Linux MCE server spec suggestions

jackrussell007

Hi folks

I realise what I'm asking is pretty close to whats in the Home Server Help thread but rather than recycle an old pc I think I want to buy one that looks nice as well so that I can put it in with the tv rather than by little comms room (read desk)

I was first inteneded on recycling an old Dell 1.5GHZ, 1GB Ram, pc that I have lying around but I want to fully integrate it with the TV and remote control it etc. I am in awe of the capabilities seen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcNwnANrCpw&feature=related

If you notice the nice little tidy pc this guy is using, thats what I'm after. Any suggestions? I'm presuming this pc he is using isnt his main storage pc? Maybe its just running MCE and his main storage PC is elsewhere.

Has anyone got this exact setup in operation complete with the nice remote with the gyro?


Last question then, could connect everything up wirelessly through my bog standard wireless router or would you really need to lay some cabling to stream movies and media properly?

thanks folks

spartacus93

Hi,

First things first, I couldn't watch the whole video (don't ask!), only managed the first 30 - odd seconds. Even that was enogh to get me thinking he was fairly biased. I don't believe for a second Linux MCE can do all that "out of the box". I looked into Linux MCE before, I didn't think much of it. Maybe it as come on since then. I'm sure it has lots of features and options but it does not look as good as the microsoft version.

In my opinion Windows Media Centre is the best software out there. As an all round package I don't think it can be beaten. I have built and sold many of these systems and it only takes a minute or two for the users to become acostomed to the setup. It is very eassy, clear and quick to use. It also looks great on a big screen.

As for design. Something that small isn't likely to have that much storage / power. You would be better off going for a bigger case and having th entire system in one unit. The antec fusion 430 is a great case, big enough for high end components but looks great under a TV. It's also very quite. It's big, but well worth it in my opinion. If you pm me your email adress i can send you some pics of my setup.

What kind of spec / budget have you in mind? You could build a server out of sight and use extenders to stream the content around the house. Would recommend an xbox 360 or linksys dma2100. A wired network really would be a plus. No matter what anyone says for high def video, and even standard def, wireless just can't cut it. You might be ok with wireless for standard video, pics and music if you upgraded to an 802.11n setup. But you are going to outgrow this fairly quickly.

Spec wise. If you do go with Vista I'd recommend a pretty high spec system. You can get away with much less but why not future proof yourself for HD. It'll be along soon.

jackrussell007

thanks for the rply spartacus.

I've no doubt that yer man is pretty bias. i'm still very impressed with the demo though. Its worth watching if you can get it going.

i dont know about as much about the windows media edition but I'm presuming it isnt free? thats the big drawback for me.

that antec fusion 430 looks damn pretty though and good value as well so I reckon thats probably the way to go. and if I'm gonna put a big case in at the TV then I might as well use it as the main server. and stream media from it rather than to it. all I'd ever need to stream really would be music from that to a laptop in the kitchen or something so maybe I'll get away with the 80211n for the moment.

do you run your TV through it as well? can you record, set schedules etc.? pm on the way, I'd like to see your set up.

thanks

spartacus93

Yup! It means money i'm afraid. Media Centre is included in Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate. Home Premium is €99 ish...

Yeah, if you go with the Fusion you can pack in a nice bit of storage. Some 1Tb hard drives are down to €159 so if you could get one of them it would be the way to go. Will hold loads and you'll still have a free hard drive bay to put in another one down the road. This could indeed then be used as the server and you can stream from that using an extender or indeed your laptop. If it's just music over not too much of a range 802.11g might do the job. Don't go upgrading just yet. Video is the real killer...

Yeah we run our TV through it as well. We only use the one remote in our living room, the media centre remote. Everything goes through that. At the moment i'm using a Hauppauge 1300 tv card, have the NTL Digital box connected to that. The Digital box is still required... The media centre remote comes with IR blasters that you affix to your set top box, media centre can then control changing channels etc...

Media Centre comes with it's own EPG. Very clear and easy to use. Much better than the NTL one (i don't have much experience of Sky). For recording it's just a simple matter of pressing the record button on the remote. You can press it while watching a programme, or locate a programme on the EPG and press the red button. The blasters will make sure the set top box is on the right channel. It works very well. You can also search for TV programmes, find out when a certain programme is on next, and set up series recording. There's also a piece of sotware available on the net that will go through your recorded TV and cut out the ads!

Oh, and you can pause and rewind live tv too!

As i said the antec is very neat. The blaster goes unnoticed. On my TV stand there's also an IR reciever for the media centre remote and a receiver fot my wireless keyboard and mouse.

My system spec is AMD 64 6000+. 4 gig RAM. Vista. 1 x 1Tb Hard Drive connected to a 32" Philips LCD. That's more than enough to handle anything I'll throw at it over the next few years (although i'm already planning my next one and giving this to someone else!). I have Blue Ray rips stored on it that are about 5 gig and as soon as you press play they start. There's no loading or waiting around!

Hope this helps

jackrussell007

Sorry for the "spoonfeeding the newbie" questions now but;

that case doesnt seem to come with a motherboard. Will any micro ATx board do the job or have you any recommedation? I presume you had to use a AMD manufactured motherboard to take your processor?

do I need a very high end graphics card then?

+ how about a sound card to handle surround sound?

cost seems to be adding up :eek:

spartacus93

That's alrite. How are your computer building skills?

I used a gigabyte motherboard -> Gigabyte GA-MA69GM-S2H, look it up on Komplett, it's 61 bob. The onboard graphics and sound on this are fine for HTPC use. It also has a HDMI port for hi def content. There really is no need to have a dedicated graphics card unless you intend on gaming. I certainly have no complaints about my setup.

I also just use the onboard sound. This has digital out so if you have surround sound it can be hooked up to an amp and playback DVDs in 5.1 etc.

Part of the reason i'm relying on the onboard features are because most m-ATX motherboards only have 2 PCI slots. I use one for a wifi card and one for a TV Tuner card, that doesn't leave much room for anything else.

Money does add up pretty quick. Suppose you're looking at

Case -> €159
Mobo -> €61
RAM (4 gig) -> €70
Processor (6000+) -> €125
Vista OEM -> €100
Remote -> €40
TV card (Hauppauge 1300) -> 100
DVD Drive 30 / Blue Ray Drive 200ish
1Tb Hard Drive -> 159

Yeah, they add up alrite That's about a grand with blue ray... Still tho, it's a fair aul spec of a machine.

Forgot the wireless card actually. That's another 30, or closer to 60 for 802.11n. If you need an "n" router that's probably another 70. And the extenders are about €269 (you mightn't need them yet!)

You could cut back on the ram and the processor. Even the storage, and forget about blue ray for a while. It's up to you.

jackrussell007

great advice spartacus . thanks.

My pc bilding skills arent that bad but I have a bit to learn as well. the project will do me no harm.

It'll be a few weeks before I get cracking but I'll let you know how i get on.

last question, komplett.ie seem to be decent value. Is it worth shopping anywhere else or what? ebay etc.? (you dont work for komplett do you!?:D)

I thought more folks around here would have HTPC's set up. there doesnt seem to be anyone blowing the LinuxMCE trumpet anyway.

cheers , catch u later

spartacus93

Have a peek in the HTPC forum... But even at that there's not that many people with full dedicated setups!

Ha, I'm afraid I don't. I do by a nice bit of gear off them tho. 90% of the stuff I use would come from them and I really can't fault them much. Have had bad experiences with Dabs (when i ordered a router in november and was obviously expecting too much to have it delievered by Christmas!) eBay can be good, just make sure you get a decent seller... I just find them to be a good mix between price and reliability... TBH, I don't even shop around anymore.

As for the building. Mobo goes in ok. Pop in processor and RAM. Wire up hard drive and optical drive. It really isn't that bad! Vista is very good driver wise, it picked all my stuff up on problems. The mobo is a very tight fit so you could do with this cable to make thinks easier. I was very luck to have one lying around (just trust me - http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=300720

Do let me know when ya get around to building. Anymore questions just ask away.

Good luck!

Brian

subway

theres a few of us with full blown htpc setups.
general consensus is that guy on yoututbe is talking pure ****e.
linux mce does none of that "out of the box" and is completely unstable to boot.

xp mce is, in no uncertain terms, the best solution on a budget and vmce if you can afford the additonal hardware requrirements.

in terms of usbailty, if your talking about going from a dvd/player tv to a htpc setup,
youve two things to consider.
yourself - and everyone else.
for you, work out what you want it do.
for me thats epg with series link + time lapse recording
playing all media formats.
mce does that

for everyone else, youve got to think.
if your granny called over, could she pick up the remote and use your setup.
you do not want to, firstly, convince your better half that this is a good idea, and second have to teach her and everyone else who comes near your tv how to use it

a linux mce setup will last all of 5 minutes under your tv

drop over to the htpc forum for a more detailed response

jackrussell007

thanks folks

see u at the HTPC forum!

SouperComputer

Dont bother with LinuxMCE. It has gotten better since that video, but its still a long way off MCE in terms of ease of setup, use and general WAF. For once, some of the comments in the youtube video are somewhat accurate. The guy is biased and downright lies to the point that its pathetic. Personally, I think videos like that pro-linux propeganda do nothing for the open source and just make a lot of us look like smug idiots with no understanding of other technologies.

Anyway, come on over to the HTPC forum. Tell us what you want, how you want to access it and where you want to access it in your home and we'll figure out what you need to do.

Forget wireless, it is not suitable in most cases, that includes n, which is STILL draft anyway. Wireless bandwidth is really this formula:

Theoretical bandwidth (in a vacuum!) - real-world bandwith - encryption payload - TCP/IP payload - protocol payload (SMB/CIFS for example) / the amount of clients on the wireless AP. (Wireless networks cant switch) Also, for most 11G setups (Non MIMO) the speed is also half duplex, ie the entire network can only transmit or receive at a given time, it cannot do both simultaneously, effictivly halving the bandwidth again.