Comments on: Recommended HTPC hardware http://eirikso.com/2006/03/14/recommended-htpc-hardware/ The personal web site of Eirik Solheim Thu, 09 Feb 2012 03:11:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Tukom http://eirikso.com/2006/03/14/recommended-htpc-hardware/comment-page-1/#comment-52368 Tukom Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:47:52 +0000 http://www.eirikso.com/?p=292#comment-52368 It is surprising how well this build has lasted over the past years. If you look at <a href="http://mymediaexperience.com/poll-results-for-the-best-htpc-processor-in-2011/" rel="nofollow">htpc processors in 2011</a>, very little has changed in terms of performance requirements when it comes to media center use. However, as the processors get faster, users believe that they require the fastest computers as home theater pcs. So my advice is that go with the low energy consuming CPUs such as AMD E350 or Intel Core i3. It is surprising how well this build has lasted over the past years. If you look at htpc processors in 2011, very little has changed in terms of performance requirements when it comes to media center use. However, as the processors get faster, users believe that they require the fastest computers as home theater pcs. So my advice is that go with the low energy consuming CPUs such as AMD E350 or Intel Core i3.

]]> By: Lasse Elden http://eirikso.com/2006/03/14/recommended-htpc-hardware/comment-page-1/#comment-1609 Lasse Elden Thu, 09 Aug 2007 23:04:16 +0000 http://www.eirikso.com/?p=292#comment-1609 Do you know if I can upgrade XP to XP MCE with the cd (Vista Home Premium) that follows the laptop? If so how! Haven't got the laptop yet, but tomor... later today! Have you seen the video demo for Linux MCE? Looks like the media toolbox for what ever media solution out there. Tried it once, but that was not a very easy way to set it up. Think you need to know much before doing that, don't you think? (By the way! Have finished the first chapter in some book by now, check it out at Recaptch hehehe!) ;-) Do you know if I can upgrade XP to XP MCE with the cd (Vista Home Premium) that follows the laptop? If so how! Haven’t got the laptop yet, but tomor… later today!

Have you seen the video demo for Linux MCE? Looks like the media toolbox for what ever media solution out there. Tried it once, but that was not a very easy way to set it up. Think you need to know much before doing that, don’t you think?

(By the way! Have finished the first chapter in some book by now, check it out at Recaptch hehehe!) ;-)

]]> By: eirikso http://eirikso.com/2006/03/14/recommended-htpc-hardware/comment-page-1/#comment-1608 eirikso Thu, 09 Aug 2007 20:09:58 +0000 http://www.eirikso.com/?p=292#comment-1608 With BeyondTV and SageTV you have pretty good control of the desktop machine and through your home network you can transfer TV-shows to your Laptop. I don't know any solutions where you get access more or less directly to the TV-card in your desktop machine. Hauppauge have some USB-based tuners that would work well with your laptop. Problem is that the digital tuners I know of only work with Canal Digital and not Get or RiksTV. With BeyondTV and SageTV you have pretty good control of the desktop machine and through your home network you can transfer TV-shows to your Laptop. I don’t know any solutions where you get access more or less directly to the TV-card in your desktop machine.

Hauppauge have some USB-based tuners that would work well with your laptop. Problem is that the digital tuners I know of only work with Canal Digital and not Get or RiksTV.

]]> By: Lasse Elden http://eirikso.com/2006/03/14/recommended-htpc-hardware/comment-page-1/#comment-1607 Lasse Elden Thu, 09 Aug 2007 17:51:58 +0000 http://www.eirikso.com/?p=292#comment-1607 I can't remote the tv-card (on my desktop) from my laptop and store tv-shows on the laptop as well? I can’t remote the tv-card (on my desktop) from my laptop and store tv-shows on the laptop as well?

]]> By: eirikso http://eirikso.com/2006/03/14/recommended-htpc-hardware/comment-page-1/#comment-1613 eirikso Thu, 09 Aug 2007 09:31:00 +0000 http://www.eirikso.com/?p=292#comment-1613 You could have a look at SageTV or set up BeyondTV with recompression and transfer the files to your laptop. You could have a look at SageTV or set up BeyondTV with recompression and transfer the files to your laptop.

]]> By: Lasse Elden http://eirikso.com/2006/03/14/recommended-htpc-hardware/comment-page-1/#comment-1612 Lasse Elden Thu, 09 Aug 2007 09:27:38 +0000 http://www.eirikso.com/?p=292#comment-1612 This is the case: I have a desktop with Hauppauge tv-card, but no Win MCE. On my new laptop its MCE, but I don't have a tv-card! Is there some software that can record and transfer tv-shows etc. from my desktop to my laptop? This is the case:

I have a desktop with Hauppauge tv-card, but no Win MCE. On my new laptop its MCE, but I don’t have a tv-card! Is there some software that can record and transfer tv-shows etc. from my desktop to my laptop?

]]> By: eirikso http://eirikso.com/2006/03/14/recommended-htpc-hardware/comment-page-1/#comment-1610 eirikso Wed, 08 Aug 2007 22:57:32 +0000 http://www.eirikso.com/?p=292#comment-1610 No, you can't connect PCI cards to a lapto. You would have to buy a USB or FireWire based TV-tuner. At this point you will not find any tuners that will work with Get, due to their encryption system. The Norwegian digital terrestrial network will be using MPEG4 as the video standard, and right now I don't know about any TV-cards that will support it. No, you can’t connect PCI cards to a lapto. You would have to buy a USB or FireWire based TV-tuner.

At this point you will not find any tuners that will work with Get, due to their encryption system. The Norwegian digital terrestrial network will be using MPEG4 as the video standard, and right now I don’t know about any TV-cards that will support it.

]]> By: Lasse Elden http://eirikso.com/2006/03/14/recommended-htpc-hardware/comment-page-1/#comment-1611 Lasse Elden Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:48:10 +0000 http://www.eirikso.com/?p=292#comment-1611 Is it possible to connect a PCI card (Hauppauge 500) to a laptop? any pugins or something that works? What tv-card do you recommend for a laptop (pc)? I should be cooping with the new digital tv signals (bakkenettet or Get). Is it possible to connect a PCI card (Hauppauge 500) to a laptop? any pugins or something that works?
What tv-card do you recommend for a laptop (pc)? I should be cooping with the new digital tv signals (bakkenettet or Get).

]]> By: brilliantdays.com | Media Centers NOT ready for primetime http://eirikso.com/2006/03/14/recommended-htpc-hardware/comment-page-1/#comment-1606 brilliantdays.com | Media Centers NOT ready for primetime Fri, 30 Jun 2006 11:39:01 +0000 http://www.eirikso.com/?p=292#comment-1606 [...] Recommended HTPC hardware HTPC Frontend roundup The media center software list [...] [...] Recommended HTPC hardware HTPC Frontend roundup The media center software list [...]

]]> By: Eirikso http://eirikso.com/2006/03/14/recommended-htpc-hardware/comment-page-1/#comment-1605 Eirikso Tue, 02 May 2006 09:08:29 +0000 http://www.eirikso.com/?p=292#comment-1605 More RAM is always good, but I don't think it would help much on the fact that the video card you use need the CPU to encode video. It would be much better to simply go ahead and buy a Hauppauge or Nvidia card with hardware encoding. Encoding video in realtime is very demanding for the CPU. Depending on the capabilities of your screen card and the codecs used you could end up with a situation where your CPU does both the encoding and decoding of video while time shifting. It is very difficult for a system to handle this. Even with lots of RAM available. As for linux I don't think that would help either. I am not an expert on MythTV and Freevo, but I think they also works best with a hardware encoding TV-card. The only codec I know of that is fast enough for full time shifting through the CPU is the PICVideo MJpeg codec. The good old PVR-software called ShowShifter supported this. Still, my experience is that you will run into trouble with deinterlacing and other issues when trying to do timeshifting through the CPU. The manual of your mainboard will tell you what kind of RAM your MB supports. Regarding the speed of your existing RAM I actually don't know where you can find if it is 2700, 3000, 3300 etc.. More RAM is always good, but I don’t think it would help much on the fact that the video card you use need the CPU to encode video. It would be much better to simply go ahead and buy a Hauppauge or Nvidia card with hardware encoding.

Encoding video in realtime is very demanding for the CPU. Depending on the capabilities of your screen card and the codecs used you could end up with a situation where your CPU does both the encoding and decoding of video while time shifting. It is very difficult for a system to handle this. Even with lots of RAM available.

As for linux I don’t think that would help either. I am not an expert on MythTV and Freevo, but I think they also works best with a hardware encoding TV-card.

The only codec I know of that is fast enough for full time shifting through the CPU is the PICVideo MJpeg codec. The good old PVR-software called ShowShifter supported this. Still, my experience is that you will run into trouble with deinterlacing and other issues when trying to do timeshifting through the CPU.

The manual of your mainboard will tell you what kind of RAM your MB supports. Regarding the speed of your existing RAM I actually don’t know where you can find if it is 2700, 3000, 3300 etc..

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