htpc vs lack of space

neil_g

neil_g

neil_g

Soldato
Joined
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hi everyone..

currently i have a lian li PC-C32 based full atx htpc, passive cooled (mini ninja) q9550 quad core, 4gb ddr2 1066, hdmi output, blu-ray drive etc for full 1080 mkv playback. no storage, all this is held on 2 netgear readynas nv+.

the problem ive got is this, me and the gf are moving house and we're struggling with space in the living room for the htpc, basically its too deep for most tv units (53cm deep).

so far i seem to have the following options:

1 - persevere with trying to find a unit to accomodate. preferable oak/effect. possible 2 separate units, 1 for tv and 1 for amp, htpc, sky. but cant be too expensive.

2 - rebuild the htpc into a smaller case. would involve new case, motherboard, smaller heatsink.

3 - sell off the htpc completely and replace with a streaming device capable of streaming 1080 mkv and preferable blu-ray iso(?) straight from the NAS.

4 - have the htpc in the spare room and get a media center extender, although mkv playback sounds like its an issue?

ive been trying to figure this one out for about a week now and ive made myself quite dizzy so any opinions and/or extra suggestions would be appriciated..

thank you
 
neil_g said:
thanks for the suggestion, forgot to mention my amp only has coax or optical input..
Click to expand...

Good job the Revo has SPDIF optical then :D. Seriously I'd say its the best solution for replacing your HTPC, its very small very quiet and will chomp through HD content all day long. Whack XBMC on it and your done.
I would then have a separate BR player, you can pick them up for £60 nowadays and in my experience PC based players are more hassle than they're worth.
 
Chris1712 said:
Good job the Revo has SPDIF optical then :D. Seriously I'd say its the best solution for replacing your HTPC, its very small very quiet and will chomp through HD content all day long. Whack XBMC on it and your done.
I would then have a separate BR player, you can pick them up for £60 nowadays and in my experience PC based players are more hassle than they're worth.
Click to expand...

ah right, the page i looked at on the acer site didnt have one listed.. :confused:

the other option is the xstreamer, anyone have any experience with these?
 
ah i see... why have they put the optical out on the front of the unit??

also will it 100% cope with 1080 playback? the transformers 2 imax scenes hammer my current htpc for example..
 
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Yes the IGP handles the decoding perfectly. But I'd get a BD drive as opposed to a separate player, I haven't had any PC BD playback issues in years, been nice and solid for ages. Plus it's cheaper, loads disks quicker, gives you more options and less space.
 
i could get an esata box for my current LG blu-ray reader?

if we're 100% confident that the revo should handle all 1080 content including blu-ray?
 
Chris1712 said:
I would then have a separate BR player, you can pick them up for £60 nowadays and in my experience PC based players are more hassle than they're worth.
Click to expand...

I have had a BR player in my main htpc rig for a fair while now and i cant say i have had any problems with it what so ever. As a previous poster said, cheaper, quieter, loads faster, superiour A/V processing capabilities and space saving.

On topic, i live in a terraced house and my htpc is cased in a lian li pc-v351 which sits rather wonderfully, sideways, in an unused fireplace alcove. I would say stick with a htpc solution, but i am biased because i am a total advocate of htpc as a total media control device :)
 
BunnyKillBot said:
I have had a BR player in my main htpc rig for a fair while now and i cant say i have had any problems with it what so ever. As a previous poster said, cheaper, quieter, loads faster, superiour A/V processing capabilities and space saving.

On topic, i live in a terraced house and my htpc is cased in a lian li pc-v351 which sits rather wonderfully, sideways, in an unused fireplace alcove. I would say stick with a htpc solution, but i am biased because i am a total advocate of htpc as a total media control device :)
Click to expand...

Fair enough! My only experience is from the early days and the drives were slow and support was lacking, getting HD Audio out was a real pita! How are you doing that out of interest? One of the new ATi cards or are their better dedicated solutions now? Not kept up with it.
 
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