Proposed HTPC build; high end

[HyRax1]

Originally Posted by Darth Teddy Bär

I take it that there is little benefit to be gained building a HTPC over buying say an ASRock?

The ASRock is a surprisingly capable little machine. I have built all-in-one MythTV server/frontend boxes out of them for friends and clients and it works very well. Obviously in this instance your storage capabilities will be limited as the little box uses a single laptop HDD, not a regular HDD, but that doesn't stop you setting up external or network storage for it.

Originally Posted by Darth Teddy Bär

I presume MythTV does the auto commercial skipping?

Yes. By default the commercial skipping is off, but it's turned on with a simple preferences option. The commercial flagging jobs after a program is recorded are automatic.

More info about MythTV can be found in the OCAU MythTV Wiki.

if you need some inspiration, there's a list of members setups here including specs and some photos.

[Darth Teddy Bär]

Originally Posted by HyRax1

The ASRock is a surprisingly capable little machine. I have built all-in-one MythTV server/frontend boxes out of them for friends and clients and it works very well. Obviously in this instance your storage capabilities will be limited as the little box uses a single laptop HDD, not a regular HDD, but that doesn't stop you setting up external or network storage for it.

Starting at $334 (NO hard drive) all the way up to $1,200 they are costing more than I expected. While they do come in a great little package and I am sure they are a good unit, it feels like a lot of money for a closed off system compared to purchasing a computer such as the one above.

I have while re-evaluating thought that I might take the wife's Intel Core 2 Duo E840 as the base for the HTPC, give her my Intel Core2 Quad 9650 and upgrade my gear to a I5 or I7.

Originally Posted by HyRax1

Yes. By default the commercial skipping is off, but it's turned on with a simple preferences option. The commercial flagging jobs after a program is recorded are automatic.

More info about MythTV can be found in the OCAU MythTV Wiki.

if you need some inspiration, there's a list of members setups here including specs and some photos.

Thanks for the great links, it has been most helpful and I installed the Windows version of MythTV but need to work out why the MySQL is not connecting before I can evaluate. I might actually record commercial FTA if I can automatically skip ads, though probably not as they cancel shows at the drop of a hat all the time.

Excellent advice and very much appreciated.

Cheers,

Darth Teddy Bear

[HyRax1]

Originally Posted by Darth Teddy Bär

Starting at $334 (NO hard drive) all the way up to $1,200 they are costing more than I expected. While they do come in a great little package and I am sure they are a good unit, it feels like a lot of money for a closed off system compared to purchasing a computer such as the one above.

Well, you're paying for size. Have a look at Static Ice to see if you can find any better prices.

Remember, you only need to add RAM and a HDD for a complete working box.

Originally Posted by Darth Teddy Bär

I have while re-evaluating thought that I might take the wife's Intel Core 2 Duo E840 as the base for the HTPC, give her my Intel Core2 Quad 9650 and upgrade my gear to a I5 or I7.

Yep, the Core2Duo is more than adequate for a server.

Originally Posted by Darth Teddy Bär

Thanks for the great links, it has been most helpful and I installed the Windows version of MythTV but need to work out why the MySQL is not connecting before I can evaluate. I might actually record commercial FTA if I can automatically skip ads, though probably not as they cancel shows at the drop of a hat all the time.

Just be aware that the Windows version is nowhere near as up to date as the Linux version so you may experience bugs that no-one else is experiencing. If you have a spare scratch HDD, I highly recommend you try installing Ubuntu 10.04 and then MythTV. There's even a ready-to-go version called Mythbuntu which is essentially Ubuntu with MythTV pre-installed and configured (bar TV tuners and TV guide of course).

[samo]

another alternative to trying Myth TV is Mythbuntu which is an all-in-one install. Very easy to do.

You can try it out pretty much risk free by using Sun Micro's Virtual Box software and installing Myth onto a virtual machine by using the available iso images. Im not too competent when it comes to Linux so i find VB a useful tool for evaluating and testing things out in Linux.