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Newbie: I want my HTPC to do this, what to get?

1600 Views 5 Replies 6 Participants Last post by najames, Jan 22, 2008

tedbragg

Discussion Starter · Jan 18, 2008

I'm building my first HTPC for my 32" HDTV. So far, this iw what I have:

AMD 2800+

1 gig ram

120gig HD

BFG nVidia 6200 with DVI out

Here's what I want to be able to do:

1. I have a Comcast supplied SA 4250HDC box with firewire. I'd like to be able to control the STB with the HTPC.

2. Record and playback HD content -- I have heard there are cards that offload the CPU, allowing older hardware to display stutter-free HD.

3. DVR scheduling via the web; if I'm away, I want to be able to log in and set recording times, or let my wife flip open her laptop in the kitchen and set records without disturbing whomever is watching the TV...

4. Super EASY to use for my wife: I don't want to leave her a mess of remotes or worse, a keyboard, just to watch or record TV. I want DVR, DVD/Blu-Ray playback and music all in one device with a simple interface.

I'm willing to dig in with Linux (never used it) or go with a Windows solution.

Which package would supply everything I want to do? AND make operating the whole thing a breeze?

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kapone

· #2 · Jan 18, 2008

None.

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gtfoltz

· #3 · Jan 18, 2008

I know it *sounds* reasonable, and it *should* be straight-forward, but as far as HTPC technology has come, it is not quite to that level of interconnectivity. For example, to control an STB you would need some kind of software app either homebrewed or from the STB manufacturer, so that an OS would know how to talk to the box over 1394, and that's ASSUMING the STB even supports that kind of functionality (not likely)...

Getting a good tuner card and offloading video card is very straight forward. A quick perusal of this forum ought to get you on the right track there.

web interface for DVR? At the least you would need to set up a web server on your HTPC, and then have DVR software that works in that way. I'm hardly an expert but I haven't heard of that.

It COULD be made easy for your wife, depending on her expectations of what it can and can't do, and how bullet-proof it is before you introduce it to her...

In the end, there is only one way to get the package that would supply everything you asked for: contact a consulting firm, and have 5 figures of spare change in your account...

Other than that, you're pretty much stuck grunting and moaning and dredging through the guck with the rest of us.

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ZenerDiode

· #4 · Jan 18, 2008

Doable. I had this lowend config for a while and it worked great. In fact, I had a Sempron 2600+, and I was still able to playback HD fine.

1) Yes, you can control the STB via firewire. There's a howto at www.greenbutton.com .

2) I used the Fusion 5 Lite. It worked fine.

3) www.orb.com allows recordings via web. it's free to.

4) blu-ray/hddvd probably isn't gonna be possible unless you upgrade to at least an nvidia 8xxxx series or ati 2xxx series card. even then, athlon 2800+ is scrapping the barrel. Technically, it should be able to do it, but I haven't tried it and I haven't read anybody's success on it.

Oh this was with MCE2005. I wouldn't dare do it with Vista Media Center. I've tried Myth....it wasn't as polished...but maybe other people have had more success.

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FlyIn

· #5 · Jan 20, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by ZenerDiode /forum/post/12859149

Doable. I had this lowend config for a while and it worked great. In fact, I had a Sempron 2600+, and I was still able to playback HD fine.

1) Yes, you can control the STB via firewire. There's a howto at www.greenbutton.com .

2) I used the Fusion 5 Lite. It worked fine.

3) www.orb.com allows recordings via web. it's free to.

4) blu-ray/hddvd probably isn't gonna be possible unless you upgrade to at least an nvidia 8xxxx series or ati 2xxx series card. even then, athlon 2800+ is scrapping the barrel. Technically, it should be able to do it, but I haven't tried it and I haven't read anybody's success on it.

Oh this was with MCE2005. I wouldn't dare do it with Vista Media Center. I've tried Myth....it wasn't as polished...but maybe other people have had more success.

I tried www.greenbutton.com and came up empty. Has anyone looked at it lately?

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najames

· #6 · Jan 22, 2008

http://thegreenbutton.com/default.aspx

That should make it a little fuller now.

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