HTPC show and tell

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1874 posts

Uber Geek

Reply # 162648 6-Sep-2008 15:32
Whats the clear cable running down to the top of your TV for? FM antenna cable. The cables under the matt are for the rear 5.1 speakers I just setup so need to move the matt closer to the entertainment unit to hide the cables =) HTPC - Intel i3-2100 / 12GB / 13TB Storage / HD4670 / HVR2200 / Win 7 x64 + MediaPortal 1.3 Final PC - Intel e8600 / 8GB / HD5830 / Win7 x64

FreddyK

84 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 162737 7-Sep-2008 11:14
Do you have the FM aerial running into your HVR2200 or is it going into an external reciever? I've split my UHF feed so not only is it providing DVB-T, its also the source for my FM radio reception. It works well, and means I dont have to worry about a seperate unsightly FM antenna.

peteinakl

21 posts

Geek

Reply # 163754 11-Sep-2008 12:27
Getting a Bravia which will replace my AV switcher and Dell 24" (post #1 in this thread). The HTPC has also now officially been named "Steview" as my wife is convinced I'm stealing Freeview Also, I saw the thread asking which codec to use for DVB-T: Answer is CoreAVC, it may not be hardware accelerated, but is the best quality and idiot simple to use [on Windows].

kiwijunglist

1874 posts

Uber Geek

Reply # 167625 28-Sep-2008 21:37
took out the middle shelf, yay =) might move the mouse to under the table too. finally finished =) HTPC - Intel i3-2100 / 12GB / 13TB Storage / HD4670 / HVR2200 / Win 7 x64 + MediaPortal 1.3 Final PC - Intel e8600 / 8GB / HD5830 / Win7 x64

ZeeBOB

27 posts

Geek

Subscriber

Reply # 172100 19-Oct-2008 17:33
Hi all, Having read through the majority of all the HTPC related posts here I finsally made the decision to get my own HTPC. I also decided, if i'm going to do it, do it well, so I went a little OTT, but its turned out well. HTPC: Case: Zalman HD160XT Plus Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS5 AM2+ CPU: AMD Phenom 9950 Quad-Core Black Edition Memory: 4GB - Corsair TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX 2 X 2GB DDR Graphics: Saphire ATI Raedon HD4850 512MB HDCP HDMI PCI-E HDD: 2x Seagate 750GB SATAII 7200RPM PSU: Seasonic M12 700W TV Tuner: Hauppauge WinTV HVR4000 Quad Mode TV Reciever Sound Card: Asus Xonar Ultra Fidelity PCI Sound Card Keyboard: Logitech DiNovo Edge Ultra Slim Keyboard Mouse: Logitech MX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse Audio/Video: TV: Panasonic Viera 42" Plasma AV Reciever: Onkyo TX-SR705 Speakers: Wharfdale 5.1 Surrond Sound Speakers Software: OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate (x64) with Service Pack 1 Media Center: MediaPoral 1.0.0.0 RC3 Daemon Tools WinAMP VLC Media Player Codecs: MPEG-2 Video: CyberLink Video/SP Decoder (PCM45) - Bundled with TV Card H.264 Video: CyberLink H.264/AVC Decoder (PDVD8) Audio Codec: CyberLink Audio Decoder (PCM45) - Bundled with TV Card The 7" LCD Touchscreen on the case is connected via DVI-VGA and the TV via DVI-HDMI. All sound is decoded and processed on the Asus Xonar card and output via SPDIF to the AV Reciever. MediaPortal can do pretty much everything now just a few little problems and extra tweaks to do: Outstanding: 1. Get xmlTVNZ installed and working 2. Get my Logitech Harmony 525 to control the PC and MediaPortal

peteinakl

21 posts

Geek

Reply # 172109 19-Oct-2008 18:18
Yum, but should post some new pics as I've got a Bravia and a decent cabinet now. Love that TFT screen, but have you thought about a Logitech Harmony remote. It took me a while to come around, but now I have it working right (took 3 days) I can't imagine life without it. I used to have 5 remotes, now we have one and my wife can just push 'Watch TV' and it switches everything on, jumps to live TV, adusts the sound field.... you get the idea. It takes a little bit of patience, but is SO worth it. Awesome setup. Thanks for posting it :)

Dingbatt

1441 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

Reply # 172121 19-Oct-2008 19:10
ZeeBOB:............ Outstanding: 1. Get xmlTVNZ installed and working 2. Get my Logitech Harmony 525 to control the PC and MediaPortal I note you are in an apartment so this may not be possible... If you have access to a satellite dish pointing at Optus D1 then your HVR4000 will be able to download the 7-day EPG via freeview. It is what I use because my HTPC is not connected to the 'net. Awesome setup tho'. Areas of Geek interest: Home Theatre, HTPC, Android Tablets & Phones, iProducts.

peteinakl

21 posts

Geek

Reply # 172122 19-Oct-2008 19:23
I second that, I too run an HVR-4000, well 3 of them. I have one pointing at the Optus D1 which gets my EPG, the other two point at DVB-T. Has anyone had any good results getting their EPG over DVB-T? I hate EPG's via internet!

ZeeBOB

27 posts

Geek

Subscriber

Reply # 172147 19-Oct-2008 21:25
Dingbatt: I note you are in an apartment so this may not be possible... If you have access to a satellite dish pointing at Optus D1 then your HVR4000 will be able to download the 7-day EPG via freeview. It is what I use because my HTPC is not connected to the 'net. Awesome setup tho'. I like this idea! I know the last tenants in our apartment had SKY but there is no seperate cable feed so i'm guessing the Sat and UHF signals are coming down the same cable... Can anyone advise the settings I need in MediaPortal for a DVB-S signal or is it just as simple as picking the Sat from the list and run a detect?

ZeeBOB

27 posts

Geek

Subscriber

Reply # 173227 24-Oct-2008 00:20
So I posted the build of my HTPC up on youtube including the 98% completed system, feel free to check it out! http://nz.youtube.com/user/ZeeBOBNZ

mcraenz

692 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 175089 1-Nov-2008 15:51
Well I've commented quite a few times in the freeview and HTPC threads so I thought I'd better snap a few shots of my very humble setup. I opted for hiding the computer rather than putting it on display in an HTPC case. The "TV" is small; 19" but its ok for TV, I have a projector for movies . The case contains a custom made fibreglass cpu/video card duct and is very quiet. The lamp and sub can be turned on an doff using the parallel port power control plug-in I wrote for MediaPortal Visit My Blog!

ajst2duk

166 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 178324 17-Nov-2008 10:17
Hey all - thought I would be cheeky & re-post as I've made a few tweaks here & there It's all on http://www.jenkin.net/HTPC.htm Major changes since last post are addition of a USB DAC, namely Citipulse 2.03E which I've now had for about 6 months, oh and the hand-built sub, which really does get things moving. I'm still a stereo freak, not yet taken to the dark side of HT. The tweaks to the HTPC setup itself amount to the addittion of a few new tuners (HVR2200, & 2XUSB Nova-T, total 4 digital & 2 analogue tuners) and I had to swap out the ATI video card for an Nvidia 9600GT Passive. I took the Preamp out and am using the Citypulse as the pre. I've also pulled the twin 500GB drives, replaced the system disk with a solid state drive, and media disk with a 1.5TB HDD. I also replaced my TV cabinet and the wine rack I was using for my audio/HTPC rack with a custom built TV unit from a guy who sells on trademe. The whole affair is now as good as I could ever wish it to be, and the family love it.

metalla

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

Reply # 179646 23-Nov-2008 16:19
Here is my setup. Running An Asus M2h with a AMD Athlon 64x2 5200, ATI HD2600Pro, 2gb Ram, Hauppauge Nova-T 500, Seagate 500gb SATA, WD 320gb IDE, WD 200gb. Mediaportal RC3 with Aeon Skin, Moving Pictures, TV Series, Music Video DB, etc. etc. Two x Logitech Cordless PS3 controllers (which work on PC) to run the emulators Connected to a 42" k7 Pana Plasma Marantz 5.1 Amp, powering Acoustic Reseach HC6 5.1 Speakers Plus the PS2.

duckquack

68 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 189000 12-Jan-2009 15:39
Current CASE: Silverstone LC16-M & iMon Remote, PWRSUP: Corsair VX520W, MOTHERBOARD: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R, VIDEO: Gigabyte 8600GT Silent, SOUND: Onboard 8 Channels ALC889A Audio controller , CPU: Intel Core2 Duo E8400,3.00GHz, RAM:Corsair DDR2-800, 2GB, HDD: SAMSUNG 500 & 750GB HDD, TUNER: Hauppauge PVR150MCE PCI TV Tuner + Sky Star SAT Tuner for Freeview & EPG, DISPLAY: Panasonic 50" PZ850 HD Plasma with HD Freeview Tuner. SOFTWARE: Vista, Mediaportal 1.0. RECEIVER: Sony 940 5.1 surround sound, it also has an optical link which I connected directly to the computer. SPEAKERS: Front: PSB, Not shown but I also have the following that I haven't setup yet Centrer Paradigm, Rear: Paradigm Mini Monitor, Subwoofer: Paradigm PS1200 Things to do HD Tuner, possibly HVR 2200 Blueray player, once prices come down more storage in a RAID setup so I don't loose it all, possibly 3 x 750GB HDD Harmony Remote Here's some photos, and yes I know the cables look messy, but who cares you never see them. You will also note that I removed some of the rear paneling so overheating isn't a problem. Comments welcome.

psk20

124 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 191772 24-Jan-2009 11:07
Right, it's not actually finished, but it's far along enough that I feel like putting something up here : ) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/skeletoro/DSCF2715.jpg Here she is in all her glory. You're looking at: [b]receiver[/b]: Onkyo TX-SR575s. Got for $498. Doesn't process HDMI signals, so I just use a 5.1 spdif coaxial connection from the pc. [b]speakers[/b]: Monitor Audio Bronze 3 front speakers, plus Monitor Baby Center and 2x Monitor 2 surround speakers (not shown). No subwoofer yet - I'd probably die an early death due to neighbour hate. Bought 5 years ago when they were being phased out by a newer range for about $1k - just under 50% RRP from Soundline Audio. [b]Screen[/b]: Philips 47PFL7422 47" 1080p LCD. Connected directly to PC via HDMI. [b]PC[/b]: WARNING: MESSY http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/skeletoro/DSCF2717.jpg Specs are in my sig. As you can see, I'm trying to get this rig working as a hybrid HTPC/Gaming machine. I've had some success with this - its playing games and dvds without a hitch at the moment. Regarding freeview, I'm getting some problems with the hardware decoding of channels 4 and up, and I still don't have a guide working in windows 7. :( But I'm hoping that driver updates or updates to windows 7 will sort that. I still have yet to buy a blu-ray drive. Its messy and noisy right now. My corsair modular PSU died earlier this year, and the replacement is a POS. It will eventually need replacing, for reasons of noise. I'm also thinking about moving this computer into a better case, although I am not sure which cases will fit my video card - and it needs to have decent cooling! I'd also probably buy a better CPU cooler - I imagine that the stock cooler with my phenom is contributing to the noise issue too. For some reason the Windows 7 version of the catalyst drivers isn't actually installing the control center, even though it claimed that it does. Once I've got that up and running, I'll probably look at using the profiles system to underclock the video card and turn down the fan when I'm not gaming. [b]Outstanding[/b]: Reduce noise coming from PC case (replace PSU, CPU fan,set up software tweaks) Fix some software issues video artifacts on resume from sleep Freeview 576i channels not displaying correctly Put PC in a decent HTPC case that will fit it, and move into the left cabinet cavity so that I can properly center TV. Get a subwoofer if and when we move somewhere more suitable Get a blu-ray drive

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