Official HTPC Thread

Apr 2, 2009
2,147
anyone have one? throw up pics and specs.

i'm gonna make this thread your go to thread to know what to buy. so give me some time..and suggestions :D

Popcorn Hour:
Popcorn Hour C-200



$299

Playstation 3:

4013837895_2e9b1e2ccb.jpg


$349
HTPC:
$80

785g mobo + amd x4
ati 5770 for gaming

$400ish. $500ish for gaming version

Nettop:
Lenovo IdeaCenter Q110

lenovo_ideacentre_q100_q110_nettop-306x500.jpg


A compact 6 x 6.8 x 0.8 inches, the Q110 uses Intel’s single-core Atom 230 1.6GHz processor with 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard-drive and Windows Vista Home Premium 64; an upgrade to Windows 7 upon its release next month is also included in the price.

$399

those are your 4 easy options

*note* this is going to be a slow update process, and a lot will be stolen from other forums, but actually get updated over time
 
Last edited:
I thought I would show two more different views of XBMC - Aeon Nox updated to the GIT 4.1.9 edition. Also installed a Mod that replaces all of my icons like codec, studio, rating and a lot more to color instead of just the drab white.

Extended Movie Info view


Showcase with Coverflow view


XBMC is truly amazing. :thumbs:
Anyways it all looks :drool:
 
Last edited:
Well it's a day before I make my purchase and have been doing more research on HTPC's. I'm glad I decided to extend my research an extra day because I've come across one hell of a deal on a HTPC that's about as good in performance as the Zotac Zbox ID83 is.

While I was going to Pay $350 for the ID83 and another $200 on an SSD and RAM I can pay $350 even for the Q190 and it has a 500GB HDD and 4GB of RAM and it comes with Windows 8 64 Bit already out of the box. :scat:

I'm going to get it without the (optional) Blu-ray player that goes with it because I'll strictly be using a media server that will hold all my movies.

Here it is by itself.
lenovo-compact-desktop-ideacentre-q190-top-bottom-front-back-7.jpg


Here it is with the (optional) Blu-ray player.
ideacentre-Q190-compact-desktop-optical-drive-top-bottom-front-back-views-8L-940x475.jpg


Here is the included Mini Keyboard and track ball.
Lenovo-IdeaCentre-Q190-3.jpg


1252788-lenovo-ideacentre-q190-open-1160-100031524-orig.jpg



OPERATING SYSTEM
Windows 8 64 bit

PROCESSOR
Intel® Celeron 887 dual core processor (2M Cache, 1.50 GHz)

VIDEO GRAPHICS
Integrated Intel® HD 2000 graphics

MEMORY
4GB DDR3- 1333 Mhz (Support DualChannel) [SODIMM slots up to 8GB

HARD DISK DRIVE
UPTO 500GB HDD storage

OPTICAL DRIVE
Add-on DVD reader/writer or Blu-ray Disc™ drive

SOUND
7.1 Channel surround sound support via HDMI

INTEGRATED COMMUNICATIONS
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity
10/100/1000M LAN

CONNECTORS
4xUSB2.0 (rear); 2x USB3.0(front), 6 in 1 Card
Reader ( SD / SDHC / SDXC / MMC / MS / MS_Pro),
Headphone Microphone , HDMI, SDXC(optical)

It appears I took the last one from NewEgg but there are some at Amazon too.
NEWEGG Amazon
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for all that Acid. I was going to ask if the Synology was truly hot-swappable as I have a drobo but liked the look of the scalability of the Synology. Luckily, you've already answered that question for me and I see I've made the right choice.

Good luck with the rest of your set-up. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lone Crusader
I have only installed a regular XBMC, no mods. Noticed there is no way to move forward or backwards when watching a movie... is there a mod for this?
 
I have only installed a regular XBMC, no mods. Noticed there is no way to move forward or backwards when watching a movie... is there a mod for this?

This addon will jumpback the given number of seconds whenever a movie is unpaused - for finding back into the story.
You can set the amount of seconds to jump back and the minimum seconds the pause must take to jump back.
It also allows to jump back or forward after rwd or fwd a specified amount of seconds.

To install this add-on you must do so from the Add-on Manager from within XBMC by going to:
Settings
Add-ons
Get add-ons
XBMC.org Add-ons
Services
XBMC Unpause Jumpback
Install



:ordered: :oohyeah:
View attachment 47839


Thanks for all that Acid. I was going to ask if the Synology was truly hot-swappable as I have a drobo but liked the look of the scalability of the Synology. Luckily, you've already answered that question for me and I see I've made the right choice.

Good luck with the rest of your set-up. :)
The Synology you had to pull the HDD caddy out and then screw your HDD to the caddy and then reinsert it. Not as hot swappable as I was hoping for.

Thanks
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I thought that I'd include this image. It's supposedly the worlds thinnest consumer computer at only 22mm thick. EEK! :drool:

lenovo-compact-desktop-ideacentre-q190-front-side-3.jpg


I should get it tomorrow as I overnighted it with FedEx Overnight Saturday delivery. :oohyeah:

Update: Bummer :( I first tried NewEgg and they came back saying the product was out of stock and back-ordered. I was refunded my money and I decided to get it at MacMall for the same price. I decided I wanted it the next day and opted for FedEx Overnight Saturday Delivery. Then they came back with my order status saying it was back-ordered.

I was like hell no! So I called them and the lady said that the warehouse it was coming from couldn't get it out in time for a Saturday delivery but if she canceled my order and placed a new order from a different warehouse I could get FedEx Overnight just not Overnight with a Saturday delivery and that she would drastically reduce my cost for shipping. She said it could be delivered my Monday instead. I was like yeah that would work.

Anyways this thing is in hot demand right now and seems to be one of the best HTPC's on the market at the moment. Here's a LINK to a Google Shopping search with over 25 stores to choose one.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • Like
Reactions: Jason Bourne
Well I put the Lenovo IdeaCentre Q190 through the initial burn in. At first I was getting some jerkyness while viewing some of my movies that reside on my network file server.

I found other people that have it and were getting the same thing and they jumped on Intel's website and updated the graphics driver so I did the same thing and all works great now. :LOL:

I didn't install OpenELEC and decided to try XBMC with Win8 and see how well it does. So far I only have BitDefender Internet Security, Google Chrome and XBMC installed and thats it and everything runs smooth on this thing. This thing is no bigger than a modem or router and it's considered a Desktop Computer. Awesome!

Only thing is that it's a computer and it has to be powered on just like a regular computer is, by clicking the power button. I would really like to power it on by remote but I don't know if I'll be able to. Maybe wake on LAN or something. Another thing is that the way Win8 is designed they make it very difficult to boot into XBMC because of Windows new Start Menu screen demands that it is the first thing that you boot into.

I've searched on the net for ways to boot into other applications first thing but it takes messing with Windows Shell or altering the registry. I mean I can do that and all but I think I'll try installing OpenELEC first on a USB thumb drive and booting straight into it since it has such a small footprint. It's designed specifically to work with XBMC.

I've been searching trying to find out whether the BUS speed of the SATA slot where the HDD plugs into is either SATA II or III as it will be a deciding factor if I decide to get a SSD and replace the drive or not. I mean right now it comes with a 500GB HDD that is 5400RMP so it's not really that fast. Although I have no problem opening any applications with the speed of the drive now but an SSD would be real nice. :drool:

All in all for $350 it's a pretty decent computer and makes for a nice HTPC. :thumbs: Now when I get home from work it's :movie: time. :D
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Jason Bourne
My HTPC is a fairly humble PC with a Silverstone Grandia GD-02 case and 2x2Tb HDD's. Processor's a bit lacking these days as only an old AMD X3 435 and Graphics cards is a Radeon 5850 (or is it 5870). All runs beautifully quiet. btw my case doesn't have the touchscreen like the modern version.

Software wise I've always used Mediabrowser but I believe it is (still) on a beta update the result of which will mean I will have to rename vast majority of my video files collected over the years. So I was wondering if this is a good time to switch to XMBC or not. Any suggestions or comments?
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Jason Bourne
My HTPC is a fairly humble PC with a Silverstone Grandia GD-02 case and 2x2Tb HDD's. Processor's a bit lacking these days as only an old AMD X3 435 and Graphics cards is a Radeon 5850 (or is it 5870). All runs beautifully quiet. btw my case doesn't have the touchscreen like the modern version.

Software wise I've always used Mediabrowser but I believe it is (still) on a beta update the result of which will mean I will have to rename vast majority of my video files collected over the years. So I was wondering if this is a good time to switch to XMBC or not. Any suggestions or comments?

As far as a naming structures goes there is a formula to use I would visit THIS wiki to get familurized with it.
 
In case anybody was interested in the Drobo 5N for there HTPC, it has come down in price $50 at NewEgg since I last posted about it. Also I found a 64GB Plextor mSATA that has a Marvell controller that was only $75. The mSATA is used for cashing purposes allowing you to have a seamless movie viewing experience with no glitching effect.

Drobo_Wishlist.jpg


I just got my money back for the Synology that I sent back so I just bought the Drobo an mSATA card and three 4TB HDD's today. :oohyeah:

Drobo 5N
Plextor M5M mSATA
Seagate 4TB NAS HDD

:thumbs:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • Like
Reactions: Jason Bourne
Well it's a day before I make my purchase and have been doing more research on HTPC's. I'm glad I decided to extend my research an extra day because I've come across one hell of a deal on a HTPC that's about as good in performance as the Zotac Zbox ID83 is.

While I was going to Pay $350 for the ID83 and another $200 on an SSD and RAM I can pay $350 even for the Q190 and it has a 500GB HDD and 4GB of RAM and it comes with Windows 8 64 Bit already out of the box. :scat:

I'm going to get it without the (optional) Blu-ray player that goes with it because I'll strictly be using a media server that will hold all my movies.

Here it is by itself.
View attachment 47839

Here it is with the (optional) Blu-ray player.
View attachment 47840

Here is the included Mini Keyboard and track ball.
View attachment 47841

View attachment 47842


OPERATING SYSTEM
Windows 8 64 bit

PROCESSOR
Intel® Celeron 887 dual core processor (2M Cache, 1.50 GHz)

VIDEO GRAPHICS
Integrated Intel® HD 2000 graphics

MEMORY
4GB DDR3- 1333 Mhz (Support DualChannel) [SODIMM slots up to 8GB

HARD DISK DRIVE
UPTO 500GB HDD storage

OPTICAL DRIVE
Add-on DVD reader/writer or Blu-ray Disc™ drive

SOUND
7.1 Channel surround sound support via HDMI

INTEGRATED COMMUNICATIONS
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity
10/100/1000M LAN

CONNECTORS
4xUSB2.0 (rear); 2x USB3.0(front), 6 in 1 Card
Reader ( SD / SDHC / SDXC / MMC / MS / MS_Pro),
Headphone Microphone , HDMI, SDXC(optical)

It appears I took the last one from NewEgg but there are some at Amazon too.
NEWEGG Amazon

In case someone is still looking to get one of these, if you look on Amazon there $360 or more but if you go to Lenovo themselves they are now selling it for a mere $295 + Free Shipping. EEK!:drool: I paid $350 for mine so that's a H U G E difference. I wouldn't wait too long though because I just checked and there's a promo code at the 2nd to the last option at checkout. Without it comes to $379. LINK
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Anyone got any experience of setting up Plex to run on a Synology NAS?

I use it on my DS 212+ at times via Roku. It is very slow.

I think plex works better if you have a high end version of DS since it needs Intel processor for optimum performance and transposing on the fly.

Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk 2
 
Just to complain a bit...

ARGH! Was having some problems recently with my PC overheating and shutting down. Ran some different programs to determine the issue and thought that my processor was overheating since it was easily getting into the 60s while playing games (AMD FX-8150 with the stock cooler) so I ended up buying the Zalman Reserator3 Max.

After that, I had CPU Temp often reading around the 17c mark at idle and only up to 37c or so at max load.

Still shutting down!
Ended up looking over absolutely everything and finally realized that the fan in the power supply was not spinning. Only a 2 year old Antec gaming series, so was pretty surprised to find it not working.
Bought a new power supply and now everything works as it should.

I suppose I shouldn't be too unhappy since my upgrade keeps the system super cool compared to stock, but just so annoying to have not technically needed to buy it. Kind of makes me wonder how much extra heat was pumping into the system with the PSU fan not working and if I could have possibly had better performance from the stock cooler without that extra heat in there.

Anyway, I feel better after sharing.
 
Mines nothing crazy.

Apple Mac Mini (late 2012) - i5 processor with 4gb of ram. I intentionally got the older model because the RAM can be upgraded later, whereas the newer units have soldered RAM.

Western Digital MyCloud EX2 6TB NAS - again, nothing crazy but it is enough space for what I use it for.
 
Mine is a Apple Mac Mini (2014) i5 Processor, upgraded to 16gb RAM, upgraded the HDD to an 1TB SSD.

Also upgraded it to server status by adding a secondary 1TB SSD with THIS kit.

Server: Drobo 5N - 20TB total

Running XBMC - Now called Kodi