Media streamer/HTPC, which should I get for what I want?

You will want to use gpu offloading I assume, I have read that nvidia are better as you can use coreavc 2. It seems you need at least a gts220, I think the gts430 is a good choice as you will be able to run better filters etc though ideally you want a passively cooled one for obvious reasons. Then there is nothing wrong with a 775 dual core with 2gb ddr2. Though I have read you can us the gpu in the i3 or i5 for gpu offloading, but I have no knowledge of how good it is. Though I guess you will want more cpu power if you encode.
 
Mine was fairly low powered to start with and it handled 1080p perfectly. Its a AMD 240e 2.8GHz energy efficient dual core, 2GB DDR2 and a motherboard with onboard Nvidia 8300 graphics. This was more than enough power!

The only reason I upgraded my graphics was for HD bitstreaming out to my amp for DTS-HD audio! :)

Good to see there is a way round playing ISOs too!

kidloco said:
Problem is this might end up costing me money!,
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I had that problem, started out only wanting to spend a little bit and ended up spending a few hundred.. Was worth it though! :D
 
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Street said:
The easiest way to do it is to download the following programs..

MediaPortal 1.1.2

SAF Codec Pack

StreamedMP

Install MediaPortal, then run the StreamedMP download. The SteamedMP installer will install MovingPictures, MP-TVSeries and FanArtHandler. Then run the SAF codec installer and go to the following website..

Configuring SAF in MP

Set it up as shown there and it should all be good to go with subs and everything! The slow part is downloading all the info from the web for films and TV series! :)

Edit: Make sure you have uninstalled anything like FFDShow, MPC before you install SAF, it will install all of that for you and set things up in the right way!
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Do you need to install the SAF codec pack if you've already got other codec/codec packs installed that decode HD video fine?

I probably could just uninstall them but in this instance I'm of the belief "if it ain't broke don't fix it!"
 
Street said:
Mine was fairly low powered to start with and it handled 1080p perfectly. Its a AMD 240e 2.8GHz energy efficient dual core, 2GB DDR2 and a motherboard with onboard Nvidia 8300 graphics. This was more than enough power!

The only reason I upgraded my graphics was for HD bitstreaming out to my amp for DTS-HD audio! :)

Good to see there is a way round playing ISOs too!



I had that problem, started out only wanting to spend a little bit and ended up spending a few hundred.. Was worth it though! :D
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Its a tricky one. I have only just bought the Boxee Box and it is so nearly there. In the 6 weeks Ive had it there have been 2 major firmware updates that have really improved the way it works. And in fairness the devs really seem to be listening to what people want and trying to fix the issues pretty quickly.

Ive also had a number of fully blown media PCs, some underpowered ION sysems which were uselss. Other great big hulking noisey beasts. But none of them worked or looked half as mediaportal now its configured correctly. So I can really see how a decent quiet media PC running this would be very nice. All be it with the normal maintance tasks that arrise when having a full PC.

Think ill give the Boxee another month, maybe 2 at a push. If its not where I want it to be ill sell it on and start building. Already been pricing up a nice little 3ghz i3 build, 4gb ddr 3, 60gb SSD drive :D seems it will come in around the £500 mark with a nice case etc.
 
kidloco said:
seems it will come in around the £500 mark with a nice case etc.
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The case was the most expensive part of mine!

alx said:
Do you need to install the SAF codec pack if you've already got other codec/codec packs installed that decode HD video fine?

I probably could just uninstall them but in this instance I'm of the belief "if it ain't broke don't fix it!"
Click to expand...

If its working fine then I wouldn't bother messing with it. I just had a few problems getting codecs and things to work with different files, then I came across SAF on the forums and everything just worked after that, saved me a lot of messing around! :)

I reckon for people setting MP up new, SAF is definitely the easiest way of getting it up and running with the least hassle.
 
Sorry to tag this question onto this thread.....but if a sound card has an optical out and a 3.5mm jack, is it possible to output sound through both at the same time or does it depend on the card?

It's just that I've got onboard sound card in my main PC which has both, and want to connect my PC to my TV/amp which is nearby, but I don't want to have to keep switching between the two in the windows options every time I use my PC speakers or decide to watch something on my TV from my PC.

I'll be using MediaPortal if it helps.
 
I'm not sure how you could do it with software, easiest way you could do it is use the 3.5mm jack for both with a y cable. Then just turn each one off when you want the other.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a case? I am after a thin case to stand upright out of the way behind my tv. So far I have found the Inwin BT611, does anyone have any recommendations for a budget case?
 
kidloco said:
Having this issue also. I got the media to show thanks to Saitrix :D but every time I tried to play a ISO image I got an error say 'couldnt mount media'.

This would be a showstopper for me. I have around 700 movies. 500+ of which are DVD ISOs.

Other than that the UI looks great. If I could suss the ISO issue I would be seriously tempted to drop the Boxee Box and stump up the cash for a proper media PC
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ISOs work fine for me in MP using the free Virtual Clone Drive.

In Mediaportal configuration, under General -> Virtual Drive,
set the Drive Tool path to C:\Program Files (x86)\Elaborate Bytes\VirtualCloneDrive\Daemon.exe (if on Win7 64bit)
Make sure Virtual Drive letter is set to the letter you have given to VCD.
Check "automount image files", and uncheck "ask before playing image files"
That should be it.

Whenever I set Mediaportal up, I always forget one of the steps above and wonder why it isn't working.
 
kidloco said:
Think thats the main reason putitng me off a htpc. I just cant find a nice case. I think I find one then realise its the size of a small car
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Well I think I have found a cheap one that is small enough, it is called the cit s003b. I already know it won't have the best build quality but for £35 inc psu you cannot be picky! The smallest mini-itx cases I know of is the m350 but you won't be able to run any add in cards, but you can mount it to the tvs vesa mount. Run an i3 in it and you will still be able to do all your bit streaming, I think people just overclock the gpu part to make it powerful enough. The cases size is 192 x 210 x 62. The m300 version cannot be vesa mounted and is a little bigger at 200 x 240 x 78 but allows for a single full size add in card if you want to. This is assuming you don't want an optical drive.
 
How does this spec look guys

Capture-7.jpg
 
kidloco said:
Think thats the main reason putitng me off a htpc. I just cant find a nice case. I think I find one then realise its the size of a small car
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I utterly adore my Lian Li PC-V351 . Its a cube, and its on the larger size, but 'blends in' really well. Aesthetically its no different to having a sub-woofer beside your tv.

But anyway, all the Lian Li cases are beautiful with top notch build quality.
 
kidloco said:
How does this spec look guys

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n260/kidloco46/Capture-7.jpg[/IG][/QUOTE]

That should destroy everything you throw at it and it will do HD bitstreaming to an amp if you ever need it! :)

Does it really need an SSD though? Could save a fair wedge by going for a standard HD. I've just got a normal WD 640 Black in mine and its plenty fast enough. Don't notice any noise from it as I'm streaming over the network.
Click to expand...
 
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Street said:
That should destroy everything you throw at it and it will do HD bitstreaming to an amp if you ever need it! :)

Does it really need an SSD though? Could save a fair wedge by going for a standard HD. I've just got a normal WD 640 Black in mine and its plenty fast enough. Don't notice any noise from it as I'm streaming over the network.
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Of course it needs an SSD :D I put one in my main PC a few months ago. Couldnt go back to anything else. Best upgrade I have done in years.

Ive got an Mediasoinc HF2-SU2S2 4 Bay external drive bay that has all my films on so I just need a small drive. If its a SSD it will boot in a flash, silent, less power, less heat. you know it makes sense :cool:
 
Street said:
That should destroy everything you throw at it and it will do HD bitstreaming to an amp if you ever need it! :)

Does it really need an SSD though? Could save a fair wedge by going for a standard HD. I've just got a normal WD 640 Black in mine and its plenty fast enough. Don't notice any noise from it as I'm streaming over the network.
Click to expand...

Buying an SSD for your system install is probably one of the best technical upgrades money can buy. I run 1 SSD for windows install+other software, and 2 raid 0 standard drives for media
 
kidloco said:
Of course it needs an SSD :D I put one in my main PC a few months ago. Couldnt go back to anything else. Best upgrade I have done in years.

Ive got an Mediasoinc HF2-SU2S2 4 Bay external drive bay that has all my films on so I just need a small drive. If its a SSD it will boot in a flash, silent, less power, less heat. you know it makes sense :cool:
Click to expand...

Fair one! :) I'd love to have one in mine, but I install loads of games on it and the larger size ones are stupidly expensive.. :(
 
Been looking at the Silverstone LC19B-R Black Slim Aluminum MicroATX Case with 120W Fanless PSU & Card.

Will that PSU be enough for i3 system?

Also, just noticed the i3 says GPU onboard. Would I need the ATI Radeon HD 5450?
 
No you can bit stream with the i3 for your videos. So you wouldn't need the card at all. I would say it will run fine from a 120W psu like that. Look at this link below, the guy is topping out at 72W! That is running with a BD drive and some hdd's. I would suggest undervolting it too when you get it, will allow it to run that bit quieter and use less watts, just giving you even more headroom for the psu. Looks like a very good setup really, and I see you have gone for low voltage memory. I remember reading an article on that and it did reduce the power usage by a decent amount (iirc ~5W).

If you are getting rid of the gfx card then surely a nice setup would be a vesa mounted M350 case or is your tv already wall mounted?

http://www.missingremote.com/review/intel-dh57jg-and-core-i3-530
 
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