# DIY HTPC help



## mpednault (Dec 20, 2012)

I've been out of the build it yourself PC arena for a long time now and have no idea where to begin for component selection for an HTPC. I've got an old Dell Dimension I could recommision but feel it would lack in performance I'd need for bluray playback. So, I want the ability to "do it all" with my HTPC. I want bluray playback, 1080p output (can it upscale video?), 7.1 audio, HDMI Output to my Denon X1100W, control of my Epson 8500UB, Pandora, Netflix, and access to and playback of music, video and pictures from other networked devices such as my other PC, laptop, and our stack of Apple devices. What OS should I be looking into? Kodibuntu?

My AV closet is relatively open and has plenty of air flow to keep all of the gear cool. And since its all in a separate closet fan noise won't be an issue.

So where do I start? I don't have a budget in mind but I'll be using a bluray player as a stop gap device until I've got the HTPC built. So I'll piece it together over time. I'd prefer a horizontal HTPC case. I've got room for a very large case if need be.


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## poshy (Jan 22, 2014)

I think you should set yourself a budget first and then go from there. It's hard to recommend a build without having any idea on price. 

I built an HTPC using a Lian-Li PC-C50 chassis 3 years back and it's suited my needs quite well. I put an internal Blu-Ray player and use Windows 7. I don't use typical software like XMBC or what not, but just treat it like a PC in my living room as it's easier for me to implement some audio processing software this way. Overall I spent about 1500 AUD on it, and it's been very rock solid.

Besides what you want it to do as listed, you might need to ask a few more questions. Is it going to be in your main room while playing, if so you'll probably want to invest in some quiet fans like Noctua. What kind of airflow does your rack have as well? Do you want to play any PC games on it? That could affect your decision on the graphics card. Do you plan on storing media on hard drive at all? Do you want to store that locally or stream it from a NAS? That can affect your case decision.

On a constrained budget, you should be able to put together simple PC that uses the onboard Intel or AMD graphics and that should be enough horsepower to upscale video in either MPC-HC or JRiver. The HDMI output is standard. Playing Blu-Rays can be tricky, but using PowerDVD is the easy option. It sounds like most of your issues are software issues rather than hardware issues, so I think a basic HTPC should do what you want it to.


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## RTS100x5 (Sep 12, 2009)

start on Newegg.com and look at DIY PC COMBO


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Why not go this route... All you need is the ram, and a SSD drive big enough for your OS, and then an external HDD for your media.:T I use the i3 version, but since you want to do everything I would go to the i5. The i3 can stream 1080p though without problems. If you are going with Kodi you only need as USB stick plus one stick of ram.

Media server
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Next-Un...?ie=UTF8&qid=1428430277&sr=8-1&keywords=i5NUC


Bluray drive
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-SE-50...d=1428430343&sr=1-1&keywords=usb+bluray+drive


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## EndersShadow (Sep 26, 2012)

The suggestions I've keep seeing and given are two fold.

1. Consolidate your media onto a server/computer located elsewhere. Allows for more flexibility when adding drives, cuts down on drive noise, heat, placement issues, etc.

2. Buy a NCU Intel build to run the front end, and Chrome builds running XBMC have also been mentioned. Get something with few if any fans so its quiet. Possible without lots of HDD's spinning up and down.


So I'd build a cheap computer to serve as a server running whatever software or hardware raid solution you decide on in one location. That way you can get a big ugly case that works GREAT for a server but not so much for being quiet, and then another device thats likely fanless to run the software programs to access it.

MOST devices have HDMI out so just make sure it can do TrueHD or DTS-MA.

In my case I used a short term solution of a WD Live TV (60 bucks off eBay) and a 3 TB external HDD that I loaded with media.

Small footprint, the WD does DTS-MA and 1080p, has Netflix, Pandora, etc (not that I needed those).

Anyway my .02 cents


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## mpednault (Dec 20, 2012)

Thank you for all of the comments and suggestions. I have a 4TB external drive right now, a 1TB internal SATA drive and an old Dell Dimension 8400 workstation with 4GB of RAM and a 256MB Video Card. I COULD use that PC and just swap out the VC for a more robust HDMI model but after giving it more thought, I want to keep it as a workstation for my business operations (M$ Office, AutoCAD, etc.).

I thought about just picking up a nice ~$200 Bluray player that has all of the "apps" such as Pandora and Netflix and connecting my external to it for any movies and music I save to it. Maybe that's how I'll go about this since I'm not sure what the benefits would be to go with a full blown ~$1,000 HTPC.

As I was adding up all of the components needed I quickly approached $800. I could easily build one for half that but I don't like it when my gear doesn't perform to my standards. Which brings up my last point... If I do buy a "higher end" bluray player, I'm concerned about functionality, the OSD and the performance. My current bluray players each have nuances about them that irritate me to the point of not wanting to use them.

We've got AppleTV's and like the OSD for each of the "apps" it has. The Netflix interface on my bluray players, including the Xbox One aren't as streamlined or intuitive.


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## EndersShadow (Sep 26, 2012)

mpednault said:


> If I do buy a "higher end" bluray player, I'm concerned about functionality, the OSD and the performance. My current bluray players each have nuances about them that irritate me to the point of not wanting to use them.
> 
> We've got AppleTV's and like the OSD for each of the "apps" it has. The Netflix interface on my bluray players, including the Xbox One aren't as streamlined or intuitive.


Whats an example of a "high-end" player to you?

I think if you picked up a Oppo 103D (so you can play with the Darbee processing if you wanted) you would be more than happy, however your at 500 dollars there.

I personally dont have any experience with that so I cant attest to what it does or doesnt do, but I know most of my buddies that have one love it for blu-ray disc playback, SACD's, CD's, and I *think* its got Netflix and all that jazz too...

If not a cheap Roku will have all that and a HDMI output so your still set......

Personally I look for the performance of the piece for what I need over how nice the UI is. I love XBMC but the WD Live TV + External drive has all the same function at 1/10th the cost.... is the UI as shiny and cool and geeked out.... No....... am I happy with how it works and does it do everything I needed... yes....


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## mpednault (Dec 20, 2012)

I'd love to have an Oppo and they are obviously "High end" but I guess my high end is more like mid-grade. Certainly not the cheap sub-$100 models that I've been buying and dislike...

What about building a media server running Plex? I like the features that Plex promotes but I'm curious of it's functionality on Xbox One and my Apple devices. I guess it's worth a try on my older Dell desktop and if I like it, build a more robust PC as a dedicated media server...

I'm picky when it comes to the visuals of the OSD/GUI of apps. If it doesn't look good, be visually appealing and easy to navigate, I seek out other options. My family is the same way. We're so used to our AppleTV's OSD/GUI that anything new is going to be hit with opposition. As an example, we had a Roku and an AppleTV at one point and the Roku got replaced with another AppleTV due to liking the interface better.

I'd like a catch-all solution here. I thought an HTPC would do the trick since I can customize practically everything by running Kodi, but there seems to be cheaper, effective solutions such as Plex for my needs. I just want to hear from those with experience with these solutions to give me feedback. There's no point in spending a ton of cash on an HTPC if Plex will work on all of my current devices and give me even more features than I thought possible...

So it appears this thread has turned me away from building an HTPC, but I want to get feedback on the other solutions available.


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## EndersShadow (Sep 26, 2012)

PLEX is great but your shooting yourself in the foot on the Apple TV. 720p without lossless audio. Nothing can fix that except another device. Plex sends whatever format the device in the other end can handle. So the Apple TV will get the lower resolution as it can't do more. A Roku would get 1080p without lossless too.. And so on.

From what I remember the Xbox one won't accept the lossless audio from Plex but I could be wrong.

If you want the XBMC style then your looking at a Chromebox hacked to run XBMC with either an external drive connected to it with your media, or a network connected server.



That's about it, and probably the best option if you want a snappy sexy UI with lossless audio and 1080p.


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## mpednault (Dec 20, 2012)

I'm researching the Samsung bluray players that have Plex as an app. I'll use my old Dell as my Plex Media Server for now for the stuff that I've ripped to the external drive and us the bluray player for everything else (Netflix, Pandora, etc.)

And my AppleTV outputs 1080p...


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## kiwijunglist (Nov 13, 2014)

Htpc costing 1000?

That's crazy. You can build one new for <500.


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## mpednault (Dec 20, 2012)

Yes but even at around $500 what's the benefit over a bluray player with wifi and streaming content in 1080p?

Honestly, I don't see the appeal for an HTPC anymore considering the price differential and the minor benefits.


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## kiwijunglist (Nov 13, 2014)

For me htpc has major benefits and gives a better quality picture. Although my usage situation is different to you.


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## mpednault (Dec 20, 2012)

What are the major benefits?

I'm honestly curious, not being condescending.


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## kiwijunglist (Nov 13, 2014)

I'll write more later. I'm on my phone, hence short answers.


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## EndersShadow (Sep 26, 2012)

mpednault said:


> Yes but even at around $500 what's the benefit over a bluray player with wifi and streaming content in 1080p?
> 
> Honestly, I don't see the appeal for an HTPC anymore considering the price differential and the minor benefits.


Agreed... thats why the XBMC (now Kodi) forum is FULL of folks going with ChromeBox's they hack and for under 200 bucks they have a HTPC type streaming device that does all they need. I was even told the era of HTPC was for most folks gone with the Chromebox's taking over.

But its totally dependent on usage. For someone that also GAMES a HTPC offers a possible multifunction rig depending on if they can handle the noise a massive GPU would put out....

For me, I'm still debating doing one but using a Chromebox to do it. I already put my other rig in a HTPC case so it sits with my stereo gear, so I will load that computer up with HDD's, use it as my XBMC server to dish the data to the Chromebox.


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## mpednault (Dec 20, 2012)

I've thought about Kodi as well. But what does it offer that a streaming bluray player doesn't?


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

mpednault said:


> I've thought about Kodi as well. But what does it offer that a streaming bluray player doesn't?


Watching TV shows?


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## EndersShadow (Sep 26, 2012)

mpednault said:


> I've thought about Kodi as well. But what does it offer that a streaming bluray player doesn't?


More audio/video codec's it can handle, open source for tweaking additional features, updated faster as new tech comes out..... lots of things...

Most firmware on blu-ray players is a one and done type deal. Once every 6 months you "might" see an update but rarely does it add additional codec's for the player to play.......


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## mpednault (Dec 20, 2012)

I bought a Dell ChromeBox today and will be installing OpenELEC (Kodi) on it! I can't wait to play with it and mess around with skins and settings!


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## chriscorv58 (Jan 29, 2014)

Mini atx board, 4gb ram ddr3 pc1600, amd processor of your choice, Samsung Evo 128/256 ssd, 400watt modular power supply, and mini atx case. Get a copy of windows 10 and install fubar2000, and xbmc.


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