Hiper HMC-2K53A

Hiper HMC-2K53A is a media centre case manufactured by Hiper. It is normally sold as a bare-bones package but can also be obtained as OEM. This case is designed to work with Windows Media Center and there is no official Linux support, but there are efforts being made to turn this slick box into a fully functional MythTV front-end.

Status so far;

• Graphics - Supported by nVidia drivers
• Built in Ethernet - Natively supported by kernel
• Audio (RealTek ALC883) - Supported by kernel
• Build in Wi-Fi - Supported by ndiswrapper
• Multi-card reader - Supported by kernel
• VFD Display - Not supported, see Futaba
• Front panel buttons - Not supported, see Futaba

There is no IR receiver in the barebone versions of the chassis. There is, however, a COM port on the motherboard that can be extended to a standard 9 PIN port. After that, all you need to do is to buy or build an IR-receiver and fire up LIRC. Read more on www.lirc.org

The graphics adapter, nVidia 6150, works well with the latest Linux driver, but be aware that the GPU does not support cloning across two simultaneous analog ports, eg. VGA and S-VHS. You have to choose one or connect the monitor or TV to the DVI-D. With this device being designed to be a front-end, that is usually not an issue.

Further information can be found here: http://www.hipergroup.com/English/products/hmc-2k53a.html

Front panel module

The case includes a module that connects via USB header connection to the motherboard. It provides:

• Generic 4 port hub (Genesys GL850A) - problems with port 3!
  • VFD & Panel Buttons

    Futaba "DM-140GINK Demo", (usbhid driver) wiki page here Futaba

  • Wifi B & G adapter

    Ralink RT2571WF - Use the latest Ndiswrapper and the windows drivers located here if you have a 32-bit Linux dist installed.

  • Connection to the memory card reader

Please note that the problems detailed below are solved with the 2.6.23+ kernels.

dmesg when module hot-connected:

  [  699.188000] usb 4-8: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 39
  [  699.320000] usb 4-8: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
  [  699.320000] hub 4-8:1.0: USB hub found
  [  699.320000] hub 4-8:1.0: 4 ports detected
  [  699.624000] usb 4-8.1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 40
  [  699.852000] usb 4-8.1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
  [  700.056000] usb 4-8.2: new full speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 41
  [  700.152000] usb 4-8.2: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
  [  700.152000] hiddev96: USB HID v1.10 Device [DM-140GINK Demo DM-140GINK Demo] on usb-0000:00:13.5-8.2
  [  700.156000] input: DM-140GINK Demo DM-140GINK Demo as /class/input/input7
  [  700.156000] input: USB HID v1.10 Device [DM-140GINK Demo DM-140GINK Demo] on usb-0000:00:13.5-8.2
  [  701.116000] hub 4-8:1.0: Cannot enable port 3.  Maybe the USB cable is bad?
  [  701.948000] hub 4-8:1.0: Cannot enable port 3.  Maybe the USB cable is bad?
  [  702.780000] hub 4-8:1.0: Cannot enable port 3.  Maybe the USB cable is bad?
  ...
  [  549.984000] usb 6-8.2: reset full speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address