HTPC Conception
Inspired by Dan Hunke’s cool setup, I am thinking of making an HTPC system.
I have a nice HD television coming with VGA in. I don’t plan on doing any TV recording (I don’t even have cable!), so I won’t need a TV tuner card. I want to use it as a video player (divx), music player, or otherwise television computer. Here’s what I’m thinking:
Television: Samsung HL-S4666W 46″ DLP HDTV, arrives this week. Biggest and best TV I’ve ever owned.
Computer: Mac Mini, haven’t yet purchased but have already been cleared by the wife 
. I know what you’re thinking “why Apple?”. Well, I happen to like the taste of Apple. In all seriousness, you can’t BUILD a mini-itx pc THIS small (6.5″x6.5″x2″). Also, the Apple remote is REALLY cool looking. It looks just OK online, but seeing it in person it looks truly amazing. Lastly, if I get tired of OSX, it has an Intel chip, so I’ll put Windows XP MCE on there with the same effect.
Things I’m waiting on:
- The core 2 duo chip to come in the Mac Minis. Nobody knows when this will happen. People have been doing it on their own, but I don’t really want to have to void my warranty . This is probably my main limiting factor
- Mac OS X Leopard to come out. Steve Jobs says “2nd quarter 2007″.
- Ethernet at my TV. This involves help from my *cough* #2 fan. I’ll need to get lots of cat 5e/6 going from my office, up to my attic, down to my living room. I’ve never strung wire before, so should be a fun endeavor.
As far as timeline goes, if I compromise my dependencies on some of the things that are holding me back, I can probably complete this by late February. If I wait for it to be perfect, maybe June, 2007?
Either way, it’s a project that excites me. It should save me literally tens of dollars on DVDs.
Dan Said,
January 17, 2007 @ 4:26 pm
Pingbacks are very cool
I’ve a friend who has a Mac Mini hooked up to his HDTV, and he was all excited and telling me about MythTV on OS X. Maybe worth checking out?
Ray's #2 Fan Said,
January 17, 2007 @ 4:43 pm
It sounds pretty cool to me. If you wait until maybe we make it out this summer, you could get fiber to the TV!!!
Raybdbomb Said,
January 17, 2007 @ 4:59 pm
Heh fiber sounds like overkill, and expensive…
Ray's #2 Fan Said,
January 17, 2007 @ 6:02 pm
Yeah, its overkill, unless you want a 10 gig link! I have plenty of excess fiber and connectors, if you ever wanted overkill. It would be cool to show off, but you would still probably have to use converters on each end to connect to your equipment anyway.
Brandon Said,
January 18, 2007 @ 7:52 am
Running cable… it’s not like you don’t know a couple of guys that used to do telecom work up there… You’ll be fine. As for the tv… I like that one and was thinking about a similar purchase here in the very near future (though I do have tv to hook it up too
)
If their lcd monitors are any indication of their tv’s then I’ll probably be getting a samsung.
Raybdbomb Said,
January 18, 2007 @ 9:17 am
Yea, but the house can be tricky. It’s not like there’s a set place cable should go…
Raybdbomb Said,
January 22, 2007 @ 8:11 pm
Well I ended up not waiting for Leopard or the Core 2 Duo… I bought it already.
Dustin Said,
January 26, 2007 @ 12:35 pm
Two notes:
1) as for how to run the cable, if you care there are ’standards’ for where you should run it (in homes that is). Meaning once you get it to the attic, a straight shot across the attic would do, but if you really care (I wouldn’t), following the standard is sometimes fun.
2) I don’t know the exact distances, but remember CAT 5e only goes ~100 meters before you loose signal. That might seem like a really long way, but the distance adds up quickly.
Dustin Said,
January 26, 2007 @ 12:36 pm
Oh ya, I wanna see it when you are done. A complete ‘how to’ might be an added touch.
Raybdbomb Said,
January 26, 2007 @ 10:11 pm
Thanks for the tip Dustin, in response to your notes:
1) My brother runs a lot of cable, and is walking me through this. We’re going to run it from the office to the attic, then to the side of the house, then to the basement, then up to the first floor. And I don’t really think standards will be an issue…
2) This should be well under 100 meters, closer to 100 feet I would assume.
I’ll definitely post something up when it’s all completed.
Teh Blarg » Mac Mini Ordered! Said,
February 28, 2007 @ 2:33 pm
[...] Since my new TV came, I wanted to get a move on this HTPC project. So, I ordered the Mac Mini! [...]