Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

^^^ Thats crazy! and I thought I had alot of crap :D

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

[INDENT] I haven't done any overclocking at all with mine running on ubuntu and it has played every movie i've thrown at it in 1080p w/o any lag at all. i think also that i played with getting it to sleep when i first bought it and i was able to get it to sleep w/o any problems and wake up. i honestly leave mine on all the time since it makes no noise and uses hardly any power

i use that dinovo mini bluetooth remote, but i dont like it very much. so i have that sitting on my coffee table, no attached keyboard or mouse.

since you like your itouch so much, i think you should get this:

[URL]http://www.collect3.com.au/xbmc-remote/[/URL]

it is the xbmc remote for the itouch/phone. you can view your entire library on the phone screen and scroll thru it, and it talks to the xbmc box thru your home wifi. it looks really cool.

also this script below will install xbmc on your ubuntu box for you really easily, i haven't used it but a guy from work said it was simple.

[URL]http://sourceforge.net/projects/xci/[/URL] [/INDENT]

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

[quote]holy shitters robin, you've just made it slightly easier for me to consider going the Ubuntu route. Yea on Ubuntu, I've read excellent reports about 1080p playback with NO lag, even at the default 1.6 ghz clock rate. I might have to (seriously) give that a go when I get it (along with my iTouch). Did you enable video hardware acceleration too? Was it easy? Also did you install Ubuntu on the device from a USB key?[/quote]The hardware acceleration won't work out of the gate, you will have to enable it in the xbmc menu but it is super easy. Looking thru that xci script above, it looks like it pulls down the driver from the NVidia site and installs it for you. After that you just have to go to the xbmc video settings menu and enable "VDPAU". This is "Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix" which is a library NVidia wrote to allow linux hardware to talk to their chips.

If you get any lag in your video at all it is because this isn't enabled. Without it enabled I'd see the 4 cpus @ like 40% usage during playback, with it enabled it is liike 3-10% and everything works seamlessly its great.

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

[QUOTE=res0nat0r;887320][INDENT] I haven't done any overclocking at all with mine running on ubuntu and it has played every movie i've thrown at it in 1080p w/o any lag at all. i think also that i played with getting it to sleep when i first bought it and i was able to get it to sleep w/o any problems and wake up. i honestly leave mine on all the time since it makes no noise and uses hardly any power

i use that dinovo mini bluetooth remote, but i dont like it very much. so i have that sitting on my coffee table, no attached keyboard or mouse.

since you like your itouch so much, i think you should get this:

[URL]http://www.collect3.com.au/xbmc-remote/[/URL]

it is the xbmc remote for the itouch/phone. you can view your entire library on the phone screen and scroll thru it, and it talks to the xbmc box thru your home wifi. it looks really cool.

also this script below will install xbmc on your ubuntu box for you really easily, i haven't used it but a guy from work said it was simple.

[URL]http://sourceforge.net/projects/xci/[/URL] [/INDENT][/QUOTE]

Ok now this is getting ridiculous... I'd be a fool not to set up one of these puppies!

Thanks for the links reso.

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

thats fucked up, my posts in this thread disappeared

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

^i copied the last couple posts of yours from the other thread which we kind of hijacked, to here.

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

I just picked up these puppies for our bedroom

[url]http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Panasonic+-+VIERA+/+50%22+Class+/+1080p+/+600Hz+/+Plasma+HDTV/9788953.p?id=1218175321979&skuId=9788953[/url]

[url]http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Gateway+-+Desktop+/+Intel%26%23174%3B+Pentium%26%23174%3B+Processor+/+6GB+Memory+/+1TB+Hard+Drive/9974328.p?id=1218204533385&skuId=9974328[/url]

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

I've now installed XBMC onto my laptop in its own account and it comes on automatically on logon. Found my Asus remote that came with my P5W Premium DH motherboard and it works just fine with the laptop. Also got an XBox 360 remote but seems I would have to splash out on another IR receiver to get that to work. Laptop has HDMI so it can pump out a superb pic and bypasses the awful analog output. PC has a 2TB drive with movies on it that the laptop has mapped as a network drive. All good!

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

[QUOTE=Kamal;889692]I just picked up these puppies for our bedroom

[URL="http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Panasonic+-+VIERA+/+50%22+Class+/+1080p+/+600Hz+/+Plasma+HDTV/9788953.p?id=1218175321979&skuId=9788953"]http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Panasonic+-+VIERA+/+50%22+Class+/+1080p+/+600Hz+/+Plasma+HDTV/9788953.p?id=1218175321979&skuId=9788953[/URL]

[URL]http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Gateway+-+Desktop+/+Intel%26%23174%3B+Pentium%26%23174%3B+Processor+/+6GB+Memory+/+1TB+Hard+Drive/9974328.p?id=1218204533385&skuId=9974328[/URL][/QUOTE]

Nice!!!!

I bought a 50" Panasonic Viera plasma a couple of years ago, just like that. The TH-50PZ700U I love the thing, the picture from it is amazing.

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

Does anyone know if you can set independent settings for each movie you are watching on XBMC? I have some that come out in the wrong ratio or audio, or with subtitles on by default. and it would be nice if I could make it so it starts up automatically how I want it.

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

I don't know about ratio/audio per movie, but I know if you click whatever button you have bound (keyboard for me), it will bring up the navi menu with forward/stop/pause etc. Clicking on the eye icon will allow you to select/deslect subs. Mine remembers each movie between plays etc.

The XBMC wiki has a ton of info on it, this prob has what you need:

[url]http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Videos[/url]

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

Cheers. seems to work for the subtitles side of things. Next question: I have 2 HD DVD's and an X Box 360 HD DVD player. Know anyway I can rip those 2 DVD's to x264 format or similar?

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I dont know a whole lot about windows programs for this, but you could check this out:

[url]http://handbrake.fr/[/url]

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

What about Mac based programs? Or even Linux? Questions questions. :P Oh and if anyone knows how to get an XBox 360 universal remote walking with Windows then feel free to share. The Asus remote gives me basic forward, back, up, down, enter and escape but thats it.

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

Must admit, I'm getting nowhere fast with this HD DVD ripping. I took all the files off the disc with AnyDVD but I can't seem to find a way to make it all into one video file (I don't really want menus or extras or the like). Handbrake can recode video files but not take a group of files and turn it into one.

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

Hummm....let me try and look around and see if I can find anything.

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there doesnt seem to be much tutorial info out there on how to do this...i did see this though:

[url]http://www.makemkv.com/[/url]

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

Cheers fella. Think tbh I'm gonna end up just looking on torrent sites for my HD DVD movies. Seems to be a hell of a lot of effort.

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I've used makemkv a lot past couple of months. best program (imo) in making clean / uncompressed mkv rips out of blurays. easy as fuck too.

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

Cool. Maybe I will try it out then. Must admit the more I'm learning about XBMC the more I realise just how powerful it can be. Currently playing with a test setup on a spare hard drive and as well as making my TV's and movies easier to browse through, I'm looking at adding on my emulators so I can play all my Nintendo, Sega and Playstation 1 games direct from there. Once I've tinkered with it all and learnt how powerful and flexible it is I'll probably build a tiny silent HTPC which either holds everything locally or uses a network drive.

Another thing I've just thought of. Are there any plugins which would allow you to rip a DVD direct from inside XBMC and add it to the library? Reckon that would be a super cool feature.

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Just found a guide to getting ePSX emulator running correctly on XBMC. Will give it a go this evening. [url]http://forums.ngemu.com/epsxe-discussion/137744-launch-epsxe-w-game-bat-file.html[/url]

Think I'm now completely converted to this.

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

^let me know if you find any guides for the NES or SNES :D I want to set up an emulator on here but haven't gotten around to it.

also [url]http://forum.xbmc.org/[/url] has a crapload of info for XBMC related stuff.

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

I've got the Megadrive/Genesis emulation running sweet as a nut. There's a plugin called Launcher which will do it. Using Fusion 3.6 for the emulation itself. I've found if you put the games box art in the same folder as the rom and give it the same name (barring the extension) then it will load that up automatically.

[IMG]http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs634.snc4/59441_10150276195940217_680615216_14718822_6040557_n.jpg[/IMG]

I can't quite seem to get that method to work with ePSXe and I reckon that batch file method I posted above may not work quite as I'd like. But I'll keep plugging away at it. I've got the Launcher side of things working. It's just getting eSPXe to autoload rather than wanting to load it's own GUI first.

Guide to setting it up: [url]http://lifehacker.com/5523672/turn-your-xbmc-media-center-into-a-video-game-console[/url]

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handbrake works perfectly on mac Simon.

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^^^ I second that. Handbrake is definitely the software for me. As much as I'd love to keep uncompressed HD mkv's on my HDD, I'm afraid of running outta space.

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[QUOTE=dusk;890230]^^^ I second that. Handbrake is definitely the software for me. As much as I'd love to keep uncompressed HD mkv's on my HDD, I'm afraid of running outta space.[/QUOTE]

but space is so cheap these days. you can get a 2 TB HD for $100 on a good day at newegg. I remember when I bought my first HD about 9 years ago. 75 GB for $110 and I thought it was a steal.

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yeah but using 50GB for a bluray which can be compressed to 5-8GB is just silly :D

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Coo, I'm going to try that makemkv coupled with handbrake and see what results I get with that. Now... best DVD rippers that will rip direct to a single file? Anyone? I'm with Dusk as well here, I'd rather not have to have uncompressed ISO's and the like if I can get similar results at a quarter of the size or less.

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[QUOTE=res0nat0r;890252]yeah but using 50GB for a bluray which can be compressed to 5-8GB is just silly :D[/QUOTE]

maybe I'm the only one but I saw a pretty noteworthy difference between the image quality of a compressed 8 gb 1080p file vs. an uncompressed 1080p file. you can have 480p stretched out to fill a 1080p screen but the detail and color in an uncompressed 1080p file is hard to miss.

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[QUOTE=Kamal;890239]but space is so cheap these days. you can get a 2 TB HD for $100 on a good day at newegg. I remember when I bought my first HD about 9 years ago. 75 GB for $110 and I thought it was a steal.[/QUOTE]

I remember 200MB (Yup, Megabytes) drives being £300 and I so desperately wanted one. In the end, my first drive was 2.6GB that was about £130. Storage space is getting cheaper and cheaper but you only need roughly about 20x 50GB Blu Ray until that 2TB drive is also full. Add to that full TV series' and the like and these drive are getting eaten up fast. I got my Blu Ray collection in easy reach, so for me its unnecessary storage usage.

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

[QUOTE=Kamal;890266]maybe I'm the only one but I saw a pretty noteworthy difference between the image quality of a compressed 8 gb 1080p file vs. an uncompressed 1080p file. you can have 480p stretched out to fill a 1080p screen but the detail and color in an uncompressed 1080p file is hard to miss.[/QUOTE]

I definitely agree with you here K, especially since I've started watching movies on my sisters projector. (uncompressed iso's are super impressive) So its a real toss for me - the only movies I think I'll convert uncompressed would be my 5 star rated ones. Right now, no matter how cheap space is, I can't justify saving anything over 10-12gb's for one single movie file on disk.

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

[QUOTE=Simon Preston;890254]Coo, I'm going to try that makemkv coupled with handbrake and see what results I get with that. [/QUOTE]

Let us know how you get on with the results mate.

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

Sup guys i wanted to know what do you think about this Atom PC. Its what i can get locally and its about 350$ . Its an ION 330 but it lacks an optical drive. This is the device in question.

[img]http://imagenes.deltron.com.pe/images/productos//items/large/pc/ad/pcadon10101.jpg[/img]

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

nice...do you have a link to the actual specs? what type of video decoding chip does it have? that is key.

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internally is exactly the same as the Asrock you guys are rocking. Its 1.6ghz Atom CPU, NVIDIA MCP7A-ION chipset, 2gb DDR2 800mhz, 250GB HD.

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^ahh. sweet!

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[url]https://code.google.com/p/android-xbmcremote/[/url]

Free android XBMC remote. This looks epic:

[quote]

[LIST] []Remote control with the look of the Xbox' DVD Dongle []Control XBMC's volume directly with your device's volume buttons []Fast access to items in list via hard- or soft keyboard (long-press [I]Menu[/I]) []Manage multiple XBMC instances []Live view of currently playing playlist []Notification bar shows what's playing with direct access to "Now playing" screen (can be disabled) []Large screen (854x480) support, while maintaining 1.5 compatibility [][COLOR=magenta]On incoming call, display who's calling on TV screen and pause video until call is over [/COLOR] [][COLOR=magenta]On incoming message, display on TV screen [/COLOR] []Setting that prevents your phone locking the screen. You can apply it either for remote control only or all screens (or disable it completely) []Tabs looking and behaving like HTC's Sense UI, also check out the [URL="http://code.google.com/p/android-xbmcremote/wiki/Gallery"]Gallery[/URL]. []Ultra fast cover download for recent XBMC builds (>[URL="https://code.google.com/p/android-xbmcremote/source/detail?r=27770"]r27770[/URL]) [*]Texture support for HTC Tattoo, Google Nexus One as well as Motorola's Droid/Milestone.[/quote] [/LIST] :RockOn:

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

Been setting up my Playstation 3 remote for use with XBMC and I've nearly got it mostly mapped out. I'm sure as I'm going a long I'll have a "That would be handy to have at a touch of a button" moment on more than one occasion. However, is there a keyboard combination for Windows that allows me to select a different audio track? Can't seem to find one in the keymap.xml.

Sussed it: Just create your own keyboard.xml in User/Appdata/Roaming/XBMC/userdata/keymaps with the following: [code] AudioNextLanguage [/code]

This will assign the H key to change to the next audio track which I have then mapped to my PS3 remote software.

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

just came across this thread.

you have good taste in computerwares, reso. ubuntu is the way to go