Building a cheap HTPC.

[anilva]

Don't want to be controversial or dampen anyone's enthusiasm. But my personal experience (quite a lot on HTPC, having built 3 high end ones) is that HTPC is not a good option compared to dedicated devices like media players. They work much better with lesser hassels.

HTPC with a HD setup is an altogether different ball game. It needs to be continously tinkered and tuned around. You will like it if it is a hobby. Ask family to operate it and they will throw a tantrum....

Yes, if the HTPC needs to double hat as a home PC and do other things, may be it is a good short term alternative. The cooling issues, noise, size, looks, interfaces etc. etc. are issues. Also AFAIK there is no lossless Dolby HD or DTS HD Audio streams sent through HDMI outputs of any meaningful graphic cards. You need to settle with compressed Dobly Digital and DTS streams.

My two cents...

 

[thevortex]

Hello members. Got a few queries.

I can't afford to invest in dedicated HTPC but would like to utilize my existing rig. Its a semi decent machine with a HD4670 Super (512mb DDR3). I'll go the X-Fire way in the near future. Will this suffice for FHD? Or, do I need to invest in a better card?

The connections would be PC-AVR(HDMI)-TV(HDMI).

The mother board has some on-board sound card and optical out. But, what about HD audio? I want my AVR to do all the decoding. How do I go about it in a cost effective manner?

And, how to direct both video and audio through one HDMI output?

Another thing.. if I get a BD drive, will the PQ & SQ be comparable to a stand alone BDP/PS3 Slim?

Sorry for the long post people, am a pure noob

Regards

Shuv - Your video card is good enough for Full HD presentation. Just so you know it is not mandatory to have a full blown game-oriented graphics card for a Full HD video presentation anyway.

If your motherboard does have a digital out (read SPDIF) then you can directly connect that to your AVR. Your AVR will do all the processing and decoding. This can be a good starting point. Then you can decide whether you want to invest in a separate sound card solution.

If you do get a Blu Ray drive, your video and audio should be more than equal to that of a PS3. Dedicated BD players of course may be able to do a better job in the video aspect.

 

[thevortex]

Don't want to be controversial or dampen anyone's enthusiasm. But my personal experience (quite a lot on HTPC, having built 3 high end ones) is that HTPC is not a good option compared to dedicated devices like media players. They work much better with lesser hassels.

HTPC with a HD setup is an altogether different ball game. It needs to be continously tinkered and tuned around. You will like it if it is a hobby. Ask family to operate it and they will throw a tantrum....

Yes, if the HTPC needs to double hat as a home PC and do other things, may be it is a good short term alternative. The cooling issues, noise, size, looks, interfaces etc. etc. are issues. Also AFAIK there is no lossless Dolby HD or DTS HD Audio streams sent through HDMI outputs of any meaningful graphic cards. You need to settle with compressed Dobly Digital and DTS streams.

My two cents...

I am fully with you related to the quirkiness of a HTPC setup combined with its compulsive need to be tinkered with once in a while. And it also brings in unwanted geekiness which poses difficulty to the other family members - no doubt about that.

But insofar as whether it is possible to construct a solution with no cooling, noise, size, looks or interface issues - that is a resounding yes.

I think I have read a few posts on how lossless Dolby HD and DTS HD streams are being passed on by the Xonar HDAV card. And this card seems to have the capability to do this right, if I am not mistaken.

 

[shuv]

Thanks Anilva and thevortex.

What I really want from my proposed, semi HTPC is something like a WDTV. It should play every type of content off the net with the best possible PQ and SQ the said content can offer. If the content has HD video and audio, I would like to enjoy that.

I need a BD writer anyway. But, as far as BD playback is concerned, its secondary. I'm going to get a stand alone BDP/PS3Slim as soon as finances permit.

So, what do you guys think? Is what I propose feasible? Can it be trouble/bug free? I don't want to fiddle around every other day to get it working.

 

[anilva]

Thanks Anilva and thevortex.

What I really want from my proposed, semi HTPC is something like a WDTV. It should play every type of content off the net with the best possible PQ and SQ the said content can offer. If the content has HD video and audio, I would like to enjoy that.

I need a BD writer anyway. But, as far as BD playback is concerned, its secondary. I'm going to get a stand alone BDP/PS3Slim as soon as finances permit.

So, what do you guys think? Is what I propose feasible? Can it be trouble/bug free? I don't want to fiddle around every other day to get it working.

Bluray writer is easy, but to rip and convert and remove some of the region coding and handling the file size issues are a big no no as far as I am concerned. HTPC is getting to be more complex with Bluray. I will not recommend. If you are very good geek with PCs then it is a great hobby....

 

[thevortex]

Thanks Anilva and thevortex.

What I really want from my proposed, semi HTPC is something like a WDTV. It should play every type of content off the net with the best possible PQ and SQ the said content can offer. If the content has HD video and audio, I would like to enjoy that.

I need a BD writer anyway. But, as far as BD playback is concerned, its secondary. I'm going to get a stand alone BDP/PS3Slim as soon as finances permit.

So, what do you guys think? Is what I propose feasible? Can it be trouble/bug free? I don't want to fiddle around every other day to get it working.

Playing movies straight off the drive is not going to be as smooth as playing it off the hard drive. It is in playing off the hard drive that there is huge advantage over say a dedicated BD player.

As you rightly say a PS3 is better if you are looking at BD playback. You get more bang for the buck, so to speak.

As for fiddling and being trouble free, if you are ready to do some analysis up front then you can have some smooth sailing when you use your PC. But then our definition of trouble might be different. What is nothing to me can be a big thing for others and vice versa. So, one wont know unless one tries

 

[spirovious]

Can this be another solution?

Popcorn Hour C-200 | PopcornHour | MkvPlayers HDTV
Welcome To Popcorn Hour

Review-
http://www.mediasmartserver.net/2009/09/22/popcorn-hour-c-200-review/
http://www.mpcclub.com/forum/links/...pcclub.com/download.php?f=review_pch_c200.pdf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4bPAOg1cls&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GFPkZqyDtc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nKcvqk09fs&feature=related

 

[Gurudristi]

Hey Guys,
Been going through the thread and now you guys have finally got me to going to built my HTPC. I need your help to check out the following which I 've shortlisted:

Processor : AMD Phenom II X2, 3.1Ghz, Black edn : Rs.5500

Motherboard: Gigabyte MA785G PM US-2H DDR2, : Rs.6500.
(This motherboard has on board ATI Radeon HD 4200 graphics and Realtek ALC 889A audio)

BLu Ray: Sony Optiarc 5x Blu Ray Sata Combo Drive.

RAM : 1GB x 2 ( 800Mhz) Transend

HDD: Seagate 500GB, 7200rpm


Case : I am not able to find a good sutiable horizontal HTPC Cabinet for the micro-ATX(9.6"x9.6") motherboard in Mumbai...Any dealers/distributors?

Any suggestions as well as how much wattage should the power supply be?

I would be using the HTPC in my home theatre which has Denon 3805 Receiver, a LG XGA projector and Samsung Plasma. I was also wondering as to how to connect the DVI/HDMI output of the mother board to the component in (RGB) of my projector?? Is there a DVI to Component cable connector available?:indifferent14:

 

[thevortex]

Your configuration looks great Gurudrishti. I am not sure about the DVI/HDMI to Component connector. But I believe there might be one like that in the market.

Your music experience could be taken to a couple of notches above if you invest in a quality sound card. Options are various depending on budget.

 

[spirovious]

Your configuration looks great Gurudrishti.

I checked chip site & found AMD & onbrd graphics are coming close to GC.

 

[doors666]

Hey Guys,
Been going through the thread and now you guys have finally got me to going to built my HTPC. I need your help to check out the following which I 've shortlisted:

Processor : AMD Phenom II X2, 3.1Ghz, Black edn : Rs.5500

should be ok. its an overkill actually.

Motherboard: Gigabyte MA785G PM US-2H DDR2, : Rs.6500.
(This motherboard has on board ATI Radeon HD 4200 graphics and Realtek ALC 889A audio)

looks good

BLu Ray: Sony Optiarc 5x Blu Ray Sata Combo Drive.

RAM : 1GB x 2 ( 800Mhz) Transend

HDD: Seagate 500GB, 7200rpm

go for atleast 1 TB hdd. you wont believe how fast you'll fill up that disc space.

Case : I am not able to find a good sutiable horizontal HTPC Cabinet for the micro-ATX(9.6"x9.6") motherboard in Mumbai...Any dealers/distributors?

antec htpc cabinet nsk24 something.. looks like a cd player, about 6.5k
iball baby 306 - about 1700.

Any suggestions as well as how much wattage should the power supply be?

go for atleast 400W.

I would be using the HTPC in my home theatre which has Denon 3805 Receiver, a LG XGA projector and Samsung Plasma. I was also wondering as to how to connect the DVI/HDMI output of the mother board to the component in (RGB) of my projector?? Is there a DVI to Component cable connector available?:indifferent14:

[/QUOTE]
there is nothing for this. the dvi output is dvi-d not div-a (analog), while component out is analog. you will need a video dac somewhere inbetween. Your best bet is if your AVR is able to take this digital output and able to output it on the component outs. check the manual, its possible.

Its been almost an year since I started this thread, good to see its still going on.

 

[anm]

where to get nsk24 cabinet?
What is the price of the blu-ray drive?

 

[thevortex]

The cabinet doors mentioned was the Antec NSK 2480 and I have not been able to obtain it here. Instead I settled for the NSK 4480 which is a conventional cabinet.

You might try for some of the slightly more expensive cabinets from Thermaltake and Coolermaster. They are available in India.

I would advise against the Zebronics or iBall cases. Having a high quality cabinet with good cooling solutions and space within is very important for a HTPC.

 

[Gurudristi]

Your configuration looks great Gurudrishti. I am not sure about the DVI/HDMI to Component connector. But I believe there might be one like that in the market.

Your music experience could be taken to a couple of notches above if you invest in a quality sound card. Options are various depending on budget.

This motherboard has a on board Reatek ALC 889 audio and in addtion to various other outputs has also SPDIF Out and In ports. I was wondering whether this will pass thru the AC3 and DTS signals.

I am not very sure what would be their sound quality, but I understand it supposed to be good....

 

[Gurudristi]

go for atleast 1 TB hdd. you wont believe how fast you'll fill up that disc space.

antec htpc cabinet nsk24 something.. looks like a cd player, about 6.5k
iball baby 306 - about 1700.

go for atleast 400W.

Thanks,
I have changed the configuration slightly...A little bit of more overkill...probably can add some gaming too.

Gigabyte GAMA-785GMT-2H + AMD X3 -720 Black edition PsU= Rs 13050/= bundled price. ( I understand this is a good combination for graphics)

2GB ( 1333Mhz) x2 DDR3 RAM from Transend = Rs 5200/=

Yes, Thanks, I am going in for 1 TB HDD Seagate:yahoo:

I 've found a nice place on Lamington Road in Mumbai called Prime where I have found the Silverstone HTPC cabinets. I am looking a Silverstone LC 10BE starting around Rs 7500/=. I am adding a 500W VIP Gold SMPS for the PSU.

Now the only hassle is to find a way to connect the system to my projector... Component in inputs only..:sad:

I am not sure whether the VGA from the motherboard would supply to the component in ( thru a VGA to component in cable)????

Please help!

and secondly, I understand that the AC3 and DTS signals are only passed thru the HDMI cable of the mother board..is it true??? :sadr
can they also pass uncompressed thru the SPDIF out and then they can be processed by my Denon AVR 3805 receiver.

 

[Gurudristi]

I checked chip site & found AMD & onbrd graphics are coming close to GC.

Sorry, but, if I understand you correctly...By GC you mean a seperate Graphics Card ??

 

[gobble]

I 've found a nice place on Lamington Road in Mumbai called Prime where I have found the Silverstone HTPC cabinets. I am looking a Silverstone LC 10BE starting around Rs 7500/=. I am adding a 500W VIP Gold SMPS for the PSU.

7000 for cabinet, 13K for mobo cpu ... now dont throw water on the whole project by using an ordinary smps. Get a corsair 400W or similar that costs around 3000/- range.

Regards

 

[gobble]

I 've found a nice place on Lamington Road in Mumbai called Prime where I have found the Silverstone HTPC cabinets. I am looking a Silverstone LC 10BE starting around Rs 7500/=. I am adding a 500W VIP Gold SMPS for the PSU.

7000 for cabinet, 13K for mobo cpu ... now dont throw water on the whole project by using an ordinary smps. Get a corsair 400W or similar that costs around 3000/- range. And you need silent cpu fan like Ninja mini-Scythe or Ninja Shuriken for 1200/+ and silent chassis fans add another 400/-.

Regards

 

[saurigr8]

Check Cooler Mater also...

 

[doors666]

wow. what are u building man, triple core cpu, graphics card, additional cooling etc... sounds like a gaming rig.

Usually the power supply with an htpc will be fine. dont throw money by buying an expensive power supply. the one with an expensive htpc cab will be more than enough.

You are spending money on a separate Graphics card which is not needed et al, and planning to use the on-board audio card

Good cooling... why... why is normal cooling not enough. the fan in the htpc cab you mention will be enough. the only thing that matters is the fans shud be silent. I live in bangalore, weather is good, so I have no AC, means, ceiling fan is always on.. When the ceiling fan is on, I cant hear my htpc:lol:, and it has stock fans on iball baby cab...