Looking at buying a media centre for my girlfriends house.
How much am I looking for? Ideally capable of outputting HD. But i dont have much to spend on one really..
I assume its cheaper to build one as the systems ive seen pre-built are quite expensive.
just get a cheap xbox and mod it. The media center on that is fantastic.
Or just buy a 360/PS3 and a USB HDD.
If youre going to build a box, youll need to decide on whether you want to have BlueRay/HD-DVD support. If you do then for BR I believe youll need a HDCP gfx card. I speced up a low end and top end HTPC and the prices came out between £550 and £1000+ depending upon what I wanted to support...
...I decided to upgrade my server so that I could stream all my media to my 360 and I also bought a HD-DVD add-on for it.
Obviously now I need to do something about getting BR support but tbh, I am in no rush for that.
ps3 ftw
Will the xbox work with any format (incl mkv) ? Im not looking for one with bluray or hdd dvd tbh. Just want to maybe record tv and play video files.
The latest AMD 780G chipset is aimed at Media Center PCs, and it can decode Blu-Ray without the addition of a graphics card. I think its on Toms Hardware where I saw the review.
Heh MKV.
Neither the PS3 nor the 360 support MKV.
I use TVersity to transcode MKV to my 360 on the fly.
(I have a dual Xeon server w\ 4gb ram for a media server. I dont know what the minimum specs to get real-time MKV transcoding are.)
oh, also Mozilla Songbird plays MKV files.
Quote from: CodedWill the xbox work with any format (incl mkv) ? Im not looking for one with bluray or hdd dvd tbh. Just want to maybe record tv and play video files.
plays most things - certainly anything Ive tried. Couldnt be sure about MKV though. WIll do a google later on for you. Not sure how youd make it record tv though!! Might not be suitable but its a great solution for streaming divx, avi, mpg, mp3 etc...
Never mind about recording tv really.
By the looks of it, xbmc does work with mkv aswell.
Another couple of questions as i cant seem to find the answer for them :
Can it output HD (by the looks of it i need a cable??) ?
Is it possible to play videos off a external hard drive (usb or firewire
thanks again.
seconded original Xbox (£29.99 preowned at Game stores), then around £15 for the stuff to softmod it. XBMC (the OS/Dashboard) will play pretty much everything inc MKV (with a little tweaking) but it only outputs SD. Once set up its really easy to control, esp if you get an xbox remote (I got a few free from Game stores) - even my mum can use it.
For TV recording I just got a cheap dual tuner PVR, This one to be exact (http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(28382)DigiFusion-FVRT145-FreeView-Set-Top-Box-with.aspx).
£85 and your all set (assuming you have a PC/NAS to store the files).
Much less maintenence than a media center and a fraction of the price.
However if you want to play high definition then the above can be dissregarded. :)
Ive had a quick go at pricing one up, thoughts ?
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ - £40
Abit AN-M2HD nForce 520 Micro ATX - ££60
Corsair 2GB DDR2 Value Select 4200 - £30
Seagate Barracuda 160GB - £40
So im at £160ish at the moment, but no case or psu yet. Any reccommendations?
Im trying to keep the price low as possible. This should output mkv HD-files i think....
You not want hardware Blu-Ray decoding for a little future proofing?
if so then a 780G based chipset would be the winner, and Scan have anice ANtec media case in for £67. Was just discussing this ona nother forum I use the other day. Including a Blu-Ray player you can kit the entire system up for £330 if you use a *NIX of some form.
do you mean this :
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-269-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=807
?
ill have a look at that case now. cheers
Quote from: CodedIve had a quick go at pricing one up, thoughts ?
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ - £40
Abit AN-M2HD nForce 520 Micro ATX - ££60
Corsair 2GB DDR2 Value Select 4200 - £30
Seagate Barracuda 160GB - £40
So im at £160ish at the moment, but no case or psu yet. Any reccommendations?
Im trying to keep the price low as possible. This should output mkv HD-files i think....
Your also missing a gfx card and tv (twin) tuner card. I have to say though, a HTPC seems much cheaper than when I looked. Keep us posted :thumbup:
Quote from: sexytwseconded original Xbox (£29.99 preowned at Game stores), then around £15 for the stuff to softmod it. XBMC (the OS/Dashboard) will play pretty much everything inc MKV (with a little tweaking) but it only outputs SD. Once set up its really easy to control, esp if you get an xbox remote (I got a few free from Game stores) - even my mum can use it.
For TV recording I just got a cheap dual tuner PVR, This one to be exact.
£85 and your all set (assuming you have a PC/NAS to store the files).
Much less maintenence than a media center and a fraction of the price.
However if you want to play high definition then the above can be dissregarded. :)
You dont need anything to softmod an xbox now :) I did mine without any additional games.
Hotswap the hard drive, use XBOXhdm to install the softmod. reconnect it all, and voila, softmodded for free :)
Downside is it requires you to open the ol xbox, and mine caught fire after I shorted the powersupply with a bolt. :( Doh.
Quote from: M3ta7h3adYou dont need anything to softmod an xbox now :) I did mine without any additional games.
Hotswap the hard drive, use XBOXhdm to install the softmod. reconnect it all, and voila, softmodded for free :)
Downside is it requires you to open the ol xbox, and mine caught fire after I shorted the powersupply with a bolt. :( Doh.
this interests me, i was considering dropping my 250Gb drive into the XBox, you got a linky for the that?
Quote from: sexytwQuote from: CodedIve had a quick go at pricing one up, thoughts ?
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ - £40
Abit AN-M2HD nForce 520 Micro ATX - ££60
Corsair 2GB DDR2 Value Select 4200 - £30
Seagate Barracuda 160GB - £40
So im at £160ish at the moment, but no case or psu yet. Any reccommendations?
Im trying to keep the price low as possible. This should output mkv HD-files i think....
Your also missing a gfx card and tv (twin) tuner card. I have to say though, a HTPC seems much cheaper than when I looked. Keep us posted :thumbup:
Well i was thinking the onboard gfx would be good enough to handle anything?
Forgot about the tuner - might put that on hold untill i get some extra cash.
Ive shopped about a bit and these looks like the best prices :
Antec Media Case - £67
Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+ 2.3 ghz - £41
Asus 780g - £63
1x2GB Corsais Value 5400 - £26
Seagate 160GB 8mb cache 72000rpm - £32
Shipping : £8.25 + £9.00
= £246.25
Cant seem to find many places which sell 780G. Scan have the best price but are out of stock.
Any thoughts before i buy ?
Thanks again
yeah, if its "just" a media PC then take a look at the "BE-2xxx" series X2 chips. They are the low-energy ones, and theyll quieten the system down. Also, ask Kris-Tekheads on here if he has any of the other boards in stock, or is getting any. He seems to be pretty good for getting decent kit in.
Anyone know what the level noise of the current one would be ? obviously dont want it to be too loud.
Would the
AMD X2 BE-2350 Brisbane Dual Core 2.1GHz
be sufficient ?
https://www.ripcaster.co.uk/node/220?gclid=CLC_55DMqpICFRtCMAodsCMDDg
Quote from: BeakerQuote from: M3ta7h3adYou dont need anything to softmod an xbox now :) I did mine without any additional games.
Hotswap the hard drive, use XBOXhdm to install the softmod. reconnect it all, and voila, softmodded for free :)
Downside is it requires you to open the ol xbox, and mine caught fire after I shorted the powersupply with a bolt. :( Doh.
this interests me, i was considering dropping my 250Gb drive into the XBox, you got a linky for the that?
Have a look at Xboxscene to get the gist. There doesnt appear to be a full walk through but basically you do the following.
Plug a molex from your PC powersupply into the XBOX hd (floating earth on the xbox makes it dodgy otherwise as the ide cable is also grounded and will likely not like the 200+ difference in voltage).
Turn on PC and hit "pause" on the keyboard at the bios screen, prior to hard drive detection (may want to turn off the quick boot option so you get more time)
Turn on xbox.
As the xbox logo comes up, when it zooms out and just before the microsoft logo comes on the screen at the bottom, yank the IDE cable from the back of it.
Plug the hard drive into your computer as "primary master" (HAS TO BE... or the stupid software doesnt work :()
Having already prepared a XBoxHDM cd with the necessary mod (have a look on xboxscene... think I was using the ndure mod) place this in the cd-drive of your computer.
Hit the space bar on your keyboard to resume booting. If youve timed it right the xbox hard drive will be unlocked (it can take a while to get past the hd detection screen so leave it wait).
XBOXHDM will boot, then run the ndure installer as per the instructions you got with the softmod. Suggest making a backup first.
shut everything down once done.
Plug everything back in, and youll have a softmodded xbox, which can then just boot whatever you want :D
Quote from: M3ta7h3adQuote from: BeakerQuote from: M3ta7h3adYou dont need anything to softmod an xbox now :) I did mine without any additional games.
Hotswap the hard drive, use XBOXhdm to install the softmod. reconnect it all, and voila, softmodded for free :)
Downside is it requires you to open the ol xbox, and mine caught fire after I shorted the powersupply with a bolt. :( Doh.
this interests me, i was considering dropping my 250Gb drive into the XBox, you got a linky for the that?
Have a look at Xboxscene to get the gist. There doesnt appear to be a full walk through but basically you do the following.
Plug a molex from your PC powersupply into the XBOX hd (floating earth on the xbox makes it dodgy otherwise as the ide cable is also grounded and will likely not like the 200+ difference in voltage).
Turn on PC and hit "pause" on the keyboard at the bios screen, prior to hard drive detection (may want to turn off the quick boot option so you get more time)
Turn on xbox.
As the xbox logo comes up, when it zooms out and just before the microsoft logo comes on the screen at the bottom, yank the IDE cable from the back of it.
Plug the hard drive into your computer as "primary master" (HAS TO BE... or the stupid software doesnt work :()
Having already prepared a XBoxHDM cd with the necessary mod (have a look on xboxscene... think I was using the ndure mod) place this in the cd-drive of your computer.
Hit the space bar on your keyboard to resume booting. If youve timed it right the xbox hard drive will be unlocked (it can take a while to get past the hd detection screen so leave it wait).
XBOXHDM will boot, then run the ndure installer as per the instructions you got with the softmod. Suggest making a backup first.
shut everything down once done.
Plug everything back in, and youll have a softmodded xbox, which can then just boot whatever you want :D
Bloody hell is that it? Theyve come a long way since me and Dooms added Xecuter 2 chips to ours back when Xboxs were new. That was a big job! -)
HDDVD support for £18.75 delivered here (http://www.wopple.com/Spec___SD-H802A___M011336.html).
EDIT: Oops, repost - alse posted here (http://www.tekforums.co.uk/posts/list/11916.page).
The Asus M3A78-EMH mobo mentioned earlier... excuse my lack of keeping up with the times... Do you have to install RAM in pairs?
e.g. 2x 1GB or will it only require one?
URL below:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-269-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=807
Edit: Oh and is there any advantage of getting 1066 memory?
Cheers Guys
Jake
Xbox1 as a media centre is fantastic, but there are a few drawbacks.
Not powerful enough to decode HD media 95% of the time.
Expensive extra cable to allow it to output in HD.
Some Xvids dont play properly. I had very bad problems with Lucky Number Slevin, although I couldnt pinpoint why it played very stuttery.