Looking for HTPC advice

[Nova Phoenix]

- The potential HTPC would only be playing ISOs of DVDs.
- It must be rather cool and just as quiet, if not more, during operation.
- It would be connected to a Plasma capable of 1080p.

Any advice? I'm sick of crappy media player devices that don't work correctly, whether it be not correcting 4:3 ratios or black-screening at startup.

Thus, I want a HTPC.

[ShaneHm2]

A few questions:

- Budget.
- Do you need or want to be able to playback bluray movies (from the disk).
- Storage capacity.
- You wanting it small.

[Nova Phoenix]

- Under $1K
- no thanks
- I own a 2TB external HDD so that is covered for the foreseeable future
- preferably

[RyoSaeba]

A m-itx solution with i3 CPU will be fine. Install XBMC for front end.

That's what I have running now and it's perfect for everything i've thrown at it.

Here's what I use :

Case: Lian Li Q07
Cpu : Intel i3 550
HSF : Thermalright AXP140 (without fan)
Mobo: GA-H55N-USB3
RAM : TEAM DDR3 4GB Kit (2x2)
PSU : Coolermaster Silent Pro 600 Modular
HDD : 30GB Kingston SSD
VID : ATI 5450 Passive Graphics Card

It's pretty much completely silent. Very discrete. You can choose other cases if this one doesn't take your fancy. Reason why I chose it, is because it has a small foot print. All my media are stored on the server so I don't need large HDD on this machine. It's just a front end.

[samo]

The ASUS S1-AT5NM10E Barebone System should do the trick. Just add some memory and even an ssd perhaps.

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?...ducts_id=16051

[RyoSaeba]

I had an Atom/Ion system just before I built the i3. Although it would play 1080 and ISO fine, it's not as snappy. And you have to do a fair bit of fiddling with codecs n stuff to get it to play some files. Will not play 1080p flash file or 3D 1080P Full size SBS mkv. XBMC will not play 1080P at all. Since you have the budget, I'd advise you to stay away from Atom/ion combo, stick to i3.

[Fishface]

I'd wait a few weeks and get a Sandy bridge i3 2100 with an LGA1155 MB.

[Nova Phoenix]

I've been using my notebook (Asus N61JV model) as a HTPC recently. Thus far it has performed quite well in this function. XBMC is the program I'm using and it outputs to my 50" 1080p plasma TV very well. Will continue to monitor...

On the subject of remote controls, what would be a really good one to use for controlling the operation of XBMC on the notebook?

[RyoSaeba]

For remote, perhaps one of the Logitech Harmony? Personally I prefer my Logitech Dinovo Edge keyboard.

[Nova Phoenix]

Thanks Ryo.

1) Would it be worth it to convert the DVDs to H264 MKVs, or just keep them as uncompressed ISOs?
2) With Avatar, it is spread over 2 discs. How could I merge the separate ISOs so they become one?
3) With certain movies, like Die Another Day, how can I integrate subtitles into the movie file? With DAD, the English subs display everything, instead of just the translation for the Korean audio. I've got a .srt that would display only subs for Korean translation, just need to know how to insert them into the movie itself.

[fist4jesus]

If your only requirements are those as stated. My sugestion is as follows.
Try another media player, but not a shit one?

I have:

popcorn hour A110.
Modded xbox 1. Xbmc
WDlive.
Seagate media player.
HTPC. Xbmc.

I'd suggest the Seagate, $89 at office works, plays everything, nice interface, LOW power consumption compared to a pc, no fans, small, lan port.

[RyoSaeba]

Originally Posted by Nova Phoenix

Thanks Ryo.

1) Would it be worth it to convert the DVDs to H264 MKVs, or just keep them as uncompressed ISOs?
2) With Avatar, it is spread over 2 discs. How could I merge the separate ISOs so they become one?
3) With certain movies, like Die Another Day, how can I integrate subtitles into the movie file? With DAD, the English subs display everything, instead of just the translation for the Korean audio. I've got a .srt that would display only subs for Korean translation, just need to know how to insert them into the movie itself.

1. if you have the storage space, just leave it as ISO. XBMC works fine with DVD ISO. If you have plenty of time, doesn't hurt to convert them.

2. You can queue them in XBMC or google how you can merge them.

3. I've never done it myself, but you can definitely add custom sub to DVD. It's a pain in the ass though, as you will probably need to do some manual timing. Friend of mine did it before. Google adding custom Sub to DVD, might get you some result.

As for trying out other media player, yes there are some good ones like popcorn hour, but even then, they don't play everything like a good HTPC would. I know for a fact that popcorn hour had problem playing back subtitle on one of the video that I have, and PC works fine. Media players are great if all your files are in a certain format. But when you get some weirder files format or newer format, they have problem playing back. There may be firmware updates, but it means you'll have to wait for the manufacturers to update that if they ever.

As I said before, if you have the budget, go i3. There's no comparison. Nothing will be able to beat it in terms of flexibility and functionality.

[Nova Phoenix]

I'm leaving it at ISO format. I figured out how to make the subs behave themselves (ie. Die Another Day), so it should be fine now. Got 2 terabytes to fill up!

[Oblong Cheese]

Originally Posted by fist4jesus

If your only requirements are those as stated. My sugestion is as follows.
Try another media player, but not a shit one?

I have:

popcorn hour A110.
Modded xbox 1. Xbmc
WDlive.
Seagate media player.
HTPC. Xbmc.

I'd suggest the Seagate, $89 at office works, plays everything, nice interface, LOW power consumption compared to a pc, no fans, small, lan port.

Definitely this.

These things are cheap and do what you want. Any kind of PC is overkill for playing DVD ISO files.

FYI for all those saying Atom isn't fast enough for 1080p etc, surely your system was not configured properly? Atom 1.6Ghz dual-core and an Ion or better graphics card is really all you need for a HTPC. If it's doing other things at the same time (media streaming, file server, etc etc) then yes go for C2D/i3.

[RyoSaeba]

Originally Posted by Oblong Cheese

FYI for all those saying Atom isn't fast enough for 1080p etc, surely your system was not configured properly? Atom 1.6Ghz dual-core and an Ion or better graphics card is really all you need for a HTPC. If it's doing other things at the same time (media streaming, file server, etc etc) then yes go for C2D/i3.

Didn't say it's not fast enough. Yes Atom/Ion will play 1080P. I said that. I had an ATOM/ION system. However it's not as snappy as say an i3 solution. You're also limited to using certain player for certain format. I've tested various MKVs, BR ISO, AVI, etc with various codecs. They all work, however more work is required to get them to work properly as oppose to just using a gruntier machine like an i3. And 1080P flash video simply won't work. It's well known issue. Not a problem for most people however. If you like using XBMC frontend like I do, ATOM/ION didn't work for me. 720P plays fine but 1080P won't.

And Atom/ION will not play 3D 1080P SBS well. Do you actually have an ATOM/ION and had it working or are you just guessing it will work?