Media Player/Streamer to HTPC
#1
Hi All,

Current setup:
I am using a few popcorn hour media players and my plan is to move over to xbmc. I have had a few issues with each of the players in the last few months and i hope an HTPC will solve most of the issues.

- Sluggish Movie Wall, it is very slow when navigating through the video jukebox
- Scrapper. It takes an average of 30mins to complete a full scan. A simple scenario is when i add a tv episode to the server and run the app which updates my jukebox, I have to wait 30 mins to see the update in the video jukebox, compared to XBMC which would probably take a couple of seconds.
- Random Reboots. I am forced to reboot each player at least 5 times a week
- Grouping Movies. XBMC's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G70w6dGcY8 looks good and more importantly, easier to set up

I'll start with the bedroom player and see if it meets my expectations. If it does, i'll probably replace all PCHs with HTPCs. I have previously owned pre-built systems & Apple TV with XMBC installed but i did not enjoy the experience. Recently, i was checking out some of the features from the latest XBMC 12.0 Frodo release and i would like to give XBMC another try

Before i go ahead and start the build, i will like to confirm all this will be possible:

1 - Full Web Browser for live video streaming
2 - Support DTS-HD MA / Dolby TrueHD files
3 - Streaming Video from unRAID server and smooth video playback via HDMI.
- 1080p MKVs with DTS and HD Audio
- Full BD - ISO & BDMV Folder Structure
- 3D ISO & 3D SBS
4 - Online streaming apps - iPlayer and Netflix
5 - Full BD Menu Support -- I am not really fussy about this one but would be nice to have. I believe i'll need a bluray drive?
6 - Streaming Music from server - Mp3 & Flac
7 - Controlled by Harmony One Remote


Thanks to eskro's thread, i have put together a possible list of parts but i am not entirely sure they're all compatible with each other:

Motherboard AsRock A75M-ITX Motherboard - £68
CPU AMD Llano A6-3500 Tri-Core Processor with Integrated AMD Radeon HD, 6530D Graphics and Socket FM1 - £50
SSD SanDisk 64GB 2.5 inch Solid State Drive - £48
Memory Kingston hyperX 1600MHz DDR3 Non ECC CL9 BLU 4GB DIMM Memory Module - £22
Cooler Akasa Viper High Performance S-Flow 12cm Fan - £12
Case CiT Mini ITX Case with 300W PSU - Shiny Piano Black - £30

Total £230

Any suggestions on the parts?

Lastly, which OS would work best? I'm currently leaning towards Win7

Thanks
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#2
A6-3500 is tried and true here. Look for "A6-PACK" in the threads.

>2 - Support DTS-HD MA / Dolby TrueHD files

For A6-3500, only Windows will support this.

>5 - Full BD Menu Support -- I am not really fussy about this one but would be nice to have. I believe i'll need a bluray drive?

You will need a commercial player such as PowerDVD or TMT to get this. If you can live without menus and rip your blu-ray discs to MKV, XBMC can play them.

>7 - Controlled by Harmony One Remote

Don't forget to add an IR receiver -- you'll need an external one for the case you've chosen unless you mod it.
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#3
(2013-03-07, 19:00)tboggie Wrote: 1 - Full Web Browser for live video streaming
2 - Support DTS-HD MA / Dolby TrueHD files
3 - Streaming Video from unRAID server and smooth video playback via HDMI.
- 1080p MKVs with DTS and HD Audio
- Full BD - ISO & BDMV Folder Structure
- 3D ISO & 3D SBS
4 - Online streaming apps - iPlayer and Netflix
5 - Full BD Menu Support -- I am not really fussy about this one but would be nice to have. I believe i'll need a bluray drive?
6 - Streaming Music from server - Mp3 & Flac
7 - Controlled by Harmony One Remote

Lastly, which OS would work best? I'm currently leaning towards Win7

Thanks
Windows might be the only choice to fulfill all your requirements above. You'll need to setup external player (TMT/PDVD) to get full BD menu. Since I like to replay movies over the network all the time, I cannot live without full menu. I use TMT5 as external player, and ISO is the best file for this.....you can find more information on it here- Another External Player Code, but Very Simple to Setup.....
>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
Reply
#4
(2013-03-07, 19:21)Dougie Fresh Wrote: A6-3500 is tried and true here. Look for "A6-PACK" in the threads.

>2 - Support DTS-HD MA / Dolby TrueHD files

For A6-3500, only Windows will support this.

>5 - Full BD Menu Support -- I am not really fussy about this one but would be nice to have. I believe i'll need a bluray drive?

You will need a commercial player such as PowerDVD or TMT to get this. If you can live without menus and rip your blu-ray discs to MKV, XBMC can play them.

>7 - Controlled by Harmony One Remote

Don't forget to add an IR receiver -- you'll need an external one for the case you've chosen unless you mod it.

Just searched "A6-PACK" and i can see i have so many thread to go through. Thanks for this, hopefully i'll find a better setup that i originally planned

(2013-03-07, 21:36)bluray Wrote:
(2013-03-07, 19:00)tboggie Wrote: 1 - Full Web Browser for live video streaming
2 - Support DTS-HD MA / Dolby TrueHD files
3 - Streaming Video from unRAID server and smooth video playback via HDMI.
- 1080p MKVs with DTS and HD Audio
- Full BD - ISO & BDMV Folder Structure
- 3D ISO & 3D SBS
4 - Online streaming apps - iPlayer and Netflix
5 - Full BD Menu Support -- I am not really fussy about this one but would be nice to have. I believe i'll need a bluray drive?
6 - Streaming Music from server - Mp3 & Flac
7 - Controlled by Harmony One Remote

Lastly, which OS would work best? I'm currently leaning towards Win7

Thanks
Windows might be the only choice to fulfill all your requirements above. You'll need to setup external player (TMT/PDVD) to get full BD menu. Since I like to replay movies over the network all the time, I cannot live without full menu. I use TMT5 as external player, and ISO is the best file for this.....you can find more information on it here- Another External Player Code, but Very Simple to Setup.....


Thanks bluray, i'll probably go with win7 OS and also check out the link above for menu setup
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#5
(2013-03-07, 22:20)tboggie Wrote: Just searched "A6-PACK" and i can see i have so many thread to go through. Thanks for this, hopefully i'll find a better setup that i originally planned

You've pretty much got it, just with a different case which is perfectly fine. Which CIT case is it? If it's the one I am thinking, that one only uses an 80mm fan at the back while you have a 120mm listed.
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#6
(2013-03-07, 22:23)Dougie Fresh Wrote:
(2013-03-07, 22:20)tboggie Wrote: Just searched "A6-PACK" and i can see i have so many thread to go through. Thanks for this, hopefully i'll find a better setup that i originally planned

You've pretty much got it, just with a different case which is perfectly fine. Which CIT case is it? If it's the one I am thinking, that one only uses an 80mm fan at the back while you have a 120mm listed.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0064...ROKL5A1OLE

You're right, what do you suggest replace the fan with a 80mm fan or go with a case with 120mm?
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#7
OK so after reading a few more threads and getting some advice, i have updated the original parts list.

Just before i go ahead and order, i would like to confirm all parts are compatible or if i need to make any change

AsRock FM2A75M-ITX Motherboard - £66.23
AMD A6 5400K Black Edition CPU - £51.15
SanDisk 64GB 2.5 inch Solid State Drive - £47.06
Kingston 1600MHz DDR3 Non ECC CL9 4GB Kit (2x 2GB) HyperX BLU DIMM Memory Module - £25.13
Zalman 80mm Silent Case Fan -£4.75
CiT Mini ITX Case with 300W PSU - Shiny Piano Black - £31.99

Total - £225
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#8
I decided to get a remote GMYLE® Windows 7 IR MCE PC Remote Control - £13 and program the harmony to use the Microsoft / Media Center device
Any good? If not, i will appreciate suggestions
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#9
Finally, the build was complete last week. Well, it is not fully complete. I'm still customizing and going through my to do list. I literally spent the whole weekend configuring the HTPC. I still have it connected to the pc monitor and won't move it till the whole setup is complete. I have not tried the HD audio & ISO/BDMV movies yet but i have tested all other video files which played straight away.
The PQ is ok but i was expecting more, guess i still have some tweaking to do. In Regards to the PQ, will adding a bluray drive and PowerDVD result in a better PQ?


Thanks to Dougie Fresh & bluray for your suggestions in this thread, Beer40oz for the original "A6-PACK" and to the whole XBMC community, thank you all for all your hard work


Here is the kit list and some pictures of the build

AsRock FM2A75M-ITX Motherboard
AMD A6 5400K Black Edition CPU
SanDisk 64GB 2.5 inch Solid State Drive
Corsair CMV4GX3M2A1333C9 2 x 2GB DDR3
Zalman 80mm Silent Case Fan
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GMYLE® Windows 7 IR MCE PC Remote Control
Windows 7


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#10
Congratulation on your new HTPC!

If you haven't done it, you might want to download the latest AMD driver "Graphics Drivers & Software" and then start off by disable everyting in AMD CCC Video Quality other than "Enforce smooth playback".....
>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
Reply

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