Media Server (and HTPC...?) Toys

[aud19]

Well I'll be shortly buying some new toys and starting my network accessible media server shortly.

I've narrowed down most of the hardware:

http://www.qnap.com/pro_detail_feature.asp?p_id=83



Review:
http://www.hothardware.com/Articles/..._NAS_Servers1/

A couple of these 500Gb Seagate HD's in Raid1:

http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=barracuda-es-2-sata-3-0-gb/s-500-gb-hard-drive-st3500320ns&vgnextoid=8c045cf536b43110VgnVCM100000f5ee0a0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=b655f141e7f43110VgnVCM100000f5ee0a0aRCRD&reqPage=Model

One of these to protect everything:

http://www.apcc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BE750BB%2DCN&total_watts=200

And this, or something similar when they finalize wireless N

http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=1&pid=530

When I build my HTPC/media player I'll list those parts as well For now this will just be to access from my main PC and my room mates PC via the network.

So now I'm on to the media. I believe I've narrowed it down to using EAC to rip music to FLAC lossless format and then playback via Winamp. Is anybody using another route they prefer? Any suggestions before I start ripping all my CD's and find out there's something better and have to start over again? :lol:

[Hdale85]

I use the exact route you mention EAC to FLAC 1024 (level 9 i think?) Works great. If your handy with a soldering iron or want to buy one whatever (I'm a DIY type a guy) I'd get a SPDIF or USB dac for the computer for 2 channel. Or a high end M-Audio sound card There is a modular dac setup that Twisted pear sells that uses wolfsen dacs its pretty nice the modules are pre built now though. Just some ideas as its what I'm going to do when I'm done building my amp and speakers.

[aud19]

Yeah I couldn't even get EAC to detect my optical drive so for the moment I'm trying Winamp's built in flac ripping. Any ideas why EAC wasn't detecting my drive...? :scratchhead:

[aud19]

OK well i solved the drive detection problem but now it seems I have to install another fix for the "Cue Sheet & Image Problem" and yet another one to actually obtain artist/track info etc...this sure isn't user friendly :lol: I may just stick with Winamp :lol:

[dyazdani]

Does one need much in terms of processor for that service? I've got a few older PCs lying around that I might want to turn into a media server...

[Hdale85]

I didn't have any problems with EAC at all. What drive are you using? I have a sony DVD burner which is essentially a Lite On.

[aud19]

Does one need much in terms of processor for that service? I've got a few older PCs lying around that I might want to turn into a media server...

Danish, you could maybe use one of the older units for the file server part but to be encoding/compressing audio and especially if you're going to be doing any video your going to need some decent processing power, ram, HD space and speed etc. So it would kind of depend on your definition of "old". A 2-3 year old unit that was top of the line at the time would probably do the job but and 8 year old cheap unit probably wont make you happy.

I've got two LiteOn drives Dougie, like I say I got them working now. After being frustrated with it last night I just got fed up with it. I'll try it again this morning. If it's works relatively well, I'll use it. Otherwise I'll just use Winamp's native Flac support.

[aud19]

Ok, got the drive and tag info working but it doesn't rip to any organized folders (though I believe it's configurable). Me thinks I'l just use the much more user friendly, organized and generally better GUI of Winamp. The quality difference can't really be all that large between the two using flac in both and IMO EAC is just not worth all the extra work.

There's something to be said for a good GUI and user friendly design :lol:

[Hdale85]

Well you designate how it saves when you install the program. There is a section asking you which nameing scheme you like and it uses Abba something or other for it. When its something like ABBA/ when there is a slash that means it makes a new directory. It's definitely there though. EAC is good because it has a lot of error correcting stuff and what not and can fixed scratched cd's.

[aud19]

Well the majority of my cd's are in pretty good shape as I've taken care of them so I'm not too worried. I'm sticking with Winamp's one-stop shopping

[Hdale85]

Well whatever works for you As long as your happy thats all that matters.

[aud19]

Looks like I'll be getting the gear mid-sept'ish as our supplier will be having a sale on HD's then! :banana:

[aud19]

Just found this today too!! :P

http://www.prlog.org/10029365-the-world-first-nas-for-playstation3-xbox360-dlna-media-streaming.html

(PRLog.Org) – Taipei, Taiwan, Sep 3, 2007 - The leading network-attached storage (NAS) provider- QNAP Systems, Inc. today announced the release of the latest firmware for the All-in-one NAS, TS-109 and TS-209 series to fully support the DLNA media playing function of Sony PlayStation3 and Microsoft Xbox360. The new firmware enhances the DLNA multimedia sharing support for video game consoles to enrich the digital home applications. All the multimedia contents stored on QNAP NAS can be automatically shared to a PS3 or an Xbox360 in the home network. Users can play their stored photos and videos on a TV, or listen to the music via their Hi-Fi system. QNAP NAS can be a perfect home storage and sharing center for establishing a PC-less, HD video-playing (via PS3, video resolution up to 1080p), highly accessible, and power-saving digital home theatre...

This thing just gets better and better!! :banana:

[aud19]

So I'm contemplating building a HTPC to go along with all this.

Start with the case:
http://www.silverstonetek.com/produc...=lc13&area=usa


I'll use the PS from my existing computer and swap a cheaper unit in to it.
ATX Q Technology 400W PSU (QT-03400G) Gold Series


An Asus M2N-E mobo:

http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=101&l3=308&model=1181&modelmenu=2

An AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core 5200+

http://products.amd.com/en-us/DesktopCPUDetail.aspx?id=35

2GB DDR2 800 (1GB x 2) Kingston Ram

2 X Seagate 250GB, SATAII, 3GB, 16MB, 7200RPM, 8.5 MS, 24X7 possibly running in redundant Raid or....?

Asus EN8600GT SILENT/HTDP/256M

http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=2&l2=6&l3=514&l4=0&model=1642&modelmenu=1

and a LiteOn 16X DVD-Rom and 20X DVD-RW with lightscribe

[PewterTA]

make sure you throw on AccurateRip on EAC... that way you know your getting perfect rips from your player.

The HTPC looks good, but do you really want/need a lightscribe drive? Those things are slow (burning the image on the disc I mean).

You should get the SST-LC18S-V64... that thing is sweet with the 7" 1600 x 1024 screen!

[aud19]

You should get the SST-LC18S-V64... that thing is sweet with the 7" 1600 x 1024 screen!

Yeah when I win the lotto!! :P That's the case I REALLY want but at $700+ it's a little on the :blink: :uhoh: :bluezoned: side of pricing. The LC13's "only" about $120CA

I don't want my case to cost as much as the rest of the components in it :lol: As for the lightscribe, I may never actually use it but it doesn't really cost any more so why not have the functionality I figure?

[aud19]

I'm also thinking of changing to two 160GB Seagate slim drives (better airflow) and running them RAID-0 for speed :P At I think $60 each regular price it's a no-brainer

[PewterTA]

Now now...

The silver case is only $584.35 shipped.

Go for the Gusto!!!!

Besides you only need like 80Gig drives, saving you money for the case, since you will be putting stuff on the NAS!

[aud19]

$700 Here in Canada. And 160Gb drives are only $60, going 80Gb does not save anywhere near enough money :lol: I have to make up about $580CA to get that case 8O

[Hdale85]

.....overtime??? Mow some lawns? Go through the trash of a celebrity and auction it on ebay?

[aud19]

:rofl: you guys are hilarious! Seriously though I'm way to careful with my money to be that frivolous. As much as I'd LOVE to have one it's just not in my price range. I'd love to have a Cayman too but....

[aud19]

How about some other touchscreen case options :P (Man I need to be rich ) I may just have to save for an extra month or two :lol: ugggh..

http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/view.asp?idx=232&code=029

$637.77

http://www.ahanix.com/products/mce/mce_701.php

http://216.139.228.207/Moneual-MonCaso-932P-Home-Theater-PC-Case-PlatinumSilver-P291C49.aspx

$479.95

That Moneual is looking REAL nice for under $500 :drool:

[Hdale85]

Yeah I like option #3 its sexy. The zalman looks cheap and plastic. They should stick to Heatsinks.

[aud19]

Yeah, the Moneual (option 3) is the nicest looking and the cheapest. I have to find out more info on that deal as it normally retails for almost twice that though the page says it doesn't come with the wireless keyboard at that price that's normally included with the $900 version. Makes me wonder if it's open box or....? I've bought stuff from QuietPC before though so not too worried, just want more info Personally I could care less about the KB, just happy it still has the remote

Here's a video review:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7Ru96Si0OI

[Hdale85]

Whats the remote look like? Heck they could knock off another 100 and keep the remote I'd be happy :B

[aud19]

Well at least I think I've settled on the LiteOn LH-20A1P :lol:

[aud19]

OK so I think I've got a final list of components...I may have to spread it over the next month or so with the more expensive case which means possibly slightly different models of mobos/graphics cards etc as time passes but here goes:


First buying stage - These are either needed first or will not fluctuate greatly in price.

http://www.qnap.com/pro_detail_feature.asp?p_id=83
$350

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/servers/barracuda_es/

Two 500GB-1TB hard drives, I'll have to see the sale pricing in the next couple weeks.
~$150 to ~$400 per drive

http://www.apcc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BE750BB%2DCN&total_watts=200

$90

http://216.139.228.207/Moneual-MonCaso-932P-Home-Theater-PC-Case-PlatinumSilver-P291C49.aspx

$500

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...20Power%20Intl.
$35 (for my old PC)

Second buying stage

http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=101&l3=308&model=1181&modelmenu=2

$100

http://products.amd.com/en-us/DesktopCPUDetail.aspx?id=35

$140

http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator_new/PartsInfo.asp?root=us&LinkBack=http://www.kingston.com&ktcpartno=KVR800D2N5/1G

X2 - $140

http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=Barracuda_7200.10_SATA_250.2_GB&vgnextoid=a62099f4fa74c010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD&vgnextchannel=a32a2f290c5fb010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD&reqPage=Model

X2 - $140

http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=2&l2=6&l3=514&l4=0&model=1642&modelmenu=1

$140

http://us.liteonit.com/us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=203&Itemid=67

$30

[Hdale85]

Still pretty low budget if you ask me. 1200 for the HTPC

[aud19]

Yeah I'm pretty good at weeding out value for $$ Just more than I was planning on spending is all. I was just going to get the NAS to begin with :lol:

[Hdale85]

To be honest Jason, I wouldn't pick up the LCD case. How often do you think you'll actually use that touchscreen LCD? Pickup a really nice HTPC case for 300ish bucks and ditch the LCD.

[aud19]

I think I'll use it quite a bit actually. Won't have to turn on giant RPTV just to play music etc. That will save a lot of wear and tear on the old CRT's

[Hdale85]

Ah ok well....in that case For music and what not I was thinking of getting one of those music servers...or whatever they call them. Like that rockbox thing or whatever it is? Little round tube looking thing.

[aud19]

So it turns out that Moneual both cut pricing on the overall case and have made the keyboard an option to get the cases price point down and in to more consumers hands. Otherwise they're brand new with full warranty etc so it looks like I'll soon be a proud owner!

[Hdale85]

I'd like one but thats a lot of money for a case with a little LCD on it...

[aud19]

Not untrue but it's a lot less than any of the other cases with them :lol:

[JDH]

Maybe you should consider adding a Slimdevices Squeezebox 3, as I understand the QNAP TS-209 can load the slimserver software onto the NAS, that way you will end up with a decent dedicated Audio device for listening to music. Then with the HTPC you could probably make up some of the cost of the SB3 by saving on a dedicated high end HTPC sound card, and LCD display case.

JDH.

[aud19]

I'll keep it to one device I think, less cables, less clutter etc Thanks for the idea though. Besides for now I'm just going to use the onboard sound coax out to my pre. At some point I may add a dedicated card or something along the lines of a Benchmark DAC1 in there

[PewterTA]

heck yeah, PC --USB--> DAC1 -> Pre/Pro. Very good solution there!

[aud19]

Doesn't seem like they're putting HD's on sale any time soon so I'm just going to have to bite the bullet Busy this weekend so I'll probably wait till next week to order the first round.

*Edit:

Darn, looks like they're out of stock on the 500Gb ES model I want :roll:

[aud19]

Okay...... so no stock for the foreseeable future on the Seagate drives I wanted So I'm likely getting these Western Digital drives. WD makes me a bit scared but they're getting good reviews, have good specs and have a 5 year warranty so......

http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=331

[PewterTA]

You mean this seagate with free shipping which is 144 (US)?!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...e%2b500Gb%2bES

Course the WD got better reviews and is only 129 (US)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Tpk=WD5000ABYS

[Hdale85]

I think he orders through his company or something because he gets a big discount.

[aud19]

I think he orders through his company or something because he gets a big discount.

Bingo