my latest pc project...

here's a teaser photo.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ips_CD-i-2.jpg

I am taking plenty of photos and have progressed pretty far. Only setback so far is i've never worked with plexiglas before and it's what i am using for the back. I broke it.

But it's going to be a tivo killer when i'm done. So far it's got a dvd burner installed, 160gb sata hard drive, athalon core-2, 4gb ram, and a really interesting motherboard. Has dvi-out and hdmi out natively.

It's an asus board: m3a78-em. Here's a photo of the back plate:

http://www.vbforums.com/

As far as i know, it's the first motherboard designed specifically to be made into a media center system.

For cutting plexiglass, I use a jigsaw with a fine-tooth (14 tpi or more) blade designed for wood. Work slowly and keep the blade at a constant (but not too fast) speed.

For curving plexiglass, heat it to at least 140° F but watch for bubbling if you get it too hot.

i got the thinnest piece they had available. I think i'm going to get a thicker one next time. It should be tougher. This board has another interesting feature i haven't managed to get to work yet (probably due to the raid): It has 5-seconds-until-online, a tiny OS developed mostly by ASUS that gives full internet functionality including flash 9, acrobat reader, firefox 2.xx, skype, and instant messaging. I'm having problems getting the board to know i installed the required files on the HD though. I was cutting the plexiglass with a dremel abrasion tool but i didn't score deep enough and that was all she wrote.

edit: closer to getting the tiny os to work. It requires either standard IDE drives or a usb drive. I installed it on a usb stick and it boots. Still won't launch though. I think it's hung up looking for network.

Wow, somebody who found an actual use for a dremel!

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Originally Posted by Lord Orwell

i was just going to post a question about this. How are you controlling the lcd and how much was it? I just turned an old phillips cd-i into a media center computer but i don't have an lcd on it. There has to be a cheap answer, for chrissakes. A sideshow device is only $49 but for some reason every lcd i've seen for sale is higher. Heck i've even got the original lcd it had in it, but i wouldn't know where to begin programming this thing.

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So how goes the LCD feature?

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Originally Posted by Arrow_Raider

So how goes the LCD feature?

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i am eyeballing a ready-made sideshow device that has an lcd. It's about $30 u.s. and is powered by USB. Probably going to pick it up in the next couple of weeks. I had some serious issues with a windows mobile 6 phone. I was going to use that as a sideshow remote but the sideshow program refused to install on the phone. No permissions. I don't know why. I installed divx easily. I am guessing it had something to do with main screen since sideshow changes it. Ended up returning the phone. I have another more important issue anyway. Testing has shown it overheats. I need to put a blow-hole over the processor. There's venting on that side of the case, but not enough.

If it were an xbox 360, that problem would actually be a feature.

based on testing, the 120mm blowhole stopped overheating of the processor. The gpu chip on the board is still getting pretty hot though so i think i will mount a fan in there near it.

Mounting a 120mm fan on the blowhole i made not only stopped the built-in video from overheating, but also rendered the cpu fan unnecessary. Net result is the system is quieter. Oddly only one local store actually carried a fan that size and they were only available with leds. So the case has a mild red glow now. Here's another teaser photo: When i'm done i'll be posting somewhere a step-by-step build of it. As it curretnly stands, the only thing i need to do to make it a functionally usable system is mount the back plate. Future plans call for mounting the lcd, installing tuner cards, and replacing the dvd burner with two drives: A slim-line dvd burner and a slim-line blu-ray drive. If i can find a combo-drive that does both, so much the better.

I'm going to request that you slip that puppy in the back of a closet when you're done. Or at least out of sight. I live thousands of miles away and that picture is already devaluing my property. :P

Yeah, couldn't you have at least washed it? You should wash it and then spray paint it so it is a less repulsive color.

Also, when you plan on putting a video on youtube explaining your projects, please make them as if you were not a group of giggly* 13 year old girls who just got a digital camera. kthxbai

*i used this word instead of 2 other words... didnt want the risk of being banned :)

i already have videos on there. Which exact one was coming across as done by a 13 year old? Is it the one i've linked to in my signature?

As for washing it, It was clean when i started. Most of the stuff you see on it is grinding dust.

And as for the color, it's actually darker than that picture makes it look. I'm still learning how to use that camera and i had the light settings wrong. It pretty much looks like any other piece of home audio equipment, color-wise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEtE...eature=channel

Zooming, moving too fast, too close

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lord Orwell

edit: closer to getting the tiny os to work. It requires either standard IDE drives or a usb drive. I installed it on a usb stick and it boots. Still won't launch though. I think it's hung up looking for network.

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How have you installed it?
It should be just a matter of installing it in Windows (from CD) and then enabling it in the BIOS.

I've done this before, even with a SATA drive. Works fine.

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Originally Posted by TheBigB

How have you installed it?
It should be just a matter of installing it in Windows (from CD) and then enabling it in the BIOS.

I've done this before, even with a SATA drive. Works fine.

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i don't know if it's due to the version i had but it even stated in the manual it required an ide or usb drive. Did you have your drive set to ide mode? I have yet to figure out how to do that in this bios.

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Originally Posted by dclamp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEtE...eature=channel

Zooming, moving too fast, too close

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that's my camerawoman's fault. Watch the latest one on controlling an external device.

My goal is to have each video higher quality than the one before. I've pretty pressed the limit on what i can do in movie maker. I am considering getting a 3rd party program.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dclamp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEtE...eature=channel

Zooming, moving too fast, too close

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It seemed to work fine here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwsWskgKe5E

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Originally Posted by Arrow_Raider

It seemed to work fine here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwsWskgKe5E

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how does one even FIND videos like that to link to?

What is that an old BetaMax VCR? It looks like it's been floating in a canal for 27 years.

Point. Match. Game.

it's a phillips cd-interactive, the first device capable of playing video-cds.

Today's work included installing this:
Media lab a2328http://www.pacificgeek.com/productim...l/CA-A2328.GIF

It is interesting to note that the device is capable of not only powering off the computer with the power button, but turning it back on as well. It features an atx power supply plug adapter that keeps the IR powered even when the computer is off, and a pass-thru for the power switch wires.

I was able to mount it on the front with only minor modifications which involved bending the prongs the power switch plugged into. It is (thanks to an updated download) completely compatible with media center and displays useful info, rss feeds, and even a spectrum analyzer when you play music. I am VERY impressed with this hardware. The remote also doubles as a wireless mouse and custom keypresses can be assigned to individual programs.

Luxury is being able to turn on your PC with a remote control. It would be even more luxurious if you didn't have to wait 10 minutes for Vista to boot.

Linux isn't exactly fast booting either.

You can make vista boot really fast. All you have to do is disable every service.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Arrow_Raider

Linux isn't exactly fast booting either.

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Compared to Vista? I'm afraid to tell you this, but yes, it is.

you don't actually have to wait on vista at all. The board comes with a mini-os on board. 5 seconds to internet, skype, im from power on. Of course, the remote doesn't work in that...

All in all i find the fastest booting to be hibernate mode. Off to full functionality in about 20 seconds.

Dude, spray paint it black when your done, its fugly!

i just hope i can get the @#$# power options to work on this board. If i put it in standby, if it actually comes back out of standby, the wireless internet and bluetooth fail. This may not be an issue in practice since in actual media center use it will be wired internet, but for now it's annoying. The bigger issue is the remote receiver is ALSO usb and it also shuts off. going to and coming back from hibernate is fine but i am pretty sure you can't have media center wake from hibernation to start a recording.

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Originally Posted by Lord Orwell

i am pretty sure you can't have media center wake from hibernation to start a recording.

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Well if you build an app to launch the recording. There is a way for an app to wake up from hibernation.
Codebank.
(and looking through the thread I see you've replied in this thread :p)
Also changing the ACPI mode might resolve your issue with USB and stuff not waking up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lord Orwell

i just hope i can get the @#$# power options to work on this board. If i put it in standby, if it actually comes back out of standby, the wireless internet and bluetooth fail. This may not be an issue in practice since in actual media center use it will be wired internet, but for now it's annoying. The bigger issue is the remote receiver is ALSO usb and it also shuts off. going to and coming back from hibernate is fine but i am pretty sure you can't have media center wake from hibernation to start a recording.

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Find the Device in Device Manager, and disallow windows turning it off to save power. This may resolve the issue.

i solved the problem. it was two different problems. One was i had an older model usb hub and it was powering down and not up again so nothing plugged into it was coming out of standby. The 2nd problem was my wireless n adapter. For whatever reason, it will power down and up on a port set to full-speed, but won't power up on a port set to full speed. It might be an issue with the board driver. The device was actually listed in device manager as being hooked to two different usb ports. I disabled the hi-speed one and it works now, although the maximum internet speed is now limited to about 500kbs, down from 30,000.

That story was arousing.

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Originally Posted by Arrow_Raider

That story was arousing.

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it was also wrong. i meant to say it won't power up again on a port set to hi-speed, but works fine on one set to full-speed.

Also for everyone who thinks it's fugly, i have the solution:

Two apple decals i got out of a macbook package.

How does iTuner sound? Or MacinTuner? Or iMediaCenter? :lol:

Nope, sorry, far too ugly for a Mac logo.

Max, wake me up when you have something actually relevant to post.

And to give you a guide (since I know how hard these things are), I've given you some help.

Fine! Relevance! I will suggest a name: iFugly

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MaximilianMayrhofer

Fine! Relevance! I will suggest a name: iFugly

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:lol:

i realized i never posted a final photo. Well here you go. Sorry about the poor quality. Its an old cameraphone photo and i can't take any new ones since the system has been disassembled for about two months.

You disassembled it already? You'd just built it then took it apart?

there wasn't enough room in the case. The current case is an old hp i painted white. Contains all the goodies as before, but a better video card and five hard drives. I also was having problems with the old one keeping it cool. Thus the honking-huge fan port on top of it. Check in chit-chat: I posted a few photos of a much more recent shenanigan. A mac inside a lexmark all-in-one.

How much did this cost? I'm thinking of building one of my own sometime.

for a basic setup, you need a tuner, hard drive, dual-core processor, case, motherboard, power supply, ram, and a remote setup which usually comes with tuners. plus OS of your choice. If you go linux, make sure you buy hardware linux drivers exist for. myth tv is a good setup but doesn't work with all hardware including most of mine.

optional is the display. I have about $900 in my system but then again i have an unnecessary add-on graphics card and multiple tuners and more than necessary ram.

oh the inhumanity :( Thanks to both local cable companies embracing digital, all my tuners except one are now obsolete. I actually have one clearqam tuner but that tuner has failed in detecting the cable channels. Hopefully later today when i switch cable carriers this will not be an issue any more.

I am no longer attempting to make an all-in-one, at least until cable-card adapters drop in price. I have two Tivos. One series 3 had (1tb drive) and one premiere. Fortunately i dumped my series 2 just in time before the digital switch. Since i only have two tvs two tivos is enough. My extra computers have been relegated to the duty of running boxee or plex, depending, and i have a couple of strategically placed access points to stream recorded shows to.

if anyone is interested, the following HD video showcases (among other things) the system that all the parts from this thread's build ended up in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuYcidBQuBw