Want to build a 'dumb terminal' type PC for my living room

GavinZac

I've got lots of media on a 500GB hard drive upstairs. I would like to be able to watch it downstairs.

I've got spare parts:

• ~350w PSU
• nVidia PCI video card (for tv-out)
• TV-in card
• 1 GB RAM
• Small(80gb) HDD
• Wireless keyboard/mouse
• Fans go leor
• Media Card Reader
• DVD-R drive

(yes, i do tend to fiddle with my 'main' pc a lot i would also have a processor and motherboard but the old ones got severely damaged in an embarressing episode involving a loose CPU fan and some superglue)

The logical conclusion is that i should buy a case and a celeron/motherboard set, and add the resulting pc to my wireless network... right?

or will it take forever to 'download' the file i want to watch from upstairs to downstairs to watch.

or should i just spend €370 on a cheap-as-muck laptop and add that to my wireless network, assuming it has a tv-out socket?

8T8

What is the media encoded in something like XviD ?

If so you shouldn't have any issue playing the media over a wireless network (it would be just like if you were playing the file on the actual upstairs computer).

A cheap Celeron D should have no trouble handling XviD either (Elara sell them in case your interested).

As you have nearly all the parts spare required for a HTPC I'd say your probably better off going with one than using a laptop.

If your not interested in MCE check out GB-PVR & Media Portal as media center programs (both free).

The most expensive part would actually be a HTPC case depending on the kind of one you want, of course you can forgo that and use any old regular case.

GavinZac

thanks!
im going to try watching a film on someone else's laptop in my house, just to be sure the experience is good. thanks for the elara idea, i hadnt heard of it.

8T8

You should install one of the above media center programs on the laptop to get an idea for it as playing it, just through WMP is not quite the same (the LCD display will no doubt magnify any defects or artifacts in the video).

Plus you could be using a remote instead of a mouse/keyboard though you still can use those instead of a remote.

When watching XviD encoded files depending on the resolution of the display it is sometimes a good idea to add de-blocking and noise as this will mask the artifacts you see in the video as a result of the compression.

You should take a look this post I made a while back with suggested settings if you use FFDShow as your decoder for XviD.

SouperComputer

wireless can be flakey. 54Mb\s is in reality a LOT less, take away TCPIP overhead, encryption overhead and the fact that is is half duplex you quickly realise you dont have a lot of bandwidth.

The good news is that 1 xvid\divx to one computer at a time should be fine. MPEG 2 VOB's etc can be jumpy as they require more bandwidth. If you add a B-Class device to the network, it can make things unreliable too.

If you just plan playing media stored on a PC, why not just use an Xbox and XBMC? A lot cheaper and cooler-running than a PC. This isnt going to play HD content though.

If this is a longer term project that might be playing HD content, then you will want 2.8Ghz P4 cpu or equivilant. Somthing to consider, even if you buy a lower chip and OC it.

Do you plan setting up a PVR\DVR for tv use?

Software wise for windows you can use GB-PVR, Mediaportal and of course MCE. The first two are free. GB-PVR is very responsive and snappy, Media portal is not. However it is getting better every day.

Another cool software to try, is geexbox. Its a bootable ISO that can install to HD. Its incredibly lightweight, and easy to add codecs too, unlike other linux distros. Lastly, and rather cool there is a PPC binary, so you can grab an older G3 iMac, G4 iMac (lampshade), eMac or whatever one you like and have a really cool looking media centre for you living room.

GavinZac

SouperComputer wrote:

wireless can be flakey. 54Mb\s is in reality a LOT less, take away TCPIP overhead, encryption overhead and the fact that is is half duplex you quickly realise you dont have a lot of bandwidth.

i thought so, but we'll see how my test goes later.

The good news is that 1 xvid\divx to one computer at a time should be fine. MPEG 2 VOB's etc can be jumpy as they require more bandwidth. If you add a B-Class device to the network, it can make things unreliable too.

probably won't be watching very high quality stuff - im not all that fussed. at the moment i often watch DivX movies on a projector covering one wall of my room. i have bad eyesight, i guess im used to a little blur

If you just plan playing media stored on a PC, why not just use an Xbox and XBMC? A lot cheaper and cooler-running than a PC. This isnt going to play HD content though.

i did think of that but i really want to use the spare parts i have above too.

If this is a longer term project that might be playing HD content, then you will want 2.8Ghz P4 cpu or equivilant. Somthing to consider, even if you buy a lower chip and OC it.

ive actually priced an AMD Sempron, AM2 motherboard and HTPC case for €200. my first dive into AMD hardware, hopefully it'll work out.

Do you plan setting up a PVR\DVR for tv use?
Software wise for windows you can use GB-PVR, Mediaportal and of course MCE. The first two are free. GB-PVR is very responsive and snappy, Media portal is not. However it is getting better every day.

yep! i actually got a 'media center' called Showshifter with the tv card, but i will give those a look too, thanks

Another cool software to try, is geexbox. Its a bootable ISO that can install to HD. Its incredibly lightweight, and easy to add codecs too, unlike other linux distros. Lastly, and rather cool there is a PPC binary, so you can grab an older G3 iMac, G4 iMac (lampshade), eMac or whatever one you like and have a really cool looking media centre for you living room.

great thanks ill give those a read too later.

SouperComputer

projectors FTW!

But, if you already have a TV card, then best use it! With regards wireless, if you can cable it, do it!