[tufts0207]

Hello all,

I am a complete newbie to building computers but am excited about the prospect of doing so. I have read quite a bit but am still confused on some things. I'd like to be able to conceptualize what I'd like to build before figuring out the hardware/software. Would appreciate your help.

I want to build an HTPC and a separate NAS.

HTPC: I would look like to build a low-profile (preferably mini-ITX), power efficient, cool-running, and quiet machine. I'm not sure if the mini-ITX case will hold everything.
-Stream Netflix 1080p, Hulu plus 1080p, amazon prime hd, HBOgo, showtime anyime, NHL gamecenter live, NBC sports (for hockey)
-Able to support TWC cable card for live TV. As I understand it, I won't be able to record any non-OTA channels with XMBC right? Is it feasible/difficult to switch WMC for all my recording purposes? Is it difficult to switch between XBMC and WMC? I'd like to not rely on a TWC dvr since they charge $20/month
-Play BluRay and burn to BluRay from PVR
-Able to stream signal to mac, pc, ipad etc
-Can I use only a single SSD in the HTPC if I plan on having a NAS or do I need an additional HD for PVR use? If so, what size SSD and HD combo is recommended?
Is live TV signal in HD and can I record in HD?
-Bitstream audio (DTS-MA & Dolby TrueHD)
-Spotify

NAS: will be wired to gigabit router. Does the HTPC also have to be wired or will wireless support streaming from the NAS?
-Is it possible to rip BluRay to the NAS directly? Do I need added hardware power?
-Is it possible burn from the NAS to BluRay
-BitTorrent capable
-Can be accessible from Mac/PC/iPad
-What speed internet do I need to achieve all of this
-Does the NAS have to powered on all the time? Does the HTPC have to be on all the time?
-is unRAID or FreeNAS best for what I want to accomplish?

Thanks so much for any help in advance!

[tufts0207]

Would appreciate any help, was hoping to start obtaining hardware this weekend.

Thanks

[nokdim]

That is a lot of information:

HTPC -

- Netflix is only supported on windows so you would need to install windows as your OS
- I am not sure about the rest of those services but I know you can do Hulu on XBMC on linux.
- You will need an external system that supports cable cards like HDHomeRun to get live TV into XBMC
- XBMC does not record anything so you would need a program like NPVR or MythTV and yes you can record those if setup properly
- You can switch between XBMC and WMC but I try and build everything into XBMC so I have a one stop for all media
- As long as you get a BlueRay ROM you can play and burn on the same system but do you really want to?
- I suggest having a different PC for burning stuff but that is just my own preference
- You can run XBMC on MAC/PC/iPad and if you have an HDHomeRun or any other external Tuner they can connect to it direct.
- And if you have a NAS all your content can be shared across all your devices and use MySQL to share the library
- Yes if you have a NAS you can use a single SSD and if that is the case you can get a small 60Gig or even smaller since it will only contain an OS and a few applications, all data will be stored on NAS...
- Yes Live TV is HD and you can record HD, 1 hour show is approx 5Gig at full HD, might want to look into converting to X264 to save space
- Not sure about Bitstream audio
- Not sure about spotify

NAS -

- Good idea to hardwire NAS and if possible do the same with HTPC, wireless will work but you can have issues with HD streaming
- You can build a NAS out of a linux box and install burning software on it to copy and burn direct
- I use UnRaid which does not support that functionality but I have no need for BlueRay read or write
- UnRaid and most NAS software support a bit-torrent client so it downloads righto NAS
- Yes NAS supports NFS and SMB so all devices can connect to it and view content
- Internet speed isn't important for the most part, I have Comcast 15 Down 5 Up, internet is important for NetFlix HBOGo and oher online streaming services but if you content is all local internet speed does not matter much.
- I leave my NAS on all the time for many reasons, sickbeard and couchpotato and SAbB run on it and so I dont have to boot it when I want to watch something.
- Yes unRaid or FreeNAS or FlexRaid are probably your best options.

I am sure you will have many more questions following this so let us know...

[tufts0207]

Thanks for getting back to me.

-Is it better to put the BluRay recorder in the NAS? Would that be better? That way I could rip to HTPC and transfer to NAS? Not sure how quick/slow that would be.
-If I were to get an external system for cable cards, is HDHomeRun the best option?
-If XMBC doesn't record, then switching to NPVR or MythTV would be just as much a task as switching to WMC? Is there a benefit to any of these programs? Is WMC the only program that supports the DRM content for TWC which is essentially all the non-OTA channels?
-Can I fit all the above in a mini-ITX or do I have to go the micro-ATX size?

Thank you again

[nokdim]

It depends if you want to watch BluRay from Disk you would want a BluRay Player on your HTPC.
If you want to RIP BluRay I would say you want it on your NAS.
I would not suggest having your HTPC as a BluRay ripping machine.

I have only used the HDHomeRun so I am not sure but it seemed like the easiest and well supported system to use with XBMC.

XBMC does not record, this is what I have setup:

- NAS Running UnRaid with 4T of space
- Stand Alone PC running MythTV that talks to the HDHomeRun to record and stores recordings on NAS
- XBMC Clients like Apple TV, RasBMC, NeurosLink, iPad that stream from NAS or from MythTV backend that talks to HDHomeRun

So I dont switch between MythTV and XBMC I do everything in XBMC in front of the couch.
As far as I know XBMC does not support WMC so you would need to use tvheadend, or MythTV to talk to it through XBMC.

I am pretty sure that MythTV or tvheadend both support DRM channels i.e. non OTA as long as you have a cable card in a tuner.

So to sum it up I would suggest a NAS with lots of space using unRaid or similar software, a separate PC for burning BluRay and running MythTV or tvheadend and separate clients that run XBMC with like 2 - 4 Gig or Ram Dual Core and minimal drive space.

But again it is really up to you and what you want but I try and separate as much as possible so that I dont have a giant NAS that is loud in front of the TV and so that I can share all the media i.e. live streams, stored files across the entire house all rooms and iPads.

[Dougie Fresh]

As much as I love XBMC, I found it just to be too much struggle/low WAF/angst on my HTPCs that I want to watch CableCard Live TV to integrate XBMC and WMC. So, on those systems I am using WMC + MediaBrowser.

Where I don't care about live TV, I have OpenELEC.

I have a HDHomeRun Prime with Comcast and it's great. The WMC UI for Live TV is WAY better than the CableCo. DVR and dead simple (otherwise my wife and kids would have dumped it long ago). WMC is currently the only software available to watch encrypted TV.