so after a lot of heartache i’ve decided to build a HTPC. the choice wasn’t easy as i have been using the PS3 for a long time as my media center, but after too many codec woes, i’ve finally decided to demote the PS3 and build a proper HTPC. i’m not sure if i’m done with the HTPC, but for now i’m pretty happy with what i’ve made. details after the jump!
Antec Fusion Black Remote Computer Case
Antec 450W 80plus Power Supply
Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H motherboard
AverMedia Combo PCI-e TV tuner
Intel E5200 2.5GHz CPU
G.SKILL 4GB RAM
1TB HDD
the hard drive was a birthday gift and the rest of the parts landed me at about $500. the case was the single most expensive piece of hardware and i could have saved a lot of money if i didn’t want the HTPC to look like an A/V component.
i initially installed windows vista ultimate 64-bit, but ended up with a lot of codec issues for media center (VMC). VMC is a 64bit app and requires 64bit codecs. i kept getting crashes when trying to generate thumbnails and i was so frustrated that i ended up formatting the computer and installing the 32bit version. it is the version that i recommend. i also recommend not going with 4GB since a big portion of that will not be addressable and just wasted. 2GB should be enough for light HTPC needs.
after installing the codecs, VMC works great. i installed the media browser plugin and it is my primary interface to my media. the htpc has been working great, i haven’t encountered any issues with the codecs and so far everything is working out great. the UI for VMC is a little less than desired, but it’s usable.
the are a few nagging issuess i still have:
-the harmony remote isn’t quite working as well as i hoped. there’s a delay for the signal being sent OR too many signals are sent. i think this is easily fixable, but i just haven’t sat down to fix it yet.
-when the screen saver kicks in, it starts to automatically play the last played video file. this is a little disconcerting. this should be easily fixed too, but again, i just haven’t sat down to look at it.
i’ve tried using media portal, but the software package still feels a little immature. i might switch to it, though, because the UI is easier to use and is certainly less confusing…even at the expense of a slightly goofy looking UI, it might be worth it to switch to just for the ease of use. christi has pretty much refused to use the new media center because she says it is too hard to use. i blame media browser plugin for that.
overall, though, i’m very happy with the HTPC. it plays all my files great and i even have it doing some background tasks. since it is a full-fledged PC, i am thinking about installing a web server and other stuff on the machine to do some fun stuff with it.