With all the recent home theater talk...

[Smarty39]

Can someone please help me piece together a HTPC? I am looking to stay below $1k and it will only be used for watching movies (must have Blu-ray drive) and double as a PVR. I have a few parts in mind already but I'm not 100% sure what I need.

I'll post my proposed parts when I get all the links together...but any help is appreciated

EDIT: here is my *proposed* parts list (I already have Win7 Ultimate 64-bit and hard drives)

Antec Fusion HTPC Case: $190
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...23058(ME).aspx

Asus P7H55D-M EVO Motherboard: $150
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...27374(ME).aspx

Intel Core i3 540 Processor: $160
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...27088(ME).aspx

Mushkin XP3-12800 RAM (4GB): $135
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...26832(ME).aspx

Antec 650W PS: $90
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...24741(ME).aspx

Samsung HS-B083L Blu-Ray Drive: $100
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...26986(ME).aspx

This puts me at ~$850 (without PVR capability which I am still researching)

Further questions...

1. Do I *NEED* a video card considering the MB has onboard HDMI?
2. Do I *NEED* a sound card considering the MB has onboard 7.1?
3. Do I *NEED*...anything else

TIA

[RSS]

Re: With all the recent home theater talk...

Hauppauge TV tuner if you are going to use it as a PVR

HVR-2250

[Smarty39]

Re: With all the recent home theater talk...

does that one work for HD too though?

[RobG]

Re: With all the recent home theater talk...

I always like an after market CPU cooler for less noise. 64bit is a challenge to get working properly with TV tuners, 32bit does the job.

I'm using the on board Video through hdmi, it's perfect, On board audio works, but I did find that an external card did sound a bit better.

The Hauppage TV tuner will work perfectly, but it's only th analogue channels, only way I found to get HD though a HTPC is with the Huppage HD PVR and a Shaw or satellite box.

[Smarty39]

Re: With all the recent home theater talk...

That's what I though in regards to the PVR and HD (it will be using Bell ExpressVu as the source).

Will any 7.1 sound card do or are the Dolby/DTS/etc. certified cards that much better for the price difference?

[RobG]

Re: With all the recent home theater talk...

I'm not sure on the details from your motherboard, things are always improving.

I had this one in my last HTPC, it had great sound.

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...21157(ME).aspx

[Smarty39]

Re: With all the recent home theater talk...

That's a nice priced card...I'll keep it in mind for sure .

I won't be moving in until June...should I hold off on the HTPC build for a couple more months or will hardware change that much by then?

[RSS]

Re: With all the recent home theater talk...

It's probably already changed since you started this thread.

[Kordain]

Re: With all the recent home theater talk...

lol aint that the truth,

would a sound card with Optical out be best so it can drive a seperate receiver/amp or are you looking at using a small sound system?

[RobG]

Re: With all the recent home theater talk...

That Motherboard has both Optical audio in addition to the onboard HDMI

[Kor]

Re: With all the recent home theater talk...

Do you care about how loud this computer is? I recommend building a much quieter PC for home theatre. Listening to the fans on your computer as you watch movies sucks.

This is huge overkill IMO as well. You can buy a prebuilt HTPC (like a Nettop, Mac Mini, Dell, etc) that will play 1080p video for HALF this much money. Or just buy a device like a popcorn hour.

My PC runs with no fans at all (is totally silent) and cost < $1000. It idles at 50 watts of power usage and I can leave it on 24/7.

[Tuna]

Re: With all the recent home theater talk...

A Part of the system that is ALWAYS missed is you need something to change the channels on your set top box. For that you'll need something like the Hauppage but with remote. That will come with a transceiver that will do the job. As Rob said though only regular Def, otherwise you need that HD PVR box but good luck finding one right now.

My PC has 4 120mm fans (2 on the side of the case with speed control, a fan on the heat sink, and one on the power supply). It sits beside my TV and Hutch in an Ikea cabinet with the back cut out and the ONLY time I hear it is with the TV off. That said, I will definitely try to get something smaller next time around.

One thing I kind of agree with Kris on is that you can find a Win7 PC with the remote, capture card, transmitter everything in one box for pretty cheap. Mine started out as "free" and I lost count of how much I've spent on it now haha.

[RobG]

Re: With all the recent home theater talk...

One thing I missed, I put all this effort into a quiet HTPC and forgot about a noisy projector fan. Just something to remember, I'm guessing most mid-range projectors are fairly quiet.

[Smarty39]

Re: With all the recent home theater talk...

Do you care about how loud this computer is? I recommend building a much quieter PC for home theatre. Listening to the fans on your computer as you watch movies sucks.

This is huge overkill IMO as well. You can buy a prebuilt HTPC (like a Nettop, Mac Mini, Dell, etc) that will play 1080p video for HALF this much money. Or just buy a device like a popcorn hour.

My PC runs with no fans at all (is totally silent) and cost < $1000. It idles at 50 watts of power usage and I can leave it on 24/7.

Don't care...to a degree...as it will be in a rack (enclosed, in a closet) on the other side of the room.

Why is it overkill? Yes the Zino's, etc. are cheaper...if you want one straight out of the box. As soon as you add any upgrades (which you always do) you are better off building a box yourself with MUCH better parts. I like the popcorn hours as well and haven't ruled them out yet.

One thing I missed, I put all this effort into a quiet HTPC and forgot about a noisy projector fan. Just something to remember, I'm guessing most mid-range projectors are fairly quiet.

This is one of my main stipulations for the projector I choose...but it seems like most $2k+ projectors are fairly quite now.

[RONDAL]

Re: With all the recent home theater talk...

dont forget to price shop at ncix.com and directcanada.ca (NCIX sister website).

They both are out of vancouver, one has storefront the other doesn't. But even with shipping i have found their stuff to be cheaper sometimes than MX