Assassin's Simple/Beginner HTPC Buying Guide - Page 499

Makemkv does that as well, and for free

Anydvd HD is good software to have

what does everyone think of this type of build?

http://lifehacker.com/5936546/how-i-built-the-media-center-of-my-dreams-for-under-500

I can get what I need for $365 (already have BDROM and Windows 7)

I think most here are going for LGA1155 builds for the high parts availability, lots of product options- low cost and reduced energy/heat/noise of that platform.

I would suggest:

CASE: $48 micro ATX with 275 PSU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811154087

SSD: SAMSUNG 840 $80-$99
Example:
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-120GB-internal-Solid-MZ-7TD120BW/dp/B009NHAF06/ref=sr_1_14?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1355265109&sr=1-14
Or
OCZ Vertex 3 Series - MAX IOPS Edition $105
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227714

Motherboard and DDR3: ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
$129
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157294

CPU= G630 or G860 For example:
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=G860BOX

If you wanted a cheaper motherboard this is also a great option: (you would lose the free DDR3 8GB Gskill kit)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157326

Any 3TB HDD is good for storage.

You could drop down your SSD to a 64GB and save some cash and also get rid of it all together- But I think a 128GB SSD is important and completes a good build. It's benefits are obvious and deserves serious consideration.

$120 for the 2TB drive is high. I'd wait for a Seagate 3TB to hit $90 again

$25 for 4GB DDR3-1333 is not worth it IMO since deals on 8GB DDR3-1600 are $25 almost weekly EXPIRED Link Just wait for the next one

I don't particularly favor that case either, but that's really personal preference. It's cheaper and easier to build full atx with a mid tower case (if you can hide it), but for nice looking itx stuff I recommend Stardog's signature link http://www.ecosmartpc.com/

It's hard to recommend a 60GB SDD at this time since you can usually find superior 128GB models for just $20 (or less) more than their 60-64GB counterparts. Example RECENT

Don't want to get into Intel/AMD, but everything I've built for the past 4 years has been intel. Price/performance makes no sense to go AMD for my purposes, but the AMD combination in the article meets the requirements for a good HTPC

Why a $130 z77 with a $60 CPU? You might as well get the B75M for 75 bucks instead

It includes free 8GB DDR3 which sells for $40 - Gskill brand low voltage.

So it's really $90 making it a great deal.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231416

That is the exact memory you get for free with the motherboard.

Also- You will note I also listed a $59 Mobo if he wanted to save but said you would need to purchase 8GB DDR kit now. I was thinking that it made sense to either go that route- or step up. An $79 or $89 lower motherboard makes no sense if your going to spend $35+ on a DDR3 8GB kit too.. might as well just get the higher Z77 micro ATX. It's a slick board IMO.

I didn't see the $59 link

Mentioned the 8GB cause a deal 2 days ago where it was $23.50. I bought 8GB DDR3-1600 viper for $26 a couple weeks back

H61 would still work

Great minds think alike. I like it. Your advice was good.

$59 B75 + great deal on RAM or step up to the higher end Z77 deal that includes quality ram. It's like a good option and better level option. Two levels. In between is nonsense IMO. $10 is worth the Z77.

Either Try to save $30+ or just get the better stuff. (Based on my personal value system)

What hardware is recommended for a 2nd and 3rd HTPC? I have a high power build based on Assassin's guide that does all my recording, transcoding, meta scraping, etc., etc., and now just want something with the same WMC/MediaBrowser interface that can play all the files in my library (located on server). No transcoding or other CPU intensive tasks will be necessary. I -may- elect to have WMC setup TV recordings (but the other machine would transcode over night). Would a simple Atom Nettop work here?

Perfect, exactly what I was looking for. It looks like I'll also need a HDD or SSD? Thanks!

Get a barebones Foxconn H61 set up for $60 and drop a G530 or G540 CPU in it.

The barebones comes with PSU/CASE and MOBO. All you need is 4GB Ram kit for $20

CPU=$40
Barebones= $60 (when on sale)
DDR 4GB $20


Your looking at $120.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1442007/foxconn-itx-bare-bones-60/0_40

Here you go:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856119065&nm_mc=EMC-GD112812&cm_mmc=EMC-GD112812-_-EMC-112812-Index-_-mb-_-56119065-E2B
+
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=G540BOX
+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148488

I edited the post above to provide a link.

I would just drop in a cheap SSD. I have an extra Vertex3 120GB I'd sell ya cheap. It's new.

Can someone explain to me how I should be using FlexRaid server shares in WHS 2011?

I followed the guide on the server blog but I keep getting all the folders when I want to map my individual media folder for placing data.

Thanks

All those shared folders are rubbish.

I just map the network drive and then add the folder location I want as a library.





NOTE: I am booted up on a fresh install on my RAID 0 SSD ARRAY so I just made that as example. My other OS SSD has my real system set up that I use.


You can click on the library you create or edit properties and point it to the right folder. I use this for TV SHOWS and MOVIES so I can jump to them quickly.

That's why I went with a GigaByte Z-77 on my first 3225 build.

That's my second 3225 build. The H61 actually has this MoBo (an H67): http://www.foxconnchannel.com/ProductDetail.aspx?T=motherboard&U=en-us0000515 I was going to get a Celeron or Pentium SandyBridge, but Amazon had the $109.99 IvyBridge i3-3225 deal.
Edited by olyteddy - 12/11/12 at 7:37pm

MakeMKV will rip a exact, uncompressed MKV. If the bluray is 1080p, the MKV will be 1080p. If it has True-HD audio MakeMKV will put it in the MKV container automatically. SUPER easy to use, never have had a problem with any rip.

Used Xbox 360: $100.

Right.

It's hard to hate on that.

They were asking for something that would play ALL the files in their library

Both my Xbox 360 extenders play my MKV, avi, mp4, and xvid files just fine.

http://shark007.net/forum/Thread-Step-By-Step-Media-Browser-Xbox-360-Extender-MKV-Question-RESOLVED

Can you also do live/recorded TV via WMC? Seems like that is where I have run into trouble... I've read that using Shark may break live/recorded TV via WMC, whereas I know from experience LAV does not (but the disadvantage is LAV doesn't me give smooth playback of high-bitrate MKVs).

Yes, I use my HTPC and 2 Xbox extenders 90% of the time for watching Live TV and Recorded TV. That is why I use an Xbox as an 'extender' (ie. it runs as another user on you main HTPC) so you won't run into any DMA, copyright, or copy once issues, since the extender is just an extension of the main HTPC that is recording the content. If you use a smaller HTPC as your extension device, you may run across DMA and copyright problems playing media that was originally recorded on a tuner housed in the main HTPC that is flagged as 'copy once'.
There is no delay when watching Live or Recorded TV on the Xbox extenders, and their NICs are just 10/100. My HTPC is an i3-2100 with a PCIe Ceton InfiniTV 4. I have Shark007 installed on the HTPC. I helped write the Shark007 guide on Assassins HTPC blog. If you have not paid for his guides, I suggest you do, they are invaluable. I am in the process of also updating the MCEBuddy guide, now that 2.3.10 is out. Hope this helps!
Edited by Wilky13 - 12/13/12 at 6:02pm

I use my HTPC 100% of the time for Live/Recorded TV playback as I have no CableCo STB in my house whatsoever.

The Shark007 set up is part of the free guides available both on assassin's and shark's website.

Thanks guys! I am successfully using my Xbox 360s as extenders for live/recorded TV (including copy-once flagged content), connected to my main HTPC which is an i3-2100 build. I do subscribe to Assassin's excellent guides, and they factored heavily in the way I set up my HTPC. In my current config, I can't get good playback of MKV rips of Blu-Rays (or even HD-DVDs) on the Xbox 360s. Based on what I've read around here, I believe that's because I'm using the LAV filters approach for codecs and splitters. I've been hesitant to try Shark (don't want to break anything that's currently working) but based on your experiences it sounds like it's worth a shot. At worst, I'd just have to do a recovery or delete Shark/reinstall LAV.

What bit rate are these mkv's and what video/audio codecs do they contain?

motherboard causing stutter?

Does anyone know if a mother board can cause stutter and flicker in video playback? I have tested 3 graphics cards (1 radeon 5500 and 2 nvidia gt430's) on the machine and all show stutter and flicker. I have done fresh installs of windows 7 with updated drivers and tested with and without Lav Media splitter. I ran memtest and burn in test and everything passed. I even swapped out the memory. The only things I have not changed are the processor Q6600 and the motherboard. The media content has been local (via SSD) and over the 1gb network with the same results. I am running out of ideas, so any suggestions on the problem will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Check and see the refresh rate you have your video set to is the same as your TV.

Hey guys,

I'm about to convert all my movies to MKV. My entire movie collection is folder rips... DVD and Bluray. As it is now, my HTPC is stock. Meaning no codec packs at all. I built this HTPC to be as plug and play as possible, but would like to consolidate my ever growing collection to require less HDD space. As much as I don't want to... I will need Shark007 installed to playback the best quality audio.

My questions is... Can I configure my HTPC to output both DTS-HD and TrueHD (with Shark007) easily without screwing up playback from TMT5?? I like the fact that playing a folder rip, TMT5 plays it beautifully. No swtching or fiddling with the audio to output what I like. I've always been turned off by MKV, mainly because (back in the day when I used to DL MKVs) it seemed one MKV was created differently than another. But beings how this is MY collection... I can convert them the same way EVERY time.

I'd like to think that Im experienced converting movies, should I use TSMuxer or MakeMKV?? I'm testing out MakeMKV right now... I like the ease of it.

Playback will eventually be 100% VLC, I like how it plays anything you throw at it. I am currently testing with it and found some shortfalls. VLC doesn't playback DTS-HD or TrueHD audio, so thats where Shark007 will have to come in. The HD audio is in the container, TMT5 plays it back beautifully. I'd like VLC to do the same.

@Assassin- I used your Bitstreaming Setup Guide, VLC still not passing through HD audio.

Anyone with knowledge with Shark007, please help.

Thanks,

Xzener
Edited by xzener - 12/16/12 at 11:22am