POSTS

My first HTPC

I've been trying to put together a HTPC for quite a long time now, up until now with little success.

Recently, some of my workmates have started working on HTPCs of their own, which has spurred me on to try again. For a change, I succeeded, mostly through the really good MythTV distribution KnoppMyth. It takes out all of the hard work in configuring linux to work properly as a set top box, especially for obscure hardware like the VIA EPIA-M mother boards

So, I now have a working set up to record Digital TV programs.... Yay!

Here are some pictures











The hardware list:
  • An old DVD-Player case (Thanks Peter!)
  • Via EPIA-Me6000 Motherboard
  • 60W DC-DC power supply
  • 256 Mb DDR400 RAM (Thanks Mike!)
  • 300Gb Segate Barracuda 7200.8 Hard Drive
  • ATI RF Remote
  • Logitech Di-Novo bluetooth keyboard/mouse
  • Netgear WG311 802.11g PCI Card
  • Hauppage Nova-T DVB tuner card
Things that are still wrong, or I need to fix:
  • The Hard Drive runs too hot, and you can hear it click when it seeks. I think I will replace it with a notebook drive
  • The Tuner card is too slow.
  • I think the power supply is a little too weak, as sometimes it struggles to boot up. I think changing the hard drive will help a lot
  • The EPIA-M boards, even with their hardware decoder, can not decode HD (1080i) signals properly. I am considering building another machine using a Pentium-M solution
  • No DVD Drive, but that is just a matter of buying one and sticking it in