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Turning a spare PC into a HTPC and HTPC software questions.

post #1 of 8
12/29/10 at 6:12am
Thread Starter 
So I found out that one of my other spare boxes has a considerably better processor/Mobo/Memory so I think I'll be using the following box instead.

*Updated machine stats* unfortunately I can't remember the Motherboard, it's spec sheet is up on my home (which is not where I'm at) machine at the moment.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache
4GB current RAM, upgradeable to 8GB
4x1TB SATA 3.0GB/s 7200RPM drives onboard RAID capable controller.
Same ATI AIW HD card-
# PCI Express 2.0 x16 bus interface
# 725MHz GPU engine clock
# 512MB DDR2 @ 600MHz
# 128-bit DDR2 memory interface

1x Plextor DVDRW w/litescribe




Quote:


Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.66 GHz
4Gig (limited by mobo to 2x2GB) DDR3 1066 RAM on order because the previous RAM got scavenged for my Aunt.
ATI All In Wonder HD, using HDMI w/audio out
Seagate 1.5TB SATA 3.0 GB/s 7200 RPM Drive
Seagate 1.0TB SATA 3.0 GB/s 7200 RPM Drive
Windows 7 Home Premium
Plextor DVDRW w/litescribe.
Generic DVD player.


I guess my biggest question is with the video card and playing back 1080p content from the hard drive (After I rip my BluRays and DVDs to it *rip to be performed on another, beefier machine with BD player, AMD Phenom 64bit Quad core w/8Gig Ram then transferred via GbE to the HTPC.) and streaming HD Netflix onto my LG 55LE5400.


So I really don't want to get too much cash into the HTPC if I don't have to ( I need new speakers badly) but I don't want to invest the time and effort to get the HTPC integrated and running in my media closet with software packages installed and whatnot just to find out that the video card isn't going to cut it.


My secondary question is more about ripping the BDs to hard drive so that they don't require the disk to be inserted because half of the selling point for me is being able to view my collection without spending 5-10 minutes walking to the office to pick out a movie, then walking down the hall to the media closet, waiting for the disk to load, and kicking off the play before going to sit down and relax. (I'm planning on the iRule wifi remote solution I just don't have it setup yet and I only have 1 of my DVRs controlled from the living room via RF.). I'm really sold on some of the HTPC pics I saw on here about being able to browse your collection viewing cover art, descriptions and even previews from the comfort of our couch but I'm not sure how to get there yet.



That leads into my third big concern, can someone point me in the direction of software to be used in conjunction with W7MC or will W7MC do everything I'm looking for?


Thanks,


Indy
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post #2 of 8
12/29/10 at 8:23am
the system should be good, if the videocard isnt up to par you can spend about $50 and get a capable hdmi card.

you can stick with windows 7 media center and add on media browser to get the pretty library interface.

you can rip bluray to mkv with makemkv (free, for now) or pay for dvdfab or anydvdhd.
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post #3 of 8
12/29/10 at 4:27pm
if that video card is the REAL OLD ATI All In Wonder that i'm thinking of, then there should be almost NO way it's capable of displaying 1080p blu-ray. That card is super old if memory serves me.

But Mike is right, you can easily upgrade to an ATI 5xxx series or Nvidia GT 430 which are both sub $100 upgrades that will easily handle not only picture, but also bit streaming audio if that was important to you.

For ripping blu-rays, AnyDVD HD is what you need. Hurry and get it this year before their lifetime upgrades are no longer a part of purchase.

Media Browser is a very solid Movie Collection manager, MyMovies is also quite capable. I wrote a guide a while back, while it is out of date, it should give you a good idea about some of the offerings (most of which have continued to be updated): http://www.missingremote.com/review/...movie-managers
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post #4 of 8
12/29/10 at 4:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by IndySSD View Post

Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.66 GHz
4Gig (limited by mobo to 2x2GB) DDR3 1066 RAM on order because the previous RAM got scavenged for my Aunt.
ATI All In Wonder HD, using HDMI w/audio out
Seagate 1.5TB SATA 3.0 GB/s 7200 RPM Drive
Seagate 1.0TB SATA 3.0 GB/s 7200 RPM Drive
Windows 7 Home Premium
Plextor DVDRW w/litescribe.
Generic DVD player.


I guess my biggest question is with the video card and playing back 1080p content from the hard drive (After I rip my BluRays and DVDs to it *rip to be performed on another, beefier machine with BD player, AMD Phenom 64bit Quad core w/8Gig Ram then transferred via GbE to the HTPC.) and streaming HD Netflix onto my LG 55LE5400.

The CPU will be plenty. I have a C2D 5200 and it runs everything with ease. You will need to upgrade the video card. I HIGHLY rec a ATI 5450 fanless. This will have HDMI out and will be able to bitstream everything to your AV receiver. Let me know if you need help picking out a card.

What motherboard do you have, BTW?

Quote:
Originally Posted by IndySSD View Post

So I really don't want to get too much cash into the HTPC if I don't have to ( I need new speakers badly) but I don't want to invest the time and effort to get the HTPC integrated and running in my media closet with software packages installed and whatnot just to find out that the video card isn't going to cut it.

Yes, you'll need a new card. Should run you about $45-$60, depending on the card.


Quote:
Originally Posted by IndySSD View Post

My secondary question is more about ripping the BDs to hard drive so that they don't require the disk to be inserted because half of the selling point for me is being able to view my collection without spending 5-10 minutes walking to the office to pick out a movie, then walking down the hall to the media closet, waiting for the disk to load, and kicking off the play before going to sit down and relax. (I'm planning on the iRule wifi remote solution I just don't have it setup yet and I only have 1 of my DVRs controlled from the living room via RF.). I'm really sold on some of the HTPC pics I saw on here about being able to browse your collection viewing cover art, descriptions and even previews from the comfort of our couch but I'm not sure how to get there yet.



That leads into my third big concern, can someone point me in the direction of software to be used in conjunction with W7MC or will W7MC do everything I'm looking for?


Thanks,


Indy

Sure. This is everything you need.

1. Windows 7 (free since you already have it)
2. Mediabrowser (free)
3. Shark007 codec pack (free)
4. Shark007 64 bit codec pack extension for Win7 64 bit (free)

That's it. You will also need some sort of remote or all-in-one keyboard and mouse.
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post #5 of 8
12/29/10 at 6:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post


Sure. This is everything you need.

1. Windows 7 (free since you already have it)
2. Mediabrowser (free)
3. Shark007 codec pack (free)
4. Shark007 64 bit codec pack extension for Win7 64 bit (free)

That's it. You will also need some sort of remote or all-in-one keyboard and mouse.

hit up ebay or newegg for a cheap media center remote, should be sub $20.
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post #6 of 8
12/30/10 at 3:54am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mike_311 View Post

the system should be good, if the videocard isnt up to par you can spend about $50 and get a capable hdmi card.

you can stick with windows 7 media center and add on media browser to get the pretty library interface.

you can rip bluray to mkv with makemkv (free, for now) or pay for dvdfab or anydvdhd.

Thanks for the MakeMKV tip! definitely looks good.

Quote:
Originally Posted by shadymg View Post

if that video card is the REAL OLD ATI All In Wonder that i'm thinking of, then there should be almost NO way it's capable of displaying 1080p blu-ray. That card is super old if memory serves me.

It's not THAT old, it's like a 2 year old design. It looks GREAT displaying 1080i and 720p signals to my Samsung22" and Dell 22" monitors, I just haven't fed it anything beefier or piped it out to the 55" LG TV yet.

Quote:
Originally Posted by AMD Website View Post

ATI All-in-Wonder HD - GPU Specifications

* 378 million transistors on 55nm fabrication process
* PCI Express 2.0 x16 bus interface
* 725MHz GPU engine clock
* 512MB DDR2 @ 600MHz


Quote:
Originally Posted by shadymg View Post

But Mike is right, you can easily upgrade to an ATI 5xxx series or Nvidia GT 430 which are both sub $100 upgrades that will easily handle not only picture, but also bit streaming audio if that was important to you.

For ripping blu-rays, AnyDVD HD is what you need. Hurry and get it this year before their lifetime upgrades are no longer a part of purchase.

Media Browser is a very solid Movie Collection manager, MyMovies is also quite capable. I wrote a guide a while back, while it is out of date, it should give you a good idea about some of the offerings (most of which have continued to be updated): http://www.missingremote.com/review/...movie-managers

Thanks for the leads on the software, that looks like NICE stuff!

Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

The CPU will be plenty. I have a C2D 5200 and it runs everything with ease. You will need to upgrade the video card. I HIGHLY rec a ATI 5450 fanless. This will have HDMI out and will be able to bitstream everything to your AV receiver. Let me know if you need help picking out a card.

Hmm... more advice to upgrade the card... sheesh I'm surprised that a 512MB PCIE card is getting ragged on so hard, is it just that once you output it to a huge screen the performance drops off logarithmically?


Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

What motherboard do you have, BTW?

That machine is a POS MSI 7592 v2, I forget the exact model #.

Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

Yes, you'll need a new card. Should run you about $45-$60, depending on the card.

Ungh.... replacing ATI video cards is only slightly less arduous than formatting and reinstalling in my experience. Simply because back before AMD bought them, they were the worst drivers to deal with for a decade. I haven't used one since around 2003 until I inherited several boxes with these ATI AIW HD cards. Let me just say I'm not looking forward to finding out if they have gotten better or worse with their driver situation.



Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

Sure. This is everything you need.

1. Windows 7 (free since you already have it)
2. Mediabrowser (free)
3. Shark007 codec pack (free)
4. Shark007 64 bit codec pack extension for Win7 64 bit (free)

That's it. You will also need some sort of remote or all-in-one keyboard and mouse.

I already have a windows media center remote and USB IR receiver that should work off of the itach wifi/IR Blaster that I'm ordering in a couple weeks to use iRule off my iPod Touch with.

Currently I'm using a www.Nextgen.us remote extender+ RF battery transmitter solution to control the gear in my media closet from the living room.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mike_311 View Post

hit up ebay or newegg for a cheap media center remote, should be sub $20.

Thanks for the lead, but I've got one of the WMC remotes already. What I'm curious about is if you can program this remote into the iRule app for ipod touch.



Thanks for all the input guys, I guess I'll start keeping my eyes open for exceptional deals on video cards.
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post #7 of 8
12/30/10 at 5:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by IndySSD View Post

It's not THAT old, it's like a 2 year old design. It looks GREAT displaying 1080i and 720p signals to my Samsung22" and Dell 22" monitors, I just haven't fed it anything beefier or piped it out to the 55" LG TV yet.

Hmm... more advice to upgrade the card... sheesh I'm surprised that a 512MB PCIE card is getting ragged on so hard, is it just that once you output it to a huge screen the performance drops off logarithmically?

Screen size has nothing to do with it. 1080i is 1080i, it will play the same on your 55" the same as it will play on your 22"

The big question is, can your card do 1080p without any frame drops. My guess is you will have to turn Dxva off and let the cpu do all the work. Where as a 5xxx card you can watch BD with about a 10% cpu load.

The best thing to do is just try it. You don't have to hook it up to the 55" yet.
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post #8 of 8
12/30/10 at 12:35pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy_Steb View Post

Screen size has nothing to do with it. 1080i is 1080i, it will play the same on your 55" the same as it will play on your 22"

The big question is, can your card do 1080p without any frame drops. My guess is you will have to turn Dxva off and let the cpu do all the work. Where as a 5xxx card you can watch BD with about a 10% cpu load.

The best thing to do is just try it. You don't have to hook it up to the 55" yet.


I plan on trying it tonight or tomorrow morning, I just got the internal BD drive on my lunch hour (was previously just playing BD through a sony BDPS301 that I've had for a few years that is slower than dirt on loads and requires ISO firmware update dvd burns since it doesn't have any network connection) so I'll be goofing around with it.

Any suggestions for a program that allows you to accurately monitor CPU/GPU/RAM/FPS performance while viewing content fullscreen?
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