2011-09-13, 01:40
First of all... obviously I'm brand-spanking new to the forums and the XBMC idea as a whole. I've been mulling the idea of an HTPC for a good while now and just this week stumbled across XBMC. Let me tell you, I'm smitten. I'm chomping at the bit to get this idea going and I've already got the holy blessing from my girlfriend(we're both pretty big movie buffs and are crazy about this program). I have a fair amount of computer knowledge as I've built 3 full gaming systems from newegg over the past few years. I've just had my eyes opened in seeing that an HTPC does not have to be bleeding-edge technology to function properly(something I had never looked into before). All this being said, I do have a few questions...
I'm looking at purchasing a small box running Windows Home Server to put under the stairs and house my big hard drives. I chose this solution primarily because I would like to back-up 2 laptops, a desktop and an HTPC, along with being able to access files from the internet and eventually get into some home automation. I will also look to set up the iTunes shared library and use the server to stream movies and TV shows to my future HTPC(obviously that's why we're all here right?!) With my limited knowledge on media servers and the like - is there another option besides WHS that will do this? I keep reading about FreeNAS and the unRAID programs...will they accomplish what I'm after?
My next question is more centered around the HTPC concept. I have already priced out the pieces and parts needed to put together both the server and the HTPC(I'll spare the gory details unless y'all are really interested...then I'll be happy to oblige!). I'm going to be using an SSD for both the server and HTPC's boot disks. I've read that 30GB should be plenty for Windows 7 + XBMC...correct? I am trying to move away from using my desktop computer as my Sager laptop is plenty capable of all tasks that my desktop can handle. My question lies in the ripping of my BDs and DVDs. I would like to use the HTPC for this function, but I know how much hard drive space this will eat up and a 30GB SSD will not be sufficient. The solution I came up with is to put a smaller 160GB 7200RPM HDD in the HTPC to use as a middleman to rip/encode files to before sending them off to storage. Is there a better way to do this? Should I just bite the bullet and purchase a larger SSD?
*Whew* - Bless you if you read all that. I can get long-winded sometimes, but I wanted to make sure to get my thought process down. I would think that helps with recommendations. Thank you, in advance, for any input received.
I'm looking at purchasing a small box running Windows Home Server to put under the stairs and house my big hard drives. I chose this solution primarily because I would like to back-up 2 laptops, a desktop and an HTPC, along with being able to access files from the internet and eventually get into some home automation. I will also look to set up the iTunes shared library and use the server to stream movies and TV shows to my future HTPC(obviously that's why we're all here right?!) With my limited knowledge on media servers and the like - is there another option besides WHS that will do this? I keep reading about FreeNAS and the unRAID programs...will they accomplish what I'm after?
My next question is more centered around the HTPC concept. I have already priced out the pieces and parts needed to put together both the server and the HTPC(I'll spare the gory details unless y'all are really interested...then I'll be happy to oblige!). I'm going to be using an SSD for both the server and HTPC's boot disks. I've read that 30GB should be plenty for Windows 7 + XBMC...correct? I am trying to move away from using my desktop computer as my Sager laptop is plenty capable of all tasks that my desktop can handle. My question lies in the ripping of my BDs and DVDs. I would like to use the HTPC for this function, but I know how much hard drive space this will eat up and a 30GB SSD will not be sufficient. The solution I came up with is to put a smaller 160GB 7200RPM HDD in the HTPC to use as a middleman to rip/encode files to before sending them off to storage. Is there a better way to do this? Should I just bite the bullet and purchase a larger SSD?
*Whew* - Bless you if you read all that. I can get long-winded sometimes, but I wanted to make sure to get my thought process down. I would think that helps with recommendations. Thank you, in advance, for any input received.