New HTPC - Planning Stage

prospect

Hi Folks,

Been a while since I was here. I posted what I think was the first build thread on the DIY HE section, many moons ago.

At the minute here is what I have.
A Humax Freesax HD Box, A Saorview box and a DVD HDD Recorder, all going into a HDMI hub and a single HDMI going to my wall mounted 720p Plasma.

I want to build a HTPC that will take my two Satellite feeds and my single feed from the digital aerial in the attic.
I would like to have one EPG for my Irish and UK channels and the ability to watch one channel and record another.

I have some old PC's here that I am planning on using.
I can modify an existing case for better airflow. I have mainboards and a 2.2Ghz P4 processor.
I am thinking a BlackGold BTC3630 tuner card and an Radeon HD6450 graphics card. Also a decent HDD and PSU upgrade.

So my few questions.
1. I'd like to run Mediaportal or yaVDR. Are all of the above compatible with linux?
2. Can these work as a single EPG for both my feeds (irish & uk)
3. Will the red button services work?
4. Is series link still an option
5. Will the Radeon card send sound over the HDMI output to my TV
6. Will any HDD work (I'm thinking sleep mode etc for an always on device)
7. Will any PSU work (I'm thinking sleep mode etc for an always on device)



Apologies for the length of the post.

Thanks in advance.

Carter P Fly

1. I'd like to run Mediaportal or yaVDR. Are all of the above compatible with linux? Dunno, Linux makes baby Jesus cry.
2. Can these work as a single EPG for both my feeds (irish & uk), Dunno, on other media center's it does.
3. Will the red button services work? again dunno specifics of your media center choices.
4. Is series link still an option, It is on most DVR packages
5. Will the Radeon card send sound over the HDMI output to my TV, yes, It does audio over hdmi. you want a passivly cooled card though, a 5450 is sufficiant for a htpc you are not planning on gaming on.
6. Will any HDD work (I'm thinking sleep mode etc for an always on device), yes but you want to probably use a SSD fro your OS and a Quiet green drive for your media files.
7. Will any PSU work (I'm thinking sleep mode etc for an always on device), yes, but again quiet is the key.

I should add that TBS cards have better linux support the blackgold IMHO

stackeye

If you want to play one channel and record another then the best card is the BGT3600, I have the BGT3630 which only lets me record a Satellite channel and change the Terrestrial Channels or the other way around, what you want is dual DVD-S Tuners in one card instead of a single one,

I have the Radeon HD5450, its outputs all audio through the HDMI and is perfect when playing HD movies

prospect

Excellent,

Thanks so much for your time replying.