final update on our HTPC (homemade tivo)
Oct. 16th, 2006 07:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rosebeeSo about three weeks ago HTB & I made a huge shopping trip at a large electronics warehouse-type store. Read all about Our initial purchases here.
Since then we've bought a few more things to make it fully functional. Some channels have fabulous reception, even better than I get over straight cable (a couple channels have some seriously bad ghosting or bleed through of other channels). Other channels are ever-so-slightly fuzzy, but they're very much within the bounds of reason, and are completely watchable (without frustration or irritation even).
The other stuff we've bought:
1 package of a dual-tuner capture card & tivo-like software = $200 (Hauppauge PVR-500MCE bundled with a remote & BeyondTV4 software - with no extra subscription or other fees ever required, and it does the whole scheduling thing perfectly)
1 cable signal amplifier = $35
assorted cables, splitters, & switch boxes = $65 (the switch box solved our problem of having only 2 inputs on the TV, and only 1 s-video input, and having 3 things needing to be plugged in, 2 of which were s-video connections)
1 new video card = $68 (we bought me a new nVidia geForce 7300GS and used the one that came with my computer in January in the HTPC - it's a fan-less nVidia geForce 6200SE)
Total cost of this extra stuff = $368
Total cost of project = $1,268
It ended up being a LOT more expensive than either of us planned on. We could've saved money on the case, there were ones that were half the price of what we paid, but I really wanted a case that was *not* going to look like we had a computer in our living room.
We ended up having 2 remotes (we bought one initially, then the same exact one came bundled with the capture card & viewing/recording software), but it'll be good to have a spareif when one breaks or gets lost.
But all in all, both HTB & I are very, very, very pleased by how it all turned out.
Wanna see?
The HTPC is directly underneath the TV. Our DVD surround sound speakers are on either side of it. We had to buy lumber & cut it down and put together our own stand so the HTPC would have a place to live, as we had no more shelf space on the existing cabinet (& plus there wasn't enough room for ventilation of the HTPC down there).
Since then we've bought a few more things to make it fully functional. Some channels have fabulous reception, even better than I get over straight cable (a couple channels have some seriously bad ghosting or bleed through of other channels). Other channels are ever-so-slightly fuzzy, but they're very much within the bounds of reason, and are completely watchable (without frustration or irritation even).
The other stuff we've bought:
1 package of a dual-tuner capture card & tivo-like software = $200 (Hauppauge PVR-500MCE bundled with a remote & BeyondTV4 software - with no extra subscription or other fees ever required, and it does the whole scheduling thing perfectly)
1 cable signal amplifier = $35
assorted cables, splitters, & switch boxes = $65 (the switch box solved our problem of having only 2 inputs on the TV, and only 1 s-video input, and having 3 things needing to be plugged in, 2 of which were s-video connections)
1 new video card = $68 (we bought me a new nVidia geForce 7300GS and used the one that came with my computer in January in the HTPC - it's a fan-less nVidia geForce 6200SE)
Total cost of this extra stuff = $368
Total cost of project = $1,268
It ended up being a LOT more expensive than either of us planned on. We could've saved money on the case, there were ones that were half the price of what we paid, but I really wanted a case that was *not* going to look like we had a computer in our living room.
We ended up having 2 remotes (we bought one initially, then the same exact one came bundled with the capture card & viewing/recording software), but it'll be good to have a spare
But all in all, both HTB & I are very, very, very pleased by how it all turned out.
Wanna see?
The HTPC is directly underneath the TV. Our DVD surround sound speakers are on either side of it. We had to buy lumber & cut it down and put together our own stand so the HTPC would have a place to live, as we had no more shelf space on the existing cabinet (& plus there wasn't enough room for ventilation of the HTPC down there).
