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New to HTPC need advice .... - Printable Version

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New to HTPC need advice .... - Ace_of_Bacardi - 2011-12-06

First I would like to state my intentions of what I would like to do and why I would like to do it. Then I would like to ask for advice and hardware recommendations on which equipment to use. Any additional advice (like configuring) would also be appreciated but for beginners I would like to simply know about the hardware and software requirements and the configuring and additional advice would come later.

So lets begin.


Intentions:

What I would like to accomplish is to have a home theater setup which I could access my videos, music, and pictures from. I am not particularly interested in being able to use this setup like a computer because I already have a nice computer setup for this purpose. I am however interested in having this setup store my media and playback my media without all the other "bloatware" of a computer setup. Since I am new to this area of interest I may be completely wrong about my thought process concerning how to go about this but that is where I am hoping this forum community will shine.


Software:

I would like to run: XBMC

I am not sure if this is a stand alone piece of software where as I wouldnt need any other type of software besides it. If this is the case then great if not then I will be using it with ubuntu 11.10 amd64 edition.


Hardware:

Case: I have looked at this item from Tigerdirect <http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3986710>

(Naturally I would be filling it with the best equipment I can afford and using the software stated above.)

Harddrive(s): For now the hard drive I would be using is at least a 1tb internal HD.

Speakers: I currently have a Logitech 5.1 surround sound setup on my computer and could use that with this setup or I could purchase a 7.1 if my soundcard allows for it (depending on which options I choose for my hardware configurations)

Other Hardware such as motherboard, videocards, sound cards, ram, processor etc. I would like to get recommendations on.

I can pick up a media player remote for rather cheap off the internet. I also already own a media center remote and ir receiver which I am not currently using but was purchased for a previous Windows media center build which I no longer utilize. I am under the impression that I can still use this remote and receiver (usb) with my htpc setup. If not then I can confident I can pick one up fairly cheap.

Requirements:

The requirements I would like to accomplish with this build are as follows but in no order.

1.) Netflix and maybe Hulu capabilites
2.) Movie File playback (.vob, .avi, .divx, etc.)
3.) Audio File playback (.mp3, and others)
4.) Multiple Picture format support (jpeg, bmp, jpg, etc.)
4.) Would be nice to be able to use my media center remote or a generic remote control.
5.) Internet browsing is not a requirement but wouldn't be frowned upon, I simply only want to be able to watch/listen to/view all my media on it or streamed from. Internet browsing would only be an added bonus.


Questions:

So now that the general information is out of the way I will get into the questions:

1. What general information is most important for me to know when considering a htpc setup?
2. Will xbmc software fit my needs?
3. Does xbmc software require an operating system as well or is it a standalone piece of software?
4. What hardware do you recommend to build my htpc from scratch.


I think this is enough to get me started. Special thanks to all who contribute to this thread.

- Chris! - 2011-12-06

There is a hardware section on this website, stickies at the top of it including HTPC recommendation thread:
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=94268

Suggest you look around those parts then stick any lingering questions in that forum so it gets picked up better by hardware knowledgable people.

Thanks for reply ...... - Ace_of_Bacardi - 2011-12-06

Thanks for reply, I have looked over these forums quite alot and it is a lot to take it which is why I was hoping to get some answers to questions which I ask specifically as suppose to taking parts of answers from other questions. I will continue to look over the forums as knowledge is power and I am still working on this build.

Thanks for providing a link, even if everyone who replies post a link to something that I asked it will benefit me greatly.

MOST IMPORTANT thing I want answered is what I have listed in the requirement section of my original post. If I cant have those things with XBMC then I dont need the rest of the questions even answered because I will be moving back to the drawing board.

Thanks to all who reply/replied.

- bryanchicken - 2011-12-06

3 - all software applications require an operating system. XBMC will run on lots of operating systems though. Something like xbmc live or openelec will hide the operating system from you to some extent, but it is still there.

Ok, so ................ - Ace_of_Bacardi - 2011-12-06

That thread does help a good amount in determining the hardware. I thank you for that.

Mostly then I guess I am left with: XBMC

"I am not sure if this is a stand alone piece of software where as I wouldnt need any other type of software besides it. If this is the case then great if not then I will be using it with ubuntu 11.10 amd64 edition."

This is basically the most important information I need. Is XBMC a standalone program or must it be installed into a OS like Windows or a version of Linux?

I would prefer a program that utilizes media like XBMC (according to what I have read) and is a stand alone product. I simply want to be able to copy media to my htpc and be able to play it from other places of my house. I dont need another "computer" per say as I already have 2, but I do want to create a hometheater/media player so that my computers will be media free.

(I do not have cable tv, satellite tv, antenna tv) and only have media files (dvd's, mp3's etc.) so when someone in my home wants to watch a movie then he/she must use a computer to watch it (or xbox) which means that computer/xbox is being used for a movie and no one else can use it. If I build this htpc then members of my household can still play xbox on 1 tv and use the computer on another all at the same time that someone else is streaming media from the htpc.)

Sorry for any redundancy but I just want to make sure all readers understand what my goals and needs are so that they arent offering advice that wont be used or that is not applicable here. Thanks!

Thanks, - Ace_of_Bacardi - 2011-12-06

As I was typing and re-reading my post it seems a reply was made so our replies are a bit out of sync and I missed a reply that already answered some of this. Thanks for your reply as this does clear it up for the most part.

So I would install my Ubuntu and then install xbmc onto that?

- Ace

- Cheule - 2011-12-06

Yes.

I recently installed XBMC for the first time myself, although obviously you have to install Ubuntu first.

Thanks Chuele and others .... - Ace_of_Bacardi - 2011-12-06

I know enough now to get me started, I would like to leave this thread up however so that others can throw me some pointers and give me advice on what to do or not to do during the process of my build.

Thanks again to all.

- bryanchicken - 2011-12-06

Ace_of_Bacardi Wrote:As I was typing and re-reading my post it seems a reply was made so our replies are a bit out of sync and I missed a reply that already answered some of this. Thanks for your reply as this does clear it up for the most part.

So I would install my Ubuntu and then install xbmc onto that?

- Ace

xbmc live (for example) installs ubuntu for you when you do the install. Its basically a minimal ubuntu (no UI) with xbmc on top. So you ONLY have the xbmc ui, no ubuntu ui. You can access underlying ubuntu using command line locally or via ssh.
OpenElec is similar, although its not ubuntu underneath and its even more stripped down. I've never used it.

So, in short, you don't _have_ to install ubuntu first, but you can if you want.

Ahh ... - Ace_of_Bacardi - 2011-12-06

Ah ok thanks, I think I will install Ubuntu first in case I get bored one day and want to do something other then watch a movie, its always nice to have options. I dont have to use it for anything else but knowing I could I guess is interesting.

The main reason I asked (besides making sure I did things in the right order) is because I have never used Ubuntu before and figured that I wouldnt really have to learn it if the install wasnt necessary but since xbmc is underlying ubuntu anyways I cant see the harm.

About that though, would I see a performance difference (maybe due to size or hardware usage) between installing xbmc as a standalone versus ubuntu the xbmc on top of it.

It seems like it "should" operate quicker with only installing xbmc but I am unsure of the RAM/CPU payload of using just xbmc versus both xbmx + ubuntu full version.

Any thoughts?

- live4ever - 2011-12-06

Ace_of_Bacardi Wrote:Requirements:

The requirements I would like to accomplish with this build are as follows but in no order.

1.) Netflix and maybe Hulu capabilities
This requirement pretty much requires a Win7 OS (I believe, don't use either though so unless something has changed with Linux support).

- bluray - 2011-12-06

It seems that AMD A6-3600 or A8-3800 APU plus Windows 7 might be what you need to achieve fluent playback all your requirements.

Thank you both, - Ace_of_Bacardi - 2011-12-06

I want to steer clear of Microsoft for this build (my home computer is Win 7 Ultimate and while I do like it, from my understanding Ubuntu is better way to go (for price, speed, and simplicity) over Windows.

I have read that there IS a way to use Netflix on xbmc. If not I could always simply log into my Netflix via the browser (from Netflix's Site) and stream that way could I not?

- Thanks!

- Chris! - 2011-12-06

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/43724/how-to-view-netflix-watch-instantly-in-xbmc/

linux mint might be worth looking into too.

- bluray - 2011-12-06

Ace_of_Bacardi Wrote:I want to steer clear of Microsoft for this build (my home computer is Win 7 Ultimate and while I do like it, from my understanding Ubuntu is better way to go (for price, speed, and simplicity) over Windows.
- Thanks!
I agreed with Windows 7 price assessment, but Windows 7 can achieve both speed and simplicity too. It has the most options and it is the easiest OS to configure to achieve all playbacks in your list. It’ll work with all GPU in HTPC too, and the hardware I suggested can playback BD in 1080P, 3d and bitstreaming DTS-HD and TrueHD.