Help me create a home tv set up

Z

Zak87

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2011
Messages
107
Reaction score
7
Hi guys

I want to set up a home theatre set up but need advice on what's best for my needs

I've browsed through the threads "complete guide to ultimate tv experience" as well as the "hp proliant microserver"

They are both very informative but unfortunately I'm a total noob when it comes to this htpc set up thing so I was wondering if I could get some help

Basically I want a set up that will allow me to watch movies from my hard drive on my tv, and wirelessly on my laptop and ipad (maybe iPhone as well)

Currently I have the following hardware
A 2tb 3.5 inch external hard drive
A laptop with wifi card
An iPad 2
A jailbroken iPhone 4
Ps3

I don't have a TV or wifi router as yet and will buy them to complement the system which is best for what I am trying to achieve

Can I get a suggestion on how to set up a system to enable this?

I've read a lot of these threads and a lot of the info seems to be flying over my head, stuff like the hp proliant server vs apple tv,xbmc etc

Can you recommend to me a set up based on all the gadgets I have and based on what I am trying to achieve?

Also I need to buy a tv and router to play my movies wirelessly, can you recommend to me ? LCD/led/plasma/3d what's best?

Is there anything specific I should look for in a tv? Like specific ports or wifi access? being reading things about smart tv's and dlna

Do I really need to buy a server or can I just get a media centre like mede8ter which will allow me to stream my media wireless?

Any input will be appreciated
 
Zak87 said:
Any input will be appreciated
Click to expand...
How much dosh you got to spend?
Do you want to watch on all the devices listed from a central content library?
Do you want a rich, descriptive media interface, or is simply play the filename enough?
What mix of media quality will you want to watch e.g between SD (480p), HD (720p) or FHD (1080p)
 
Last edited:
Unless you give a budget you are going to get some very varied recommendations.

You can spend anywhere from R10k to R100k. It really depends what you can afford.
 
Right now I'm just using 3G, so no adsl, that's why I don't have a router.

I've moved into a new place and don't have a tv as yet so I need to buy that. Tv my budget is between 3k-7k.

I have a 2tb hd so won't need to be spend on storage, I just need to be able to play my files and stream them wirelessly to my devices.

I'm not looking to spend alot for this, a few grand really, excluding the tv.

Can't really put a figure on it, it depends on what options I have and whether I evaluate it to be worth the cash.

Hope that helps
 
@ Roman

Any simple interface as long as I can play the files anything else will be just extra

Also full HD playback

I want to be able to play everything thats on my hdd
 
Zak87 said:
Any simple interface as long as I can play the files anything else will be just extra

Also full HD playback

I want to be able to play everything thats on my hdd
Click to expand...
Then you can go the cheaper DLNA route.

Cheapest FHD TV with built in Ethernet/DLNA & avi, mp4 & mkv support, would be the Samsung D550 50Hz LCD TV (if you can still find one). Otherwise you could go for a non-DLNA TV, using your PS3 as a media player together with a transcoding DLNA server like Serviio (running on HP Microserver with your drive(s) plugged in). For the iPhone/iPad you could use Buzz/BuzzHD player which are DLNA capable, and something like VLC for the laptop.

If you can stretch your budget a bit for a Samsung SmartTV (e.g. like D6000 100Hz LED), then a more elegant route would be Plex Media Server, where you would run a Plex client on your TV, laptop, iPad & iPhone. For the PS3 you'd still need DLNA, so for now also run Serviio on same server until next version of Plex Media Server comes out with DLNA support (should be soon).

In both cases above if you're going to go wireless (for some devices) and want to support FHD 1080p files, then 300Mbps wireless-N is going to be necessary. Check out the TP-Link range of APs, or ADSL or 3G routers with 300Mbps wireless-N capability.
 
PS3 Media Server running on your laptop with 2TB HDD connected via USB and containing all your media. Then a cross-over cable (or two LAN cables with cheap switch) connecting your laptop to the PS3. Then blow all your budget on a decent TV. You'll be able to browse all the content on your 2TB from your XMB. Next upgrade I would get is a decent sound system with HDMI inputs.
 
@ Steven

Nice idea re ps3 server however i wouldn't want to have to connect my laptop every day to the ps3 as I use it for work purposes.
 
Hi Roman , thanks for the comprehensive set up idea. you mention Dlna a lot, what exactly is it in a nutshell? Kinda like wifi ?

What about this wifi media player ? http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Streaming-Media-Player/dp/B005KOZNBW

I've been trying unsuccessfully to confirm with google if it can stream media to my iPad ..



http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Streaming-Media-Player/dp/B005KOZNBW
 
TV + dedicated media player with WiFi. Then save up for a home theatre system. Keep it simple and avoid streaming this and transcoding that :) Once you have the sound then you'll soon forgot all about watching stuff on your iPad and laptop.
 
stevenv said:
PS3 Media Server running on your laptop with 2TB HDD connected via USB and containing all your media. Then a cross-over cable (or two LAN cables with cheap switch) connecting your laptop to the PS3. Then blow all your budget on a decent TV. You'll be able to browse all the content on your 2TB from your XMB. Next upgrade I would get is a decent sound system with HDMI inputs.
Click to expand...

This is probably your cheapest option. Wifi will enable you to connect everything up including the phone etc.

Start with a good router. Then ps3 as your media player. Laptop as your media server.
 
whats the best setup for me. i currently have the following.

Samsung LA32D550 with Ethernet and Allshare capability.
Mede8er with 2TB plus wireless dongle
42'' HD Ready Sammy Plasma
4MB ADSL
300mb/s wireless N adsl router
lappy with wireless N capability and 1GB ethernet port with XBMC installed
P4 pc with 1GB ethernet port
1.5TB 2.5'' external

i currently stream all my stuff on the lappy on the net. i am planning to install 3x 1GB/s ethernet points in my place that will be hooked up to the router. would it be better to just use the wireless or should i go ethernet.
how do i go about setting up a central point or points to run all my media from. will xbmc suffice or should i get plex, etc.
what would be the best and easiest way of setting it up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X