Thinking of a complete HTPC rework...massive post approaching...

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shocksyde

2[H]4U
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Jan 24, 2001
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This may be more of a "I need to write this down" kind of thing, but any suggestions would be most welcome. I realize this isn't a specialized HTPC forum, but smart people roam these hills and I'd like to pick some brains (Crimandevil, idversusego, valve1138, others: ASSEMBLE!)

First I'll just list what I have as of this moment:

1. Living room
- Athlon64 3800 Venice
- GeForce 7600GT
- 1GB DDR400 RAM
- Hauppauge 500MCE (SD tuner)
- Hauppauge 150MCE (SD tuner)
- SBlaster Audigy2 ZS
- DVD Burner
- (2) 320GB PATA HD (Media Storage)
- (1) 80GB PATA HD (Contains OS)
- Housed in purdy HTPC case
- Hooked up to Standard Def TV via s-video

2. Bedroom
- AthlonXP 3000+ 400fsb Barton
- 1.5GB DDR400 RAM
- Radeon 9600xt
- 80GB HD (OS, light media)
- Avermedia 180HD (ATSC HD tuner)
- USB Soundblaster NX
- Housed in Lian-Li midtower
- Hooked up to 17" LCD via DVI

I've been using Windows MCE without any major problems for a few months now. I'm satisified with the way it works. Except it doesn't allow for networking very well. Crazy filesharing and registry changes are needed to get things working, etc.

Recently I pieced together my Bedroom HTPC with spare parts and decided to give HD a go by getting the Avermedia card and an antenna. I couldn't get the Avermedia card to be recognized in MCE (I had one of the Hauppauge cards in there at the time). So I decided to give SageTV a whirl and everything worked great immediately. I also downloaded the client trial and put it on my laptop and could stream HD.

So, basically, I've decided SageTV is in my near future. Here's where the questions come in...

What would be my best setup using my current parts (plus a few additions)?

I'm thinking I should build a server. Should I take my Lian-Li case and put all tuners and all large format Hard Drives in it? I could install SageTV Server on it as well as have all my DirecTV boxes in the room with the server. The room is, coincidentally, the hub where the DirectTV is split to go all over the house.

This would enable me to continue using my Living Room setup and eventually add an HDTV. All I'd really have to do is install SageTV client, right? I'd also buy an additional HTPC case and use that for my bedroom.

Sooooooo....breathe.....here's what I'd end up with in my mind:

1. Living Room
- Everything in above setup minus the tuners and big Hard Drives
- New LCD tv

2. Server
- Lian Li Mid Tower
- 80GB Hard drive for OS/programs
- All big Hard Drives currently totalling 640GB (will buy a few more for 1TB+ of storage)
- All tuners (3 Hauppauge SD, 1 Avermedia HD, and most likely 2 more Avermedia HD)
- New mobo (most likely with integrated everything)
- Move 17" LCD into server room for upkeep/problems that arise
- Missing anything?

3. Bedroom
- New HTPC Case
- keep same vid card, memory, mobo, etc.
- New 20-24" LCD

So, as I said before, half of the purpose of this post was to spew my thoughts. If anyone has a similar setup or sees a gaping hole in my plan, please chime in.
 
Yep, go with the server approach.

Hardware wise everything looks fine.

I run a largish SageTV setup. I have my big server with 4 tuners and over 2 TB of storage and 6 clients. Some clients are HD capable and some arent. Sage works quite well, and version 6 has added quite a few new cool features.
 
One major question I forgot to ask...

I'll probably end up entering the dual-core scene (either intel or amd, undecided). Which computer would need to be the fastest? I'm guessing the server if it could potentially be running 6 tuners and 5 Hard drives at the same time. But then again, the other 2 HTPCs will be outputting HD video.
 
Just tuning in the channel and spitting it out to a client doesnt require much horsepower at all. My server is a P4 3.0 Ghz with 512MB of RAM.

My most powerful rig is in my home theater driving a 50" HDTV. It's an X2 3800+ with 2 gigs of RAM (overkill) and a 7600GT. Drives the TV at 1920 x 1080. Thats where you need the extra horseys, for decoding the video and actually putting it up on a TV. The server doesn't do that part, the client will.

The only time the server needs more power with Sage is when it's running the MediaMVP or Placeshifter client, thats when the server does the actual decoding of what you are watching. Otherwise the client would be doing that and not the server. Sage 6 also has some re-encoding features that would require more speed if you choose to use them. Like converting to DivX after the fact. Extra power will be good for that too.

But it really doesnt take much on the server side. Even with an HD tuner, or two or three.
 
ok, so maybe I should put either the athlon64 or the athlonxp in the server and put the dual core setup in my main client... good stuff, thanks valve (i have edited my original post to include you are an all-wise HTPCer :))
 
shocksyde said:
Crazy filesharing and registry changes are needed to get things working, etc.
Click to expand...

I'd like to ask what you mean by that? What problems with file sharing do you have?

My htpc running MCE2005 has no problem running the data from server, or even saving things to server. Are you unfamiliar with standard file sharing capabilities of windows ?

The only current issue I'm having trouble trying to figure out is a way to mount .iso's as DVD directly through mce2005. :)

I've got ~ 300 cached video disks in .iso format on my server that I'd like to be able to play as seamlessly as I do mp3s. Hate the concept of having to convert *.* to .WMV
 
sorry, i wasn't very specific.

i was referring to getting recorded tv shows to show up and play on other computers. it was a complete hastle. also, MCE doesn't have client/server options. these points are driving my decision.

don't get me wrong, i love mce. i've even got the mce theme installed on sage :)
 
shocksyde said:
sorry, i wasn't very specific.

i was referring to getting recorded tv shows to show up and play on other computers. it was a complete hastle. also, MCE doesn't have client/server options. these points are driving my decision.

don't get me wrong, i love mce. i've even got the mce theme installed on sage :)
Click to expand...

Sent you a pm regarding this. I think you are making things too hard on yourself.
 
I don't think I'm being too hard on myself. I don't want to settle for something if I'm not completely happy with it.

Like I said before, I love MCE, but it has a few drawbacks (only to certain people in certain situations though).

I'm not trying to sound argumentative, hopefully I don't.
 
MCE is nice but the client/server side for it really sucks which is why I've stuck with SageTV.
 
another question...

would i regret not wiring ethernet to all the computers? my wireless connection in my room is already low as it is, i'm thinking the video will be choppy.
 
If you can run wires, do it. It's much more reliable. I highly reccommend it.

You can get by with wireless but if you're already having problems with it pull some cable.

And at this point you can pick up 5 port GigE switches for cheap, so i'd do that along with some Cat 5e cable.

Plus, one tip with Sage. Assign all the HTPC's and the server a static IP. It irons out some occasional wierdness when the DHCP lease is renewed.
 
Yeah i already have everything on a static IP. Thanks for the suggestions.

I'm unsure if I'll be able to run cable myself, I'm in a basement that has drop ceilings but there are support beams that may cause problems. Maybe when we have DirecTV here in the near future I'll throw him a little cash to run Cat5e cable with the coaxial.

My wireless router is currently in the "server room" which is pretty much built with cinderblocks, so that can't be helping anything. I'll move it to a more central location and see if it helps (it should).
 
I like the server approach, and I also like MCE on my front-end machine. Here's my hybrid solution.

Server - WinXP with (4) 250GB HD's for storing music and ripped DVD's

Client - MCE with a 40GB HD for OS and a 500GB drive for recorded TV. I kept the tuner cards in the client machine.

Based on my understanding - you are correct that you cannot record to a network drive from MCE. If someone has a workaround I'd love to hear it.

Sounds like you'll have a great setup either way. Peace,

DE
 
if you go to thegreenbutton's forums I believe they've figured out how to record to a network drive.
 
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