Building a Media-center system

Reading this thread (..eventually, brain's slowing down 'cos of the cold) ;) reminded me that I saw a stand at last year's rAge (was right near the entrance, opposite the Frontosa stand) that had Silverstone cases on their stand ..may be worth following that route to see who it was?
 
Just to add my 2c, I have an Xbox and Tivo, and while I will admit my TV viewing habits are not necessarily that of a power viewer, I am very happy with the combination of the two.

Choc
 
TivoZA said:
You can get a DVB-S PCI card, these require the CAM modules JStrike mentioned earlier. An Irdeto CAM module will set you back at least R800, this excludes the price of the DVB-S PCI card which would be another R1000+. This option would still require the DSTV smart card and it can only output one channel at a time, simultaneous recordings would require a second DSTV smart card and thus a second DSTV subscription.
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A daft question perhaps, but is this, well, legal? I'd have thought MultiChoice would have an aneurysm if people could essentially build their own decoders-in-a-PC-box ;). Pity no one stocks these CAM CIs locally.

I see DVBShop also has cheaper alternatives if you're willing to give up a second PCI slot - that'd be around 100 euro including a budget range PVR card, excl shipping etc of course. I wonder if this would do the trick if one only wanted single-channel DSTV PVR functionality...
 
kittychunk said:
A daft question perhaps, but is this, well, legal? I'd have thought MultiChoice would have an aneurysm if people could essentially build their own decoders-in-a-PC-box ;). Pity no one stocks these CAM CIs locally.
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There isn't anything illegal about it, MultiChoice prefer that you use their units as it makes customer support that much easier but from a legal standpoint you can use anything you like so long as you are paying your monthly subscription fees.

kittychunk said:
I see DVBShop also has cheaper alternatives if you're willing to give up a second PCI slot - that'd be around 100 euro including a budget range PVR card, excl shipping etc of course. I wonder if this would do the trick if one only wanted single-channel DSTV PVR functionality...
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The "Technotrend Budget PCI CI" CAM reader (EUR 33) requires at least the "Technotrend Budget S-1500" DVB-S card (EUR 79), bringing the total to EUR 112 ~R963. You'd be better off getting the "TwinhanDTV Sat-CI" (AUS$ 179 ~ R905) which has a built in CAM reader and provides a few extra features.
 
Good to know, thanks.

I'm still a bit surprised that no one sells CAM-reader hardware locally; would have thought there'd be a fair market for it with all the DSTV owners out there wanting to build HTPCs!
 
anothee media centre/pvr

hey everyone, i also want to have PVR functionality. i purchased a HDD dvd recorder, but i cannot record and timeshift at the same time. I returned it. I have a dual view dstv. My choices: 1. Buy a DSTV pvr and a dvd recorder to record real time. 2. Build or buy something else.
I have a current p4 celeron 2 ghz that is basically not being used a lot. What can i do to convert this into something decent with at least 2 tuners? Sort of average costs. I dont have a plasma yet, so the fancy goodies can wait a while. Any suggestions?
 
thanks,

What advice on going myth tv, gbpvr, ms media centre, meedio, tivo or just go dstv pvr? Anyone have experience in what is best suited to average viewing with reasonable quality? Sort of middle of the road functionality equal or better than dstv pvr?
 
wannabee said:
thanks,

What advice on going myth tv, gbpvr, ms media centre, meedio, tivo or just go dstv pvr? Anyone have experience in what is best suited to average viewing with reasonable quality? Sort of middle of the road functionality equal or better than dstv pvr?
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Well since the TiVo is in your list of options and you asked which is best, I'm going to have to say the TiVo is the best all rounder :D

The recording quality is top notch and the user interface is considered the best by an overwhelming majority. The TiVo also has automatic TV guide updates and my system provides the most enriched guide data available in SA. This includes full series, episode and repeat details, star ratings, categories and more. The extended guide data allows for searching by show title, date & time, channel, actor, director, category or by keyword. The "PVR questions" thread provides a more detailed discussion on the TiVo guide data and its season pass functionality.

Add to this the fact that the TiVo has a web interface allowing you to manage most of its functionality over the internet (including your mobile phone). You can also stream recordings to a PC/Xbox, extract recordings to view on a PC and/or back them up to DVD. You can even view the weather forecast and telephone caller ID details.

Although the TiVo is able to control and record from two separate sources, it's not able to record two shows simultaneously which you mentioned you would like in your first post. If this is an essential feature then your only option would be to go for a HTPC as not even the DSTV PVR can record two shows simultaneously (at present). Keep in mind that a dual TV-tuner card is not cheap and at R1450 (excluding everything else you need), it's already more expensive then a TiVo ;) That said, using a TiVo you are able to watch previously recorded shows while it records another show or buffers the current live TV feed. With the TiVo season pass functionality and its automatic conflict resolution resulting in repeats of shows getting recorded when something with a higher priority resulted in it not being recorded the first time, you will have little need for dual recording functionality.
 
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TivoZA said:
Well since the TiVo is in your list of options and you asked which is best, I'm going to have to say the TiVo is the best all rounder :

Thanks tivoza,
Does this mean i can buffer 2 channels at a time? Can i also record 1 show while buffering another? I think i need this as a minimum.
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wannabee said:
Thanks tivoza,
Does this mean i can buffer 2 channels at a time? Can i also record 1 show while buffering another? I think i need this as a minimum.
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Unfortunately not on both accounts :( As much as you think you may need this, with all the repeats DSTV runs and the TiVo's automatic conflict resolution of your requested recordings, you're very unlikely to miss any show that you would like to watch. If you're looking for a system for a family, the TiVo combined with a Xbox will allow you to watch two different recordings simultaneously (one per device) while still continuing to record in the background.

I have a dual view decoder and since having a TiVo, I've never switched to the second output to watch a show. Once you start watching TV via a TiVo, you'll no longer want to watch live TV as by starting an hour long show 20 minutes late, you can simply fast forward through all the commercials and end the show at the same time as if you had watched it live.

Below is a list of some of the shows my TiVo automatically tapes, it's able to tape all of them without requiring the need of a dual tuner. Note that some shows listed are not currently running but when the next season starts my TiVo will automatically pick that up and continue recording them without any intervention from me:
Scrubs, Survivor, The Amazing Race, CSI, CSI Miami, CSI New York, Alias, Las Vegas, Lost, The Simpsons, South Park, Prison Break, My Name is Earl, House, Navy NCIS, Nip-Tuck, Weeds, The Shield, Huff, Idols, Life on a Stick, Strictly Come Dancing, Without A Trace, The 4400, What I Like About You, Grounded For Life, King Of Queens, Stacked, American Dad, The West Wing, That 70s Show, Two and a Half Men, Friends, Less Than Perfect III, Still Standing, Grey's Anatomy, Jake in Progress, Will & Grace, The Drew Carey Show, James Bond, Star Trek, Adventures Of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius, A Word Or 2, Navy NCIS, Charmed, My Family, Mad About You, LAX, Tru Calling, Battlestar Galactica, The Comeback, The Dave Chappelle Show, Sex and the City, Eyes, Top Gear Xtra, My Restaurant Rules, Wallace And Gromit, Going Nowhere Slowly, Click, American Dad, Boston Legal, Rebel Billionaire, Frasier, Spin City, The X Files, Last Comic Standing, Surface, 2DTV
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hartz said:
I am thinking of building a Media-center PC. .. The system must be silent (No fans if possible), and I'd like to build it into a media-center orientated case. Please make recommendations for
- Case
- Motherboard
- CPU
- Graphics card
- TV-tuner / RF-tuner / frame grabber card
- Sound card - only if the sound on the motherboard is not acceptable.
- DVD-RW drive

Also, I want Linux compatibility unless this will add a LOT of complexity.

Suggestions???
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How's about some h4wt ..well, cool really Hush Technologies E2 action? It meets your stated hardware needs and may well be ...interestingly priced, but there's a local reseller (:mad: you HAVE to view this site in IE, and then mouseover [Products] and then click on [Hush range] due to their sucktastic (javascript?) programming). However, there's a lekker nekkid shot to drool over... :D Also, some reviewage here.
 
hartz said:
Hi everybody.

I am thinking of building a Media-center PC. In particular, I'd like to be able to play DVDs, record 2 channels at once (to hard drive), copy / record to DVD, and play Music CDs.

The system must be silent (No fans if possible), and I'd like to build it into a media-center orientated case. Please make recommendations for
- Case
- Motherboard
- CPU
- Graphics card
- TV-tuner / RF-tuner / frame grabber card
- Sound card - only if the sound on the motherboard is not acceptable.
- DVD-RW drive
- Anything I am forgetting?

Also, I want Linux compatibility unless this will add a LOT of complexity.

Suggestions???

_Hartz
Click to expand...

Go with the kubuntu as your OS
 
Just got mail in for this week's CyberDyne special (valid on Friday) for (in part) their range of external TITAN IR adapters, available in both serial and USB. These look to be a pretty neat (as in literally!) way of breaking an IR Rx device out on the PC side. Nor are they particularly expensive either.
 
bdt said:
Just got mail in for this week's CyberDyne special (valid on Friday) for (in part) their range of external TITAN IR adapters, available in both serial and USB. These look to be a pretty neat (as in literally!) way of breaking an IR Rx device out on the PC side. Nor are they particularly expensive either.
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The "TITAN IR adapters" that CyberDyne sells are IrDA receivers and do not support IR devices such as remote controls (IrDA is used by cellphones, PDA's, etc). As such, IrDA receivers are not suited for a media center. The "PC remote control unit ... which one?" thread provides more details on what options you have when getting a remote control for a PC.
 
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