Thought i'd share my recent efforts. My first HTPC is pretty much "built" but for the past couple of months I have been tweaking and adding components and just trying to get it to do everything I want & need... I have had a heap of issues over the span of the build but I did setup a test system on my laptop to get it programmed.
Hardware
Case: Zalman HD 160XT With 7" Touch Screen & iMON Remote Control
P/S: Zalman ZM500-HP Supply, Heatpipe and 120mm internal Fan, Modular Cabling
Motherboard: ASUS P5K-E / WIFI Edition
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 CPU, 2.33 GHz, FSB 1333MHz, 4MB L2 Cache
RAM: 2GB Patriot PC2-6400 (2x1GB)
Video: Gigabyte GF 8600GT PCI-E 256MB 128-bit DDR3
HDD: Samsung 320GB HDD - SATA II 7200rpm, 16MB Cache, NoiseGuard, SilentSeek
TV: DigitalNow DNTV Live Dual Hybrid S2 PCIe Tuner
CPU Cooling: Thermaltake Blue Orb 2
Optical Drive: Sony CD/DVD Burner
Remote Control: iMON Remote + MCE Remote + Logitech Harmony 525 Remote
Keyboard\Mouse: Microsoft Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard & Mouse (wireless desktop 7000)
View the build and components at my site HERE
In addition to my HTPC and lounge I also have a media storage PC (basic PC with JBOD drives = 2TB at the moment). This media server stores all media and monitors the activity of my media centers (I use a laptop for the bedroom). It auto starts when one HTPC comes online and then switches off when all HTPCs are offline.
Software
In my eyes there are 2 main HTPC software packages for the home HTPC builder.... Media Portal and Meedio, both FREE
My system is primarily a Meedio machine (sorry) but the TV side of things is all done through Media Portal TV server which is great!!!
I use Zoom Player as my media player which is tightly integrated into my system, Uice, Hip, iMON for remote control of the system, UltraVNC for remote login, Ultramon for multi monitor management, AutoIT3 for scripting and hacking things, Acronis for backups of system and a few other little apps to help out.
It Is Built For
EVERYTHING... Some build a HTPC purely for DVD/Video, others build for music, some build for a little of both..... I had a goal for my setup before I started. It was not going to be purely just a HTPC, it would be a HTPC/PC/GAME MACHINE/LIBRARY etc... EVERYTHING. One thing that I found a real pain was to get ALL my media to play back without issues. After months of tweaking I think I have about 98% of files supported.
It Can Do...
Sh!t loads... All this is done (at least launched and browsed) from within the HTPC software with a remote control. Keyboard and mouse are only needed when playing games (if you don't like joystick) or surfing the net.
- Browse through TV shows, view episode information, overviews, actors, similar, trivia, fanart, screengrabs.
- Create playlists for TV shows
- Keep track of shows that have been watched
- Select virtual TV channels that have playlists of TV library in randomized order for when you don't know what to watch
- Remembers all viewed shows and the current position of every show within 14 days (Zoom Player Feature)
- Watch Movies and view details, screenshots, actors, similar movies, movies with same actor/director, review etc
- View trailers for a movie and auto queue trailers before the start of movie (even DVD and blueray)
- Browse music library and albums
- Select a "mood" and let HTPC queue music (thanks to MusicIP integration)
- Load a music jukebox full of hundreds of tracks for a party with full screen winamp visualisations
- Create music playlists
- Watch and schedule live digital TV
- Watch and record different programs
- Record 2 programs at a time
- Auto removal of commercials
- Listen to FM radio
- Capture external video
- Browse for media on touchscreen while watching programs on TV
- Surf the net
- Check e-mails
- Browse forums
- Play online videos and radio
- Play games such as Halflife2, Flatout2 or tetris
- One touch DVD copy or rip to media center
- Import and update media into librarys
- View weather and forecasts
I struggle to think of anything else it can do. In addition to that it can do obviously any PC task it needs, but it is programmed to hide the taskbar and icons so it appears to not be "windows" though I have not replaced windows.
Its Aimed At...
Everyone. Let me explain...
I love technology and am quite savvy when it comes to this stuff (no full on expert but I get by). I need something more than a basic MCE box... I need features and things that make it original. Well my machine is just that. My touchscreen is one example. When you view a show, the entire HTPC front end shifts over to the touchscreen for browsing and then back again when program ends. This is great and I can shift it at will with the remote too. So there is a lot of cool features, but it's worthless if others cannot use it.
My girlfriend is not very savvy with computers and is a good test for the system as she has no patients. She loves it, has her own separate TV and movie library and finds it very easy to use what she wants. There is plenty there for me but others can handle the basics without any coaching at all, which is also what I wanted.
Conclusion
It's an on-going project that gets me irritated as hell sometimes, but is well worth the trouble. Using the software that is best suited to the task then tying it all together is the best way, hence why I have a number of applications doing different things.
Please visit my site for more details, and register yourself to get some free music too. I am also a music producer so I do a lot.
Cheers.
Oh, here's some snaps to look at:
CASE
Night Of The Build
Machine Comes To Life
In It's Place (TV resolution is wrong I know)
Control
Hardware
Case: Zalman HD 160XT With 7" Touch Screen & iMON Remote Control
P/S: Zalman ZM500-HP Supply, Heatpipe and 120mm internal Fan, Modular Cabling
Motherboard: ASUS P5K-E / WIFI Edition
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 CPU, 2.33 GHz, FSB 1333MHz, 4MB L2 Cache
RAM: 2GB Patriot PC2-6400 (2x1GB)
Video: Gigabyte GF 8600GT PCI-E 256MB 128-bit DDR3
HDD: Samsung 320GB HDD - SATA II 7200rpm, 16MB Cache, NoiseGuard, SilentSeek
TV: DigitalNow DNTV Live Dual Hybrid S2 PCIe Tuner
CPU Cooling: Thermaltake Blue Orb 2
Optical Drive: Sony CD/DVD Burner
Remote Control: iMON Remote + MCE Remote + Logitech Harmony 525 Remote
Keyboard\Mouse: Microsoft Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard & Mouse (wireless desktop 7000)
View the build and components at my site HERE
In addition to my HTPC and lounge I also have a media storage PC (basic PC with JBOD drives = 2TB at the moment). This media server stores all media and monitors the activity of my media centers (I use a laptop for the bedroom). It auto starts when one HTPC comes online and then switches off when all HTPCs are offline.
Software
In my eyes there are 2 main HTPC software packages for the home HTPC builder.... Media Portal and Meedio, both FREE
My system is primarily a Meedio machine (sorry) but the TV side of things is all done through Media Portal TV server which is great!!!
I use Zoom Player as my media player which is tightly integrated into my system, Uice, Hip, iMON for remote control of the system, UltraVNC for remote login, Ultramon for multi monitor management, AutoIT3 for scripting and hacking things, Acronis for backups of system and a few other little apps to help out.
It Is Built For
EVERYTHING... Some build a HTPC purely for DVD/Video, others build for music, some build for a little of both..... I had a goal for my setup before I started. It was not going to be purely just a HTPC, it would be a HTPC/PC/GAME MACHINE/LIBRARY etc... EVERYTHING. One thing that I found a real pain was to get ALL my media to play back without issues. After months of tweaking I think I have about 98% of files supported.
It Can Do...
Sh!t loads... All this is done (at least launched and browsed) from within the HTPC software with a remote control. Keyboard and mouse are only needed when playing games (if you don't like joystick) or surfing the net.
- Browse through TV shows, view episode information, overviews, actors, similar, trivia, fanart, screengrabs.
- Create playlists for TV shows
- Keep track of shows that have been watched
- Select virtual TV channels that have playlists of TV library in randomized order for when you don't know what to watch
- Remembers all viewed shows and the current position of every show within 14 days (Zoom Player Feature)
- Watch Movies and view details, screenshots, actors, similar movies, movies with same actor/director, review etc
- View trailers for a movie and auto queue trailers before the start of movie (even DVD and blueray)
- Browse music library and albums
- Select a "mood" and let HTPC queue music (thanks to MusicIP integration)
- Load a music jukebox full of hundreds of tracks for a party with full screen winamp visualisations
- Create music playlists
- Watch and schedule live digital TV
- Watch and record different programs
- Record 2 programs at a time
- Auto removal of commercials
- Listen to FM radio
- Capture external video
- Browse for media on touchscreen while watching programs on TV
- Surf the net
- Check e-mails
- Browse forums
- Play online videos and radio
- Play games such as Halflife2, Flatout2 or tetris
- One touch DVD copy or rip to media center
- Import and update media into librarys
- View weather and forecasts
I struggle to think of anything else it can do. In addition to that it can do obviously any PC task it needs, but it is programmed to hide the taskbar and icons so it appears to not be "windows" though I have not replaced windows.
Its Aimed At...
Everyone. Let me explain...
I love technology and am quite savvy when it comes to this stuff (no full on expert but I get by). I need something more than a basic MCE box... I need features and things that make it original. Well my machine is just that. My touchscreen is one example. When you view a show, the entire HTPC front end shifts over to the touchscreen for browsing and then back again when program ends. This is great and I can shift it at will with the remote too. So there is a lot of cool features, but it's worthless if others cannot use it.
My girlfriend is not very savvy with computers and is a good test for the system as she has no patients. She loves it, has her own separate TV and movie library and finds it very easy to use what she wants. There is plenty there for me but others can handle the basics without any coaching at all, which is also what I wanted.
Conclusion
It's an on-going project that gets me irritated as hell sometimes, but is well worth the trouble. Using the software that is best suited to the task then tying it all together is the best way, hence why I have a number of applications doing different things.
Please visit my site for more details, and register yourself to get some free music too. I am also a music producer so I do a lot.
Cheers.
Oh, here's some snaps to look at:
CASE
Night Of The Build
Machine Comes To Life
In It's Place (TV resolution is wrong I know)
Control