[MiniTuckin]

Hey guys i've built quite a few computers now but dont quite understand this type of build. Here is basically what i'm wanting to do.

Create a HTPC that can stream all my movies, videos, pictures, and mp3's throughout the house flawlessly. We currently only have 2 computers not including this build.

Current parts i have are a Celeron D 2.8ghz and some DDR2 ram.

Suggestions?

Also I prefer it to be fairly small and run off remote control. Thanks

 

[Tator Tot]

Apevia X-master Blue + 500watt PSU $70
AMD Athlon x2 4850e 45watt 2.5ghz $60
GeIL Black Dragon DDR2 800 (PC2-6400) 2x1gb CAS4 $27
Western Digital 640gb AAKS $70
Asus M4A78-EM ($79) or Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-US2H ($80)

And then get a Logitech Harmony 550

Do you need a Tuner card? Or is that null?

Any DVD drive or BR drive will work. I'd get SATA for easier cable management.

And Vista Home Premium or Windows XP MCE.

 

[MiniTuckin]

wont need the 640gb hdd if i'm streaming will i? Also got 2gb of ddr 2 corsair

 

[SZayat]

WD TV HD Media Player would cost you less than an nvidia HDMI enabled mobo

 

[Tator Tot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MiniTuckin wont need the 640gb hdd if i'm streaming will i? Also got 2gb of ddr 2 corsair

If you are storing media on it yes, if not then you won't need it.

 

[MiniTuckin]

i just plan on streaming like say she wants to watch a movie or listen to some music. Would it better to use a board like the 3450 instead of onboard? Or will it really matter. Dont plan on watchin 1080p since she has the older style tv's

 

[H3||scr3am]

hope your network topology is up to streaming video over network.... and don't even think of going wireless on it

 

[[email protected]]

If shes just playing non-HD stuff, wireless should be fine

 

[SZayat]

^^ ditto

just keep it simple, copy the movies into a flash disk and attach it to WD TV HD Media Player. Simple and plain and cheap.

 

[MiniTuckin]

wired will be no problem. I just want her to be able to watch the movies i have on my computer here in my room because i can watch them on my tv but nobody else in the house can on their own tv's.

I hope the WD HD player has normal plugs. Her tv is HD but older and only supports 480 via DVI

 

[SZayat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MiniTuckin wired will be no problem. I just want her to be able to watch the movies i have on my computer here in my room because i can watch them on my tv but nobody else in the house can on their own tv's. I hope the WD HD player has normal plugs. Her tv is HD but older and only supports 480 via DVI

I think it will be ok for more info: http://www.wdc.com/en/products/produ...eID=572#jump11

small demo run:

YouTube - WD TV: HD Media Player (slices 1080p for breakfast)

 

[MiniTuckin]

95 w/ free ship on egay! Not a bad price just sucks i will always have to load up a flash drive

 

[SZayat]

$97 on BuyDig.com

BuyDig > some ebay dude

 

[craigap]

Since the TV is only Standard Definition and you won't be streaming HD; if you can run a cat5e cable from your computer with the media on it to tv is reference then I'd suggest trying to bid on a used MediaMVP on ebay and try to get one for $40 or less. http://www.hauppauge.com/html/mediamvp_datasheet.htm
It's similiar to the WD HD that was suggested only you could potentially get it for much cheaper. Plus you wouldn't have to load up a seperate drive all the time. It can just access all the media on the other computer with the press of a button.

I used to own one of these about a year ago and they work great. I ended up selling it for $40 and upgraded to an HD100 from Sagetv.

 

[Stevo]

I recently got one of those WD TV boxes and i must say its pretty good for the price, and very good for people who do not have the patience for a HTPC. Only 1 complaint and that is the remote for it is small and could be easly lost.

 

[onlycodered]

I mostly use my HTPC for stuff like YouTube, Hulu, and streaming Netflix movies. For this I have found my Logitech diNovo Mini keyboard+touchpad controller to be very useful.

 

[murderbymodem]

An alternative to the WD would be a Popcorn Hour.
http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/

I have an A-100, I slapped in a 500gb IDE drive I had and my Mom now has instant access to any episode of M.A.S.H without having to get up and put in a different DVD.

Good alternative to the WD as you can eventually slap a harddrive in it. Until you decide to do that you can play from a flash drive or stream from a shared folder on a PC.

It'll play anything you throw at it.

Code:

Media files supported

Video containers: 
MPEG1/2/4 Elementary (M1V, M2V, M4V) 
MPEG1/2 PS (M2P, MPG) 
MPEG2 Transport Stream (TS, TP, TRP, M2T, M2TS, MTS) 
VOB 
AVI, ASF, WMV 
Matroska (MKV) 
MOV (H.264), MP4, RMP4 
Video codecs: 
XVID SD/HD 
MPEG-1 
MPEG-2 
[email protected] 
MPEG-4.2 
[email protected], 720p, 1-point GMC 
WMV9 
[email protected] 
H.264 
[email protected] 
[email protected] 
[email protected] 
[email protected] 
VC-1 
[email protected] 
[email protected] 
Audio containers: 
AAC, M4A 
MPEG audio (MP1, MP2, MP3, MPA) 
WAV 
WMA 
FLAC 
OGG 
Audio codecs: 
Dolby Digital 
WMA, WMA Pro 
AAC 
MP1, MP2, MP3 
LPCM 
FLAC 
Vorbis 
Audio pass through : DTS, Dolby Digital 
Photo formats : JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF 
Other formats:  ISO, IFO 
Subtitle formats : SRT, SMI, SUB, SSA

 

[e_dogg]

Tivo HD will also do exactly what you're looking for as well as record in HD. Sometimes you can find it for less than the current Amazon price ($261). It will also play Netflix downloads and Youtube videos too. Of all the media center software I've seen, they have the best usability.

http://www.amazon.com/TiVo-TCD652160...6361189&sr=8-1

And with the Tivo Desktop software you can move shows between PCs and other Tivos on your home network. It also allows for MP3 and photo streaming so you can do slideshows too. http://www.tivo.com/buytivo/tivogear...are/index.html

I do all of this on an 802.11g wireless network without any hiccups.

I looooooove my Tivo!

 

[burrbit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MiniTuckin i just plan on streaming like say she wants to watch a movie or listen to some music. Would it better to use a board like the 3450 instead of onboard? Or will it really matter. Dont plan on watchin 1080p since she has the older style tv's

if you wont be streaming any hd at all, just pick up an old xbox, slap xbox media center on it. done and done!

imo its the perfect media center for standard def tvs.