Media Center

ToxicBunny

ToxicBunny

Oi! Leave me out of this...
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Meh,

Ok this is an arb thread for the hell of it :)

Trying to decide if I should splash out and go buy myself the kit to setup a media center... What you guys reckon?

(and dudley I know about the mede8r, but it doesn't have the scalability I'm looking for, or the interface for that matter)
 
If I didn't already have a HTPC I would probably be looking at one of those Nvidia Ion boards, you just need to add hard-drive and RAM (and operating system ofcourse, I would recommend Vista/Windows 7 MCE as it's got the most features) and then pack it all in a decent looking HTPC case.
 
I would do nothing less than Win7 MCE with the Media Browser addon...

Thing is those Ion Boards are great, but I can do a full PC based setup for a bit less than they go for.

The biggest "hurdle" per se is the HTPC case.. they're pricey....
 
I'm possibly going to go for the Antec Fusion Black....

Its the right type of design to melt into all my other units which is precisely what I want out of the deal...
 
I love my media center - don't like Media Browser though, damn slow on my PC - uninstaller.

Got 3.5TB of TV recorded :(

Also, getting the DSTV guide working is a bit of a task, unless you wanna pay annually over mceguide.co.za
 
What are the specs of your HTPC xrapidx?

Mediabrowser just has the best interface that I've seen so far.... I'm MORE than willing to replace it with other stuff, I just have too many movies and series for MCE to handle on its own.

So far the specs I'm looking at are 2.8ghz Core2Duo, 2GBs of RAM, random average graphics card and 250GB Hdd (will stream stuff off my storage servers)
 
Mines quite old already - not even sure of the CPU, think its an old 3Ghz intel processes (before dual core came out) - 4GB RAM, 5TB HDD, Nvidia 7300GS.
 
I'm running in a normal case. My garage is opposite where the projector is, so the PC is in the garage, no noise problems.

I'm running Win7 MC, the movie option coupled with YAMMM is perfect. Biggest obstacle is the need to tinker (as always with PCs) which is the biggest "problem" to some.
 
Tinkering is the best part IMO :)

I'm still weighing up my options at the moment... But i do like the Antec Fusion Black case.... very sleek and such....
 
carudden said:
I'm running in a normal case. My garage is opposite where the projector is, so the PC is in the garage, no noise problems.

I'm running Win7 MC, the movie option coupled with YAMMM is perfect. Biggest obstacle is the need to tinker (as always with PCs) which is the biggest "problem" to some.
Click to expand...

Mine only gets tinkered with once every two/three months :) Pretty stable. Also running 7MC - way more stable and performs better than Vista MC

ToxicBunny said:
Tinkering is the best part IMO :)

I'm still weighing up my options at the moment... But i do like the Antec Fusion Black case.... very sleek and such....
Click to expand...

Also consider the graphics card when deciding - I think mine might be 90% of my problems :)
 
oh.. its going to get a decent enough graphics card... but nothing mindblowing (as in I'm not going to spend R3k on a graphics card)
 
I have the Antec fusion V2 in silver and it looks beautiful, the VFD is classy, and people cant believe it is a PC. Very very quiet, and I have taken the fan off the stock cpu heatsink, there is enough airflow from the 2x 120mm fans to cool the cpu.

I was sceptical about buying an expensive case, but the build quality and quietness make me believe it is the most important part.

One thing I will criticise is that the built-in IR receiver has a very narrow angle of reception, and isn't completely compatible with the MS Remote. I ended up buying the MS Remote and receiver and it is much better.
 
Yeh - I don't like my cases IR receiver either, and it runs off the same USB port as the VFD - so I couldn't disable it - ended up opening the case and covering it with duct tape.
 
ToxicBunny said:
What are the specs of your HTPC xrapidx?

Mediabrowser just has the best interface that I've seen so far.... I'm MORE than willing to replace it with other stuff, I just have too many movies and series for MCE to handle on its own.

So far the specs I'm looking at are 2.8ghz Core2Duo, 2GBs of RAM, random average graphics card and 250GB Hdd (will stream stuff off my storage servers)
Click to expand...

I'm running the same setup currently (except I have 3.5 tb in the box).
I also have the Antec fusion black case you mentioned earlier.

For a graphics card take a look at the "Asus EAH4350 silent/Di/512MD2" card. It was just over 400 bucks from Frontosa. Its performing very well.

The Antec case runs extremely cold so I managed to set both the huge fans to the slowest speed. This along with the heatsink only on the graphics card make the setup run very quietly.
 
Yeah... except they show me the toys i WANT.... like that 40HDD system... *drool*
 
Seriously, MediaBrowser rocks - easy to setup and for me i don't have a problem with speed. If you set it up correctly it is really awesome. I tried meedios, missioned with the setup for a couple days and trashed it. The guys on their forum are really helpful, and it is open source for now, so if you dont like something just change it. Thats what i did, added a music module.

Also have a Antec Fusion case, hate the IR in it and also the VFD is so bright i had to disconnect it, i found the software for it (drivers) is really really bad, started writing my own driver for it by dropped the project ... but it is possible. Got a point where i could switch on and off any icon and display any text.

Anyway, TB if i were you i would go for it, i am not a dude that likes spending money on pcs, but i will never regret the money i spent on my HTPC. If i can give you any advice buy a good case so it looks nice in your lounge. Get the standard MCE remote if you dont have one, get a good capture card, pile in the ram, get good quiet cooling, silent fans ... install MB :) and enjoy!!
 
Just done so.... :D

Fusion Case,
E7500 Core2Duo
4GB Ram
9400GT 1GB
1TB drive

eish..... soooo much money and its allllllllll gone....
 
Congrats on the new toy.

Hehe unfortunately I found out that you can never stop spending on it.
I got one of these instead of a remote. Also quite handy for cleaning and sorting the drives. Linky

Next step is blueray.
 
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