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First HTPC
#16
Thanks!!!

I will go with server option 1.

But for the intel HTPC suggestion(s): why did you add RAM and SSD to the NUC? Doesnt the NUC have everything it already needs to operate? Isnt that the whole point of a barebone PC?

(2014-04-09, 17:11)00b5 Wrote: How many HTPC do you want to have in the end? Do you have a few TVs that you'll want to have media at?

Since you also noted that you are going to get the source files on one computer, and then move them to the HTPC, I'd just setup a NAS and store it there.

That allows you to be able to access it from multiple places/devices/etc down the road.

Do you want to do 3D and other stuff like that?


I don't like having the media on the HTPC anymore, I like having them seperated. Having wired 1000MB from the server to all the clients (which are all 100MB) is great.

I only want one HTPC.

No, I don't need 3D because my TV doesn't support it and I don't game. I just want this to watch TV shows and movies.

Yes, I like the wires gigabit client/server idea but the problem is that I'm limited because my home doesn't have built-in ethernet connectivity. And someone suggested outting the NAS near my desktop PC since that's where the router is but then won't that be loud while watching TV? From the video I posted, you can see that the router and desktop PC are still within the same room.
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#17
(2014-04-09, 17:33)Solidify Wrote: Thanks!!!

I will go with server option 1.

But for the intel HTPC suggestion(s): why did you add RAM and SSD to the NUC? Doesnt the NUC have everything it already needs to operate? Isnt that the whole point of a barebone PC?

You have to buy RAM and SSD seperate. If you plan to install OpenELEC on your htpc, you can replace the SSD with a flash drive and save some money.
Installation is easy. See here
Image
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#18
(2014-04-09, 17:14)Solidify Wrote: Ok. I like your setup. But I have problem with the way mine is set up. My home is not networked and my TV isnt wireless. Right now I have a single 20 foot CAT5E cable neatly routed to the back of my TV. The other end of the canle is plugged into my wireless router.

Thank you for the build list. I will go through it.

However, can you kindly see the 2nd attached video in the OP and suggest me what you would do if you had my setup?
For streaming Blu-ray movie and transfer large Blu-ray file, wire network is the best. I'm assuming that you already have a desktop PC connected to router. You can simply set up a home network after you built a new HTPC, and then you can share/transfer/stream Blu-ray file between your desktop PC and HTPC.....

If you want to connect a new HTPC and HDTV using the existing CAT5E (currently connected to HDTV), you can buy this "TP-LINK TL-SG1005D 10/100/1000Mbps 5-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch, 10Gbps Capacity". The switch will give you extra ports to connect both HTPC and HDTV and other devices too...
>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
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#19
Ok. I will try openelec. Can you suggest me the ram modules for the NUC?

And can you suggest me the component for the NAS? I already have 2 x 3TB drives and 1 x 500GB drive (both SATA).

The sooner the better please since that NUC is 47% off I wanna but it right away.

Thanks for all your help!

Bluray, i think im just going to put the server/NAS besides my desktop PC and connect it to the router. Then im
gonna use the ethernet cable thats plugged into the tv and remove it and plug it into the htpc instead. And then cknnect the htpc to my tv with hdmi.

That seems the least expensive way to link everything up.
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#20
A low-end Celeron, like in my sig - Celeron G1610 with a power efficient motherboard like the ASRock B75 Pro3-M, for example, with 6 S-ATA ports. As for RAM, 2 GB is enough, if you want to use e.g. ZFS though, you need more (1 GB per physical disk, besides actual OS RAM usage, seems to be recommended).

As an alternative you could also turn your desktop into a server (and combine both tasks).

As for the NUC, the smallest module you can get is enough (I think that's going to be 2 GB). The Amazon link for the NUC also lists a 2 GB DDR3 module from Crucial at the bottom, you can't do much wrong with that (Crucial is a good brand). If you want to run the new Aeon Nox, it will run fine on the Celeron NUC, but if you want to run a heavy skin like Aeon Nox 4 (which is being/has been ported to Gotham) you might want to go for an i3 for a responsive interface (sorry, I overlooked your heavy skin requirement).

As for a switch, 10 Gbit sure looks nice, but for a small home network it's overkill. Blu-Ray is rated at 45 Mbps (yes), Fast Ethernet is 100 Mbps, Gigabit 1000 Mbps... Even 4K with its more efficient codec will most certainly not use more than a regular gigabit network can provide. That being said, I need to meet the first TV that supports 10 gigabit Ethernet as well... Actually, most TVs just use SoCs (like set-top boxes), and those routinely have Fast Ethernet. Not even Gigabit.
* MikroTik RB5009UG+S+IN :: ZyXEL GS1900-8HP v1 :: EAP615-Wall v1 :: Netgear GS108T v3 running OpenWrt 23.05
* LibreELEC 11:  HTPC Gigabyte Brix GB-BXA8-5545 with CEC adapter, Sony XR-64A84K :: Desktop AMD Ryzen 7 5800X / Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon 6700XT  / 27" Dell U2717D QHD
* Debian Bookworm x86_64: Celeron G1610, NFS/MariaDB/ZFS server
* Blog
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#21
(2014-04-09, 18:13)Solidify Wrote: Bluray, i think im just going to put the server/NAS besides my desktop PC and connect it to the router. Then im
gonna use the ethernet cable thats plugged into the tv and remove it and plug it into the htpc instead. And then cknnect the htpc to my tv with hdmi.

That seems the least expensive way to link everything up.
The least expensive build is a single HTPC. If you don't have a huge collection of Blu-ray discs to backup, a single HTPC with multiple big drives in it is very sufficient. A NAS will add extra cost, extra box by the TV, extra wires, etc. I used to have a NAS, and I sold it. My wife used to hate my NAS box. I found out that HTPC with multiple hard drives is all I needs....
>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
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#22
I use an all in one HTPC. It doubles as the server for my entire house as well. Unless the disks are being accessed they won't make noise, and in my opinion unless you are sitting right on top of it you shouldn't hear it anyway. Unless you have a dedicated room, the ambient noise around you is probably louder.
The box I built for my parents has three hard drives in it with two of them being older drives and the only thing you hear is the gpu fan which I have to change. Even before I installed the gpu you never heard anything. Fans are what you are going to notice the most which is why people like to go compact or fanless. I used a Silverstone gd06 case and upgraded the fans and cooler on my AMD A10 and you only hear it if your directly next to it. And even then it's not loud.

Now for your network. Is the basement below you? Have you ever thought about going under the floor instead of around the wall?
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#23
Well if i decide to go with a HTPC doubling as the NAS i cant use a NUC and need to built the htpc.
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#24
Lazer can you list me your htpc specs.. The one you just spoke about. I already have 2 x 3tb drives that I'll put in it to save costs
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#25
(2014-04-09, 20:42)Solidify Wrote: Lazer can you list me your htpc specs.. The one you just spoke about. I already have 2 x 3tb drives that I'll put in it to save costs
The hardware's I listed in post #12 should be fine. You can opt for Quad-Core A8 " AMD A8-6500 Richland 4.1GHz Socket FM2 65W Quad-Core Desktop Processor" to get more power for multi-task....
>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
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#26
And would i need a dedicated graphics card or would the onboard suffice to run heavy skins like aeon nox?
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#27
The graphics card is built into the AMD A-Series Processors. The A8-6500 has the Radeon HD 8570D built in and the A6-6400 has the Radeon HD 8470D. My setup is way overbuild. You would be fine with what bluray recommended. I built mine with an A10 with is overkill.
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#28
And what if I wanted to put my HTPC hard drives into a RAID array to prevent data loss? I know it's trivial to backup media that can be easily re-downloaded from the web but when it gets to the point of having terabytes of data, regardless of whether you can re-download it, this can be a nightmare. What about you guys that have terabytes of data on your HTPC drives (i.e.: TV shows and movies), is it all backed up somehow?

Would I need a RAID card for the HTPC? Could I use Windows 8' drive pooling feature? Will Windows 8's software raid suffice?
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#29
(2014-04-09, 22:08)Solidify Wrote: And would i need a dedicated graphics card or would the onboard suffice to run heavy skins like aeon nox?
The benefit of using AMD APU is not having to use a discrete GPU. The Radeon™ HD 8570D iGPU in A8-6500 should be able to handle Blu-ray movie with ease, including games too. You can find the complete spec in this link- AMD Quad-Core A8-Series APU for Desktops.....
>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
Reply
#30
(2014-04-09, 22:46)Solidify Wrote: And what if I wanted to put my HTPC hard drives into a RAID array to prevent data loss? I know it's trivial to backup media that can be easily re-downloaded from the web but when it gets to the point of having terabytes of data, regardless of whether you can re-download it, this can be a nightmare. What about you guys that have terabytes of data on your HTPC drives (i.e.: TV shows and movies), is it all backed up somehow?

Would I need a RAID card for the HTPC? Could I use Windows 8' drive pooling feature? Will Windows 8's software raid suffice?

Mine might not be what people consider ideal, but Its how I've always backed up my data in the past, and I'm not at the point yet where I'm using several hard drives for my media. For each drive I have that stores data I have an identical sized one the is the backup. Once a week (or longer depending on how frequently I add stuff, my movies drive is about every 2 weeks to a month, my personal files are once a week) i plug them in to the computer (my HTPC case has two hot swap bays) and use Microsoft SyncToy to mirror the drives. After they are synced, they go into a waterproof/fireproof safe. RAIDs are ok, but if someone breaks in and steals your stuff or if you loose your home to a fire or flood you've lost everything. At least using the safe, my files will be protected. I'm using Windows 8 but haven't tried the drive pooling feature yet because I'm still on single drives for each drive for their purposes.
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