Is it time to build an HDTPC?

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  • JonMarsh
    Mad Max Moderator
    • Aug 2000
    • 15261

    Is it time to build an HDTPC?

    This is a combination of thinking out loud as well as notes on work in progress....

    I've been collecting the bits for building a new system, and as ThomasW kind of spilled the beans on in another post, the probable goal of that system is a new acronym (well, I haven't seen it used anywhere before, yet) "High Definition Theater Personal Computer". HDTPC

    Goals:

    DVD Playback scaled for high res monitors and projectors- XGA, 720P, with DD output to processor

    OTA HDTV playback, 720P, 1080i, for capable monitors and projectors, with DD output to processor

    HDDTV Recording and playback, up to storage of 20 to 40 hours of programming.

    By the middle of December, all the pieces to do this should be available.

    Starting point-

    Abit KT7 Raid Athlon MB, includes standared EIDE ATA66 channels and ATA100 dual Raid channel. Cost, about $170. Supports RAID0, RAID1, RAID2 (stripping, mirroring, etc.- your choice)

    CPU: Athlon 1 GHz, cost, about $300 (if you want to go cheak, get a 750 or 800MHz for about $200)

    Memory: 128 - 256 MB, about $75-150

    HD: Dual Maxtor ATA100 60GB drives, cost each, $225. MB supports expansion to four drives (yeah, 240 GB on a PC, now THAT's a video server!)

    Primary Video: Elsa Gladiac

    Sound: Creative Labs SB Live Platinum 5.1

    DVDROM: Acer/Pioneer 16X/40X

    HDTV Card: HiPixx Tuner/decoder/Video card, $399. Can record HDTV MPEG transport stream, requires 3-6GB/hour of recording time. Available around December 15th. Can output RGB or Component. Can do pass through of desktop.

    Enclosure- Not decided. Should do another rackmount like the one Tom has, but it's pricey. Addonics 7860a with 4 five inch bays, 300W power supply may be the way I go- it's easier to locate.

    I'll keep you posted as I get down to particulars.


    Regards,

    Jon




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  • KennyG
    Moderator Emeritus
    • Sep 2000
    • 745

    #2
    Jon, a couple questions.
    I was going to build an HTPC, however a decent used deal came up at just the right time, and now I'm just waitin' for the hardware to arrive.
    I bought a HTPC featuring a 733 pIII on a Asus P3V4X motherboard, with Elsa Gladiac GTS2 w/32mb of ddr, M-audio Delta Dio 24/96, 128 mb of SDram, and a 20 gig hd.
    My question is this, with an upgrade of the hard drive and a HD tuner card, can this unit become the HDTPC you speak of?

    Comment

    • JonMarsh
      Mad Max Moderator
      • Aug 2000
      • 15261

      #3
      Well, of course, but maybe not with the same elegance- the system you describe uses just a standard two channel ATA66 controller, whereas the motherboard I use in my bedroom HTPC and the new motherboard I bought have a built in second disk controller, an ATA100 controller, which like the main controller has a primary and a secondary channel. So, motherboards like this can handle up to 8 IDE devices. Standard ones can't. The ATA100 controller is treated in the system as if it were a SCSI controller. On the ABIT KT7 RAID, raid functionality is supported for setting up the disk, including stripping or mirroring, or a combination. This is also not a common feature, but enhances disk throughput and reliability.
      On the otherhand, you CAN make your system into an HDTPC, but not with as much storage or flexibility. With RAID striping, you can interleave disk access and make two large disks look like one really large disk, and partition it flexibly, say a 4 GB system partition, then a 126 GB "recording" partition, for example.
      On the system you're buying, you would need to keep one IDE channel, normally the primary channel, as the HD channel, and the secondary channel you'd use for your optical disks, usually your DVDROM, though if needed you could install a CDROM as a slave. But, putting an MO or other drive on wouldn't be feasible, unless you got a SCSI board.
      Your system can certainly work at this, just not quite as elegantly, but probably quite functionally.

      Regards,

      Jon




      Earth First!
      _______________________________
      We'll screw up the other planets later....
      the AudioWorx
      Natalie P
      M8ta
      Modula Neo DCC
      Modula MT XE
      Modula Xtreme
      Isiris
      Wavecor Ardent

      SMJ
      Minerva Monitor
      Calliope
      Ardent D

      In Development...
      Isiris Mk II updates- in final test stage!
      Obi-Wan
      Saint-Saëns Symphonique/AKA SMJ-40
      Modula PWB
      Calliope CC Supreme
      Natalie P Ultra
      Natalie P Supreme
      Janus BP1 Sub


      Resistance is not futile, it is Volts divided by Amperes...
      Just ask Mr. Ohm....

      Comment

      • Lexman
        Super Senior Member
        • Jun 2000
        • 1777

        #4
        Nice system your building there Jon. I wonder if the board you purchased is "like" my IWill Raid board, to which is plugged a 900 mHz Thunderbird.

        We should talk about this sometime. I thought striped mode meant you have 2 hard drives which are the same, and one is made to be a mirror image of the other for backup and restoration reasons. Is that not accurate?

        Sounds like a great PC your getting Kenny and classy if not elegant.

        Lex

        Comment

        • JonMarsh
          Mad Max Moderator
          • Aug 2000
          • 15261

          #5
          There are various RAID modes. Mirroring is what you're describing, where two hard drives are synced, and data is mirrored onto both of them, for redundancy. Stripping interleaves tracks of data between two or more drives, treating two drives as one large drive. The interleaved access increases overall throughput, and allows, say, two 60GB drives to appear as a single 120 GB drive, which can be partitioned seperately, say as a 10GB system partition, and 110GB for recording.

          Regards,

          Jon




          Earth First!
          _______________________________
          We'll screw up the other planets later....
          the AudioWorx
          Natalie P
          M8ta
          Modula Neo DCC
          Modula MT XE
          Modula Xtreme
          Isiris
          Wavecor Ardent

          SMJ
          Minerva Monitor
          Calliope
          Ardent D

          In Development...
          Isiris Mk II updates- in final test stage!
          Obi-Wan
          Saint-Saëns Symphonique/AKA SMJ-40
          Modula PWB
          Calliope CC Supreme
          Natalie P Ultra
          Natalie P Supreme
          Janus BP1 Sub


          Resistance is not futile, it is Volts divided by Amperes...
          Just ask Mr. Ohm....

          Comment

          • JonMarsh
            Mad Max Moderator
            • Aug 2000
            • 15261

            #6
            The HiPixx card is an HDTV tuner and decoder card for PC's, which includes the ability to record the MPEG data stream onto the hard disk. Production release, originally scheduled for Dec. 15, is delayed. See the link below for details; due to a glitch from a PCB vendor, and some remaining software issues, the HiPixx board will be delayed one week or more. The good news, is that there appears to be a high commitment to quality.





            Regards,

            Jon




            Earth First!
            _______________________________
            We'll screw up the other planets later....
            the AudioWorx
            Natalie P
            M8ta
            Modula Neo DCC
            Modula MT XE
            Modula Xtreme
            Isiris
            Wavecor Ardent

            SMJ
            Minerva Monitor
            Calliope
            Ardent D

            In Development...
            Isiris Mk II updates- in final test stage!
            Obi-Wan
            Saint-Saëns Symphonique/AKA SMJ-40
            Modula PWB
            Calliope CC Supreme
            Natalie P Ultra
            Natalie P Supreme
            Janus BP1 Sub


            Resistance is not futile, it is Volts divided by Amperes...
            Just ask Mr. Ohm....

            Comment

            • JonMarsh
              Mad Max Moderator
              • Aug 2000
              • 15261

              #7
              Useful links for components and information...



              HiPixx HDTV card




              ATC-201 Aluminum PC chasis




              ABIT KT7 RAID Motherboard



              Video card desrves special mention; for gaming, there are lots of good choices; for DVD/HT, there is only one standout choice, IMO.


              ELSA Erazor and Gladiac Video Cards
              http://www.elsa.de/international/us/index.htm


              The Elsa cards have three important advanatages for this application:

              1) Smart Resolution Utility built into drivers, which supports custom display resolutions, such as those compatible with HDTV and front projection display devices

              2) Higher current drive on sync pullup resistors; more stable image with many projectors, particularly D-ILA types

              3) Well designed output EMI filters with minimum degradation (if any!) of picture quality with long cable runs.



              Food for thought, and my shopping list.

              Regards,

              Jon




              Earth First!
              _______________________________
              We'll screw up the other planets later....
              the AudioWorx
              Natalie P
              M8ta
              Modula Neo DCC
              Modula MT XE
              Modula Xtreme
              Isiris
              Wavecor Ardent

              SMJ
              Minerva Monitor
              Calliope
              Ardent D

              In Development...
              Isiris Mk II updates- in final test stage!
              Obi-Wan
              Saint-Saëns Symphonique/AKA SMJ-40
              Modula PWB
              Calliope CC Supreme
              Natalie P Ultra
              Natalie P Supreme
              Janus BP1 Sub


              Resistance is not futile, it is Volts divided by Amperes...
              Just ask Mr. Ohm....

              Comment

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