HTPC Frontend

6292 Views 102 Replies 22 Participants Last post by ellisr63, Jan 28, 2006

tedpolzin

Discussion Starter · Dec 30, 2005

I know front ends have been talked about to death and I have spent the last few days reading and now it is time to ask a couple of questions.

For the last few years I have been using Mythtv as my PVR/Media server and last year I built it into a decent computer and it has worked fairly well but now I have satellite and it has a dual tuner PAVER built into it and I see no reason to keep the PVR capabilities of Mythtv. So it is time to rebuild

What I want to be able to do.

#1 most important watch dvd movies from my Hard Drive ... I also have several computers hard networked around the house that act as hard drive storage for the media server to extend the HDD space ... so what ever front end must be able to see multiple directories for movies as the other HDD will be networked in. - It would also be nice to be able to support the most current scaling technologies as I run on a Front Projector and would like the best possible PQ

#2 easy to move around the movies ... previews and disk covers that are easy to incorporate are nice ... like Mythtv does

#3 This is where it gets tricky ... I would like to be able to have music on the same computer operate into a 2nd zone (so I could watch a movie and my wife could listen to music elsewhere) I know this will likely entail a second sound card.

Really that is all ... of course it must be able to use a remote control and integrate seamlessly into my HT ... everything is in a separate wire closet and operated by Universal Remote Control remotes (mx-650 for upstairs MX-950 for the main HT).

Stability is key ...

And I am willing to pay for what ever is the best solution ... I would just like it to work

Thanks

Ted

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DodgeV83

· #2 · Dec 30, 2005

Unless I'm missing something, MCE 2005 with the My Movies plugin can do all of that. I'm sure there are free programs that can do it too, I'm just not aware of them.

"#3 This is where it gets tricky ... I would like to be able to have music on the same computer operate into a 2nd zone (so I could watch a movie and my wife could listen to music elsewhere) I know this will likely entail a second sound card."

Listen to music elsewhere on a different computer, or on a stereo connected to the same computer? Different computer, I don't see a problem (just streaming files), same computer I have no idea how to do. Why not just hook the stereo up to a different computer and let the main computer stream the files?

tedpolzin

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 30, 2005

Yeah I know that is the tricky part .. I wanted to be able to do it with out another computers since it would just mean another computer in my rack ... I really want everything centralized .. it needs to be point and click on the remote for my wife

I have been looking at MCE and it is the only one with out a try before you buy feature but seems to do most of what I want and I will probably breakdown and just get it ....

Ted

IVB

· #4 · Dec 30, 2005

So...before I get dragged into another catfight, have you read these threads?

Favorite HTPC Software Interface

So my network wants to talk to a pretty front end in my Theater

Is a front-end really necessary

After you read those, I'd ask you to check out my personal website linked below. I have a similar setup, and for me, stability and WAF/usability by non-techies was key.

I'm sure we're all happy to answer any questions you may have after reading those threads. [or you could just post a question directly in those threads].

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IVB

· #5 · Dec 30, 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by tedpolzin
I have been looking at MCE and it is the only one with out a try before you buy feature but seems to do most of what I want and I will probably breakdown and just get it ....

Ted

Actually, I think all packages have this. I know CQC does, xLobby is free so that's not an issue.

I know there's a guy doing multi-zone/multi-source with CQC using the Delta 410, which is available for $91 buy-it-now on eBay. I hear there's folks doing something similar with xLobby, but I don't know about that.

DodgeV83

· #6 · Dec 30, 2005

But if your watching a movie how would she access the music? You'd need dual monitors for that. My computer has dual monitors, and whenever my girlfriend is watching TV on one monitor and I'm surfing the web on the other, the video skips sometimes. And you'd have to put the second monitor in another room too, unless you want her to walk in on your movie everytime she wants to change a song! Of course she wouldn't have to do that if the stereo was in the same room your watching a movie in...but is she really going to be listening to music while your watching a movie?

There are devices that allow you to stream your music from the computer to your stereo, I can't recommend any, but I know they exist. If you get MCE, there are many extenders available for it that would do the job well. I currently have an MCE with 2 tuners in the corner of my bedroom, connected to my Xbox360 (as an extender) on my HDTV in the living room. I'm able to listen to all of my music, watch TV shows, LIVE TV and movies (encoded to WMV9 with full 5.1 surround sound), all without a computer in sight

SageTV has some cheap extenders ($99) available if you go that route, but they don't have anything like the MyMovies MCE plugin, and you won't get HDTV or 5.1 surround.

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tedpolzin

Discussion Starter · #7 · Dec 30, 2005

Ok what you have done is quite close to what I want ... only I don't need DVD's up in the family room (one location only) I also have a 3805 I want to be able to use zone 2 and 3 for for the different areas (patio / living room for music)

I like the tablet approach to be able to select music .. was trying to figure out how to do that ... it would be nice to have the 650 be able to just turn it on though with out any problem ...

I did in fact read those threads and was trying to figure out where to go next ... Home automation is next on my list of stuff to do so it would be nice to be able to incorporate it into my system.

I appreciate your help ... it will fail if my wife can't operate the system with little effort ... hehe...

Thanks

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IVB

· #8 · Dec 30, 2005

Actually, my family room is the home theater room. I only have DVDs in that one room also.

My Living Room is the 2nd zone, and you can select the song either via my $250 touchscreen tablet PC or my cellphone PDA. No dual monitor support needed.

I've opted to NOT support my MX-850 for music selection, just strictly Denon control. And for simplicity's sake, that's not through CQC but directly via the MRF300. The Denon sends field changes to the screen, so as soon as I do something on the MX850 it shows up on the front-end.

Show your wife my site, see what she says. You don't have to use my art, you can use something "less busy" if you want.

Also, if you're even contemplating HA, you really should strongly consider CQC; The marginal software cost to add heating/irrigation/lighting/..., is zero - you've already paid for the software, you just need to pay for the hardware. Plus there's no way various packages integrated via plug-ins can compete with an integrated front-end/back-end where you can pick what back-end fields you want to show via a pretty GUI like below. Plus the single package learning curve makes life SOOO much easier.

Painting with simple options like this
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/508/InterfaceEditr.JPG

can get you this (note the status & control over the Denon)
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/508/PDA-startup2.JPG

Go to the CQC forums - read through it, ask whatever questions you may have. I think there's a few of us doing stuff with Denon's now.

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DodgeV83

· #9 · Dec 30, 2005

Oh ok, if your trying to get into Home Automation stuff, then MCE isn't for you. I'd be happy just buying a bunch of Xbox 360's and putting them everywhere in the house

tedpolzin

Discussion Starter · #10 · Dec 30, 2005

Thanks all but it seems IVB has hit the nail right on the head ... that is exacally what I am looking for ... What should I look for in a tablet pc?

I'm gone this weekend but would love to talk to you some more after the new year and thanks a lot!!

Ted

IVB

· #11 · Dec 30, 2005

Here's the thread of my 3400 with some pics

Caveat: I just got my Fujitsu 3400 with 6GB HD, WinXP off eBay on 12/8, went on vacation from 12/16->12/27, so I have only done minimal testing.

That said, that's what I'd get. Plus, if you wait 1 week or so, I'll have done more testing [& installed the wifi card as soon as I figure out where the heck i put it - i lost it, been searching the whole dang house].

I'd love to walk you through what I did. We can do this over this thread [if others want to lurk], email, or IM. Carrier pigeons are strictly out.

DodgeV83

· #12 · Dec 30, 2005

Please keep it on this thread. I was totally floored when I went to your website IVB! I don't think its for me, but its very interesting stuff!

IVB

· #13 · Dec 30, 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by DodgeV83
Please keep it on this thread. I was totally floored when I went to your website IVB! I don't think its for me, but its very interesting stuff!

Thanks man. Did you notice the shopping list page, with the 12/1 price list?

That was so dang cheap to do it's criminal. [cheap being relative, of course - a 1TB CQC/sage/file server was only ~$1200 .

K-Wood

· #14 · Dec 30, 2005

Dodge:

I have a setup similar to yours and am using CQC for control. I have a media server PC with an M-Audio Delta 410 card that routes multiple music streams to a Xantech ZPR68-10 multizone preamp for whole-house music distribution. The Delta 410 card has 4 stereo analog outputs and 1 SPDIF output that each appear as a separate soundcard under Windows. Although I don't use it this way, it would be possible to play DVDs on one screen and route music simultaneously with such a card. I use CQC to control the Xantech via serial connection and to control Zoomplayer for music playback.

In addition to the media server, which holds nearly 1TB of music and DVDs, I have a HTPC that I use strictly for DVD playback in the theater. I use CQC to control TheaterTek on the HTPC. I also use CQC to control my Outlaw 990 preamp, Denon 2900 DVD player, and, via IR, my DirecTiVo HR10-250.

In the theater, I have a touchscreen monitor connected to the media server. It can control the theater, whole-house music, and everything else in the house. I also have a Viewsonic V150 Airpanel in the kitchen that runs CQC via remote desktop, and I've purchased a second Airpanel for the bedroom.

CQC is a rock-solid stable solution. Because it is network-based, I can control anything from anywhere and can design user interfaces on any PC on the network.

Sorry my website is not up to-date, but feel free to PM me and I'll send you some screenshots of my UI.

- Ken

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Squintz

· #15 · Dec 30, 2005

I am currently using CQC to control my theater and I love it.

CQC is a very stable program and has integrated Home Automation and Security into one very nice package. My favorite feature is its ability to be 100% distributable. Which simply means you can have multiple instance of the software running and it seamlessly acts as if they were all the same instance of the application.

I use the USB-UIRT to receive IR commands from my remote. With one press of a button my Infocus projector starts. My AV Receiver is switched to the right modes and my lights are dimmed. Hiting the stop or pause button raises the lights slowly for those instances where you need to make more popcorn and use the bathroom.

I currently have not implemented a interface that I use daily because I find it not really needed with the automation but I have played with the interface designer and it's as easy as 1-2-3 to setup a fully featured touchscreen or Media navigation.

I would atleast give the trial version a try if I were you.

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DodgeV83

· #16 · Dec 30, 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by IVB
Thanks man. Did you notice the shopping list page, with the 12/1 price list?

That was so dang cheap to do it's criminal. [cheap being relative, of course - a 1TB CQC/sage/file server was only ~$1200 .

Yes I did see your shopping list page. Its WAY out of my budget right now

My Xbox360's + MCE do everything I need them to do right now. When I get a bigger place and can actaully afford a setup like yours, then I'll do it ASAP!

K-Wood, I'll check out QCQ, but I think it does way more than I need.

DaveCB

· #17 · Dec 31, 2005

Dodge;

What I think you are missing is that you can do all of this with CQ and a PC and a connected Multi Media Amp and related items, at a fraction of the cost of XB360's and the problems associated with MCE2005.

Charmed Quark is a much more user flexible front end for everything you may want to do, even if that is only media control. If at some time in the future you want to have a true integrated system with Alarm, touch screens, irrigation, distributed audio and video and so on, then you already have the base set up in a CQ implementation.

I run both a MCE2005 system and a full CQ system that acts as a front end to everything in the home. The MCE2005 system has its place, but the second you want to do some integration, you choices are limited.

DodgeV83

· #18 · Dec 31, 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveCB
Dodge;

What I think you are missing is that you can do all of this with CQ and a PC and a connected Multi Media Amp and related items, at a fraction of the cost of XB360's and the problems associated with MCE2005.

I think it depends on what you want to do. If your streaming HDTV with 5.1, or even 480p DVD's with 5.1, to multiple HDTV's around the house, you'd need more than 1 PC. I'm not sure how much it'd cost to build a PC from scratch with quality HDTV and 5.1 outputs, with the horsepower to playback high-bitrate HD videos (My main computer has trouble playing back WMV9-HD

), but I'm sure the $299 Xbox360 is cheaper.

Well...of course I'm a gamer so I'm a bit biased

I admit I haven't given it MUCH thought. I never even heard of CQC until this thread! I currently have 2 Xbox360's (bought for games, not mini-HTPCs) in my apartment. Each one connected to a 46" HDTV with 5.1 surround sound. My girlfriend could be watching Live TV in the bedroom on the main MCE computer, while I'm watching a streaming DVD with 5.1 in the living room, while my roomate is watching a HD Football game in his room. How much would that cost using multiple PCs and CQC?

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tedpolzin

Discussion Starter · #19 · Jan 3, 2006

Ok I've downloaded it ... been playing with it for a day or so now and I'm trying to figure out how to use it ... couple of questions

1) is there a demo UI that I can play with ... start from?

2) what is the best approach to start setting it all up .... How do I start the interface with a DVD player / my dvd library.

3) The only IR sensor I have right now is the one that came with the Hauppauge board .. is it possible to use that for the time being?

Thanks for your help.

Ted

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K-Wood

· #20 · Jan 3, 2006

IVB has created a good set of sample templates that you can download and import to get started. They can be found here.

IMO, the best way to get started is to walk through the tutorial on CQC's website. The hardest part about learning CQC for me was getting used to the lexicon -- CQC has specific names for its component parts that are a little awkward at first. But once you get into the interface designer and start playing around with designing your own interfaces you'll quickly get hooked.

I believe IVB has also created a quick start guide to loading and working with his sample templates -- again, these are a good starting point, but no substitute for taking the time to work through the tutorial on the website.

As for IR -- I have no idea whether the IR driver will work with the Hauppage board. Send an email to Dean Roddey at CQ and he can help with that question.

Have fun!

- Ken

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