HTPC Options

[DragonQ]

Hi guys, I was thinking of getting a Freeview+ HD box but then I realised that for not much more money I could probably build (or buy) an HTPC with a Freeview HD receiver, which would also allow me to access all of the ripped DVDs and BDs on my desktop.

I have no idea about HTPCs though so I'm looking for some advice. For example:

- Build or buy?
- Best Freeview HD tuner? BGT3620 perhaps?
- Best software/UI for watching and recording Freeview HD and also playing back MKV files? Needs to be something that will output at whatever refresh rate matches the source material (24p/25p/25i/30p/30i).
- Best CPU? Would a low-power CPU work fine (Atom/Zacate) or would I need something slightly better (Sandy Bridge Pentium/Athlon II)?
- Best GPU? On-board would probably be fine with AMD but Intel HD Graphics wouldn't work because of the 24p bug.

I'm assuming there's some guides for this so pointing me in the right direction for these would be appreciated also!

Thanks.

 

[bremen1874]

It wouldn’t be as much fun, but life could be much simpler if you…

1. Bought a decent Freeview+ HD box.
2. Bought something else (a WD TV Live kind of device) to stream ripped content.

 

[DragonQ]

You're right, it wouldn't be as fun . It also wouldn't save as much money as I thought it would. If I went for separate devices I'd need the Freeview+ HD box to support iPlayer and I'd also want a good brand. There aren't many of these and since I've had good experiences with Humax in the past, I'd get these:

- Humax HDR-FOX T2 500 GB = £280
- WD TV Live = £75
- Total = £355

If I went for a Llano setup (Intel HD 2000/3000 not supporting 23.976p is a deal-breaker and anything else would need a separate GPU for 1080p60), I could get something like this:

- Asrock A75M = £68
- AMD A6-3650 = £84
- Corsair XMS3 4 GB = £28
- 1.5 TB WD Green = £0 (already have)
- Windows 7 - £0 (already have)
- BlackGold BGT3620 = £106
- GD05B Grandia Case = £60
- Antec EA-380D GREEN PSU = £40
- Intel 320 Series 40GB = £64
- Remote?
- Total = £450

No idea what remote to get, having problems finding reviews. There's a similar but slimmer case coming out in September but it only supports 80 mm fans so might be too noisy. Once the remote is added I guess it'll be ~£470, so £115 more than separate devices. However, it would be cooler, more fun, more flexible and integrated into one unit.

Any tips are still appreciated!