2012-08-25, 23:18
I bought a new Panasonic Viera TC-P55ST50 TV back in April and built my first XBMC media center to go with it. I built it around a new Lian Li PC-C60 case and a GeForce GTX 560 video card. The other components were all old parts that I wasn't using. It came out even better than I thought it would and XBMC is infinitely better than any manufactured player or media center I could have bought. Now I want to build another one for the TV in the master bedroom.
While the main media center that I built in April is a full sized system with an ATX motherboard, case and power supply, I'd like any subsequent systems I build to be about the same size as a DVD player, approximately 17 x 14 x 4 inches, or smaller. I'll network mount the media from the main server so the only storage necessary will be a solid state drive for the OS and a DVD player. The OS will be Gentoo Linux so Blu-Ray disc playback will not be necessary. I rip my Blu-Rays on another machine and write them to the media center's filesystem.
I have three requirements for the new media center:
1. Analog composite outputs and Digital HDMI.
The TV it will connect to initially is an old 26" CRT TV with composite and coax inputs. At some point I'll replace it with a new 1080p HD TV. I'm assuming a cheap converter/adapter would probably work with a DVI-I or displayport video output port. I should be able to hardcode xorg.conf to output the correct resolution.
2. Size approximately 17 x 14 x 4 inches or smaller.
I want it to fit anywhere a DVD player would fit. If a really small, compact case would work with this motherboard that would be ok too as long as it has a place for a DVD drive and at least one front facing USB port.
3. Video hardware acceleration for smooth 1080p HD playback.
I'm running Linux and my understanding is that Nvidia VDPAU is currently the best solution. It's working perfectly on the system I've already built.
Here are the components I'm considering, any feedback would be much appreciated.
ZOTAC D2700-ITX WiFi Supreme [D2700ITXS-A-E] $184
http://www.zotacusa.com/zotac-d2700-wifi...s-a-e.html
http://downloads.zotac.com/mediadrivers/.../pa212.pdf
Wesena E5 Case $160
http://www.wesena.co.uk/product.php/7/3/e5
https://www.wesena.co.uk/downloads/manua...manual.pdf
picoPSU-160-XT $49.50
http://www.mini-box.com/picoPSU-160-XT
TEAC DV-W28SS-VM3 Slim-line SATA DVD $75
64GB Crucial m4 mSATA 6Gb/s SSD (CT064M4SSD3) $74
http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.a...T064M4SSD3
Crucial 4GB kit (2GBx2), 204-pin SODIMM, DDR3 PC3-8500 CT2KIT25664BC1067) $26
http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.a...5664BC1067
Dang, I'm almost up to $570. Don't want to compromise too much on the motherboard but would like to bring the price down some. Don't really see too many opportunities to trim costs though. Need a remote and was looking at the Pulse-Eight Motorola NYXboard Hybrid:
http://pulse-eight.com/store/products/96...ybrid.aspx
Not sure I need the keyboard on the back. I'm using an old ATI Remote Wonder on my current system and it works great without lirc. Something like that would be perfect. Would also like a solution that would let me power the system on and off but that's not very important as I will most likely leave it on all the time anyway.
Questions... I haven't found the height of the Zotac listed anywhere. I need to verify it will fit before springing for the case. Also, anybody have any thoughts on the power supply? Do I really need the 160/200 watt picoPSU-160-XT or will something with less wattage work? Since I'm not really sure I figured going with something with more power would be best. It's not much more than the others.
I'm looking forward to reading any feedback from the forum members. I've enjoyed reading the posts in this section, some of you have obviously built a few of these and I know I could benefit from your advise.
While the main media center that I built in April is a full sized system with an ATX motherboard, case and power supply, I'd like any subsequent systems I build to be about the same size as a DVD player, approximately 17 x 14 x 4 inches, or smaller. I'll network mount the media from the main server so the only storage necessary will be a solid state drive for the OS and a DVD player. The OS will be Gentoo Linux so Blu-Ray disc playback will not be necessary. I rip my Blu-Rays on another machine and write them to the media center's filesystem.
I have three requirements for the new media center:
1. Analog composite outputs and Digital HDMI.
The TV it will connect to initially is an old 26" CRT TV with composite and coax inputs. At some point I'll replace it with a new 1080p HD TV. I'm assuming a cheap converter/adapter would probably work with a DVI-I or displayport video output port. I should be able to hardcode xorg.conf to output the correct resolution.
2. Size approximately 17 x 14 x 4 inches or smaller.
I want it to fit anywhere a DVD player would fit. If a really small, compact case would work with this motherboard that would be ok too as long as it has a place for a DVD drive and at least one front facing USB port.
3. Video hardware acceleration for smooth 1080p HD playback.
I'm running Linux and my understanding is that Nvidia VDPAU is currently the best solution. It's working perfectly on the system I've already built.
Here are the components I'm considering, any feedback would be much appreciated.
ZOTAC D2700-ITX WiFi Supreme [D2700ITXS-A-E] $184
http://www.zotacusa.com/zotac-d2700-wifi...s-a-e.html
http://downloads.zotac.com/mediadrivers/.../pa212.pdf
Wesena E5 Case $160
http://www.wesena.co.uk/product.php/7/3/e5
https://www.wesena.co.uk/downloads/manua...manual.pdf
picoPSU-160-XT $49.50
http://www.mini-box.com/picoPSU-160-XT
TEAC DV-W28SS-VM3 Slim-line SATA DVD $75
64GB Crucial m4 mSATA 6Gb/s SSD (CT064M4SSD3) $74
http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.a...T064M4SSD3
Crucial 4GB kit (2GBx2), 204-pin SODIMM, DDR3 PC3-8500 CT2KIT25664BC1067) $26
http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.a...5664BC1067
Dang, I'm almost up to $570. Don't want to compromise too much on the motherboard but would like to bring the price down some. Don't really see too many opportunities to trim costs though. Need a remote and was looking at the Pulse-Eight Motorola NYXboard Hybrid:
http://pulse-eight.com/store/products/96...ybrid.aspx
Not sure I need the keyboard on the back. I'm using an old ATI Remote Wonder on my current system and it works great without lirc. Something like that would be perfect. Would also like a solution that would let me power the system on and off but that's not very important as I will most likely leave it on all the time anyway.
Questions... I haven't found the height of the Zotac listed anywhere. I need to verify it will fit before springing for the case. Also, anybody have any thoughts on the power supply? Do I really need the 160/200 watt picoPSU-160-XT or will something with less wattage work? Since I'm not really sure I figured going with something with more power would be best. It's not much more than the others.
I'm looking forward to reading any feedback from the forum members. I've enjoyed reading the posts in this section, some of you have obviously built a few of these and I know I could benefit from your advise.
