Hello XBMC Enthusiasts!
I know it is not a requirement by this forum to provide an introduction (and hopefully it is not a nuisance), but I thought I would post a short introduction about my current endeavors.
First off, I’ve been in the HTPC building/configuring community for about 4 years now (since mid-way through EE undergraduate), but have only just now started to consider using XBMC. (I knew about it back when I first started looking into HTPC set-ups, but was never completely convinced it was right for me; and I still have to prove that, I suppose.)
Last year I put together a great gaming PC that I was going to use as an HTPC as well, primarily for BluRay disc playback but also for playback of my digital videos (fyi, my hardware is/was Intel DP67BG + i7 2600k, Asus GTX 560 Ti, Samsung BluRay Drive, SSD, etc.). Because I was using it primarily for gaming, however, I did not install any “HTPC” specific software (i.e., I was using Windows MC + TMT5 (for media playback) + MyMovies (for digital video organization/playback)). And because my friends play console games, I found myself rarely playing PC games (other than the occasional Civ5); so out with the old and in with the new!
Although I am sad about downgrading from an i7, I’m excited to finally get back to HTPC building/configuring. (BTW, I have a full bottle of Tylenol and a few Starbucks giftcards from Christmas, so I should be set). With that boring introduction, here is a list of goals I have for this HTPC (possible or not!). Chime in as you see fit, I’m open to ideas:
1) Hardware (purchased and shipped)
• Silverstone ML03 Case
• Asus F2A85-M Pro Motherboard
• AMD A10-5700 APU
• Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4x4GB) SDRAM (overkill, I know)
• Sapphire HD6670 Low-Profile Video Card (xFire with APU)
• LG BluRay Player
• Crucial M4 128 GB SSD + WD 1 TB HDD (this might go external)
• Other necessary hardware (e.g., PSU)
2) Host OS – Windows 7*
• Two accounts: Admin (secondary) + XBMC (direct boot, shell)
3) Media Center Backend/Frontend – XBMC (of course)
4) PVR Backend – Undecided **(NextPVR?)
5) ATSC/QAM Input – HDHomeRun (or PCI/e card if convinced otherwise)
6) Pulse-Eight*** (if available in US)
• Currently have the HippoRemote app for iPhone, but it’s clunky.
7) TMT5 External Player plug-in (for BluRay/3D)
8) Plugins for things like Hulu, Netflix, etc.
9) Probably missing something, I’m sure!
I look forward to posting questions to the forum and sharing anything I learn along the way, as I see fit.
----------
* Seriously considered Linux (esp. OpenELEC), but because of the strange workaround for BluRay playback, I think Windows 7 is my best bet (esp. with my TMT5 license); plus I like the idea of switching to another account to play Civ5. I also played around with the idea of Windows Embedded Standard 7, but until I prototype with the trail version, this is not a viable option.
** Plan to have an ATSC set-up, but not sure that I will record anything from it. Still a nice option to have.
*** I will post this in another thread, but I see their website is down. Wanted to make sure this is in fact temporary and they are not done selling the adapter.
I know it is not a requirement by this forum to provide an introduction (and hopefully it is not a nuisance), but I thought I would post a short introduction about my current endeavors.
First off, I’ve been in the HTPC building/configuring community for about 4 years now (since mid-way through EE undergraduate), but have only just now started to consider using XBMC. (I knew about it back when I first started looking into HTPC set-ups, but was never completely convinced it was right for me; and I still have to prove that, I suppose.)
Last year I put together a great gaming PC that I was going to use as an HTPC as well, primarily for BluRay disc playback but also for playback of my digital videos (fyi, my hardware is/was Intel DP67BG + i7 2600k, Asus GTX 560 Ti, Samsung BluRay Drive, SSD, etc.). Because I was using it primarily for gaming, however, I did not install any “HTPC” specific software (i.e., I was using Windows MC + TMT5 (for media playback) + MyMovies (for digital video organization/playback)). And because my friends play console games, I found myself rarely playing PC games (other than the occasional Civ5); so out with the old and in with the new!
Although I am sad about downgrading from an i7, I’m excited to finally get back to HTPC building/configuring. (BTW, I have a full bottle of Tylenol and a few Starbucks giftcards from Christmas, so I should be set). With that boring introduction, here is a list of goals I have for this HTPC (possible or not!). Chime in as you see fit, I’m open to ideas:
1) Hardware (purchased and shipped)
• Silverstone ML03 Case
• Asus F2A85-M Pro Motherboard
• AMD A10-5700 APU
• Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4x4GB) SDRAM (overkill, I know)
• Sapphire HD6670 Low-Profile Video Card (xFire with APU)
• LG BluRay Player
• Crucial M4 128 GB SSD + WD 1 TB HDD (this might go external)
• Other necessary hardware (e.g., PSU)
2) Host OS – Windows 7*
• Two accounts: Admin (secondary) + XBMC (direct boot, shell)
3) Media Center Backend/Frontend – XBMC (of course)
4) PVR Backend – Undecided **(NextPVR?)
5) ATSC/QAM Input – HDHomeRun (or PCI/e card if convinced otherwise)
6) Pulse-Eight*** (if available in US)
• Currently have the HippoRemote app for iPhone, but it’s clunky.
7) TMT5 External Player plug-in (for BluRay/3D)
8) Plugins for things like Hulu, Netflix, etc.
9) Probably missing something, I’m sure!
I look forward to posting questions to the forum and sharing anything I learn along the way, as I see fit.
----------
* Seriously considered Linux (esp. OpenELEC), but because of the strange workaround for BluRay playback, I think Windows 7 is my best bet (esp. with my TMT5 license); plus I like the idea of switching to another account to play Civ5. I also played around with the idea of Windows Embedded Standard 7, but until I prototype with the trail version, this is not a viable option.
** Plan to have an ATSC set-up, but not sure that I will record anything from it. Still a nice option to have.
*** I will post this in another thread, but I see their website is down. Wanted to make sure this is in fact temporary and they are not done selling the adapter.
