EvilGenius007

(suggestions welcome)

Please rate this thread and leave feedback here or via PM with any improvements, feature requests, corrections, etc. I want to make this a valuable starting point for those approaching HTPCs for the first time, or the first time in a long time. Thanks, -EvilGenius

FAQ

Q: What is an HTPC?
A: An acronym for "Home Theatre Personal Computer", the term HTPC is applied very broadly these days. Most often it's a computer hooked up to a television or projector that has a sole or primary function of playing some form of media files.

Q: What's the best way to get my HTPC question answered on these forums?
A: 1) Think of the two or three key words that describe your problem/question/idea, search for them in the forum, and spend 5 whole minutes looking at (and reading) the results.
2) Take those same few key words, put them in Google, and look at the first 2 pages of results--click on at least 1 link. Should take you 30-60 seconds.
3) Provide not just the problem/question/idea, but also the context. When relevant, describe all involved hardware (including, if possible, exact model number as well as version of drivers and firmware) and software (exact version number). If you're asking for more general advice, be sure to make clear not just what you're asking, but why you're asking.

Q: What are the advantages of an HTPC over other solutions?
A: While commercial products are available which each perform some of the functions an HTPC is capable of, a properly outfitted HTPC can combine all of the following: the PVR (personal video recording) functionality of Tivo, including scheduled recording and the ability to pause & rewind "live" TV; the playback of DVDs, HD-DVDs, and Blu-Ray discs, even from copies archived to your hard drive; an un-rivaled selection of games that will always expand; playing streaming media from sites like Pandora, YouTube, and Hulu on your own home theatre set-up; easily store & playback lossless multi-channel rips of your entire personal audio collection, regardless of format; and finally, allow you to quickly check your e-mail or favorite forums from the comfort of your couch.

Q: What are the DISadvantages of an HTPC over other solutions?
A: Compared to products which only perform one or maybe two of the many functions of an HTPC, the HTPC is likely to be more costly. Also, most will likely find it challenging to configure, and there's less certainty that it will "just work". Finally, there are some aspects where functionality of the HTPC will be limited compared to a stand-alone commercial competitor.

Q: What are the best parts to buy?
A: This is an example of a question that's impossible to answer without more information. How do you intend to use the HTPC? What types of media will you be playing? Which inputs and outputs are most important to you? A general list of recommendations, divided by budget, is now available in the post below. If you feel the systems described below will not fulfill your particular needs, I recommend you check out this guide.

Q: How does the HTPC stack up as a competitor to Tivo?
A: The biggest variable in answering this question is your input source. Various protection schemes make it challenging or impossible to view the bulk of HD channels provided by cable or satellite companies. While some of these protection schemes can be circumvented, you may then find it requires special hardware and software for the seemingly simple task of changing the channel. This, of course, can reduce the reliability of scheduled recordings.

On the other hand, an HTPC can have advantages to Tivo as well. Stored recordings are easier to manage, storage space can be added locally or remotely, your recordings can be accessed locally or remotely on a variety of devices, and you can even convert them into a variety of formats for playback on various portable devices such as iPods, PSPs, or DVD players.

Q: What channels will I be able to watch with my cable provider?
Check out http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/channels! (Contributed by DuckieHo)

Q: Which OTA high def channels will I be able to pick up?
Check out http://www.antennaweb.org/! (Contributed by craigap)

Q: How does the HTPC stack up as a competitor to a stand alone Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player?
A: While the minimum cost for a HTPC is higher than either a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player, only your HTPC is likely to be able to play both types of discs. Another big win comes in the ability of the HTPC to upconvert "standard definition" DVDs, and to play discs that have been archived to a local or networked hard disk.

Don't think that the only drawback of the HTPC is hardware cost, though. Software cost will also be substantial if you need support for multi-channel audio, and there may be some limitations on exactly what format of multi-channel audio can be passed and by what means it will be passed. Finally, there seems to be widespread difficulty with audio synching for playback from HD-DVDs at present time. While it's likely this can/will be resolved soon by a variety of software patches, at present time it seems necessary to perform a moderately lengthy transcode of any HD-DVD content if you need the audio and video in sync, while older "set-top" boxes can play any old HD-DVD disc that you feed them.

Q: How does a HTPC compare to a Wii, PS3 or X-Box 360?
A: While it may be more expensive than most of those, it also has (if you choose) a bigger selection of games than all 3 systems combined. However, depending on other concerns, such as noise and form-factor you may be prevented from playing the absolute latest titles. You may also have to deal with draconian DRM. Additionally, while you have more options for control systems, you may find some games only work well with a keyboard, others with a gamepad, and still others with a full size joystick.

Q: Is streaming media kind of a big deal?
A: Depending on your exact goals, you might find that support for streaming media is by itself a justification for building an HTPC. In addition to the "unique" content of YouTube, streaming media includes Hulu, ABC.com, NetFlix, Pandora, and dozens (hundreds?) of other specialized sites. With content from most major television networks (legally) available on-demand, with limited commercials and at your fingertips, you may never watch TV the same way again.

Q: Why are AMD CPUs frequently recommended for entry level HTPCs?
A: While both Intel and AMD make quality dual core chips, the integrated video processors on latest gen AMD motherboards are capable of handling 1080p video and full screen flash playback stutter free with even the most basic CPU. Add in the Hybrid CrossfireX capability of 780G/785G/790GX chipsets and the balance tips still further in AMDs favor. Of course, if you don't plan to use integrated graphics other chipset and platform features will be more important in your case.

Q: How can I get video signal from my HTPC to my TV?
A: This depends greatly on the output & input options available. I'll try to address some common options and provide links to solutions.
O = output (from computer), I = input (into television)
O: VGA -> I: Composite (Yellow RCA plug)
O: VGA -> I: S-Video
O: VGA -> I: Component (YPbPr - red, green & blue plugs)
O: VGA -> I: SCART (European, mostly)
O: DVI -> I: VGA
O: DVI -> I: HDMI
O: S-video -> I: Composite (Yellow RCA plug) (or 6' cable set, with audio cables/adapter)

Evil's HTPC Self-Examination Take once before buying!

It's important to recognize that your goals for you HTPC may change over time. While I heartily endorse taking this survey before you purchase any components for the first time, you may want to re-evaluate things before buying upgrades or building a new machine. Also, one thing these questions don't emphasize is budget. Issues of budget are highly specific to individuals and times, but should be kept in mind as you make your decisions.

5- This functionality will be my guiding principal in all decisions
4- This functionality is highly important and I would prefer not to sacrifice it
3- This functionality should be present given reasonable compatibility with my other goals
2- If this functionality is present it will probably be used
1- If this functionality is present it may be used
0- This functionality is insignificant

Video features:
*Playing DVD:
*Playing Blu-Ray:
*Playing HD-DVD:
*Playing archived video files at up to 1080p:
Audio features:
*High-quality output for external amplifier:
*Multi-channel positional output for 5.1/7.1 audio:
PVR (Tivo-esque) features:
*Scheduled recording & playback of HD signals:
*Time-shifting of "live" TV:
*Simultaneous recording & time-shifting:
*Viewing and recording a combined total of more than 2 HD channels simultaneously:
Storage features:
*Store compressed audio files:
*Store uncompressed audio files:
*Store compressed video:
*Store high-def video:
*Read from SD/MMD/Compact Flash etc:
"Computing" features:
*Browse web & send/read e-mail:
*Archive CDs/DVDs:
*Archive Blu-Ray discs:
*Archive HD-DVD discs:
*Burn DVD (+R, -R, DL):
Gaming features:
*Play "classic" video games:
*Play "modern" video games:
*Play "latest" video games:
Network features:
*Playing streaming internet video (Hulu, YouTube):
*Play streaming internet/local audio (Pandora):
*Play streaming local compressed video:
*Play streaming local high-def video:
*Serve streaming audio:
*Serve streaming video:
Aesthetic features:
*Small physical footprint:
*Attractive/professional appearance:
*Outward appearance indistinguishable from home audio/video components:
*Low noise levels:
*Low power consumption:

EvilGenius007

(suggestions welcome)

COMPONENT RECOMMENDATIONS

Please contact via PM if you have tweaks for improving these recommendations.

A great debt is owed to "renethx" at AVS Forum for h(er|is) original guide, which contains a much wider variety of configurations. I have attempted to pare down the original to a few simple suggestions that take into account the focus of builders here at OCN. For this reason, features like overclocking potential & "best bang for the buck" are emphasized in most of these components.

Component "Philosophy"
Note that when choosing parts for an HTPC build special consideration is given to aspects which are often disregarded in designing gaming or productivity systems. To keep the HTPC quiet, and to reduce operating cost, it's usally a good idea to emphasize energy efficiency and low power consumption components. This includes selecting slower hard drives, 80 Plus certified power supplies, low TDP processors, and using as many other components as possible which will offer small trade-offs in performance for large savings in heat, noise, and energy costs.

Of course, one efficient way to minimize power consumption and costs is to combine your HTPC with the functionality of one or more other classes of computer. For instance, a home media server or gaming rig. Doing so can reduce the costs compared to building two seperate systems, and prove more energy efficient--depending on your usage patterns. However, you will need to take care in your component selections to make sure enough computing power is present to fulfill both roles.

Last Updated: 2009.10.20
Sample Build: Low Budget, Small Form Factor
$90 MSI 785GM-E65 AMD 785G AM3 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
$60 AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor
$50 G.Skill F3-12800CL9D-2GBNQ 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR3 1600 Memory
$60 Western Digital WD7500AADS 750GB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$100 Antec FusionRemote MicroATX Computer Case and 350W 80 PLUS Certified Power Supply
Total: $360

While this is a "barebones" configuration, it will be sufficient for all of the primary functions of an HTPC. With the low price-point of feature-rich 785G based AM3 mobos, my recommendations in this price range are somewhat altered from previous months. To keep overall costs low, and because of the full 128MB of sideport GPU memory integrated to the recommended mobo, a 2x1GB kit of DDR3 is suggested, as is the entry level dual-core AM3 chip. It's strongly advised that you wait to learn more about the Hybrid CrossfireX capable GPUs and the power of the integrated HD4200 chip before purchasing a discrete video card for standard def upscaling.

Sample Build: Mid Budget, Full ATX Form Factor
$125 Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P 790X ATX Motherboard
$99 AMD Athlon II X4 620 2.6GHz AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor
$86 G.Skill F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 Memory
$85 Western Digital WD10EADS 1TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$150 Lian-Li PC-C32B Black Aluminum ATX Computer Case
$60 OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W 80 PLUS Certified Modular Power Supply
$145 Sapphire 100284L Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 Video Card
Total: $750

This set-up has substantial overclocking and, with the potential to crossfire another HD 4850, gaming upgrade potential. Aftermarket cooling for the CPU is suggested for anyone overclocking . Choosing a less expensive graphics card, selection of a variety of other cases, and/or selecting DDR2 and a compatible motherboard are all viable cost-saving options.

Sample Build: High Budget, Full ATX Form Factor
$160 MSI P55-GD65 LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard
$200 Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core
$86 G.Skill F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 Memory
$110 Samsung ST31500541AS 1.5TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$210 Silverstone Black LC20B-M ATX Media Center / HTPC Case
$140 Silverstone ST70F 700W 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Power Supply
$160 Sapphire 100283L Radeon HD 5770 512MB GDDR5 Video Card
Total: $1066

My recent positive personal experience has compelled me to change up the recommendations at this level. Gone is the trusty LGA 775 solution, and in it's place is the new wunderkid, Core i5 & LGA 1156. This motherboard and CPU combo will allow you a great deal of overclocking headroom, or cool and quiet operation at stock speeds. Also, the intelligent power management built in to this new tech will automatically increase your speed on single-threaded applications, without much increase in power consumption. To top it all off, you're no longer forced to choose your GPU camp outright, but can now fluctuate at will between Crossfire and SLI solutions.

Sample Build: Extraordinary Budget, Full ATX Form Factor
$380 MSI X58 Eclipse Plus LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
$280 Intel Core i7 920 LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor
$210 Corsair Dominator TR3X6G1600C8D 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 Memory
$269 Intel X25-M SSDSA2MH080G1 80GB SATA II MLC Solid State Disk
$210 Western Digital WD20EADS 2TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$220 Lian Li Black Aluminum PC-C34F ATX Computer Case
$190 Corsair CMPSU-850HX 850W 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
$500 EVGA 017-P3-1295-AR CO-OP Edition GeForce GTX 295 1792MB DDR3 Video Card
Total: $2259 (single vid card), $2759 (quad-GPU SLI)

If this computer can't do what you want it to do, I recommend revising your expectations, or contacting these guys. But, seriously, this PC steps well outside of the realm of the HTPC and becomes a gaming and computing powerhouse, especially if you take an SLI approach and purchase more than one of the suggested, already ridiculously overpowered, gaming video cards.

Additional Components: All Builds
Tuners:

• $149 SiliconDust HDHomeRun Ethernet Interface Network-based Dual Digital HDTV Tuner
• $130 Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Media Center Kit 1213 PCI-Express x1 Dual TV Tuner
• $90 AVerMedia AVerTV Combo MCE PCI-Express x1 Tuner Card

If you wish to record and/or timeshift TV you'll need a tuner or tuner card. If you want to do more than simply record OTA HD, and/or you're not located in the US or another region that broadcasts those channels via ATSC, you'll need to do a bit more research.

Optical Drives:

• $170 LG GGW-H20L SATA 6X Blu-ray Disc Burner, HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±RW Hi Def Optical Drive
• $68 LITE-ON iHOS104-08 SATA 4X Blu-ray Reader Optical Drive
• $33 Samsung SH-S223L SATA 22X DVD±RW with LightScribe Optical Drive

Since LG has inexplicably decided to discontinue the Blu-Ray/HD-DVD playback drive with DVD±RW capabilities and instead offer only a BR/DVD±RW at a $20 price hike, it's hard to recommend any drive in the $100-150 range--instead, a simple $70 Blu-Ray player with no DVD±RW chops is suggested if you can't afford or justify the do-it-all BD-R/HD-DVD/DVD±RW drive (with software) for $160. Finally, with prices the way they are, purchasing anything less than at least a DVD±RW drive isn't a great idea.

Sound Cards:

• $150 Asus Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim 24-bit 192KHz PCI
• $89 Asus Xonar D1 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI
  
• $0 Onboard Motherboard Audio

A great place to keep costs down is by choosing to give your motherboard's onboard or integrated audio a chance before purchasing a sound card. Two great options which fit into almost all cases, and work with the bulk of motherboards, are products from the Xonar audio line by Asus. While the D1 will be enough for most people, if you require bitstreaming (which means you know what bitstreaming is), the HDAV Slim is now available.

KEEPING YOUR HTPC QUIET

For many HTPC applications you'll want a system that is quieter than a typical PC. There are several ways to accomplish this goal. The least expensive is to take advantage of built-in features provided by most newer motherboards that will automatically control fan speeds based on temperatures reported by integrated sensors. Alternatively, you can try using a free program called SpeedFan if your motherboard doesn't support automatic speed control, or you're not comfortable going into the BIOS to configure it. If neither solution is getting results, you may need a hardware fan controller (available in a variety of configurations) or fans with built-in thermal control. Replacing your stock CPU heatsink with an aftermarket model designed to be cool and quiet is also a fairly cost effective approach.

The next step up in effectiveness/cost is using a case silencing material, such as flashing tape (read more) or actual specifically designed sound dampening foam. Since these materials will also insulate heat in areas without good airflow, you should make sure there aren't dead spots in your case's interior.

For the most complete noise reduction, you may want to consider water-cooling. However, for almost all applications this would be overkill, and can be avoided by careful selection of components that compliment the way you intend to use your system.

EvilGenius007

(suggestions welcome)

GLOSSARY OF HTPC ABBREVIATIONS, ACRONYMS AND TERMS

analog hole: term associated with certain protection schemes, such as HDCP, whereby a signal is converted from digital to analog (and often converted back) to allow for playback on "unauthorized" device(s); as a real or perceived loss of signal quality may occur during this process, it is not necessarily considered circumvention and is in fact largely a designed effect

ATSC: Advanced Television Systems Committee, the digital format for OTA broadcasts that is replacing NTSC

Boxee: "social" media playback interface

ClearQAM: (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) HD digital signals provided by cable companies without DRM

codec: software for encoding or decoding digital media

DP: Display Port, a (mostly defeated) type of video/audio connection championed by Dell, compatible with DVI and HDMI formats

DPL: Dolby Pro Logic, multi-channel audio encoding/decoding used in many films & converted by home theatre audio receivers, or software/PC component alternatives

DRM: Digital Rights Management, various techniques employed by content providers in a (futile) attempt to deter piracty, largely capable only of making legal uses of legitimately purchased content require unnecessary complexity

DVI: Digital Visual Interface, type of connection capable of carrying video signals in a variety of resolutions, well exceeding 1080p; some proprietary formats, use the DVI to also carry audio, most notably ATI

FLAC: Free Losless Audio Codec, an open source codec for compressing audio signals without any loss of quality

HD: High Definition, now largely refers to 1080p, though previously in widespread use (by unscrupulous TV manufacturers) to refer to 720p and 1080i capable televisions

HDCP: High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection, prevents playback of high-definition content on "unapproved" devices

HDMI: High-Definition Multimedia Interface, type of connection capable of carrying both audio and video signals in HD

HTPC: home theatre personal computer

MCE: Media Center Edition, an informal abbreviation for Windows XP Media Center Edition

MPC: Media Player Classic, an open source, free software program for playback of various media files

NTSC: National Television System Committee, analog OTA signals in the U.S., currently being phased out and replaced by ATSC

OTA: over the air, usually used to describe ATSC signals received from local stations via an antenna

PDVD (or PDVD9): PowerDVD, currently in version 9 this is commercial software from the CyberLink company for the playback of various media, most notably Blu-Ray and HD-DVD

"rip": to archive, usually from an optical disc to a hard drive; often has connotations of breaking or circumventing copy protection measures (which themselves break or circumvent the well recognized doctrine of fair use)--here it is best to avoid this term when "archive" will suffice

TMT (or TMT3): Total Media Theatre, currently in version 3 this is commercial software from the ArcSoft company for the playback of various media, most notably Blu-Ray and HD-DVD

VLC: originally VideoLAN Client, an open source, free software program for playback of various media files

VMC: Vista Media Center, the media client integrated into Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate editions

WMC: Windows Media Center, the general name for media client integrated first into Windows XP MCE

XBMC: X-Box Media Center (originally designed for the X-Box, since ported to PC)

FURTHER READING

Info/Software> Official HTPC Software Thread
Info/Software> TheHTPC.net Plug-in list
Info/Display> Guide to Calibrating Your Display
Info/Forum> Home Theater Computer forums @ AVS (Highly technical, not nec. nooby friendly)
Info/Forum> The Green Button Forums (Windows Media Center support)
Info/Forum> Home Cinema PCs @ AVForums
Info/Forum> Australia Media Center Community

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DarkNite

Does HDCP actually stop avergae HTPC users from viewing anything? My old gpu had hdcp on it and it never checked or anything. Does it do anything??

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Lorna DEREK. Rich-a-la-la - Sarahhh. VI-KY.

EvilGenius007

Yes. While my Blu-Ray drive was in my 8600GTS system I had to send the signal to my monitor over a VGA/DVI adapted cable. The playback software (PDVD7.3) down-res'ed everything to standard definition. So, I wasn't completely stopped from viewing but I did have to create an "analog hole", and suffer a loss of signal quality. (PS, thanks for reminding me that a definition of analog hole might be in order in the glossary.)

Fortunately, nearly all modern video cards and monitors are HDCP compliant, so a simple "upgrade" to something like a Radeon HD3450 or GeForce 9400 would have resolved my issue. (So did moving the optical drive to my HTPC, which uses 790GX/HD3470).

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HITandRUN

Option for remote controls missing. I use the SoundGraph iMON 2.4G and I love it.

EvilGenius007

Missing from where? On the self-examination? I tried to ask questions that would be useful in determining what was needed for multiple rather than single components.

I suppose "input" could be considered a class of components... What features made you choose that specific remote instead of the others available on the market?

Or were you referring to somewhere else entirely?

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kneeki

I refuse to 'purchase' anything with *CP on it. When it comes to home viewing, if I cannot view what I 'purchased' I didn't actually purchase it did I? To answer your question though, it does stop you from viewing high quality video on your HTPC.

Trusted Computing.

EvilGenius007

Added basic connection guide. If anyone knows of products that directly allow any likely output/input combination I'm missing, please let me know.

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EvilGenius007

Added some suggestions for complete systems.

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