Building a cheap HTPC?

[Tinker-box]

I want the computer to record basic cable and output to a basic 27 inch tv using the Yellow, Red, White video ports. This TV just has basic audio as well so no need to worry about an awesome surround sound setup. My big hang ups right now are video card, software, and operating system. I want this to be as easy to use as possible because the computer won't be for me. Does anyone have any suggestions or should I just buy a dvr. It would be nice for it to record certian shows and edit out commercials if possible. I guess this is more of a PVR?

 

[IanG]

tv capture card - an ati550 card if you want to use Windows MCE, or a hauppauge 150PVR for any other program (sagetv, beyondtv, meedio, Mediaportal etc) using regular windows xp. The Hauppauge card would be better for Linux also.

Video card - sounds like you want something cheap, so anything better than an fx5200 from nvidia (the 6600 is most recomended right now but might be too expensive) or a radeon 9600 or better from ati will be fine.

I think that www.htpcnews.com had an article recently about building a budget system. You should be able to build a decent system for about $600, less if you can reuse some older parts.

edit: there are some cheaper software-based tuner cards, but it's worth the extra $30-50 to get a hardware one that I listed. The tuner is one thing where you will notice a difference by spending a few extra bucks.

 

[FraGGleR]

Since you are outputting to only an SDTV, you can probably get away with onboard video if it can do svideo out. An FX5200 can probably be had for $50 and will do nicely for that. I would definitely recommend a hauppauge as they are compatible with MCE as well as just about every other program. Can be had for $65 or less if you get lucky. If you have a computer already and are going to be adding these components and are already using XP or XP pro, I am a huge fan of Meedio and SageTV. Very, very customizeable, although if you are looking for something a little more dummy proof, dishing out for MCE might work better for you. I just bought and upgrade to Meedio Pro (adds Meedio TV) so I will experiment with that. This allows Meedio to be a completely seemless solution. (also is onsale for $40 for the whole kit an caboodle until 12/31). There are free solutions as well, but I do not have much experience with them. So if you have an existing computer, for $150 you can have a nice, basic setup for PVR. If you are starting from scratch, a board based on the nvidia 6150 northbridge would do you fine, as its onboard video and audio will work quite nicely, even for HD output (supposedly). If you hurry today, you can go to slickdeals or bensbargains.net and get the dell coupon code that gets you 20% off an AMD processor. Athlon64 3200 goes for $132, 3700 $181, and an X2 3800 can be had for about $280. I just picked up a 3200 for $139 shipped. Not bad. couple that with an Asus board based on the 6150 chipset for $90 and you are looking at a very nice foundation for an htpc.

 

[Rakinos]

I'm going to be building a htpc shortly and will probably go the mythtv route. Its a piece of software for linux that has a lot of features and add-ins. There is a distro called knop-myth that does the install of the os and mythtv with a few clicks of a button. You can have it up and running in less than a half hour. Plus, (imo the biggest plus) it is all free.

 

[Tinker-box]

Ok this is what I plan on using

p4 1.6a @ 2.13 ghz 533 fsb with 512meg of ddr 266.
Epox 4bda2+ mobo
The operating system and basic software will be on a 4 gig hdd,
I have 2 40 gig hard drives laying around that I will use for the tv vid files.
I will use the onboard sound.
Intel nic
dialup modem

Problem,

I have 2 video cards, both with unacceptable s-video out quality. One is a sis 315 card and one is a geforce 2 pro card. The sis flickers and the geforce displays interference. They do the exact same on two different tv's.

So I don't have a tv tuner card and I don't have a video card

So since I need a tv tuner card and a video card should I just get an all in wonder? Thing is that they don't do hardware encoding and I don't know if this processor can handle it on the fly. What I truely want this to do is to act almost like a dvd player. You switch the video mode on the tv, select what episode you recordered _automaticly_ and watch it commercial free using a remote. It would be extremely nice if we can watch a recorded show with at the very least VHS quality(dvd or cable tv quality would be nice) while it records something else. I'm not looking to record mulitple different shows at the same time either unless that feature could be obtained cheaply assuming the specs above could handle it. =/ Is windows media center the best way to go for this since the person who will be using it is for the most part computer illiterate but can handle dvd menu style functions no problem?

 

[Rakinos]

the aiw cards are good if you just use the bundled software, but don't have as much support with other windows or linux software.

 

[FraGGleR]

MCE
Hauppauge PVR150MCE
Nvidia FX5200 or Ati 9600

With that processor you might bog down a little without the help of hardware decoding. I had an AIW and I did not like the picture quality or the lag it induced. A Hauppauge has been a godsend as far as quality and freeing up the cpu.

Also, if you go with MCE, you will have to use hacked drivers to use any software encoder.

Meedio Pro ($40 until 12/31) on top of XP will probably be just fine and won't cost nearly as much as MCE.

Hopefully some more people will confirm or contest what I have written.

 

[Tinker-box]

The Hauppage will allow for recording one show while watching another show at the same time right? Does Meedio tv have the option of filtering out commercial or at least an easy skip function?

 

[Rakinos]

the only way you can watch one show while recording another is to either buy two tuners, or a dual tuner card like the pvr-500

 

[CrimandEvil]

If I was trying to build an HTPC on the cheap with new parts I would probably spent about $1050-/+.

Coolermaster CM260- I think the case looks interesting but reading the reviews it seems that there are some problems with how the case handles video cards.
MSI K8NGM2-FID 61050 based mobo So to get around the problems with the CM case I would go with one of the 6150 mobos since the onboard video has enough horsepower for everything but gaming.
AMD A64 3200+ Venice.
Zalman 7000B ALCU
Corsair ValueSelect 1 gig (512mb x2)
BenQ DQ60
Seagate 7200.8 300gig HDD Cheap and lots of space, remember that your going to be recording shows at about 2.5gigs/hour so your going to need alot of space.
Seagate 7200.7 80gig HDD For OS and apps, I'll explain.

[url=http://www.pcalchemy.com/product_info.php/cPath/54/products_id/171]MCE package Comes with everything you need to finish the system (tuner card, mpeg2 decoder, OS and a remote).

A few notes, I wouldn't be using the MCE app on this, it's just there since I would need an OS but if you happen to have an extra copy of XP laying around then that would be great to use. Since I'm not using the MCE app I'll explain what I would be using, I'd use SageTV as my PVR app and Xlobby as my frontend. I'd setup SageTV, the 300 gig HDD and the Tuner card to run on a different PC which is going to act as my server, this HTPC will run a copy of SageClient embedded into Xlobby (using the MCE skin for both apps). SageTV sits in the server recording TV shows to the large HDD while this client box uses SageClient to stream those recordings to it.

This is just what I'd be building for myself if I was looking about adding an HTPC to my network.

 

[Tinker-box]

the only way you can watch one show while recording another is to either buy two tuners, or a dual tuner card like the pvr-500

Can I just use the htpc to record the show while I watch another channel on the tv w/o running through the htpc? (the pc will be connected using svideo and I was thinking of just being able to hit the tv/video button and go back to normal mode.


Like this

I have one basic cable line.
I will use this
Run one line to the pc and one to the tv.

Use whatever pc software to record the shows I want to see and use the tv by itself to watch whatever and not interfere with the pc and its recording process. Hit the TV video button and watch whatever I have recorded. That should work right?

That will work right? Also what is the difference between a pvr 150 and 250 and I understand why you need 2 tuners for dual action however there shouldn't be a reason why you can't watch a recorded show while recording another assuming your hard drive/system is up to the challenge?

I understand the concept of the HTPC and it doing it all however I'm just after the ability to record tv shows w/o commercials and being able to watch them whenever. Not a movie center or a dvd center or music center, or home video center or anything of that sort. Just basic analog tv recording and being able to use a remote to select what I want.

 

[Tinker-box]

If I was trying to build an HTPC on the cheap with new parts I would probably spent about $1050-/+.

Coolermaster CM260- I think the case looks interesting but reading the reviews it seems that there are some problems with how the case handles video cards.
MSI K8NGM2-FID 61050 based mobo So to get around the problems with the CM case I would go with one of the 6150 mobos since the onboard video has enough horsepower for everything but gaming.
AMD A64 3200+ Venice.
Zalman 7000B ALCU
Corsair ValueSelect 1 gig (512mb x2)
BenQ DQ60
Seagate 7200.8 300gig HDD Cheap and lots of space, remember that your going to be recording shows at about 2.5gigs/hour so your going to need alot of space.
Seagate 7200.7 80gig HDD For OS and apps, I'll explain.

[url=http://www.pcalchemy.com/product_info.php/cPath/54/products_id/171]MCE package Comes with everything you need to finish the system (tuner card, mpeg2 decoder, OS and a remote).

A few notes, I wouldn't be using the MCE app on this, it's just there since I would need an OS but if you happen to have an extra copy of XP laying around then that would be great to use. Since I'm not using the MCE app I'll explain what I would be using, I'd use SageTV as my PVR app and Xlobby as my frontend. I'd setup SageTV, the 300 gig HDD and the Tuner card to run on a different PC which is going to act as my server, this HTPC will run a copy of SageClient embedded into Xlobby (using the MCE skin for both apps). SageTV sits in the server recording TV shows to the large HDD while this client box uses SageClient to stream those recordings to it.

This is just what I'd be building for myself if I was looking about adding an HTPC to my network.

Where this computer is going to end up won't be on its own network. Hell I'm not sure how I'm going to connect it to the internet yet. Thats why it is getting a dial up modem and a nic.

 

[12 Axes]

I understand the concept of the HTPC and it doing it all however I'm just after the ability to record tv shows w/o commercials and being able to watch them whenever. Not a movie center or a dvd center or music center, or home video center or anything of that sort. Just basic analog tv recording and being able to use a remote to select what I want.

My suggestion would be to buy a 99$ TIVO.

 

[IanG]

My suggestion would be to buy a 99$ TIVO.

Sure it might be cheaper, but where's the fun in that?

You can use the pc to record one channel while watching another one on your TV (as long as you don't use a Set-top box.) You can do the same with a tivo as well.

 

[Tinker-box]

Sure it might be cheaper, but where's the fun in that?

You can use the pc to record one channel while watching another one on your TV (as long as you don't use a Set-top box.) You can do the same with a tivo as well.

And the monthly fee's and no F@H.

(And I don't think you could easily transfer downloaded episodes off them either?)

 

[12 Axes]

The series 2 TIVO is supposed to allow you to transfer movies or shows to your computer for burning onto a DVD. I have an HTPC and I love using it, but all the poster wants is a PVR. A TIVO is the simplest, easyest, cheapest and probably best appliance for the job.

 

[vortec4800]

MCE
Hauppauge PVR150MCE
Nvidia FX5200 or Ati 9600

That's what I put together for a simple PVR hooked up to my cable box with Svid to my TV and it works awesome. I was using a Sempron 2800+ and 512MB of DDR400 to power it all and it ran silky smooth. Wasn't very expensive, either. I also like that I can download episodes of shows that I missed in Xvid or Divx form and load them onto it and watch them in the same way as if I recorded it.