# HTPC or Media Server & PS3



## HD-Guzzler (Aug 9, 2010)

I'm look to put together a comprehensive web streaming setup. I would like to stream video to my HDTV in my living room and would like some input on the path to take. By the way I am also planning on using this system as a NAS for backups and data storage.

The content I'm looking to stream includes, Revision3, GameTrailers.com, G4TV, HGTV, Comedy Central, NBC, and local content. Also one of the most important things I like to watch is NHL GameCenter LIVE. From the research I have done it looks like there are two options.

One, the more expensive option, would be to build a HTPC. For software I would have many options, from Linux to Windows 7, along with several different applications, Boxee, Windows Media Server, etc. If I went with this option I would also consider getting a HD Cable capture card so I could save some money in the long run by not paying the monthly rental fee to the Cable company for their DVR box.

Option two (the cheaper option) would be to build a NAS/Media Server and stream my web content to my Playstation 3 through software such as PlayOn and TVersity. I tried out PlayOn and was quite impressed, and noticed the Premium version had support for NHL. Does anyone have any experience streaming NHL via PlayOn?

I would like to keep the build around $400. I am planing on using RAID 1 for storage and would like 1-2TB of storage, so my actual storage would be double that since I'm planning on running RAID 1. I would also like to keep the noise and power consumption to a minimum so I am looking at one of the Intel Atom boards. What do you guys suggest?


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## eugovector (Sep 4, 2006)

If you get an HTPC, you're going to want to be doing Hulu, Netflix, and more down the road. While the PS3 takes care of a lot of this, I'd look for a more powerful processor. Here's the build I'm putting together this week:

$18 Roswell Case
$30 Antec Power Supply
$82 Biostar Motherboard + E3300 CPU
$90 4gb of RAM
$100 2TB Hard Drive
$30 ATI 5450
$30 Windows 7

Total:
$380

All items were ordered from Newegg by keeping an eye out for sales, with the exception of the Windows 7 license which was less expensive because I have an educator discount.


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## zryder (Apr 13, 2009)

You can get by with $400, but remember, when using something like tversity, the "streaming" machine will need to have a bit of horsepower to transcode the information. The PS3 plays very little natively, unfortunately.
We tried to do similar things with my neighbor's PS3, and ended up building him a machine for a relatively affordable price. The video card, an ATI 5450 linked in the previous post is more than enough for most HTPC duties.


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