Building a Media Center PC

[fahrenheit]

Here is a little video walkthrough of XBMC that I did a while ago.
http://files.filefront.com/XBMC_Walk.../fileinfo.html

It barely scratches the surface, but will give you an idea of the feel and speed with which everything runs.

Please forgive my sloppy voice over, I'm not a presenter and of course you'll have to excuse my kiwi accent.

[FelixofMars]

I have to say we set up XBMC on a housemates xbox, we are happy with its peformance but the guy doesn't use it that much. In fact thats probably why he let us hack it, as for the use he got out of it. I have my own xbox but not bothered with it because we can take that one on LIVE.

[gtskater]

Buy yourself one of the new Mac Mini's. Stylish looking and now they come with the remote and FrontRow they make an excellent media center. Particularly if you have a HDTV.

Would like to go down this route, but fear problems with codecs. The real issue however, is that I'd be limited to composite or S-Video. Unless you have any suggestions on how to convert DVI to RGB/Component?

The more I think and look at an Xbox/360 option the more I think about the lack of flexibility it gives me. Yes it's really straightforward and definately the cheaper option, but I think what I really need is a PC. I want to use it as a download centre and throw enough storage in there to act as a proper back up. The advent of HD stuff makes the PC a better future choice too. I'm looking at this as the start of something, with the hope of tinkering and upgrading as I go. So thanks for the XBMC ideas and suggestions guys.

[marcus]

Below is based on my experience alone, Im sure others will have other ideas etc

If you do buy a Mac Mini, make sure you buy as much RAM as possible for it as they are painfully slow in general usage without it. I did have problems with Codecs, and in particular finding a suitable media player for it. Quicktime would of been great had it not of failed to play way too many of my files than I was prepared to take, other options I tried were ok apart from the hopeless interfaces of the applications. The 'windows media player' for Mac equivalent was poor also.

Currently I have a server which is basically networked from my loft which is on all the time, for downloads and for file serving. Connected to that via a BB router is my Xbox running XBMC for playing my AVIs etc, pictures and so on. I have a main PC in my room which I use for net, apps and so on, which is the 'performance' pc, if I was going to play HDef files Id use that, but pretty much everything goes through the XBMC as its a lot quieter than my PC, and is so simple to use. Music, I have Itunes loaded onto my PC which streams from an external HDD connected to my server, using ITunes, with I connect to my Amp and full speakers. Sounds pretty nice.

For a while I tried my PC as a DVD player also, but in all honesty, I felt my Arcam Pro Scan player upscaled with better results than my PC using Theatertek software. The other problem, if you do manage to find a setting thats just to your liking (with TT and FFDShow this WILL take weeks) you will be forever tinkering with it, rather than enjoying it for what it is. Then theres the issue of region-encoding, and general issues/problems/features that make Windows what it is, and the fact I had it connected to a PC that I could hear whirring away all the time. It was all far too drawn out an experience for me, some people swear by it but until I see benefit of going back to a PC for DVD viewing Ill be staying put with my standalone. Sometimes its nice just being able to pop a disc in, sit back, and not faff around with loads of settings etc ya know

Pics are here if at all interested - http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/showthread...994#post786994

[gtskater]

Thanks for your in depth and informative comments Marcus. I've decided that I certainly won't be buying a Mac Mini. It really isn't suitable for what I have in mind. A shame.

I am still intrigued by the XBMC option and I know exactly what you mean when you mention "you'll spend more time tinkering with it than actually enjoying it." An XBMC option does of course mean there are no Windows related issues/problems, it means the system will be quiet, easy to hook up to the TV and relatively cheap.

However, I'm still concerned that I will almost immediately regret the decision when I begin to think about the flexibility offered by a PC. Using it for FTP, for Torrents, for viewing and recording freeview, as a central file store and back-up center. I'm prepared to spend a bit more to have these features and I'm also willing to go that little bit further to make it quiet. There isn't an issue with region-encoding either; I've got that one taken care of already.

I've also lived in a house with a media center for the past three years. I'm moving into somewhere in a while and unfortunately I might be the house geek and as such, media center responsibility will fall to me (about time really). For the past few years, the media center has always been owned by a housemate but I've usually had a part in configuration and set-up. I'm familiar with how to get the best out of the system and have some good knowledge on how to tweak FFD Show and the display settings to achieve a decent picture. So whilst I am aware of how frustrating it can be when all you want is the system to work; I'm also aware of what to do and how to do it.

So at the moment I have a few options:

• Do nothing!
• Xbox/XBMC
• 360/XBMC
• New PC (£300 maybe)
• 2nd Hand Machine (from a friend - £unsure)

If I go for a system, it might be something like this:

• Asus K8V-X SE SKT754
• AMD Sempron 2800+ (SDA2800BXBOX) 64Bit Architecture 1.6ghz Skt 754 Box
• Corsair (VS512MB400) 512MB, DDR400 / PC3200
• Antec Black Overture II Quiet Media Case 450wpsu 24pin Atx2
• Seagate ST3250824AS 250GB 7200RPM SATA300 8MB Cache
• NEC ND3550A 16x DVD±RW Dual Layer Internal IDE (Black)
• Radeon 9700 and ATI HDTV Adapter

That lot comes to a little over £300 or so. I've got an OS and I'm still thinking about freeview cards.

[djjimbob]

I think it's worth holding off on a media centre solution for the next year until after the PS3/X360 dust settles.

There is going to be lots of convergence going on in the industry as demand for the media centre solution hots up.

You will have PS3 and X360 trying to better each other, then all you need is Apple or Google weighing in with a decent solution and all your probs are sorted.

Mark my words.

[supersmithy]

I think it's worth holding off on a media centre solution for the next year until after the PS3/X360 dust settles.

There is going to be lots of convergence going on in the industry as demand for the media centre solution hots up.

You will have PS3 and X360 trying to better each other, then all you need is Apple or Google weighing in with a decent solution and all your probs are sorted.

Mark my words.

And the fact that the 360 might have been hacked by then..... Which means that you could buy a 2nd 360 for non-live-media-center use - and they'll be cheaper than now.. A decent spec PC, for ?200? Yes please!

I'm also a big fan of using the xbox 1 for a media center, and have never had any problems playing anything on it. It really is awesome. However, i've also recently fixed up an old (something with a GF2 go in, 256mb RAM, 1.8ghz P4) laptop and done a bit of jiggery pokery with Powerstrip to make it fit my LCD TV.. Picked up a ?15 wireless keyboard, and installed XP and VideoLan.

I'm liking the freedom that using a PC gives you, that the xbox doesnt. Mainly browsing the intramaweb, using MSN messenger - and a decent way to arrange/browse your mp3's, as XBMC's way is a little basic for my liking (foobar2000 and some addons ftw).

A PC is just 1000 times more useful.... And since it uses VGA anyway, you dont need any special cables to get the best performance. Oh, and you don't need to put all that effort into getting up to walk the 2 metres to the PC

Runs normal downloaded episodes perfectly - seemed to struggle a bit on a 700mb HD version of the sopranos that I downloaded, but considering the laptops about 4 years old i'm very impressed.

If ALL you want to do is MP3's and AVI's, then XBMC is a cheap, easy, and really impressive way to do things.

If you want a bit more, might as well get a PC. Plus its upgradable if you one day decide to throw a digital card in.

Sorry for the essay.. Bad habit

[marcus]

Theres the noise issue as well dont forget, not that the Xbox is totally quiet, but its quieter than my PC (decent components inside a Coolermaster Wavemaster case). A bog-standard PC might be noisy enough to cause a distraction if its in the same room as you, adding 'quiet' components can be a bit costly also if you look to replace the PSU, fans etc. The main noisy component on my PC is the HDD, especially when its being accessed. That said, generally the volume of whatever you are watching will drown out PC noise for the most part so its not noticeable. One good thing about the Mac Mini is its quiet as anything.

[Rebelli0n]

Another Xbox/XBMC user here. It's just so flexible, streams everything you can throw at it from windows shares, no need to run XP media center, and it's pretty bandwidth friendly. We have 2 softmodded xboxs in my flat, one in the living room, one in the bedroom, often both streaming video from the various PCs we have, even when theres heavy traffic ontop, never had any bandwidith issues. I'm still currently on an SD CRT, so the RGB out on the xbox is also a big plus

The usual setup we have the living room is the Xbox in the tv and a laptop to do anything computery, login to the xbox and download stuff when you're too lazy to get up. Storage is mainly on the PCs over the network (via a router) and We both (me and my gf in this case) have our own laptops to browse independently and then the TV is 'shared'. If need be, the laptops can be hooked up via S-video.

The only issue would be the h.264 stuff, but i don't yet have an HDTV in the living room, and use my PC to play anything HD for now. Obviously i'm currently looking for the best affordable HDTV (within 1000 quid) so Hopefully, a 360 incarnation of XBMC will be a reality one day, as that would be my current ideal option as an upgrade path.

[gtskater]

Mark my words.

Consider them marked! Yes I agree that things will be a lot more interesting in the media center market in the next few years. Certainly, by the end of the decade when HD over Freeview is more of a reality in this country and the whole HD-DVD/Blu-Ray thing has calmed down it'll be a different landscape entirely. At the moment though, HD is barely a reality for the wealthiest of Sky subscribers. HD over Freeview is barely being tested yet. I wouldn't even know where to buy HD-DVD or Blu-Ray discs.

I'm suspicious of how manufacturers are packaging together media centers though. The Sony VGX-XL100 is very aesthetically pleasing but not so great to use; problems with playing DVDs for example. I'm attracted to XBMC but it offers no upgrade path and it seems like I would only be delaying the inevitable - at some point in the next 5 years I am going to want a HTPC for the flexibility offered. As I've looked into this and learnt more about it, I've realised more about what I want such a system to do. I've also realised that it's probably going to be more expensive than I had originally hoped (but isn't everything). As SuperSmithy mentioned, if all you want to do is play MP3s and AVIs then XBMC is perfect; if you want anything else then a PC is a more appropriate choice, albeit a more expensive one.

What's the situation with XMBC on a 360?

[fahrenheit]

What's the situation with XMBC on a 360?

A long way from a reality at this point.

I can see a use for both XBMC and an HTPC in the same household.

Also consider that an Xbox with Media Center can be booted very quickly and shutdown even quicker. This is great in situations when you don't want to wait around for a PC to boot.