Hi,
I'm new to this forum and hope I'm okay posting this here as I would like a smaller sized case.
Until now have been using a PS3 as a media centre but it's not what I want. My requirements haven't been met by any consumer devices and at last HTPC's seem to be getting there. One of my main requirements is HD freeview and I had been thinking about a Humax HDR-Fox T2, although this is good it's not flexible. Now that Blackgold have bought out their BGT3620 card I can have this as well as blu ray, DVD, SVCD and lots of codecs in an HTPC.
I'm also into audio and have a stereo system using a SET amp and would want to send the HTPC audio output to a 192kHz Asyncronous USB DAC as well as over HDMI for watching movies or just TV. Because audio would be important to me I have looked at cases with built in touch screens but have also found a 10" touch screen 16:9 aspect - Lilliput FA1011-NP/C/T - 10.1" HDMI which would be better and should be okay as a screen for things like internet radio and music playback as I don't want to be using my plasma as a monitor, I have also found some DAB digital radio cards which allow recording and would be a nice touch.
In view of my intentions I would like to ask a few questions:
Would the Blackgold card give me PVR features on par with commercial products.
Would something along the lines of intel core i5-2400 processor and Asus p8h67-m pro motherboard be suitable (no graphics card needed)
If I buy a monitor like the Lilliput FA1011 which is touch screen, does anybody know if it would work or am I better off with a passive screen and a remote (probably will come with case)
Is it wise to build a fanless system ?use a lower power CPU.
I have always been a Mac user but for an HTPC it's going to have to be a PC (no Blu Ray support or PCI cards - unless it's a Mac Pro). I am wondering whether to go with Windows 7 or a Linux distro ?Kubuntu which would mean none of that ant-virus software to update and cause me hassle. Would my HTPC ideas work if it was Linux or would remotes, PCI cards etc not function correctly.
If anybody has any suggestions they would be appreciated.
Iain
I'm new to this forum and hope I'm okay posting this here as I would like a smaller sized case.
Until now have been using a PS3 as a media centre but it's not what I want. My requirements haven't been met by any consumer devices and at last HTPC's seem to be getting there. One of my main requirements is HD freeview and I had been thinking about a Humax HDR-Fox T2, although this is good it's not flexible. Now that Blackgold have bought out their BGT3620 card I can have this as well as blu ray, DVD, SVCD and lots of codecs in an HTPC.
I'm also into audio and have a stereo system using a SET amp and would want to send the HTPC audio output to a 192kHz Asyncronous USB DAC as well as over HDMI for watching movies or just TV. Because audio would be important to me I have looked at cases with built in touch screens but have also found a 10" touch screen 16:9 aspect - Lilliput FA1011-NP/C/T - 10.1" HDMI which would be better and should be okay as a screen for things like internet radio and music playback as I don't want to be using my plasma as a monitor, I have also found some DAB digital radio cards which allow recording and would be a nice touch.
In view of my intentions I would like to ask a few questions:
Would the Blackgold card give me PVR features on par with commercial products.
Would something along the lines of intel core i5-2400 processor and Asus p8h67-m pro motherboard be suitable (no graphics card needed)
If I buy a monitor like the Lilliput FA1011 which is touch screen, does anybody know if it would work or am I better off with a passive screen and a remote (probably will come with case)
Is it wise to build a fanless system ?use a lower power CPU.
I have always been a Mac user but for an HTPC it's going to have to be a PC (no Blu Ray support or PCI cards - unless it's a Mac Pro). I am wondering whether to go with Windows 7 or a Linux distro ?Kubuntu which would mean none of that ant-virus software to update and cause me hassle. Would my HTPC ideas work if it was Linux or would remotes, PCI cards etc not function correctly.
If anybody has any suggestions they would be appreciated.
Iain