Assembled HTPC or Xtreamer Ultra

[digitalv]

Well a good GPU will do better with gaming,for HTPC 5570 is a balanced option.Mine 5570 is doing well job-
http://www.hifivision.com/home-thea...fused-hdav-card-vs-radeon-5xxx-series-12.html

Exactly my point... for an HTPC, 5770 is sheer overkill and a bad choice as far as acoustics are concerned

 

[nikhilstomer]

I have just moved onto a Media Player (PlayOnHD) after using HTPC for more than 4 years. The annual maintenance of an HTPC is very high. The HDD, Motherboard, Graphic cards and SMPS, I have never seen any of these run for more than 2 years. Whereas my DVD player is running for the last 6 years. If the main use is watching movies....Go for Media player.

 

[spirovious]

The annual maintenance of an HTPC is very high. The HDD, Motherboard, Graphic cards and SMPS, I have never seen any of these run for more than 2 years.

I dont agree this as (touch wood)my system did not have any problem even after warrenty period.
eg-my old MB(MSI 945) is still running.My soundcard almost 35.yr,old graphiccard aroung 5yrs,ram 3+,SMPS 3.5.I know its not always.I had bad experience in past with ATI GC(9250?),but its make was not from good brand.

Now you have to select components wisely based on online reviews OR friends usage.I always clean PC from inside(removing dust)every 3wks.
It has edge as it can play future formats too & you save on upgrading new player.
Thats the way PC/HTPC goes.

 

[digitalv]

I have just moved onto a Media Player (PlayOnHD) after using HTPC for more than 4 years. The annual maintenance of an HTPC is very high. The HDD, Motherboard, Graphic cards and SMPS, I have never seen any of these run for more than 2 years. Whereas my DVD player is running for the last 6 years. If the main use is watching movies....Go for Media player.

I respectfully disagree. May be you should get your power supply cleaned up with an online UPS/CVT if you are seeing such high failure rates and keep the components clean if your area is exposed to high dust/pollution and moisture.

For the record, I still have my old Intel-486 based computer in running condition which is ~20 years old. My Z80 spectrum home computer which is much more older is lying somewhere but it was working the last time I've checked, and so are my lots of my other PC's (every single generation till P-4) which were made later. IIRC, the only component failure I've had so far is 1x HDD failure and 2x SMPS failure and that too well after 5 years of use.

Media players also have vaguely similar components (not exactly the same processor since they usually run a SoC and the RAM is usually soldered on than in sockets) as a PC and technically should not have hugely different MTBF's. DVD players are much simpler hardware but their optics are not very reliable.

 

[spirovious]

PC components if run for 1yr without hitch & proper care,they can keep going...

 

[rameshbitra]

can anyone suggest mini ITX or uATX mobo with bitstream capability for TrueHD, DTS-HD MA? I want the audio from HTPC without any processing to AVR..

 

[rameshbitra]

Asus M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AMD 890GX AM3 Motherboard - Rs.8500
AMD CPU Phenom II 555 Black Edition Dual Core Processor - Rs.4350
Cooler Master Chasis Elite 360 - Rs.1850
4GB CORSAIR DDR3 RAM - Rs. 2350
Seagate 1TB (6GB/Sec) - Rs. 2700
ATI HD 5770 GPU - Rs.7500 (can add this later on or wait till the price of GPU having HDMI 1.4 price comes down)

altogether price comes to around 27K..how is this above combo guys?? for this price, we can get below without bluray 3D..with HTPC, we have the flexibility of changing the GPU at anytime to get 3D Bluray support..

Advanced MP3 Players Dune BD Prime 3 Blu-Ray Video Player

Advanced MP3 Players Dune HD Smart B1 Flagship High Definition Network Media Player with Blu-Ray Player

It is very difficult to stick with the budjet Initially when I started, i thought of buying Playon HD (8K), then it was Xtreamer Ultra (19-20K), now HTPC (25K) or Dune..I guesss i should stop searching much in google

 

[digitalv]

can anyone suggest mini ITX or uATX mobo with bitstream capability for TrueHD, DTS-HD MA? I want the audio from HTPC without any processing to AVR..

Any Intel motherboard which can support i3 processor is capable of bitstreaming capability and also play Bluray flawlessly. Cost ~4.5k-5.5K and you really don't need to invest in a GPU unless you want to game.

 

[reignofchaos]

^^The gpu is terrible though - if you do any shader based post processing it will crawl. In that regard the AMD Fusion E350 based systems are far better. Yes as far as cpu performance is concerned, the i3 will murder the E350 but it'll be better when watching movies since the on die gpu has much much more horsepower.

 

[rameshbitra]

sorry for the dumb question..how or where can i find which mobo can bit stream and which cannot..??

 

[rameshbitra]

Also for everyone's update reg Xtreamer ultra - Xtreamer has announced officially in their forum -Below are the comments..

"We see this issue is causing you all a little confusion.

So again. We will repeat what was announced and published in FAQ already.

Officially we can say now that the ultra is unable to bitstream high-end codecs such as TrueHD and several DTS variations. It is the safer answer for us to provide you . This situation can of-course be changed with future updates made by the various software vendors and the open source community. It can change with an update by nvidia as well. We cannot confirm.
We did not focus on HD Audio bit-streaming with this product. We tried to achieve capable machine in good price and in good package that works out of the box. You can find better solutions in the market if this is your main or only focus. they will also cost you nearly 2 times more than what we currently offer for the xtreamer ultra. It will come also with no accessories and will not run out of the box."

 

[humrahi]

Thanks evryone for your responses..Thats a valid point too Thad abt the warranty!! I am still not decided but continuously searching google/forums to get some knowledge on HTPC..

User "Humrahi" has suggested "Intel Core i3-2100T with DH67CF Mini-ITX Motherboard (updated version - DH67CFB3), and Waseena ITX7 cabinet case..

The above looks gud..but these three alone is mounting to 300GBP in UK hyeah: I was just looking for the prices in UK to get an idea abt the approximate price in India..surely this should be more in India..

Do you know anyother alternative for Wesena mini HTPC?? I dont want to go beyond 20K now(initially thinking to not go beyond 18K )..

Hmm, well that specification is more of a reference. Its tested & works pretty well.
You could modify it as follows:
* get a micro atx h67 board (instead of mini atx)
* get intel core i3-2100 (instead of 2100T - it consumes arnd 20w more power but is cheaper)
* get a cheaper cabinet
I am pretty sure that would get you back well within 20k.

With intel 2nd generation cpu's (sandy bridge) you won't need graphic cards. They have all the things necessary to qualify for a good htpc.
I checked with some shops in Lamington road. Got quoted 11000 Rs/- for intel mobo dh67vr and intel core i3-2100. Add another 1000 for 2GB ram. And the rest of the budget for fully functional (but not necessarily good looking) htpc.

 

[rameshbitra]

i will disturb more when i start building my HTPC..

I have one more doubt for now. is there any IR receivers (internal/external) available in India which can power the PC up from off, not just sleep??