[fshagan]

I have finished my HTPC build, using the helpful guidance of many here (thanks, guys!) My specific needs were to stream music, pictures and videos from my Windows Home Server with an interface easier to use than the WDTV-Live I had purchased. xbmc certainly fits the bill in terms of interface.

I ran ethernet cable to my still-in-progress entertainment niche, painted the interior of it black, and starting putting my new 55" Samsung TV, legacy DVD/VCR player, and Onkyo AV receiver in it. The HTPC makes the system complete (for now).

Besides the ability to stream the content, I wanted the system to do it quietly without a large power consumption curve. Low noise and low power meant I was looking toward a passively cooled system if possible.

Components:
Zotac IONITX-B-E motherboard, Atom N230 processor with Nvidia graphics
Antec MI-008 Mini-Itx Case
2 GB RAM
LG DVD Drive
WD Scorpio Blue WD800BEVT 80 GB 2.5" HDD

SilentPC Review had a good article on the Antec MI-008 case, and I found it for $40 with free shipping from Amazon.com. The case is well made, and the included power supply is very quiet; so far it has never ramped up to full speed. While some of the reviews of this case say the power supply blows hot air onto the processor heat sink, it actually pulls air from that area and exhausts it out the back. The LG DVD drive does make some noise when spinning, so I used 1/16" foam to line the DVD slide rails to help isolate vibration:



The Antec MI-008 includes quite a bit of wiring for such a small case. I didn't want to cut any of the PSU cables in case of future expansion, but figured I could clean things up by using shorter sata cables:



Airflow was an issue for me to keep the case quiet, so the shorter sata cables do seem to help. These black sata cables are 10" long:



Continued ...

[fshagan]

My quest for reducing vibration and noise led me to use pink anti-static foam as a carrier to fit the 2.5" HDD in the 3.5" drive tray. The foam is stiff enough to hold the drive nicely. You'll note these pics were taken before the sata cables were replaced. The hole in the foam allows air from the bottom:



The HDD nests nicely in the foam, and is very quiet indeed:



My test burn in of the system showed the drive never to exceed 120°F, well within the specs for the drive.

I had started with a full install of Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid with xbmc, configured it and moved it to the family room. But I found that most of my configuration with the LCD monitor in my den had to be redone. So I installed xbmc-Live and allowed it to create a separate partiition on the drive, and restarted configuration. My work continues on the entertainment center, with an archway and trim going in this weekend (I hope) and doors on the cavities you see below it. But first, the Antec MI-008 in the equipment bay:



I'll need to add some blocking material to make the wiring, etc. behind the bay disappear, but it will all work out. The entire entertainment center area is pictured here, in all its unfinished and "gawd, what a mess" glory:



I can control the system using my Harmony 300 remote, Harmony 880 remote, and Lenovo wireless mini-keyboard. There are still some configuration issues with the remotes, but its getting there.

One small disappointment: the Zotac motherboard does not "wake from USB", so after it is put into "suspend" mode, you have to press the front power button to reawaken xbmc.

Thanks to the devs, and all the support from the forum members. We are really enjoying xbmc.

[Hannes The Hun]

nice system, but I'd have gone with the intel X25-V 40GB drive instead, working beautifully fast and of course completely noiseless in my foxconn netbox

for your wake-on-USB problem, there's a lot of how-to's in the net, e.g. http://www.minimyth.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2524

[fshagan]

I looked at solid state drives, but decided against it due to cost. The Intel X25-V 40GB is about $125, and I paid about $30 for my 2.5" drive on sale. Still, I'll keep an eye out for an inexpensive SSD if I ever actually hear anything from the HDD. So far, it has been silent.

I'll have to check the mobo for the J3 jumper. I may have the older version without the jumper (can't remember now if I checked). Edit: yeah, my mobo is one of the older ones and does not have the J3 jumper to make it resume on USB activity.

[poofyhairguy]

Have a rig similar to this, really like yours. Love the rest of the kit.

I second getting an SSD one day. When it boots in 15 secs you don't care that it doesn't sleep properly anymore.

[jmarshall]

I'm intrigued as to the purpose of the cavities below the entertainment centre?

[fshagan]

Have a rig similar to this, really like yours. Love the rest of the kit.

I second getting an SSD one day. When it boots in 15 secs you don't care that it doesn't sleep properly anymore.

You were one of the inspirations for the build; I was hoping I could stream standard def with it without adding a fan.

It resumes pretty quickly even with the HDD and having to push the power button, but I'll keep an eye on the SSD prices and grab one when the time is right.

[fshagan]

I'm intrigued as to the purpose of the cavities below the entertainment centre?

We will be adding beadboard paneling 38" or 40" high in the room, and the cavities will have doors. Inside, there will be drawers at the top for remotes, cables, CDs, etc. There is power available in the left niche for remotes or other things that need to charge. We have about 100 DVDs and several VHS tapes (as well as VHS-C tapes with our kids on them), so below the drawers will be shelves.

[magnetik]

Well done, that's a great looking final setup.

[poofyhairguy]

What remote are you using? That setup begs for a Harmony...

[fshagan]

What remote are you using? That setup begs for a Harmony...

I'm using both a Harmony 300 and 880; my wife prefers the button layout of the 300 but configuring it is a bit harder. Its more of a "mode" style remote like our Dish Network remote ... press the device button, and you control that device ... rather than the activity-based 880 where you send strings of commands to do a task. I was able to assign the discrete codes for the HDMI input to the programmable "Favorite Channel" buttons on the 300 by learning them from my 880, so the process is to press the device button, then the number 1 button, and you are on the right input for that device. My HTPC and xbmc replaces my old WDTV-Live and Roku Soundbridge (used for local radio stations streaming on the Internet), so the 300 can control all my AV gear now.

The issue I have right now is that I'm using the Harmony remotes to emulate a Streamzap PC remote. I first tried using the Streamzap IRUSB2 receiver to take "MicroSoft Media Center" commands from the Harmony but it doesn't work very well at all ... I have read that the IR receiver can make a difference. Streamzap is one of the choices when you configure lirc, and I have the key mappings for it in lircd that I found here, but the fast forward, rewind and skip buttons really don't work well ... the display remains at about double speed when dropping back to "Play". Right now, the work-around is using the software control keys at the top of the screen when I press "Menu" on the remote. I may spring for a MCE compatible IR receiver to see if I can get the final kinks worked out.

This weekend I trimmed out the large area so it looks better already. Still a lot to do, but at least we are enjoying seeing our photos on the TV, watching movies and playing our music.

[poofyhairguy]

Very interesting about how she prefers the lessor Harmony. For my wife-to-be she much prefers much 69x Harmony because of its activity buttons. I tell her "Hit this button and this activity will happen, and the controls will control the device for the activity" and she silently enjoys that the Harmony does all the hard work. Interesting to hear someone prefers the opposite- that might temper my Harmony enthusiasm a little bit.

Just a little though!

By the way, here is the IR receiver I use for both my Harmony's/XBMC frontends:

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=...B+Receiver

[fshagan]

I think its the number of buttons, their size and complexity that bothers her about the 880:



The small buttons alongside each image in the LCD, the small play, pause, etc. buttons, and the general layout is hard to get used to; I suspect that if I had bought a 69x version, the better button layout would make her a believer.

I have both the 300 and 880 programmed, and can use either one now, but the HP IR receivers you link to are pretty cheap, some as low as $9.99 with free shipping. Are the ones certified for Vista, model # 5070-2584, suitable? The only thing I can find Googling them is that they work fine with Windows Vista MCE, but not with XP. That shouldn't be a problem with my xbmc-Live install, should it?

[poofyhairguy]

That shouldn't be a problem with my xbmc-Live install, should it?

Nope. They work out of the box with LIRC in XBMC Live.

[Hannes The Hun]

By the way, here is the IR receiver I use for both my Harmony's/XBMC frontends:

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=...B+Receiver

huge MoFo's but actually the best you can get: RC6 protocol, native MCE support, works with XBMC&Harmony&LirC out-of-the-box

I recommend these HP OEM receivers all the time