I'll have to install gary's patched version of the SVN in order to have support for it. I found the thread that has the Adobe Air version of the Hulu player and I plan on using MyShortcut to install that into the menu. I've found MyShortcut, so I should be able to do shortcuts for my games. I found Rar-Mount 2, and I'm pretty sure that will work for my playing from within .rar files. I'll try out a couple of skins and see how I like them. Now, before I dive head in, does anyone have any suggestions for me? One thing that I haven't researched much (read, not at all in Windows) is how to change the channels on the STB with firewire. I've installed MythTV onto a laptop before and done it via that, but I've never tried in Windows. As for the gaming portion of the menus, is that something you have to hack in, or do certain skins make that available, or is there a plugin? Speaking of plugins, what are the need-to-haves, the should-haves, and I'm guessing everything that isn't listed is a don't bother unless you find a need for it. Is there anything I'm forgetting??? Anyway, to all those that come by this and read it, :thx: . To those that got suggestions or have similar setups (HD-PVR and Comcrap), :thx: to you too! I'm looking forward to being a part of this community and helping it grow wherever I can. P.S. Should I install just MediaPortal or both MediaPortal and the TVServer. What is the TV Server really for? (The wiki is kinda confusing on that part.) Is DVI or component out better? Since the HTPC will be handling the recordings and the majority of the playback (due to it being hooked up to the main TV in the house) will I need to upgrade anything (RAM, CPU, GFX Card)? Thank you again for reading this! [/QUOTE]
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