New build

Grassey

I have about 200 to 400 to spend.

I admit the whole htpc thing has me confused... But... I I have decided to self build.

I am thinking of a htpc that will stream no more than 2 streams at the same time. Will manage my video and audio files over 2 laptops and 4 android devices. I wanted I be able to have full access it from my Android phone and I have team viewer pro so was thinking of a windows 7 or xp server. (I have copies of each)

What would people suggest?

Any suggestions for a self build welcome. I'm reading loads and only ending up more confused.

seklly

To give you an idea, the following is my set-up, built about a year ago, I've readjusted the prices to get the latest from amazon but I would also check out hardwareversand if you can get all the components you want there it can work out cheaper, I've built numerous PC's from there in the past.

The case I use looks to be discontinued, it contains 6 bays for hard drives, I currently have 3 x 2 TB drives in there for media storage.

It sits under my TV and is virtually silent, is always on and is used as a server, NAS, downloader, streamer etc., all in one. I'm contemplating splitting out the but am happy with this setup for the time being.

Hardware:
Case: Fractal Design Array R2 Mini ITX NAS Case with 300 Watt SFX Power Supply Unit 109.87
APU: AMD Llano A6-3500 Tri-Core Processor with Integrated AMD Radeon HD, 6530D Graphics and Socket FM1 46.72
Mobo: ASRock A75M-ITX - Socket FM1 - mini ITX 72.54
Memory: 4GB-Kit Kingston HyperX DDR3 1600 CL9 33.09
SSD: Crucial M4 64GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5") 61.09
CPU Cooler: Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev.B Low Profile CPU Cooler, SCBSK-2100 42.24
Total: 365.55


Software:
This runs server 2012, I originally used Windows 7 but wanted to be able to RDP in concurrently to work on it while it was streaming so went with server 2012.

It also has XBMC installed and is set to log in automatically on startup and boot into XBMC. This is configured with a MySQL library so I can pause on one XBMC client and resume on another (PC/laptops), watched info is synchronised etc.

It also has CouchPotato, Sick Beard, SABnzbd, Maraschino, Subsonic installed and all set up to start automatically, these are all managed from my laptop/tablet through web interfaces. They run on non-standard ports locally but I have them set up in IIS behind a reverse proxy so I can access all web interfaces remotely over SSL without the hassle of having ports blocked so I can access them from work for example.

I have an unlimited Usenet subscription with Astraweb for around €8 per month using an encrypted connection.

This is a fully automated solution so I just manage my wanted list for Movies and TV Shows and it does the rest.

Quite happy with it, it has taken quite a bit of work to get it working exactly as I want but I like messing around with this type of stuff anyway so it's all good. I've never had any issues streaming full HD over my wired network with this hardware. I'm sure it can be done cheaper than mine. Also the hardware forum on xbmc.org is a good resource: http://forum.xbmc.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=112

If you have any questions on any aspects of this setup let me know.

Grassey

Thanks Seklly,

Not only for the Hardware specs, but also the detailed Software rundown too.

I'll have a gander at HWVS and see what I can come up with.

I'll let you know how I get on with my attempt!