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stray posted:I'm interested in setting up a HTPC using a box I've had lying around for a while. I want to store my movies/TV shows on a HDD rather than lots of DVDs and some on the external HDD hooked up to my laptop. 1) Maybe? It almost definitely won't be able to stream HD content. For around $300 you can get a pre-built box capable of doing anything you want. 2) XBMC. Boxee is a branch of XBMC, and seems more focused on social networking and online media. 3) Any format you want. I like using Handbrake to make mkv files, personally, although I haven't used it in awhile now. XBMC will play back almost anything. 5) Yep, once you add your sources for various media and it imports it all into the database (or Library), you'll just update the library and anything new will be added in. 6) XBMC will pull a lot of it by itself, and you choose where it will come from. There's scrapers for IMDB, but I prefer TheMovieDB.com since it's built from the ground up to support HTPC users and has an actual API. For TV Shows, there's TheTVDB.org. I think music is pulled from AllMusic.com but I don't remember off hand. Once you set the scraper for a given source, it'll do everything else. It's worth noting here that you'll want to have your media well organized before you attempt to do any scraping. Even my movie library, which is named very well, had a bunch of movies I had to go back and fix. Something like Ember Media Manager can really help you out on this (ditto TVRenamer for TV and Tag & Rename for music). 7) You can always had an additional source to the library, it's very easy to do so. It'll check all sources for new items when you update the library.
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Dec 10, 2010 23:50
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EC posted:1) Maybe? It almost definitely won't be able to stream HD content. For around $300 you can get a pre-built box capable of doing anything you want. Also, where would I get one of those $300 purpose-built HTPCs you mentioned?
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Dec 11, 2010 02:33
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Someone needs to buy this Atom 330 partial HTPC setup in SA-Mart before I lose my $75 to this guy.
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Dec 11, 2010 02:38
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stray posted:Oof. XBMC installed and it is slow as hell (~1-2sec for the mouse pointer to move). Does this mean the graphics chip has got to go? Run through the last 5 or 10 pages of this thread, there's lots of talk about 'em. The most popular seems to be the Revo, which is capable of smooth HD playback using DVXA, and is tiny and quiet.
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Dec 11, 2010 14:20
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stray posted:Also, where would I get one of those $300 purpose-built HTPCs you mentioned? http://revohtpc.com/revo-htpc-setup-guide/wmc-alternatives/ Here are a couple options.
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Dec 11, 2010 19:04
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Ok HTPC goons, I'm thinking of going for the Zotac Mag with a 1TB Iomega Hard Drive, to connect to this screen. I always forget something. What am I forgetting?
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Dec 12, 2010 00:39
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Mein Eyes! posted:Ok HTPC goons, I'm thinking of going for the Zotac Mag with a 1TB Iomega Hard Drive, to connect to this screen. I always forget something. What am I forgetting? That HD isn't a particularly great deal. This WD, for example, is extremely quiet and spins down when not in use. (Some externals still won't, *cough* LaCie Porsche.) It really bothered me always hearing the drive at night when everything else was off and the PC was in standby, or worse having to get off the couch to turn the drive on before using it. It's also $30 cheaper for the same capacity, or you can get 2tb for a couple bucks more than that Iomega. Unless you're dead set on using eSATA, but I'm not sure it'll make any difference with a nettop doing HTPC work. http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...92122852&sr=1-2 http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...92123240&sr=1-1 eddiewalker fucked around with this message at 04:08 on Dec 12, 2010 |
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Dec 12, 2010 04:06
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Yeah, I'd prefer a hard drive that was as quiet as possible. Thanks for the recommendation, I think I'll go with that 2TB.
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Dec 12, 2010 22:22
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I've done some search on an issue an haven't come up with anything. Wondering if anyone has some insight. I have a self built htpc with an ZOTAC GeForce 9300 - ITX WiFi board with a C2D E5200 processor. Win 7 32 bit with XBMC 9.11 loaded. Everything goes over HDMI directly to my TV. The issue I have is if I leave my HTPC on, after a while when you go back to watch something it seems laggy. When you start a movie the motion seems just slightly choppy, nothing out of sync, but not smooth like it should be. If you restart the machine then it is fine for as long as you are doing active tasks like watching a movie or navigating the menu in XBMC. I have things setup so XBMC launches on startup. I have a Revo in the bedroom that I installed XBMC on it and it never has an issue, the living room machine is more powerful in terms of hardware than the Revo. I am at a loss as to where to go from here. There is nothing on the machine except Win 7, drivers, and XBMC.
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Dec 13, 2010 21:06
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strikrr posted:I've done some search on an issue an haven't come up with anything. Wondering if anyone has some insight. I have a self built htpc with an ZOTAC GeForce 9300 - ITX WiFi board with a C2D E5200 processor. Win 7 32 bit with XBMC 9.11 loaded. Everything goes over HDMI directly to my TV. A number of people have mentioned that exact problem in the last few pages. I don't think anyone has come up with a better solution than just restarting XBMC. In my experience rebooting is overkill. You could probably streamline the process with a batch file or something tied to a hotkey to kill then relaunch the program, but it's still just a workaround.
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Dec 13, 2010 21:22
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strikrr posted:I've done some search on an issue an haven't come up with anything. Wondering if anyone has some insight. I have a self built htpc with an ZOTAC GeForce 9300 - ITX WiFi board with a C2D E5200 processor. Win 7 32 bit with XBMC 9.11 loaded. Everything goes over HDMI directly to my TV. I think this issue was resolved for some people in the latest build.
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Dec 13, 2010 22:28
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Man, I gotta the say XBMC Commander app for the iPad is the loving bomb, anyone else here use it?
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Dec 14, 2010 03:23
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Here's another question: Linux or Windows? I'm thinking I'd like to set up a HTPC running xbmc, but I'd rather run it on Linux, so I can also use the machine as my home server (for backup, http server for design/testing and more), but is the Linux setup up to snuff (i.e., can I get smooth playback and menu response) or should I just go with Windows?
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Dec 14, 2010 06:09
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stray posted:Here's another question: Linux or Windows? XBMC works just fine under linux.
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Dec 14, 2010 06:12
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stray posted:Here's another question: Linux or Windows? As long as your hardware is supported you shouldn't have any problems at all with linux and xbmc.
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Dec 14, 2010 07:52
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mattfl posted:Man, I gotta the say XBMC Commander app for the iPad is the loving bomb, anyone else here use it? I acquired a $50 iTunes card last night so I went ahead and bought all of the XBMC apps. XBMC Commander seemed to be the best. I'm not a fan of the wood shelving / chalkboard theme, but the app itself seems to work quite well. I like the look of "XBMC Remote" but as far as I can tell it only works with movies and not TV shows? Hoping it gets an update. I had "XBMC" for my iPod touch and that was by far the best. I wish they would make a iPad version of that.
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Dec 14, 2010 19:34
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cornface posted:As long as your hardware is supported you shouldn't have any problems at all with linux and xbmc.
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Dec 14, 2010 22:32
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stray posted:The key hardware being an Nvidia graphics chip and plenty of CPU & RAM, right? XBMC works fine with a weakling CPU like the Atom. I'm not sure what the state of GPU support is. The amount of RAM required will vary depending upon whether you're using a system that shares system memory with the GPU.
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Dec 14, 2010 23:24
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stray posted:The key hardware being an Nvidia graphics chip and plenty of CPU & RAM, right? The post above is correct about the CPU not being that important as long as you get a video card that XBMC will use VDPAU on. I have an older Atom and it does 1080p fine. But yes, you'll need one of the supported NVIDIA cards with linux. 2 GB of system RAM should be more than enough for HTPC stuff. You might want something more powerful if you are going to be using it for other things, too, though.
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Dec 15, 2010 02:57
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Zotac makes a pretty sweet like CULV + ION barebones, that comes out to about $400 with parts. It looks like it should be a sweet little machine.
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Dec 15, 2010 09:19
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FISHMANPET posted:Zotac makes a pretty sweet like CULV + ION barebones, that comes out to about $400 with parts. It looks like it should be a sweet little machine. That seems pretty expensive when you can get things like the revo for less than $300.
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Dec 15, 2010 19:32
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Thermopyle posted:That seems pretty expensive when you can get things like the revo for less than $300. But it comes with a lot more power. But I don't know if XBMC could even put that extra power to use.
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Dec 16, 2010 01:39
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Thermopyle posted:That seems pretty expensive when you can get things like the revo for less than $300. Where can you get a Revo for less than $300? I'm looking for one now and that seems low.
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Dec 16, 2010 01:55
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FISHMANPET posted:But it comes with a lot more power. But I don't know if XBMC could even put that extra power to use. Well yeah, but it's not too useful if all you're doing is running XBMC. Elston Gunn posted:Where can you get a Revo for less than $300? I'm looking for one now and that seems low. Huh, looks like they don't sell the Revo 1600 anymore...
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Dec 16, 2010 18:17
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mattfl posted:I got my Revo 3610 in yesterday. Had XBMC up and running in about 15 minutes and was watching 720p movies streamed from a server machine in a closet in my media room. It's hooked up via HDMI to my TV and SPDIF to my receiver. Could not be easier and can't beat the price! Did you recently pick one up? I was looking recently and it appeared they have discontinued the 3610 and everyone is out of stock.
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Dec 17, 2010 01:10
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Falco posted:Did you recently pick one up? I was looking recently and it appeared they have discontinued the 3610 and everyone is out of stock. The r3700 model the next up from the 3610.
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Dec 17, 2010 01:13
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Falco posted:Did you recently pick one up? I was looking recently and it appeared they have discontinued the 3610 and everyone is out of stock. I actually got mine from walmart.com of all places.
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Dec 17, 2010 01:21
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mattfl posted:I actually got mine from walmart.com of all places. Wow I would have never guessed walmart. It doesn't look like it's appearing on the site anymore. Looks like I'm going to have to go with the new 3700 model.
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Dec 17, 2010 01:37
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Does anyone have any experience with one of these? Seems like a good deal except there's only one memory slot.
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Dec 17, 2010 02:28
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Falco posted:Wow I would have never guessed walmart. It doesn't look like it's appearing on the site anymore. Looks like I'm going to have to go with the new 3700 model. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Acer-AR3610-U2002/14575793?wmlspartner=jXot6eVeYJg&sourceid=04287906020185104717 Try that link.
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Dec 17, 2010 03:22
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mattfl posted:http://www.walmart.com/ip/Acer-AR3610-U2002/14575793?wmlspartner=jXot6eVeYJg&sourceid=04287906020185104717 Wow apparently I lose at searching walmart. Thanks for pointing this out. Although the new 3700 model is the same price on Newegg, just out of stock right now.
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Dec 17, 2010 07:46
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Falco posted:Wow apparently I lose at searching walmart. Thanks for pointing this out. Although the new 3700 model is the same price on Newegg, just out of stock right now. I had to dig to find that link so don't worry.  Ya I noticed it was out of stock pretty much anywhere which is why I ordered it from walmart. Mostly instant gratification and all
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Dec 17, 2010 15:05
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Falco posted:Wow apparently I lose at searching walmart. Thanks for pointing this out. Although the new 3700 model is the same price on Newegg, just out of stock right now. At that price, I'd start thinking about that Zotac that FISHMAPNET posted a few posts ago... edit: Hmm, now I can't find it...maybe it was another thread? Anyway, you can get a more powerful Celeron system from Zotac for $400. It's worth a thought at least. Thermopyle fucked around with this message at 21:27 on Dec 17, 2010 |
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Dec 17, 2010 21:24
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Thermopyle posted:At that price, I'd start thinking about that Zotac that FISHMAPNET posted a few posts ago... Nope, it was this thread, just never linked it: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856173012 It's out of stock now, not sure if that's temporary or not. It's barebones, which means you'll need memory and a drive, and an OS. I'm going to run Linux, so the OS cost doesn't matter to me, but if you're going to use Windows, those Revos still look pretty good.
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Dec 18, 2010 02:16
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This year my gift to the house is a HTPC setup to go with the HD TV someone else is getting. Needs to be simple for the non techies to use once I get it set up. I'm looking at: Zotac MAG Intel Atom N330, NVIDIA ION, 2 GB DDR2, 160 GB HD, eSATA, HDMI HD-ND01-U Mini PC - No OS http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0030UH2J4/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER With this to use as a remote: IOGear Multimedia Keyboard with Laser Trackball and Scroll Wheel, 2.4GHz Wireless GKM561R (Black) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002H0BOBA/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER Will it be able to play high quality movies from a USB DVD player or HD? e: Specifically something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...92687212&sr=1-2 I have never tried to play video over USB so I just want to make sure it will actually work. Space Skeleton fucked around with this message at 16:48 on Dec 18, 2010 |
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Dec 18, 2010 16:35
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Yes, USB has enough bandwidth to handle blu-ray video so you will be fine.
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Dec 18, 2010 16:58
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So I'm getting a 3D TV (which evilalien knows because he answered like a zillion of my questions in the HDTV thread), and want to know what it would take to get my HTPC 3D capable. My specs: Core 2 Duo E6550 2gb DDR2 nForce 630i motherboard w/ GeForce 7150 Windows 7 64bit Obviously I would need a BluRay drive, first and foremost. If I got a new video card, would that take most of the processing off the CPU or would I need to upgrade the whole thing? I would probably toss another 2gb of RAM in just because I'll have the case open. I'm really hoping I won't need a whole new motherboard/cpu/etc. Unfortunately my receiver isn't HDMI 1.4 so I would need to run an HDMI cable directly to the TV and optical out to the receiver. Is it possible to rip the 3D BR movies I'll be buying and store them on my server for playback (preferably in XBMC but I'll take what I can get)? What are the file sizes like?
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Dec 18, 2010 19:29
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XBMC 10.0 (Dharma) was officially released over the weekend, so if you're like me and were holding out for the final build, go get you some: http://xbmc.org/theuni/2010/12/18/xbmc-10-0/
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Dec 21, 2010 21:20
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Peas and Rice posted:XBMC 10.0 (Dharma) was officially released over the weekend, so if you're like me and were holding out for the final build, go get you some: http://xbmc.org/theuni/2010/12/18/xbmc-10-0/ Just upgraded and it is really nice. Worth grabbing just because add-on/skin downloads don't take over the entire interface any longer.
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Dec 22, 2010 23:18
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I read a bit of this thread but I'm not certain if I can find/make a HTPC for my needs. I was hoping to get a HTPC that could interface with my 2 computers and 3 televisions. This includes TV playback, pause, and recording, along with music/video/etc. I want to be able to control the various TV's with remotes if possible. Am I insane? Does this exist? My budget is ~800, but lower is better.
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Dec 23, 2010 10:49
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