PVR/media centre type PC

[dnb]

It's about time I started the research into my better half's christmas present...
I wondered if anyone had already built something like I'm after and could point me in the right direction.

I'm interested in the hardware required - specifically the TV cards and whether I should hold out for PCIe - and if the software exists. The more user friendly the better. (I don't really want to have to write the software as I simply don't have the time.)

Here's a rough spec:

MiniITX sized box for preference - it needs to be small and quiet.

We have a reasonable lounge TV - with integrated freeview, HDMI & SVGA connectors etc... so the box needs to work with one of these.

I want a means of recording freeview TV, say on to a large HD. Ideally this could then be saved to DVD for more premanant storage. (There's not much chance of us getting sky, so forget sky+).
Obviously, we'd like to watch DVDs on it as well.

It is desirable that we could record 2 or more things at once and do the time shifting thing where you can watch things delayed by however long you missed it by. (I forget the word for this)

The box should be able to store an MP3 collection to save having piles of CDs about the place. These may be played simply using the TV speakers or using the surround system we haven't bought yet.

Ideally, we should be able to get at the media stored in the box from anywhere in the house over the house LAN. (we have cat5 to the main rooms and wireless for the portable devices)

The box should be controllable via the house LAN or an IR/radio remote control.

It would be preferable to be able to modulate the video and audio on to 75ohm TV type coax for distribution as then you don't need a "slave" box on the bedroom TV - it can simply be a "monitor". Remote control can be achieved via a PDA and the network...

Getting at the box over the www would be useful, but not essential.

Needs to allow for future expansion...


Thanks!!

[tycho]

PCIe tv cards are out now and you can get some which have 2 tuners on board so you can record one thing and watch/timeslip another. Windows media center is great for this and the interface can be controlled easily from a remote.

If you want to stream to another box then think about an xbox 360 which can use the existing wiring you have rather than having to run another cable between both systems. This way, you can both use the system at the same time and get the full media center experience.

Media center will be able to play dvd's and you can rip all of your music to it and use it as a jukebox via the tv interface. You can plug the pc into your svga port and it looks great. Burning to dvd's shouldn't be a problem either with Nero etc.

You also have the functionality of a full pc if you get a bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

The only downside with one of these mini sytems is the lack of expandability so you might have to use onboard video and sound in order to put a few tv cards in it but that depends on the motherboard you use.

If you want to buy one off the shelf then Elonex get quite a good write up.


I am running a program called WebGuide3 which allows you to view scheduled recordings and add new recordings from any browser/mobile phone.

Edited by tycho on Wednesday 16th August 09:17

[brumster]

I have pretty much all you describe up and running with MythTV ( www.mythtv.org ), although mini ITX is probably out of the question if you want a decent hard drive, dual TV tuner capability and a combined client/server machine. Rather than rattle on here about it's features, head off to the website and check it out and if you have any further questions, bounce them here and I'll do my best to answer.

Hardware-wise isn't not hungry, and you could run a Freeview-based backend on a lowly P3 system if need be (although I run the backend on a dual-core A64 for faster transcoding into alternative video formats). You can also use your cat5 to distribute the full PVR functionality around the house by simply putting clients wherever you want them, onto the network, and connecting up to the TV in question. You could get away with a miniITX frontend system only, maybe, if you were happy to split the hardware up. Alternatively you can get a chipped XBOX to serve as a cut-down client, which makes for a cheap solution.

By using a Linux distro like Red Hat FC4+ there's no need to be compiling everything, as there's plenty of RPM repositories out there with all you need.

You do need to be linux-savvy, though, I'd say...

Edited by brumster on Thursday 17th August 19:01

[krispy]

It might be worth looking at a new core duo Mac Mini. Although the internal HDD is fairly small, there are lots of high capacity external firewire drives that match the form factor so you can just stack them underneath. The new minis come with integrated wireless (airport) and the apple IR remote as well - a PDA/Mobile with Salling clicker can be used for bluetooth remote connectivity.

There's also a cracking FrontRow type thingy called MediaCentral which works quite nicely indeed.

[url]www.equinux.com/us/products/mediacentral/index.html[/url]

[url]www.123-macmini.com[/url] is a good place to start if you're interested. I've been toying with the idea of setting up a mac mini media for some time but am holding out for the 64bit chips ;-).

[Muncher]

I've just ordered one of these:

www.digiuk.com/productdetail.asp?id=7348&s=0#

Should be arriving later today