[mythtv-users] RE: (UK) Front end hardware recommendations

[Paul Barker]

On Thu, August 25, 2005 14:58, Justin Hornsby said:
>> James Fidell <james at cloud9.co.uk>
>>Subject: [mythtv-users] (UK) Front end hardware recommendations
>>
>>Anyone care to recommend hardware for a front-end-only box that can be
>>reasonably easily sourced in the UK?  Requirements are really only that
>>it should be quiet and not look desperately out of place when stacked
>>next to the AV amp.
>>
>>Is it worth considering an Xbox rather than building something from
>>parts?
>>
>>James
>
> James, I use an EPIA-M10000 motherboard in a Silverstone LC-02 case.  It
> ended up working out more expensive in the long-run because the LC02 case
> has **very** poor airflow.  I originally tried a full ATX board & Athlon
> 2ghz CPU, but it ran far too hot to be left on for any length of time.  So
> I changed the board for the EPIA & I've never looked back.
>
> Anyway - it's just a frontend, it's very quiet (but not quite silent yet)
> - has a quality TV output, onboard MPEG decoder, digital SPDIF sound
> output, dual channel IDE, firewire, USB2, LAN...
>
> I've got mine running 'minimyth' (www.linpvr.org), booting from the
> network.  It works absolutely brilliantly.

I'd second the recommendation of both the EPIA and MiniMyth. Booting from
the network means no need for a hard drive in the frontend. It really is
pretty easy to set up too. I run an Epia M10000 motherboard in a VIA
Serenti case. It's not too bad but the fan in the power supply needs to be
quieter. The plus side is that it'll take a normal factor CD / DVD ROM and
has an IR window to allow you to add an IR reciever. They're not that easy
to find but are relatively cheap and make a great starter case. There is a
picture of one right on the front page of this site:
http://www.icp-uk.com/ . Check out  the online store here:
http://www.mini-itx.com/ and KustomPCs: http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/ for
other cases. I'd recommend shopping around though. I found my new case
(see below) £50 cheaper at http://www.scan.co.uk than pretty much anywhere
else even though they're not big on HTPC cases.

For my main box I've just bought a Silverstone LC11M and I have to say its
the cat's whiskers. It just looks superb and the iMon remote looks great.
I can't wait to start building it this weekend. (Cue battling with lirc /
lcdproc to get the iMon remote and VFD working)

Cheers

Paul