Since this site is mainly about Media Centers, i should post info on how to build one in the mean time. It's only logical! When I was looking for information and tips, I found a few sites.
Make sure you've read my prologue before continuing on.
Welcome to part 1 of my many part HTPC Build suggestions. In this article I will cover basic topics, but it's only an introduction. There are many links i found that detail what to look for and what to cover. Today i will share my links on what other people have done, and
I found an old article at Firingsquad.com on how to build a HTPC. Sure it dates from 2004, but the basic principles still apply, and there is a nice article on how Upsampling a DVD works. The more important parts are what to look for in the components for the computer you are going to build, and what case would work. You can read the article here.
Engadget also created a good article back in 2006, How-To: Build a practical HTPC. It's an interesting read, but i don't agree 100% with their part choices. They had 3 main goals for the PC,
- Good desktop performance
- Long life through upgradability
- Cost close to $1,000
The only real problem with these articles are that they are all pre-Blu-Ray HTPCs, i haven't found a good article yet, and i am working on one. Tom's Hardware have written one for Windows 7, you can read it here. At the moment i know of this tutorial from Systm to play Blu-Rays, but they don't mention details, or anything about incorporating it with Media Center. I have tried Cyberlink PowerDVD 8 and ArcSoft Total Media Theatre 2, they work great, but only ArcSoft becomes part of the Windows Media Center. There is a newer version of ArcSoft Total Media Theatre 3 that has been released, as well as Cyberlink PowerDVD 9, i am going to post a review it soon!
But for me, i have a different list when it comes to a HTPC.
- HDMI outputs
- Blu-ray ready
- HD Audio and Video playback
- The case has to blend in with my Recievers, and other Audio and video Equipment
- Must be as quiet as possible!
- Does Windows Media Center play everything i want? what plug ins do i need?
- When you're on your couch, how do i control the computer from 15 feet away?
You have to decide before starting to shop, what do you want the HTPC to do? Make it play HD content? Will it be a PVR for when you watch TV? Do you want it to hold all of your media on the hard drive? Will it only be used as a high quality audio player? Once you decided that, then you can plan ahead.
There are a few items that you should look for when planning to make a HTPC. With today's new powerful CPUs, we don't really need hardware decoding of HD content off of the Blu-Ray disk, but both Nvidia and ATI have great dedicated video processors built in their GPUs. Nvidia has created PureVideo HD, and ATI have their Avivo HD. I remember shopping for my Geforce 8 series and finding out only the 8600gt had PureVideo HD. Driverheaven has a good article on the difference between the two, you can read it here. Only lately are they in most of the videocards, and not just the high end. There are also some motherboards with HDMI onboard, with a chipset with these technologies built in, saving you from getting a separate videocard. Make sure when you look for a videocard, my only suggestion is that i should have HDMI output. If you're looking for an all in one mother board solution, try to get one with an Nvidia Geforce built in. The ATI 780G chipset/Radeon HD 3200 and the Nvidia MCP78S chipset/GeForce 8200 provide the first integrated graphics solutions that can accelerate Blu-ray playback.
Tom's Hardware goes in great detail covering the difference, there is a four part article if you wish to read it.
Nvidia's solution to HD playback
Now that we covered the image aspect, there is also the Sound aspect of a HTPC. If you want something that is up to date, you should plan for HDMI output for image and sound. ATI have video cards with a 5.1 decoder built in, and Nvidia have some videocards with a SPDIF passthrough so you can have sound and video from the HDMI cable, just like a regular dedicated Blu-ray or DVD player. When it comes to DVD 5.1 playback, all of the cards and software i have mentioned so far have no issues with it. But what about the HD audio? I can enable 24bit in Windows Vista, but we're very limited to Dolby True HD, and DTS HD playback. At the moment, i know of one expensive solution. Asus's Xonar HD line of sound cards are extremely good, and have a lot of support from Asus. They are new, and have a few bugs, but in the year that it has been out, a lot of bugs and new features have been enabled. They are a little pricey for a sound card, but are the only products that i know of that can give you true HD sounds, as well as hardware Video decoding to enable. Asus has the Splendid Technology Video enhancement built in to the card that let you take advantage of true HD Video and Audio.
What should be a priority is the noise a computer makes. I don't like to hear the fans of the PC when i use one, it gets annoying for me. I used to have my computer in my bedroom and i couldn't sleep with the PC on, so i decided to never make a loud PC, ever. No one likes to hear a fan when they enjoy a good movie, it's distracting and annoying.
Stay tuned, i will post pictures soon and more information.
1 Response to “How to build a HTPC – Part 1”