2010-08-18, 21:51
Hi there,
I have a desktop that I currently use as a video editing station. It is pretty powerful, but getting a little old.
XBMC caught my eye as I have been trying to find ways to set up a HTPC and was wondering if my current desktop could be used for the task already (without affecting my video editing work).
I plan to rip my bluray and dvd collection to a hard drive. My goal is to get these playing on my big screen TV from the files themselves (instead of my discs). Most of my rips will be entire 1:1 copies. I am NOT looking to encode the movies to save in space. I want these files to play with the same pristine video and sound that the actual discs do, as well as contain all the same menus, etc. So for blu ray, this means smooth 1080p footage, 5.1 surround sound.
If I am understanding XBMC correctly, I can put the software on my computer and then somehow stream the movies to my big screen TV? (Assuming my computer is powerful enough to handle this.)
This is my current computer:
Mobo: Intel D975XBX2 LGA 775
CPU: Core 2 Duo E6600
Video Card: EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - Retail
Hard Drive #1: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3500630AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive (Perpendicular Recording)
Hard Drive #2: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
RAM #1: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ
RAM #2: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ
Power Supply: OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Cooling: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler
Case: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Right now, hard drive #1 is used for Windows 7 64 bit and programs. Hard drive #2 is used for my video editing work (aka capture and editing scratch disc). I plan to buy another 1TB+ hard drive for storage/backups, which is hard drive #3. It is on this 3rd drive that I figured I could put all of my bluray/dvd rips.
So my question is two-fold:
Is my computer powerful enough to stream 1:1 copy bluray rips to my TV without any hardware upgrades?
And if so, what needs to be done with this XBMC software to get this process set up? (Should I just install it on hard drive #1 with the rest of my programs and then keep my bluray rips on hard drive #3? Do I need to partition a space on one of the hard drives for XBMC specifically? Is it possible to stream wirelessly from my computer to TV yet? If not, what hardwire connection needs to go between my computer and TV?)
Thanks in advance for any help! I am not the most computer savvy person out there, but I play one on TV.
I have a desktop that I currently use as a video editing station. It is pretty powerful, but getting a little old.
XBMC caught my eye as I have been trying to find ways to set up a HTPC and was wondering if my current desktop could be used for the task already (without affecting my video editing work).
I plan to rip my bluray and dvd collection to a hard drive. My goal is to get these playing on my big screen TV from the files themselves (instead of my discs). Most of my rips will be entire 1:1 copies. I am NOT looking to encode the movies to save in space. I want these files to play with the same pristine video and sound that the actual discs do, as well as contain all the same menus, etc. So for blu ray, this means smooth 1080p footage, 5.1 surround sound.
If I am understanding XBMC correctly, I can put the software on my computer and then somehow stream the movies to my big screen TV? (Assuming my computer is powerful enough to handle this.)
This is my current computer:
Mobo: Intel D975XBX2 LGA 775
CPU: Core 2 Duo E6600
Video Card: EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - Retail
Hard Drive #1: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3500630AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive (Perpendicular Recording)
Hard Drive #2: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
RAM #1: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ
RAM #2: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ
Power Supply: OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Cooling: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler
Case: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Right now, hard drive #1 is used for Windows 7 64 bit and programs. Hard drive #2 is used for my video editing work (aka capture and editing scratch disc). I plan to buy another 1TB+ hard drive for storage/backups, which is hard drive #3. It is on this 3rd drive that I figured I could put all of my bluray/dvd rips.
So my question is two-fold:
Is my computer powerful enough to stream 1:1 copy bluray rips to my TV without any hardware upgrades?
And if so, what needs to be done with this XBMC software to get this process set up? (Should I just install it on hard drive #1 with the rest of my programs and then keep my bluray rips on hard drive #3? Do I need to partition a space on one of the hard drives for XBMC specifically? Is it possible to stream wirelessly from my computer to TV yet? If not, what hardwire connection needs to go between my computer and TV?)
Thanks in advance for any help! I am not the most computer savvy person out there, but I play one on TV.