- December 15, 2008
- 1
- 0
- Home Country
-
United States of America
So, I've been playing with the idea of an HTPC ever since I found out it could be done (which was probably as late as 2004, but who's counting). I've done little tiny things here and there to try and get it done, but the first real step I took toward building an HTPC was about a year ago when I bought.... a stand! Not a piece of hardware, but a piece of furniture! Doomed from the start, right?
Flash forward 14 months, and I've pretty much got it all together with a list of annoyances that are a little too much money to be worth fixing them. First, I should let you know my
REQUIREMENTS
- I don't need a TV card because I don't have cable and we don't watch TV (I heard your jaw hit the floor); we find it good enough to get the seasons of the shows we like, and we watch Lost and Ugly Betty on abc.com
- This will also be my gaming platform as I haven't purchased a console game since the original Nintendo
- I write music, so the computer has to be accessible to connect audio equipment and a rack-mount synthesizer, not to mention be able to process music making applications
- All media is on a server behind my couch, so we must have reliable connection (wired)
I'm still not there yet, but this is what I've done so far:
COMPUTER
- 2.7 GHz Athlon X2 64-bit
- NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT w/ 512MB RAM
- 2GB RAM
- On-board 5.1 sound (RealTek)
- Cooler Master RC-250 case
- ASUS M2A-VM Mobo
- 120 GB SATA hard drive
SERVER
- POS with 500 GB running Ubuntu 7.10 for web server, application storage, personal file storage, torrent running, etc.
- Removable 500GB hard disk with all video, music, and pictures
HARDWARE
- 5.1 amplified speaker system (plugs straight into comp with 3 1/8" inputs; probably the cheapest that Creative made at the time)
- Philips 5000 series 32-inch LCD
- Logitech wireless keyboard/mouse combo (DEFINITELY the cheapest they made; they cost $15 brand-new)
- Logitech cordless RumblePad 2 (serving as remote control and game pad)
- Roland Fantom XR Rack mount synthesizer module
- Tascam US122 2-channel DAC/mixer/phantom power supply
SOFTWARE
- Windows Vista Ultimate - 32bit (I had it, don't laugh!)
- MP 1.0.0.0 (of course) using Indigo, Mp-TVSeries and MovingPictures
- Codec and filter set a la hoborg
- I'm going back and forth between r4 and MilkDrop for my visualizations. Love 'em both!
- Handbrake and AnyDVD for personal DVD backup
- Whatever video games suit my fancy (currently Lego Batman and Need For Speed Carbon)
- Whatever audio software suits my fancy (currently Audacity and Sonar 5)
We just got the TV on Saturday, so that almost completed the whole thing. It's a different world from the 19" LCD 4:3 I was using! Mostly everything works well, except for things which I've tried to find a solution for here, but have been unsuccessful (for instance: Picasa albums in the pictures). Now, I just need to take the time and configure the My Programs links, figure out why S3 sleep doesn't work 100% of the time, figure out what to do about my server because I'm running out of storage space, relocate the server from behind the couch into the closet, create a really useful button scheme for my "remote" game pad...
I'm happy my wife loves me because without her, none of this would be possible (without broken bones, that is)
As a side note, since these forums have been fantastic, I'm going to try to work on a pictures plugin which can make use of existing 3rd party albums (or at least have the ability to add albums/tags/etc). I honestly know no C#, and I may be setting the bar for learning kinda high, but I'm extremely familiar with OOP and I've found that making the transition to another language isn't that difficult, as long as you're open minded.
Anyway, only one pic because it's a run-of-the-mill setup. Left side, top shelf is the Fantom with a mic and the Tascam DAC, second shelf is storage, third shelf is PC. Right side top and bottom are storage, middle is a crap VCR we're tossing. Enjoy!
Flash forward 14 months, and I've pretty much got it all together with a list of annoyances that are a little too much money to be worth fixing them. First, I should let you know my
REQUIREMENTS
- I don't need a TV card because I don't have cable and we don't watch TV (I heard your jaw hit the floor); we find it good enough to get the seasons of the shows we like, and we watch Lost and Ugly Betty on abc.com
- This will also be my gaming platform as I haven't purchased a console game since the original Nintendo
- I write music, so the computer has to be accessible to connect audio equipment and a rack-mount synthesizer, not to mention be able to process music making applications
- All media is on a server behind my couch, so we must have reliable connection (wired)
I'm still not there yet, but this is what I've done so far:
COMPUTER
- 2.7 GHz Athlon X2 64-bit
- NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT w/ 512MB RAM
- 2GB RAM
- On-board 5.1 sound (RealTek)
- Cooler Master RC-250 case
- ASUS M2A-VM Mobo
- 120 GB SATA hard drive
SERVER
- POS with 500 GB running Ubuntu 7.10 for web server, application storage, personal file storage, torrent running, etc.
- Removable 500GB hard disk with all video, music, and pictures
HARDWARE
- 5.1 amplified speaker system (plugs straight into comp with 3 1/8" inputs; probably the cheapest that Creative made at the time)
- Philips 5000 series 32-inch LCD
- Logitech wireless keyboard/mouse combo (DEFINITELY the cheapest they made; they cost $15 brand-new)
- Logitech cordless RumblePad 2 (serving as remote control and game pad)
- Roland Fantom XR Rack mount synthesizer module
- Tascam US122 2-channel DAC/mixer/phantom power supply
SOFTWARE
- Windows Vista Ultimate - 32bit (I had it, don't laugh!)
- MP 1.0.0.0 (of course) using Indigo, Mp-TVSeries and MovingPictures
- Codec and filter set a la hoborg
- I'm going back and forth between r4 and MilkDrop for my visualizations. Love 'em both!
- Handbrake and AnyDVD for personal DVD backup
- Whatever video games suit my fancy (currently Lego Batman and Need For Speed Carbon)
- Whatever audio software suits my fancy (currently Audacity and Sonar 5)
We just got the TV on Saturday, so that almost completed the whole thing. It's a different world from the 19" LCD 4:3 I was using! Mostly everything works well, except for things which I've tried to find a solution for here, but have been unsuccessful (for instance: Picasa albums in the pictures). Now, I just need to take the time and configure the My Programs links, figure out why S3 sleep doesn't work 100% of the time, figure out what to do about my server because I'm running out of storage space, relocate the server from behind the couch into the closet, create a really useful button scheme for my "remote" game pad...
I'm happy my wife loves me because without her, none of this would be possible (without broken bones, that is)
As a side note, since these forums have been fantastic, I'm going to try to work on a pictures plugin which can make use of existing 3rd party albums (or at least have the ability to add albums/tags/etc). I honestly know no C#, and I may be setting the bar for learning kinda high, but I'm extremely familiar with OOP and I've found that making the transition to another language isn't that difficult, as long as you're open minded.
Anyway, only one pic because it's a run-of-the-mill setup. Left side, top shelf is the Fantom with a mic and the Tascam DAC, second shelf is storage, third shelf is PC. Right side top and bottom are storage, middle is a crap VCR we're tossing. Enjoy!
