*Multi Purpose - HTPC*

[BigBear]

                                                    (Intro)
Hi everyone!   

As you probably know from reading this forum there are a variety of ways you can build a HTPC. Here’s a basic but reliable one I put together a while ago.

I used a generic, mid-tower PC. This heavy (but cheap) steel encased PC carries out typical tasks such as gaming, downloading items, school, etc. A unique aspect of this computer is that it is being used for regular PC activities while at the same time it’s doing PVR or HTPC duties.

However, depending on your particular house/apt layout, it may make more sense to build a dedicated stand-alone PC. Click the thumbnails to see a high level overview diagram & the remote control used by the HTPC.      

     

[BigBear]

                                                          System specs: (Part-1)           
 
Intel 865 PERLL mobo:  No OCing, but reliable
2.8c P-4, 800Hz FSB:      nice balance of price to speed
1 GB Corsair DDR 400 dual chan value ram: cheap but effective
Hitachi 250gig, SATA hardrive:  for recordings
Hitachi 200gig, PATA, hardrive: OS and other crap
2 DVD-RW optical drives:  for archiving, burning
Sapphire ATI Radeon 9600: light gaming only
PVR 150 & ir blaster: more on the way
Misc:  4.2“ LCD TV ~ Antec case ~ Panasonic SDTV ~ Onkyo TX502 receiver- other assorted TVs & A/V gear~ RS universal remote~ A/V cables-NEC monitor~ X-10 IR Receiver~ SageTV~ Xcard

My system is Intel based, but of course any recent AMD, DELL, or whatever, will work just fine. Using 1 gig of ram helps keeps things running smoothly.   

Here is a picture of my Antec case:               

[BigBear]

                                                         (Part-2)

 I continue to use this machine as my main PC. It is not a single purpose HTPC machine.

Since I only do a small amount of gaming, I figured this box would handle the PVR functions without having a serious drain on system resources.

Of course hard core gaming would probably cause major problems with any recordings made.


       

[BigBear]

                                               (Part-3)

Since I had to rearrange some items in the room with the PC, I decided to remove the IR blaster temporarily and try using the internal tuner of the PVR-150 card.  I found  the picture quality using the internal tuner surprisingly good!     

I do not use the TV set to schedule programs, using instead a monitor or remote network access via VNC.  I do use the TV to display the front-end software and of course to watch recordings or movies.   

Note: The TV pictures shown in this project are actually very clear in real life even though, as in these snapshots, the twins look kind of grainy.

Pictures: Here are the twins on TV with & without Tvedia overlay, and mini 4.2” LCD

[BigBear]

                                                   (Part-4)

I decided to use SageTV for this build. I have also used (and still use) other PVR apps and have friends who use MCE. They’re all good but they handle the PVR/HTPC functions in somewhat different ways.

Like Rampy says often, it’s best to try as many of these products as you can to decide what’s best for you or the others that will be using it. 

My front-end, Tvedia, works great for me but it’s sort of a niche product right now. It works well if you have an Xcard.

I connect the Xcard’s compressed S/PDIF output to the Onkyo digital input to get Dolby 5.1 sound from my DVDs. The PVR recordings are only in stereo but you can activate Dolby Pro logic II to simulate surround sound.

Below is another court scene with the twins, like that shown above, but this time it’s on the monitor using Sage’s default mpeg2 decoder.

Twins on Monitor:


SageTV on monitor:

[BigBear]

                                                     (Part-5)
 
After some testing, I determined that using this PC for regular activities as well as PVR chores does not interfere with the encoding or playback process.  There was no static, noise, or stuttering, in the recordings due to other activities that may have been going on at the same time such as burning a DVDR or downloading a Linux distro.

 I use very long A/V cables to connect the TV and A/V gear to each other and through wall. I also transfer TV recordings to & from a storage PC via my LAN when needed. In addition, I use an IR receiver device with the programmable universal remote to control A/V devices.

The X10 IR device also controls lights so that the home theater experience is as easy as pressing a button. 

Here is X-10 device in action controlling lights and another snapshot of 4.2” LCD. 

[BigBear]

                                                        -(END)-

Although this is a basic system it works extremely well, never failing to deliver quality recordings, music, videos, or pictures. It’s being upgraded to add more features/ tuners- with HDTV on the horizon.
 
Why did I do it this way rather than building a dedicated HTPC box? The main reason was to save money. If you can build your HTPC this way you will definitely get the maximum return possible from your existing personal computer investment.

By purchasing a few additional parts and using free (GB-PVR, etc) or purchased PVR software, you will now be able to put that PC you brought (or built) to even better use!     

Below are some sample captures using default decoder and overlay rendering on monitor. Although my picture taking sucks, the video quality really does look great. Much better than anything you would get from old crappy VHS tapes  

Since I use a hardware mpeg decoder for TV viewing, the quality of software decoders only matters to me when previewing or editing a recording. In any case, these samples show that you can make recordings as good as your source signal. This allows me to enjoy a Tivo-like experience  plus additional functionality made possible by having a  home grown PVR/HTPC.  You can too!



 

[rampy]

Wow!    Awesome setup and write up big bear!

I think you're the first person to put your handle and www.byopvr.com on the VFD and take a snapshot! You're my hero

when I get a chance I'm gonna link to this from the main page.  If you want I could host the images locally instead of imageshack.

rampy

EDIT--> it was the popups that firefox wasn't even blocking that were bugging me *shrug*

[BigBear]

Thanks Rampy.

Hehe, I had a feeling you would get a kick out of the byopvr output on the VFD screen.

Image Shack is actually pretty good. If you register you can keep track or update your pics.

[g808]

Nice job BigBear! 

[BigBear]

Hey, thanks a lot g808!

[Avalanche]

Hey BigBear, could you say something about your VFD, which model you chose and what you do with it? I've been thinking about getting one.

[BigBear]

Hey Avalanche,

The model I have is mx-630 PLED from matrix orbital.   The device itself is nice and extremely bright but there are two issues that you should be aware of. The first is price. I think they are expensive.

 If you buy it from matrix orbital it costs $110 plus shipping. I got mine in the US for less. If you know some electronics you can get a much cheaper Noritake from places like eBay for $20-$30 dollars, but you still need time (& more cash) to get it working correctly in your PC. 

If you like this one you can save money by getting a matrix orbital VFD serial economy model for $50.  You then have to get a bay, or make one, and screw it in correctly. You can use eBay for that but it’s still some work and $50 is still not cheap but better than $100.

The second issue is visibility.  Most VFDs have tiny characters. So depending on your A/V set up and distance, it may not be useful. My particular model is uses PLED and I can see a blown up 2-line display of a clock at 10 feet because it is really bright.
However, seeing 2 lines of useful text from 10 feet is harder and you probably don’t need a clock.

I researched other models like the Silverstone ($79) and the IMON ($109). The IMON looked like a good deal because it comes with a remote and IR receiver but they all have major issues. They are 2x16 line models and have smaller characters and finicky software.  If you can get a VFD with your case without paying more, then ok. Otherwise, it may not be the best way to spend your money.

How do I use it?
I’m always concerned about heat in my machine so I use a plug-in to monitor fan speed, hard drive temps and area temps. I also use it to download RSS feeds from some new sources.   I also use it to give me a running uptime status.  I use it with Nero to give me burn status.  You really don’t need it for weather or time of course, but it looks cool for some reason to see the forecast scrolling by.

I’m still playing with it when I have time. It’s the software that makes it useful.

I would like a “current show being recorded” indicator since I don’t use my TV for scheduling. BeyondTv shows you a little red led when something is being recorded, but you get nothing with SageTV.  Did I mention that it is extremely bright?

[Avalanche]

Wow, thanks, BigBear. I've looked at the Matrix Orbital ones, (which look good, but expensive)  and the IMON one, which I like, except that I'd prefer a RF remote for my setup. I was thinking about getting a noritake and playing around with it, but I just haven't done it yet. I'd probably try to display system conditions like you do, as well as current MP3 playing, or that kind of thing.

Thanks again!

[valiamarkais]

Very nice.  Thanks for sharing and taking the time to post the pictures and writeup.

-VA