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Hardware

Home Entertainment PC Mod 213

Posted by michael from the rewind-the-program-when-finished dept.
Hughesey writes "With PC's beginning to enter the Home Entertainment scene, OC-Melbourne have come up with the perfect way to integrate a PC into your Home Theater setup. The OC-Melbourne HEPC. Quote From the Article: 'So now we have a PC that is capable of replacing many separate devices (such as a DVD player, and consoles), but lets admit it, that big beige case probably looks far worse than the hardware its replacing. Some people have gotten around this by using specialised cases such as those from Shuttle, or fancy aluminium cases such as those from LianLi. These cases, however, still don't integrate seamlessly into modern home theater systems, as they still maintain their "PC" look. Enter the OC-Melbourne HEPC...'"
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Home Entertainment PC Mod More

Home Entertainment PC Mod

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  • Not to PC-looking case (Score:5, Interesting)

    by SigveK ( 545403 ) on Monday July 29, 2002 @06:41AM (#3970566)
    Check it out [systemcooling.com]
    • I love the way they talk about the fins along the side. The only problem is that they should be oriented vertically. The way it is they provide a little more surface area, but unless you have a fan blowing over them, very little convective cooling.
      • The only problem is that they should be oriented vertically

        Well yeah, for cooling reasons, maybe, but a microATX with a Celeron or Duron playing DVDs or MP3s either from the hard drive or over the network powered by a 145W PSU wouldn't get to hot, now would it?

    • Funny how when this is done over 10 years ago with Amigas no-one notices, but now when it is done with clonePCs the world sits up? The last thing I want is to have to wait 45 seconds to boot up my so-called CDPlayer replacement or my DVDplayer replacement - clonePCs just simply aren't made for speed (of booting) which is the *most* important aspect of the computer in the living room, noise is another.
      • A new processor (these days) and Win98 have great boot speeds. I've seen a Duron 850 boot in 15 seconds, flat. This was with automatic drive detection disabled, but how many people change their hardware in their entertainment console so frequently they would need it?

  • PC Case (Score:4, Funny)

    by af_robot ( 553885 ) on Monday July 29, 2002 @06:42AM (#3970571)
    that big beige case probably looks far worse than the hardware its replacing...

    No problems for me, i never close my case anyway...

  • Anyone remember those Intel cases? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by httpamphibio.us ( 579491 ) on Monday July 29, 2002 @06:45AM (#3970574)
    A couple years back when Intel had the guys in the anti-static suits doing their advertising I remember catching some pictures of some really awesome cases at some Intel show in Japan. There were a couple round ones in colors like bright orange and pink. Overall they were really great, but of course they were never mass produced. I'd love to get my hands on one, it at least pictures.

    Am I the only one that remembers these?

  • The case if the least of the issues (Score:5, Insightful)

    by PhotoGuy ( 189467 ) on Monday July 29, 2002 @06:47AM (#3970576) Homepage
    The box can be hidden. It's the poor integration of various bits of software that is the problem with integrating into a home theatre system.

    Having to pull out a keyboard to do certain things, poor flexibility in IR remotes for PCs (and their integration to software), having to reboot Windows when it gets grumpy, and so forth, are the reasons why it's painful to get a PC as a regular part of your home theatre. The box color or size is trivial as compared to those issues.

    -me
    • Having to pull out a keyboard to do certain things, poor flexibility in IR remotes for PCs (and their integration to software), having to reboot Windows when it gets grumpy, and so forth, are the reasons why it's painful to get a PC as a regular part of your home theatre.

      You seem to know the issues. Hop on your nearest Open Source home entertainment project, test drive, comment, maybe even develop! It's easy to post to slashdot what's wrong it's PRODUCTIVE to point out errors to those who will FIX them. Help out, enjoy.
    • Having to pull out a keyboard to do certain things, poor flexibility in IR remotes for PCs (and their integration to software), having to reboot Windows when it gets grumpy, and so forth, are the reasons why it's painful to get a PC as a regular part of your home theatre.

      Yeah, I reckon someone should come up with dedicated boxes you can buy and link up to your tv.

      • Yeah, I reckon someone should come up with dedicated boxes you can buy and link up to your tv.

        As a matter of fact, I've been doing just this for the last few months. AND it'll run Linux, though the user won't even know it unless they plan to hack it. Right, now I'm planning on having the following features available:

        * Play DVDs as well as any kind of movie that MPlayer supports from a CD, network, or local hard disk.

        * Play audio CDs and MP3s from CD, network, or local hard disk.

        * Play console games via emulation. Planned systems to emulate are any that are relatively bug-free, will do fullscreen in X and can be launched from the command line.

        * Rip CDs, encode MP3s, and copy audio CDs on the fly.

        Right now I'm in the midst of writing up the interface in Tcl/Tk (but without the traditional ugliess that's associated with Tk widgets). I'm also investigating hardware, which is by far the toughest part. For example, TV-out support for video cards in Linux is spotty at the very best. I'm leaning towards trying to find a cheap ATI Radeon card and hoping the GATOS software does what I need it to.

        Right now, I'm planning on only doing just one for my enjoyment only. I *was* planning on selling these boxes as a kind of side-business until I heard that Microsoft is going to be making their own. I can't compete with Microsoft! :P I suspect most people who'd choose a Linux-based media box over the M$ one would rather build their own than buy one. One thing about mine is that it would have been relatively low-cost (in the area of $500-$700) in contrast to the MS box, which will be starting at $1200.

        If anyone thinks they would probably purchase one of these at some point (at the cost of the hardware), or if you have any ideas or comments, drop me an email at [dincht at securenym dot net] .

    • We're trying, HELP us! (Score:5, Informative)

      by fons ( 190526 ) on Monday July 29, 2002 @07:24AM (#3970638) Homepage
      at

      http://davedina.apestaart.org [apestaart.org]

      we're trying to make a linux-box that seamlessly integrates every bit of software needed for a multimedia box.

      Development has been slowing down lately. But we HAVE a working model in our living room.

      So give us a bit incentive to keep working on this project: subscribe to our sourceforge mailing-list and give us your comments/ideas.

      Thanks!

    • Re:The case if the least of the issues (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      > The box can be hidden

      I was thinking a rackmount system hidden inside a drawer would be pretty sweet, so long as there's good ventilation for cooling.
    • I haven't had any problems with intergrating everything...mostly because of one great piece of hardware that came from a not so great company...

      The MouseRemote from X10...

      I have complete control over all my multimedia functions using a third party open source driver (maX10 [sourceforge.net]). I can program any key on the remote to send any keyboard command...any program with keyboard shortcuts is useable with the remote.

      Honestly without this remote i would have ditched the whole idea of using a PC as an Entertainment center a while ago. I originally did use a wireless keyboard but since getting the remote there's nothing i use the keyboard for anymore i have total control with the remote. The only thing I can't do with the remote that I'd like to is be able to power up with it. Other than that I can launch and use any program i choose to as well as program buttons for shutdown.

      As for windows reboot probs. get windows 2k or xp they've been fine for me. I haven't had xp crash yet and it's been a few months.
    • Poor remotes?

      Check out what I'm getting [qtronix.com.tw](in the mail already)

  • Okay, but.. what about the noise (Score:3, Insightful)

    by 91degrees ( 207121 ) on Monday July 29, 2002 @06:48AM (#3970578) Journal
    How do we ditch the fan?

    Even the quiet fan on a PS2 is clearly audible in quiet points of a DVD or CD. No audiophile will tolerate this sort of interference
    • Even the quiet fan on a PS2 is clearly audible in quiet points of a DVD or CD. No audiophile will tolerate this sort of interference Now we have a reason to build our liquid cooled cases. Even our sig. other will understand!!!

    • Some suggestions... (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      How about a "Heat Pipe"?
      I don't mean a peltier,

      I refer to Tom's hardware review of the Shuttle mini-pc:

      http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/02q3/020710/m in ipc-07.html

      and

      http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/02q3/020710/m in ipc-09.html

      (it does have a fan, but it's rotation can be controlled)

      Personally, (if I had the money) I'd either get a brand new computer and UNDERclock it so it doesn't heat up while I disconnect the fans,

      OR I'd get one of those "Sigma Designs" MPEG1,2,4 hardware decoders so I would'nt have to use a new noisy computer.

      Another thought:
      Anyone have an idea how much noise these 115V oversize fans make?
    • The other posts above this one are interesting, but what about using a C3 processor of some sort - perhaps one like this:

      http://www.mini-itx.com/hardware/images/hardware 00 11L.jpg

      You can even get some very attractive cases for the mini-itx boards, like this one:

      http://www.caseoutlet.com/case/2677/CS-2677.html

      But I don't know if the hardware is supported under anything other than Windows.
    • IMHO Flytech [flytech.com.tw] is still the most attractive in the small noise-free genre - they are fairly expansive, and not entirely state of the art on graphics and CPU slots (custom made motherboard), but I've had no problems installing a 750 MHz VIA C3 (all though this requires an undocumented jumper setting), and on the NC3 I've actually managed to squeeze an expansion card in there.

      With just passive cooling and the external fan-less PSU this make my PC entirely noise-free, ahh..

      http://www.flytech.com.tw/nc4-1.htm [flytech.com.tw]

    • Re:Okay, but.. what about the noise (Score:5, Funny)

      by Lumpy ( 12016 ) on Monday July 29, 2002 @08:35AM (#3970816) Homepage
      first off an Audiophile DOES in fact deal with fan noise. Most high end amps have fans that come on when the device asks for it. Second audiophiles (real audiophiles) have all their equipment mounted in a 19 inch rack with custom trim plates for the faces of all the equipment therefore isolating the equipment's noise. And finally.. high end audiophiles have all the equipment in the projector room (a thin closet with a prjoector window where EVERYTHINg resides and is controlled via a nice AV control system from AMX or Panja.)

      finally a real audiophile would NEVER own a PS2... they are busy spending their money on overpriced audio equipment and would be utterly appaled at the video quality out of any of these toys call console games. (the Xbox,PS2 and GC all suck horribly when blown up to a 10foot screen.)

      so this is a non issue. and most "audiophiles" have at least 1 pc in their audio rack already. (rackmount case, no work and the air filters in the front behind the door muffles the fans nicely.)

      so yes, audiophiles don't care one bit about fan noise, as we muffle it properly.

      BTW, I am NOT an audiophile... anyone that calls themself that is only a poser that is trying to impress people with their lack-of-knowlege. (Ohhh you have to use $23.00 a foot speaker cable! I can hear the diference!)

      • Why on earth would an _audio_ phile have a "projection room", or indeed 19" rackmount gear, or for that matter a PC? An audiophile is someone who cares about sound quality, that infers nothing about video.

        Home Cinema Enthusiast != audiophile.

        Top end (and I mean real top end) audio equipment would not be happy crammed into a 19" rackmount. Real top end audio equipment NEVER has fans, they have HUGE heatsinks and good design. And putting the gear in a seperate room? Hmm...you're increasing the cable run lengths, which increases interference, crosstalk and impedence. All bad things. The 2 cardinal rules of audio cables, use the best you can afford, and the shortest you possibly can. I would say that the average audiophile will have a turntable, a tuner, a single deck CD transport (jukeboxes universally suck) & a DAC. Add to that a preamp and 2 stereo power amps (one for bass, one for everything else). A pair (yes a pair!) of main speakers and a pair of subs. No surround - very important.

        Not that I'm claiming to be an audiophile at all, I can't afford it, but I know a few who can & are.
        • You know nothing about high end audio do you...

          an audiophile has no less than 3 amps. 1 for high end, one for the mid and low woofers, and one for a subwoofer if they are not a purist. Bi-amped is the ONLY way to get audio slightly right. and any audiophile that uses a subwoofer is usually shunned and made fun of. the best I have seen is Tri-amped with one for Tweets, one for mids, and one for lows. a preamp is pretty-much universally stupid unless you have a B&O turntable that is from the 70's and there are plenty of 5 disc and jukebox Cd players that have awesome sound (and cost $3500.00). Everyone knows that the FUD about wire quality is that , lies and false information spread by itiod sales-people. The smartest men I have ever met have publically said in audiophile arenas that anyone that buys anything but the correct gague copper wire for their power range, to hell with lo-ox, ribbion cables with opposing fields, or al,l that other snake oil surrounding high end audio are pure idiots with lots of money.

          and that really does sum up the audiophile.. an idiot with lots of money.

          you want perfection in sound? Build your speakers by hand .. the Ariel Loudspeaker [aloha-audio.com] sounds better than ANYTHING I have ever heard or touched in the detroit/chicago area including the $12,000.00 a pair overpriced wannabees at the ultra-high-end shops.

          • Yes, I know I am responding to a troll, but
            an audiophile has no less than 3 amps. 1 for high end, one for the mid and low woofers, and one for a subwoofer if they are not a purist.

            If you're going to use more than one amp, you might as well use one for each channel. Better stereo separation that way.
            • Heh. A discussion 5 replies deep on the meaning of a "true" audiophile. It's always amazed me that so many people shell out piles and piles of cash for high end speakers, _and they listen to curdled genital cheese_. "yeah, I spent $10,000 on audio equipment. I'm an audiophile. Cat Stevens, Yani, and Grandmaster P never sounded so good." Give me a break. I'll take the $10 computer speakers with Radiohead over your setup any day.
          • You know nothing about high end audio do you...
            yes I do, but hey, I like feeding trolls and I've got karma to burn :)


            bi-amped is the ONLY way to get audio slightly right

            I was talkikng about bi-amping, did you not see where I said 2x STEREO amps?? Bi means 2 right? Sheesh. 2x stereo poweramps == 4 discreet channels == biamping. Sure tri-amping could be better. You can always add more amps, why not quad? Break out your output into top tweets, mid, bass and sub bass. I was simply stating the most common config that I have seen.


            any audiophile that uses a subwoofer is usually shunned and made fun of

            Subwoofer == speaker that puts out sub bass (around 50-20hz). If I don't have one, I don't have any bass below that which my woofers can put out, which is probably around 40-50 hz (and of course they roll off before that). I'm not talking about a silly little home theatre box, I'm talking proper quality bass units, either seperate or integrated into the mains. Of course, some mains can go that low without rolloff, in which case you don't need the bass units. Check this out: http://www.quad-hifi.co.uk/esl.htm - those guys sound amazing (beat the whatsits out of your DIY Ariel things).

            a preamp is pretty-much universally stupid unless you have a B&O turntable that is from the 70's

            You have volume adjustable poweramps? What planet are you on?? Assuming you want to (a) switch sources and (b) adjust volume (maybe even tone), you need SOMETHING between your sources and the poweramps. I call that a preamp, you can call it whatever you like.

            there are plenty of 5 disc and jukebox Cd players that have awesome sound (and cost $3500.00)
            Great, $3500 for $2000 sound quality. No thanks.

            As for your cables stuff, did I say anything about going for al or silver cables? Nope. I said get the best you can afford, and make them SHORT. There's no FUD in that, it's basic physics that the longer your conductor is within an EM field, the greater the induced current. Likewise the impedence, directly related to line length.

            you want perfection in sound?

            Go to a concert hall. Anything less is a compromise.

      • The point about the ps2 wasn't that it was a good system, but that it is has a quiet fan (by PC standards) and even that is too noisy. None of the amps I've seen are powerful enough to absolutely need a fan (all of them use huge heatsinks), so I can't make any judgement on this, but I presume that this is the same sort of volume as a "quiet" PC fan.

        While there are many ways to muffling the fan, getting the noise down for the majority of consumers could be rather expensive. As far as I can tell, the cases emntioned in the article don;t address this issue at all.
      • The audiophiles I know are exclusively vinyl-based, with turntables so solid (and finely balanced) that my bathwater goes down the plughole the other way round when they switch their kit on.
        • Wow, a turntable that reverses the earth's magnetic poles!! Where can I get one of those!?!? Imagine all the fun that can be had with one of those, not to mention the awesome breakbeats oozing out of my speakers while I wreak havoc on the world's compasses!! :-)) (--insert megalomanic grin here)
      • BTW, I am NOT an audiophile... anyone that calls themself that is only a poser that is trying to impress people with their lack-of-knowlege.

        This is often true of many enthusiast-based industries/cliques. Other examples: kernel hacker, phophet of the second coming, fantasy novel series guru, etc.

        (Ohhh you have to use $23.00 a foot speaker cable! I can hear the diference!)

        Just recently, I read a review that recommended lamp cord for this very same reason (that most people can't tell the difference between $0.50 of lamp cord and $150 of "high-end" stuff). I suppose some people can tell, which would indicate that $10.00 of shielded cable from Radio Shack probably satisfies nearly all of them, too.

    • 91degrees typed: How do we ditch the fan?
      Even the quiet fan on a PS2 is clearly audible in quiet points of a DVD or CD. No audiophile will tolerate this sort of interference

      This has always been an issue for those who care about audio/video enjoyment. That's why true fans have Macs, and we no longer have a problem with it.

  • The last time there was a story on cases someone posted a link to some gorgeously designed cases by some company in Japan. I was at work and was unable to bookmark it... Enermax and Lian-Li make decent-looking cases but there must be other manufacturers who use interesting design in their PC cases? Oh, and windows are overrated =P
    • I have a Lian Li PC56. Nice case. Easy to access, add/remove stuff. Looks pretty cool too, though it would be nice to have silver fronted drives instead of beige.

      The first step, of course, is to get the computer in the same room as the stereo and hook them up, which I've done. Obviates the need for a separate speaker system, which is pretty much a joke anyway.

      The computer sits on a desk with its keyboard and its own chair. For streaming audio I just set things up and then retire to my Swedish easy chair and listen through the stereo speakers.

      Video's another story, though. I find myself sitting at the computer and swiveling around to see what's happening on TV. Now I could have a video card with a TV tuner and watch through the monitor, but I'd still be sitting in the, relatively, uncomfortable computer chair.

      I could do what I do with streaming audio and set a movie up and run it and then retire to the easy chair. I don't have a DVD drive but that's not really an issue. Just go out and buy one. But if I want to change a setting or just do something else at the same time, I have to get up and move to the other chair.

      So, as I've suggested before, the real problem is one of furniture design. WebTV tried to solve this problem by having a wireless keyboard that could be used from an easy chair, and I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to implement this on a computer, if it hasn't already been done. From personal experience, though, I can say that the wireless keyboard from an easy chair just isn't terribly easy to do. Computing is active, while watching TV is passive. What you need is a chair that's comfortable enough to sit in for extended periods watching a movie but which can be easily converted to a more active position where you could use the computer functions without getting up and going to another chair.

  • Frozen Case (Score:4, Interesting)

    by duren686 ( 463275 ) on Monday July 29, 2002 @06:51AM (#3970584) Homepage Journal
    I wouldn't mind having one of these [frozencase.com] next to my TV.

  • Temple of Worship (Score:3, Insightful)

    by warmcat ( 3545 ) on Monday July 29, 2002 @06:52AM (#3970586)
    There's something about these 'Home Entertainment' systems that is deeply disturbing. They sit in a corner of your living space like a modern shrine, exciting in their adherents the same passivity and receptiveness as the old places of worship.

    The worshipper sits before them slackjawed, Pringles are the Body of Christ and Sunny Delight their communion wine. The worshipper becomes the holy consumer, contributing nothing but willing to pay, and pay again for his 'entertainment' to any creature that can make them forget themselves for a while longer.

    There is a strange social aspect to these systems, too. The size of your television is important to men. Self-loathing eats away like a cancer at the man who cannot afford a television at least as large as his friends; why, he is not only willing but eager to go into debt to avoid this Terrible Shame. And the man who buys his first DVD player knows he is someone.

    Yes, someone who will be paying inflated prices for 'entertainment' on DVD from now on. For just like the Old Religions, there is a coinslot built into the edifice.

    It doesn't have to be this way. You don't have to build it into your life day by day.
    • It's not the size of your tv that counts.... it's how you use it.

      Besides I can turn my tv off any time I want to... really.

    • Re:Temple of Worship (Score:2, Insightful)

      by phunhippy ( 86447 )
      There's something about these 'Home Entertainment' systems that is deeply disturbing. They sit in a corner of your living space like a modern shrine, exciting in their adherents the same passivity and receptiveness as the old places of worship.

      hehehe.... And this is different then your Computer Set-up how? Its like anything else.. Some people love good sound and quality tv's to watch well tv or movies and music..

      some like to have kick ass computer networks in thier house.. the list can go on & doesn't just hold water to technological devices..

      relax..
    • it is not, i think, the home entertainment system which is purely at fault here, but a growing reliance or 'worship' of entertainment as a whole.

      the "slackjawed" feeling which is invoked by a good film is the same feeling that is invoked by a good book - rapt, absorbed, engaged.

      many things are entertaining. television, music, sports, woodworking, slashdot. entertainment is a diversion, and it is that diversion that keeps followers coming back, whatever their particular shrine.

      as for the other fork of your post...
      i think the gee-whiz factor of new technology has always drawn attention (and followers.) the race for the latest, most crisp equipment is just another form of one-up-manship. it'd likely cost less if we each pissed in a straight line to see whose urine travelled the farthest.

      the combination of deified entertainment and technological one-up-manship apppears to be a lucrative business.
      • the "slackjawed" feeling which is invoked by a good film is the same feeling that is invoked by a good book - rapt, absorbed, engaged.

        Good film and good books, yes. However, for most people, the important differences between Apocalypse Now and Survivor now on DVD! or between Sergei Rachmaninoff and Saturday Night Live band X, for example, are lost.

        A friend of mine proposed an interesting question after seeing a disturbing lack of books at a local flea market: "Does anyone read anymore?"
        • Coincidentally enough, I just cancelled all but local channels through Comcast. I'll miss Cartoon Network but hey, I've got piles of books I need to read. Personally I'm tired of wasting my time watching tv when there are more fulfilling things to do ;) Tonight will be the first night where my wind down from work is not surfing through the channels, but instead finishing up The Selfish Gene.
    • >>And the man who buys his first DVD player knows he is someone.

      Well, I still don't have a DVD player but I have installed pacman on my car stereo along with a hacked up init, telnetd, httpd and ftpd.

      Am I someone???

    • Get over yourself (Score:4, Insightful)

      by x mani x ( 21412 ) <.ac.lligcm.sc. .ta. .esahgm.> on Monday July 29, 2002 @12:43PM (#3972319) Homepage
      There's nothing like blurting out religious metaphors about home theater enthusiasts to score a little karma! You know our geek community is getting bad when there are sociology majors trolling in our forums.

      You're a very poetic troll indeed, but a troll is a troll and it's unfortunate you weren't moderated as such.

      People just want to replicate the movie experience at home, nothing more, nothing less. It's a money pit, a dubious one at that, but what hobby isn't?

      Cheers.
    • Right. You could worship shoes instead.

      Hey, we all need our little joys. I happen to enjoy being blasted out of my seat by a nice surround-sound DVD of The Matrix. I also like to watch the Iron Chef and some Baseball/Football/Basketball. I also read books and hike and mountain bike. And go out drinking with friends.

      You know, it IS possible to have stuff you like AND do other things too.
  • (Sure, the images load fast--it's the unnecessary shtml that's /.ed...when will they learn?)

    This sort of integration is a good thing, though it really needs to be done commercially (not as a case mod hack.) At some point in the future I hope to see ubiqutous computing--people should just be able to do what they want without having to sit in front of "the computer" like a supplicant in a shrine. That sort of approach changes the design of computers out of necessity--a distinct keyboard and monitor just don't make any sense in that environment. And human nature being what it is, people are going to want machines that blend into their homes, not stick out like ugly distractions the way they do now.

  • Slashdot enabled pages (Score:5, Funny)

    by mr_z_beeblebrox ( 591077 ) on Monday July 29, 2002 @06:58AM (#3970594) Journal
    How about letting someone know when they are going to make the slashdot site. They could make websites without the encumbersome banner ads, obligatory BIG images on every page. Then just maybe, I, with my T1 could actually see there page. Very unfortunate as I am truly interested in this piece.

  • a computer will allways be a computer (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    a computer will allways be a computer, and a television will allways be a television, you can take some of the features of a computer and add it to a television, and maybe improve it, like maybe one of those new 200 gig harddrives would replace a VCR for recording & replaying shows, etc...etc...

    but to try to add a desktop computer to a TV/Stereo combo in the living will only complicate things, what do you do of a family member wants to piddle with the computer while you want to watch TV, i can see the feuds now over something like this...

    keep computers & TV/stereos seperate, but it does not hurt to add features from one to the other...
    • but to try to add a desktop computer to a TV/Stereo combo in the living will only complicate things, what do you do of a family member wants to piddle with the computer while you want to watch TV

      That's easy you tell them to use their own computer. No true technophile - geek etc... would use their "web surfing, email etc..." PC for this.
      The truest geeks would sort of use their main for this, but only because this a perfect excuse to upgrade to a newer PC. You don't even have to admit secretly having wanted a faster chip!
    • My plan is to build an entirely new computer for use in my entertainment center. With a big hard drive and a DVD, it can store all of my music and most of my movies. There are IR receivers that can hook up to the serial port so I can use a remote. The hard part here will be writing the software for everything.

  • PC in an old VCR case... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Soulslayer ( 21435 ) on Monday July 29, 2002 @07:07AM (#3970610) Homepage
    ...which has actually been done before. I have also seen PC's crammed into old CD Player cases. While a fairly nifty hack it is by no means what a home entertainment PC system should look like.

    This is what a PC disguised as a cruddy VCR looks like.

    Is it just me or are /. headlines becoming more and more full of hyperbole?

  • HTPC Link... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Ringthane ( 415537 ) on Monday July 29, 2002 @07:08AM (#3970612) Homepage
    Here's a great resource for those wanting to buy or to build a Home Theater PC, complete with sleek, black cases for the do-it-yourselfers and some ultra-quiet pre-fab models:

    http://www.digitalconnection.com/
    • My biggest problem with this case is that it is only 17" wide, leaving a two inch gap. That's a pain in the ass, and all too common for cases that claim to look like av equipment. All of my a/v/c equipment is on a rack, with the computer systems rackmounted, the sterio equipment on trays. Everything except one VCR and the small TV I use as a preview monitor (the projection system is in the other room) is 19", and fits perfectly (and the whole setup has has two big fans running air across the back of the unit).

      I've been thinking about paying $20 or so for a broken early model (read: large) laserdisk player - I know I could hook up the buttons no problem, and I've found a link for a jogdial to PC interface, so with a bit of work, I can get that working. The display is much more hit or miss, but I can probably, with a dremel and a steady hand, slice and dice the front panel of the tray and get a DVD and CD-R to fit in there, inline with the contours of the case.

      I just need to find one that is totally broken, beyond hope of repair - it would be a shame to ruin a perfectly fixable LD player, even if my LD collection is on the other coast right now...

      --
      Evan

      • Actually, almost all audio gear is only 17" wide. In fact, if you measure some actual rackmount gear, you'll find 17" is the most common width. Most audio gear is not designed to be directly mounted in a rack, but there's a very good reason that extra 2 inches is there: So that it can fit in a 19" rack.

        See, this way, there's room to bolt an adapter onto the sides of the box with enough room for rack handles and slides between the rails. (And don't forget, you don't have 19" between the rails, that's the space between the holes in the rails, IIRC...)

        Of course, telco equipment uses 23" rails, just to be different. Go figure.
        • Hurm... interesting. My Kenwood, Sony, Apex and JVC equipment all fit *perfectly* in the rack... I had assumed they were 19 inches. That assumption may very well be wrong if what you say is correct. :)

          So I guess 17 inches is what I should be looking for - which is what this is. Thanks for the correction - having "known" they are called "19 inch racks", I never thought to measure the internal width, and it's not a topic that comes up often.

          telco equipment uses 23" rails, just to be different.

          Pro musician gear and most DJ equipment racks on 19", but I've recently (in the past two years) spotted a couple of DJ-oriented units that rack on a smaller system. I can't recall the details, but I assume that it's for crowded DJ tables that can benefit from a smaller format.

          --
          Evan

  • Voice command (Score:1, Offtopic)

    by legoboy ( 39651 )
    On the topic of PCs and home entertainment, could anybody out there point out some decent (and yet preferably free) linux voice command software?

    The only thing I can spot via google is some shareware app called MP3VoiceCommand which seems to not even be available any more.

    Although some sort of daemon which monitors the microphone and can do anything whatsoever would be nice, I'd settle for something which can only control music... I have a computer which pumps music to speakers outside by my hot tub, I'd love to be able to run a microphone out to it and change the songs and/or volume just by speaking. It would be nifty, oh yes.

  • Jukebox Hero (Score:4, Informative)

    by turnstyle ( 588788 ) on Monday July 29, 2002 @07:36AM (#3970657) Homepage
    I keep an old PC hidden behind the couch, wired to my stereo. It's running Andromeda [turnstyle.com], which manages and serves MP3 collection. I remote control it via my laptop over Wi-Fi. It's pretty neat, actually...
    • I'm doing pretty much the same thing.

      My Matrox G450 is connected only by TVout to my Widescreen in the Lounge.

      Which means when a movie is played it goes DVDmax full screen, and you can't see the controls or the mouse.

      but If I VNC in with my laptop, and use it as a remote control, I can play with the sound settings, stop and pause the movie, and use the DVD menus fine.

      Plus I can check my Mail, and make sure any DivX downloads are resumed ;)
      • VNC, Windows XP's Remote Desktop, pcAnywhere, and GoToMyPC all seem to work as multimedia PC remote controls.

        fwiw, I also use that same copy of Andromeda to play back to other PC's on my LAN (it also works over the Internet if you've got enough upstream bandwidth).

        So, I've got one PC wired to the stereo that I remote control, but I also access the same collection of tunes from the bedroom over my local network. It's pretty neat, actually...

  • Laptops (Score:2, Interesting)

    by zevans ( 101778 )
    My laptop, along with 802.11 setup, makes a decent entertainment system in EVERY room in the house (and the garden, although I do have problems with sunlight [when I don't have problems with rain :-) ] ).

    It's handy (obviously), attractive (small black thing with sexy flat panel display), and does most things pretty well (Radeon is OK for 3D games, and there's an inbuilt DVD and CD-RW.)

    Plus, it has SVGA out for those occasions where you do want to use the big TV - and when you are doing that, the Clie solves the problem of multiple remote controls. I am lacking a wireless keyboard and mouse, because the range on most of them is only a couple of metres which isn't quite enough in a big Victorian house.

    Integration of all the software is of course a nightmare, under both of the installed operating systems.

    Zack
    • "Integration of all the software is of course a nightmare, under both of the installed operating systems"

      Zack - you really should check out my software Andromeda (see the post immediately above yours). You might be interested to know that it works on Unix, Windows, and Mac OS X. Also, it's designed to work on smaller decives like your Clie. (and even PocketPC's, etc.)

      • Not to be a dick, but why pay $35 for Andromeda when you can download AMPache [ampache.org] for free? :)

        It works with apache so it works on everything too.

  • HTPC case I've ordered... (Score:3, Informative)

    by tinla ( 120858 ) on Monday July 29, 2002 @07:48AM (#3970676) Homepage Journal
    There are heads of HTPC cases out there, if you look hard enough. All the shuttle cases still look like PCs, just PCs with plastic "chrome" on them. I managed to hunt down a case that came in Gold and more or less matches my Marantz 6200 AV Amp (a beast of a machine). Sure it costs a heap and has to be imported from Korea but check out the pictures...

    http://www.e-capsule.co.kr/shop/read.cgi?board=htp c_board&y_number=65 [e-capsule.co.kr]
    http://www.e-capsule.co.kr/shop/read.cgi?board=htp c_board&y_number=70&nnew=2 [e-capsule.co.kr]
    http://www.e-capsule.co.kr/shop/read.cgi?board=htp c_board&y_number=79&nnew=2 [e-capsule.co.kr]
    http://www.moddin.net/review.asp?ReviewID=45 [moddin.net]

    I found it via the "Home Theater Computers" forum at:

    http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/ [avsforum.com]


    Take the hint - look to Korea for cool cases.
    • And because I'm not cool enough to avoid replying to my own post -

      The gallery section of this site is awesome: Koreamod.com [koreamod.com]

    • That case is SO close to what I've been looking for in a HTPC case. I need two more things and I'd buy one in a second (especially since I can't add them myself because I love my appendages too much to try and cut alumnium cleanly)

      1) Room in the front of the case for 2 USB/2 Firewire ports. I want to be able to plug my Playstation USB-modified controller into the front of my HTPC to play MAME and emulated games. It'd be nice to plug my iPod right in too, so I can sync it up before I go out.

      2) An opening in the front for an IRMan or something similar. An HTPC needs an IR port in the front. Maybe it's there, (the review is slashdotted so I can only see the pics)

      Finally, once again has anyone solved the problem of flipping channels on the cable box to get TiVo functionality? That's the last piece of my puzzle, and I don't know how I'd get PVR like functionality without the ability to change the television channels on my cable box. The TiVo has these IR emitters that do all the dirty work.

      Oh well, time to look at the TiVo source when I have some free time.
      • Nevermind regarding point #2. It does have an IR port. Cool! Now just for #1.
        • there are also models of the dign with firewire and usb in front. now you just have to figure out a way to get one: last i read, international orders had a 50 unit minimum. there was some u.s. outfit that was going to start selling one of the models though--sorry don't have the url (i know, what a tease).

  • The best way to do it? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by lute3 ( 72400 ) on Monday July 29, 2002 @07:51AM (#3970681) Homepage Journal
    I've been working on the whole HEPC/TVPC thing for a while.. Most of my 'work', of course, has consisted of tons and tons of research and drawings/schematics instead of purchasing/building much of anything.

    I finally broke down and built a TV machine last summer.. I mainly used it to play Divx [divx.com] movies--both ones I ripped from my DVDs myself and ones I downloaded from Morpheus.

    Remote Control:

    1. I bought an IRman and got it working with Winamp's VidAmp [winamp.com]..
    2. At first, I kept no mouse or keyboard on the box. I opted instead to use the remote,
      TweakUI-configured auto-login, and VNC (from my laptop already wired-up in the living room.
    Case:
    1. I tore down a mid-tower case and buffered all of the metal joints with duct tape as I built it back up.
      This eliminated any inherent case rattle.
    2. I layed the side and reconfigured my entertainment center's shelves to accommodate it.
    3. The case had a interesting configuration of fans (combinations of Thermaltake [thermaltake.com] "smart" fans and things)
      to try to keep the AthlonXP 1700+ and three Maxtor drives (one 30GB and two 80GB) cool.

    What have I learned?

    1. I *have* to have TiVo functionality and soon.
    2. Morpheus/Kazaa and other online sources of movies are dying.
    3. Drives fail quickly if not properly cooled.
    4. Drives tend to fail anyway or have the remote possibility of very quickly losing 100 of your
      hard-earned movies in the event of failure.
    5. Almost no matter what, a TV PC is going to be too loud to enjoy having in the living room.

    What will I do differently next time?

    1. I will build two different boxes--one bare and quiet set-top box [allwell.tv] or something in the living room and the other a
      nasty, tricked-out, noisy system to handle all of the grunt-work in another room.
    2. IDE RAID. 'nuff said.
    3. Linux--as much as possible. I will actually make the full effort to get away from Windows and build
      On-Screen Display menus and things.. One of the bottom lines of my experience is that Windows/FAT32
      *kills* drives.
    4. I *have* to have TiVo/PVR/DVB/DVR/VDR functionality.. I could theoretically
      have one DVB card in the
      STB to add pause-live-TV functionality. For the setup and recording of other scheduled TV programs and movies, the "big box" in the other room that will have somewhere in the
      neighborhood of 4 or 5 DVB cards. This is fine for Digital Cable.. If I had a dish, it would
      likely be very different.
    5. Rip, rip, rip. Get those DVDs archived onto file and quit letting other peoples' copies be sufficient.
      I really didn't do all *that* bad.. I had ripped somewhere around 60 of the DVDs myself.
      I've really got to say this--AVI-archived DVDs beats the friggin bug juice out of any multi-DVD player.

    Here are some more related links..
    LinuxDVB [linuxdvb.tv]
    VDR [cadsoft.de]

    • Sorry for the formatting screwups. I was more concerned about spelling, information accuracy, and sharing.
      Thanks : ).
    • ...three Maxtor drives (one 30GB and two 80GB) cool.

      3) Drives fail quickly if not properly cooled.
      4) Drives tend to fail anyway or have the remote possibility of very quickly losing 100 of your
      hard-earned movies in the event of failure. ...my experience is that Windows/FAT32
      *kills* drives.

      I think your problem may just be the first part. Maxtor drives, in my experience, fail. They make a habit of it. I don't think it's Windows or Fat32.

      I, myself, have been running a 20GB Deskstar (IBM) for the past three years. It's quite happy. One backup drive is a 13GB Seagate that I salvaged from an old machine. It's now starting to die(or is at least making the noises that cry out for help), but I swear it's 5 or 6 years old.

      I've also got a pair of WD Caviar 40GB drives. One is taking over for the old 13 Seagate (and then some, of course). They're new (within a year) but I've had no problems with them. My case is pretty well cooled, but the drives aren't. They're kind of in a dead air section (too many IDE and power cables blocking them). I should add another fan for them, but I haven't gotten a chance to do it yet.

      The only reason that I even know they get warm (not exactlt hot) is that when the 13 tried to kill itself I shut the machine down, opened it up and checked the relative drive temps. The 13 and 20 weren't exactly cool.

      Anyway though. Maxtor: fails. WD has been wonderful for myself and others. I worked at a local comp. shop for a couple years, and we sold machines with caviars almost exclusively. We had a bad drive maybe once or twice / year.

      Try again, use WD drives. I would wager that your problems will vastly decrease, OS independent.

      Otherwise, your project sounds really promising, and I wish you the best of luck and skill.

      Oh, and be careful with the IDE Raid. Especially if you stick with Maxtor. Unless you were talking about mirroring. Then, don't worry about it as much. BUT if you're concerned with drive failure, striping is not worth the risk. Me, I'm going to put my two 40s into an array soon, but striping for speed. I don't need fault tolerance. That's what WD is for. Later.
      • Thats a nice anecdote, but I prefer actual statistics. When I was last shopping for HDD, the Maxtor 7200rmp disk had a better mean time between failures than either the WD or IBM drives.

        Since I have not had any trouble with my Maxtor drives, I think that the guy is probably correct in supposing that the deaths were heat related.
      • As the architect of a high-performance multi-terabyte storage subsystem based on IDE disk array technology, I beg to differ about Maxtor's quality. Just this past fall, we spent a long time evaluating which drives were the best. The general consensus (and our own conclusion) is Maxtor's large drives run cooler and last longer (failure rates start to become an important item when you have several hundred such drives in an array.)

        IBM drives were better at one time, but that's not been the case for a while, and I doubt Hitachi can change that anytime soon.

        Anyway, Maxtor's good enough for large (256 node and up) Linux and Windows clusters doing seismic processing work worth hundreds of millions, if that's any consolation.
    • 1. I will build two different boxes--one bare and quiet set-top box or something in the living room and the other a nasty, tricked-out, noisy system to handle all of the grunt-work in another room.

      2. IDE RAID. 'nuff said.
      Yep, I figured this out a while ago: storage should be left to a specialist. Every home needs a fileserver.

      Run Linux, *BSD, or some other traditional server OS on there. Storage should be RAID5 with huge/cheap ATA drives, and just assume they're going to fail, so make sure you monitor the RAID's status and replace drives as necessary. (Maxtor is ok, because they're cheap. Remember: you're already resigned to occasional drive failure. If you buy quality drives because you can't stand the thought of a drive going out, then you've already lost. Look at it merely in terms of yearly equipment cost, where time and dataloss cost should be about zero if you do things right.) Speed isn't a major factor: you're mostly going to be doing sequential reads, requested at less than one megabyte per second. Hard disks are almost overkill, but that's where the price/size winner is today. What you need is capacity and redundancy. ATA combined with RAID5, delivers.

      (I wish someone made cheap/huge ATA drives that spun at only 3600 RPM, or even slower. I want big energy-efficient and cool-running drives for my server, and I'm willing to trade transfer speed for it.)

      Then multimedia stuff can be done on a separate machine which doesn't have its own storage, and instead, relies on the network. Lighter and more RT-ish OSes such as QNX, BeOS, etc. should theoretically work a lot better, but I'm starting to think Linux is good enough, provided you have a fast CPU (or two ;-). And multimedia is something where openness is very important. You don't want to be using closed codecs or have your playback application(s) not be tweakable, or have to be limited by someone else's imagination of how you're going to be doing things. I think that at the highest levels, the app should be in a high-level scripting language (e.g. Python) so that it's easy to diddle with. Python+PyOgg(and related libraries)+lcdproc+libirman has turned out to be a major winner for my music playback; I hope to use a similar approach for video, someday.

      5. Rip, rip, rip. Get those DVDs archived onto file
      IMHO, this is premature unless you're keeping the DVD's encoding instead of transcoding. I don't think today's super-compressed video codecs (e.g. DiVX) are good enough, yet. At least not for action and special-effects movies; if it has Jet Li or a spaceship in it, I don't want to watch a DiVX. But you're right: movies need to get onto always-accessible media, not removable media. I want to be picking an entry from a menu, not physically juggling/finding shiney disks. Like CDs have become, DVDs should be for distribution, not playback.
    • I'd like to make some comments from the point of the research I've done so far on this subject, in relation to some of the things you've said.

      First, on hard drive failure:
      Hard drives fail. This seems obvious to me, I was a network admin in college and I saw a lot of hard drives fail. Pity the poor fool who tries to transport them.. click click, click click.
      My Tip: Burn. CD burners are cheap, reliable, and the media is super cheap. Yeah, an entire movie won't fit on on CD. But you won't be playing from the CD, the idea is merely to have a copy on permanent media in case of HD failure - then put it back on the new HD when you get it. So, make sure you have your media box hooked to your LAN and copy those files to your CD burning machine. No burner? Buy one. [pinegroup.com] - Note: My Pine drive shipped with Nero full version, thus I recommend buying one, because otherwise I would have bought it seperately anyway.

      Noise:
      Computers are noisy. This is probably the biggest hurdle to overcome in a entertainment center pc.
      My Tip: abandon convention. To combat noise, I'm looking at using a specialized watercooled case. [koolance.com] I realize this case doesn't fit the traditional entertainment device size/configuration - but I've abandoned that notion and just committed myself to buying the quietest setup I can find and figuring out a way set up my entertainment center around it so that it doesn't look out of place. I have to admit, at first, a "dumb terminal" type setup seems like a good idea, but most of the stuff has to run from the client, not the server. You basically aren't buying yourself any help because your powerful video card and processor have to be on the client anyway, and those cause heat - so even a dumb terminal is going to be noisy.

      TIVO Functionality:
      A must-have. Clearly an entertainment PC is only going to be more than a fancy looking DVD player if you include video capture and playback.
      My Tip: ATI All-in-Wonder. The ATI All-in-Wonder [ati.com] is still the best video capture card on the market. Note that it comes with a remote. NVidia has one now, but reviews are not as glowing. Program guides for both are free.

      Output:
      TV resolutions aren't very good. My research suggests that even new, fancypants TVs resolution isn't good enough to use for a computer.
      My Idea (not advice): projector. Currently I'm considering buying a high resolution computer projector for about the same cost as a very nice TV (a.k.a $2,000-$3,000). I've seen one of these at one of the places I've worked, and I was impressed. It showed both a 1024x768 computer screen and DVD playback very well. (Comon, I *HAD* to play a DVD on it!) The only issue here is obviously light - projection does not work well in a room with a lot of light. Even though otherwise this is an ideal solution (huge screen, relatively low cost, high res) - I'm not sure I can live with the tradeoff. I imagine for normal TV viewing I will still go with the regular TV I already own. My super-sneaky idea for a "close" monitor - build a flap to come up closer to the projector. I doubt the text would be readable, though. I'm still mulling over the possibilities.
    • "5. Almost no matter what, a TV PC is going to be too loud to enjoy having in the living room. "

      There is so much that can be done here, I can see you have put a little effort into reducing noise, (duct-tape case joints, etc) but you made some fatal mistakes.. I have just completed my quiet pc project, and i'll tell you it went from 6 months ago unbearable to silent today! Now I cannot hear the sound of my pc over the static from the dodgy speakers when idle. :)

      Quick tips:
      Firstly get rid of that Athlon! Sorry it is a lost hope, I went through so many differnt fans and heatsinks before I realised my Athlon1.33 was a dead end. Thermaltake are very good fans but even the 'quite' ones will vary in noise, ie when it heats up it goes from 'quiet' 22db to jet engine 43db! :( Personally the best results I got was a Thermaltake Volcano7 with the 80cm fan replaced with a fan from www.quietpc.com. Of course this does not compare with the virtually-FANLESS operation of my new PentiumIV 2.26Ghz! That heatsink is big enough that with the fan removed and a nice 90cm quiet fan (Zalman fan less than 20db) mounted above it is enough! Only one case intake fan is required to keep the system temp average 30deg, and at most 48deg celcius.

      Next the harddisk, get rid of them, go for a Seagate Barracuda IV, these things run almost silent and very cool. Only use one HD in the system aswell. With the DVD-ROM, I highly recommend SONY, next to replacing the CPU my best move was junking a Pioneer 16x (noisy bastard!) with a SONY 16x DVD, that thing is the quietest DVD/CD I have heard in many years!

      Lastly the powersupply again many quiet alternatives are available, www.quietpc.com is a good place, Just Cooler make a very quiet PSU which I love (sorry no link :( )..

      It is so possible to make a quite pc, you would quickly learn this like I did when I started working on some Dell and Compaq corporate desktop's Optiplex's, etc.. Those things run silent, like all pc's should be! ;)
  • Currently, computers cannot, and will not, simply fit in with home entertainment setups. There are several reasons why:

    1. Inconvenient input devices. Though wireless keyboards and mice (and integrated wireless keyboard/trackball) are all very well, what you're after most of the time is simply a remote control. There was a device made by Animax [animax.no] called the Multimedia Magic, which was perfect for the job - it even allowed you to control the mouse and type addresses into IE - but it doesn't have W2K drivers at the moment, and it relies on an external IR receiver. Perhaps some universal IR input device standard should be made, so that you can have an IR input port on the front of your PC, and use any input device you wish with it. Difficult to set up, I know, but it's an idea.

    2. Appearance - whilst there are many nice PC cases around at the moment, getting one small enough that looks nice is difficult. That said, the Dell Optiplex GX150 is a sleek little thing - I can't get on with its laptop-style drives though. Also, it's not configured for home entertainment.

    3. Graphics systems - some PCs don't come with TV-out, which is pretty much a necessity, unless you want to buy a very big monitor and shove a standalone TV tuner in.

    4. Noise - covered by previous posters, getting a silent PC is nigh on impossible. It would be possible in theory, but you'd need some hefty heatsinks sticking out of the back, which could compromise the appearance.

    5. Squeezing it all in the box - for a decent HEPC, you'll be wanting 5.1 sound output, a decent graphics card with S-Video out, a reasonable processor, large hard drive to store your (il)legal MP3s and DivXs, DVD reader, decent processor, etc etc etc... the Shuttle SS51 [slashdot.org] looks good for this, but again, it's only one system and it's not ideal. It does look quiet though...

    6. Not many people want one - whilst I feel I am making a circular argument here, there must be little demand for HEPCs because there aren't any ideal devices.
    • I would have to disagree with you on most of your points..I have had a PC hooked into my stereo/tv for over two years now, fitting nicely into my entertainment center. I have a small 14" monitor on the bottom shelf for when the TV-Out on my creative card is no active, or when I want to use tv and computer at the same time. In the case of appearance, I have it all neatly hidden by a dark glass door on the front of the center. For input, I use a wireless keyboard/mouse combination, similar to a laptop design. Built in CD controls/volume/etc makes it a quick and easy tool. It also has nicely placed hand holds on both side of the kb. As for getting everything you want out of your HTPC, that's easy.. I've got a vid card with s-vid out, dolby 5.1 audio, 30 gig (hd for now), 450 proc.. plent good for playing movies and mp3s. My case solution was to use a desktop case, not a shuttle.. desktop cases will fit nicely and allow you too have as much as you want in your HTPC. The noise level I would have to say is minimal. It's only noticable when the tv itself is off. I have no special cooling put in place for the machine, apart from it's own chip fan and the PS fan, and to date, for two years, virtually 24 hours a day, no heat problems. And just for the record, it's running 2K and I literally don't remember the last time it crashed, for those of you who THINK you have to re-boot 'doze boxes all the time. ... my 2c. B.
    • Currently, computers cannot, and will not, simply fit in with home entertainment setups. There are several reasons why:

      Damn. I thought mine fit pretty well. Here's why:

      1. Inconvenient input devices

      IR-receiver, 15 Euro. Old remote-control, free. LIRC software, free. Controls every media-related Linux application I want to use.

      2. Appearance

      My media-server is in the basement. Audio, video, and serial cables run to the lounge. The only presence in the lounge is the IR-receiver (tiny), although I intend to add a LCD display in an external drive-case at sometime in the future.

      3. Graphics systems

      Yes, a TV-out conneciton is pretty much a requirement, but not as hard to find as you seem to assume.

      4. Noise

      Already covered by remote location of the PC. I should add the the disadvantage of having the PC elsewhere is having to leave the room to change the DVD/CD. Problem solved by ripping the discs to your hard-drive.

      5. Squeezing it all in the box

      Not as hard as you might think. I use a DVB card, which includes digital TV receiver, MPEG2 decoder, external video connection, SPDIF audio out. High-power processors are only really required for on-the-fly format conversion. Large HDs are readily available. Probably most important is a good case to keep your disks nice and cool.

      6. Not many people want one

      You mean that you don't know many people who want one. Or know that they want one.

      Tivo is cool, right? What if you could expand your Tivo's disk space by as much as you could afford to buy new disks? Add additional receiver-cards to be able to record as many channels at once as you wanted?

      Add a DVD-ROM drive and play DVD's through it, or buffer your DVDs to disk?

      Play CDs and MP3s through it? How about AVIs, as well as keeping up with whatever new codecs come out?

      Then your needs would be well served by a general purpose computer, not some consumer device which is destined for obsolecence within 3 years.

      Another poster mentioned the poor integration between different software. Take a look at VDR for Linux - it does all of what I've mentioned above, and more. How about an image viewer, for bvrowsing your photo collection? All there, and fully integrated.

  • So your home entertainment systems looks like either a pc or a pile of stereo equipment. At least with a pc you have plenty of case options to match the room. It may still look like a pc, but as long as the feng shui is good, it works. Standards in pc hardware shape make adding and upgrading easier than a home stereo too. Try mixing and match different pieces of home entertainment equipment from different manufacturers. Sure most is a standard width and made to be somewhat stackable, but the front bezel's usually have designs that only match there particular manufacturers line. That is, if you go with black, the universal home stereo color. If not, your really in trouble. With a pc, just buy a case with front door. Then it doesn't matter that the dvd drive is a different color. It's also all in one clean, easy to manage, box. :-)

  • If you need something sleek looking and space-saving, get a rackmount case like this one [partspc.com] I'm not recommending this particular case actually - I'm late for work and I just ran to partspc.com for the first pic I could find ;)

    And did anyone else vomit over their hardware choices (let alone their OS choice)?
  • /.ed again! And not a Chance to see it, eigther!

    Somebody fire up the Way Back Machine to, say yesterday and post a link, please?

    Thanks!
  • I had my entertainment-system pc case painted shiny black at a local auto paint shop. It cost about $40, and looks awesome.
  • I'd much rather have entertainment gear that *works like* my PC. That is, I can reprogram it to suit my needs; various data sources are multiplexed onto a data bus and can be routed concurrently to various sinks; I can plug a card into the bus and add new ports or other capabilities; I can just copy losslessly from old to new media as storage technology changes.

    Think about *that*, media moguls!
  • The old IBM Ispiratis were classic examples of VCR Computers. They were sleek, black, had a dvd, and one Christmas they were selling (w/o a monitor) for $499CAN.

    They don't sell Ispiratis anymore, but their netvistas still have the potential (with a few case mods) to be sleek, black, cool little VCR computers for your home entertainment system.

    (Or if you cold find an Ispirati case and install a better board and memory in it, it would work as well.) :-)
  • I am looking into the home pc entertainment and i saw this card that came out for sigma designs. http://www.sigmadesigns.com/products/xcard.htm

    It is a great card with component out 5.1, able to display a full screen movie while browsing internet on your computer with a separate monitor. Includes a remote control as well and supports a dedicated processor for divx movies as well as the decoder for most popular dvds.

    Works great and my case is a all black case to match my black entertainment system, and going to install a clear panel with a blue neon light :)

  • Shuttle SV24 (Score:3, Informative)

    by carambola5 ( 456983 ) on Monday July 29, 2002 @01:19PM (#3972586) Homepage

    So, I bought one of these and it's sitting in pieces on top of my current 'puter. But after move-in, it will have a tremendous job ahead of it:

    It will serve as one of these HEPC or whatever you call it. It has S-video out, decent sound (my standalone DVD player will take care of good sound requirements), and best of all, it has 2 fans... nothing else. No hard drive, no floppy, no cd-rom. Nothing.

    That said, it is quite obvious that it will be functioning as a diskless client, booting off a server. This server will provide everything via NFS (yes, I'm behind a firewall, so don't bother trying to hack). Hopefully, in time I will produce some software that is basically an OSD similar to that of the TV guide with Time Warner's digital cable. That way, there is no need to move a pseudo-mouse with the numbers on the remote. The last step of the project will be to create a CD-archiver that mechanically loads/unloads CDs remotely. mmmm, laziness



    Call your senator [slashdot.org]! I did
  • Can't see if this has already been posted, but I found this [extremetech.com] at Trendetronics [trendetronics.com]. It has that home theatre piece of equipment look that most people desire for HTPCs, but it only accepts MicroATX. (Doh!)

  • Old news for some (Score:2, Informative)

    by BurntSand ( 178964 )
    "Beginning to enter the Home Entertainment scene"?!?

    Some PCs, such as the Commodore Amiga CDTV [cdtv.org.uk] have been integrated seamlessly into modern home theater systems for over a decade now.

    The CDTV was expressly designed to not look like an intimidating computer; rather it was supposed to look like a friendly, familiar stereo or home video component. It didn't help much; CDTV was an expensive failure for Commodore, much like the similar Philips CDi system.

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