Topic: Share your HTPC Setup

[john5479]

It should be near the price of an x-fi platinum, any price higher might alienate a lot of its target users.

[dyerds]

It should be near the price of an x-fi platinum, any price higher might alienate a lot of its target users.

magkano po ba x-fi platinum sir?

[squatt3r]

low cost htpc if you only need to play mp3s, divx and 720p files:

D201GLY2: Intel mini-itx mobo with soldered Celeron 220 running @ 1.2Ghz. -> 2.6k
mini itx casing: Zeal Ion mini-itx casing                                                  -> 1.5k

already have these stuff from a previous pc
memory:         1Gb DDR2 533/667
hard drive:      40Gb


                                                       

[mrm]

Hi sir,
Would it have a difference in performance when playing if I were to put all my movies (720p and 1080p mkv) onto an external hard disk  and connect via usb, than on a hard drive that is connected directly through sata? Since this hobby is a storage hungry, i'm planning on having several external hard disk as storage for
my increasing library of HD mkv's and playing them via usb. Thanks.

[ericag_ph]

I suggest getting a larger tower case. (Some are as cheap as P1500 like mine)  My PC for example has 5 drives, with a total 2TB capacity. 
I can probably fit 3 more.

USB is really slow in terms of data transfer.
The external enclosures will cost more in the long term.

Hi sir,
Would it have a difference in performance when playing if I were to put all my movies (720p and 1080p mkv) onto an external hard disk  and connect via usb, than on a hard drive that is connected directly through sata? Since this hobby is a storage hungry, i'm planning on having several external hard disk as storage for
my increasing library of HD mkv's and playing them via usb. Thanks.

[mrm]

I suggest getting a larger tower case. (Some are as cheap as P1500 like mine)  My PC for example has 5 drives, with a total 2TB capacity. 
I can probably fit 3 more.

USB is really slow in terms of data transfer.
The external enclosures will cost more in the long term.

thanks sir.

[mrm]

hi sir,
    I am having stutter problems with my KM player when playing 720p mkv's though not very often. It is not very noticeable on movies but on music videos it is annoying. How can I totally remove this stutter problems. I notice that when using zoom player it does not stutter. I love KM player and would want to know it anyone here experience occasional stuttering on mkv's.  My specs for my HTPC are:
               
                                Core 2 Duo E6420
                                Asus mobo
                                3 gb ddr2 667
                                500 gb hard disk sata
                                Palit 8800gt sonic 512 mb
                                5m hdmi cable
                                Monitor -> set to dual monitor with independent view for each
                                           for pc use 19" samsung lcd
                                           for watching mkv's a plasma 42pv70h connected via hdmi
 
                                built-in 6 ch audio on mobo connected to a 6 ch analog amplifier
           thanks.

[ericag_ph]

Try uninstalling your codecs and reinstall.  I use K-lite (comes with media player classic).
I use this for 720p mkvs

I had a video/audio stutter problem with another player.  All I had to do was uninstall all
previous codecs, then install one to be used by all the other players.

hi sir,
    I am having stutter problems with my KM player when playing 720p mkv's though not very often. It is not very noticeable on movies but on music videos it is annoying. How can I totally remove this stutter problems. I notice that when using zoom player it does not stutter. I love KM player and would want to know it anyone here experience occasional stuttering on mkv's.  My specs for my HTPC are:
               
                                Core 2 Duo E6420
                                Asus mobo
                                3 gb ddr2 667
                                500 gb hard disk sata
                                Palit 8800gt sonic 512 mb
                                5m hdmi cable
                                Monitor -> set to dual monitor with independent view for each
                                           for pc use 19" samsung lcd
                                           for watching mkv's a plasma 42pv70h connected via hdmi
 
                                built-in 6 ch audio on mobo connected to a 6 ch analog amplifier
           thanks.

[mrm]

Try uninstalling your codecs and reinstall.  I use K-lite (comes with media player classic).
I use this for 720p mkvs

I had a video/audio stutter problem with another player.  All I had to do was uninstall all
previous codecs, then install one to be used by all the other players.

hi sir,
    I went through the list on my add/remove programs and have this (im not sure if this are all codecs).
                      DC-bass Source 1.1
                      directvobsub
                      dscaler 5 mpeg decoders
                      ffdshow rev 1685
                      haali media splitter
                      open source flash video splitter
                      shoutcast source
                      dna
 
    Some may not be codecs but I just would want to know do I have to uninstall all of this. the last three I`m not sure it they are codecs.
     Thanks
                     

[ericag_ph]

Try using uninstall first.  ie. uninstall all the players you have installed.
Then check and see if anything is left in the add/remove programs from your list below.
I can't tell which one is a codec, but one of K-lites pre-requisite is to remove all previous codecs.
When I didn't do that, I had an audio-video stutter problem.

Your hardware is sufficient for sure.  I have an E4400 and an E6300, both capable in playing 720p .mkvs

hi sir,
    I went through the list on my add/remove programs and have this (im not sure if this are all codecs).
                      DC-bass Source 1.1
                      directvobsub
                      dscaler 5 mpeg decoders
                      ffdshow rev 1685
                      haali media splitter
                      open source flash video splitter
                      shoutcast source
                      dna
 
    Some may not be codecs but I just would want to know do I have to uninstall all of this. the last three I`m not sure it they are codecs.
    Thanks.
                     

[mrm]

Try using uninstall first.  ie. uninstall all the players you have installed.
Then check and see if anything is left in the add/remove programs from your list below.
I can't tell which one is a codec, but one of K-lites pre-requisite is to remove all previous codecs.
When I didn't do that, I had an audio-video stutter problem.

Your hardware is sufficient for sure.  I have an E4400 and an E6300, both capable in playing 720p .mkvs

hi sir, ok will try to do that. thanks

[mrm]

hi sir, i have tried uninstalling all codecs present and even my mkv players,then installed K-lite codec full pack but still the ocassional
stutters still there when using KM player and very noticeable when playing musicals. Let me describe in detail what I meant by stutters in KM player. The scene suddenly fastforwards a word or two, but every thing is in sync( audio and video). And this always
happen in split seconds. There is no out of sync problem at all between the audio and video. But when using the Zoom player I don't see any stuttering/skipping at all.

Is this cause by my processor choking? Or is it cause by my built-in audio 6ch? Is KM player a resource hog? I Will try to upgrade all my drivers (audio and video) later today and see if the stutters are gone.

Thanks

[otepsy]

hi sir, i have tried uninstalling all codecs present and even my mkv players,then installed K-lite codec full pack but still the ocassional
stutters still there when using KM player and very noticeable when playing musicals. Let me describe in detail what I meant by stutters in KM player. The scene suddenly fastforwards a word or two, but every thing is in sync( audio and video). And this always
happen in split seconds. There is no out of sync problem at all between the audio and video. But when using the Zoom player I don't see any stuttering/skipping at all.

Is this cause by my processor choking? Or is it cause by my built-in audio 6ch? Is KM player a resource hog? I Will try to upgrade all my drivers (audio and video) later today and see if the stutters are gone.

Thanks

i'm experiencing that problem too, yung biglang bumibilis parang nadudulas... bakit nga kaya...

[uvax]

I suggest getting a larger tower case. (Some are as cheap as P1500 like mine)  My PC for example has 5 drives, with a total 2TB capacity. 
I can probably fit 3 more.

USB is really slow in terms of data transfer.
The external enclosures will cost more in the long term.

Just wanted to add a comment on this. Blu-ray spec maxes out at 54 mbps while usb 2.0 is rated at 480 mbps so there is more than enough headroom there as far as playback is concerned. It may be slow when transferring compared to an internal drive when transferring files over but it should be no issue with playback as long as you have a fast enough processor.

Cost-wise I think it's relative as you will need to spend the time and effort to move your components to a newer chassis.

[mrm]

i'm experiencing that problem too, yung biglang bumibilis parang nadudulas... bakit nga kaya...

oo nga sir, ganoon na ganoon nga...

[ericag_ph]

hmm.. Have you tried using the media player classic as the player?

Try opening the Windows Task Manager...you can check the load KM player contributes.

Also check this forum:
http://www.kmplayer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7280
http://forums.slizone.com/lofiversion/index.php?t8823.html

Might help.

hi sir, i have tried uninstalling all codecs present and even my mkv players,then installed K-lite codec full pack but still the ocassional
stutters still there when using KM player and very noticeable when playing musicals. Let me describe in detail what I meant by stutters in KM player. The scene suddenly fastforwards a word or two, but every thing is in sync( audio and video). And this always
happen in split seconds. There is no out of sync problem at all between the audio and video. But when using the Zoom player I don't see any stuttering/skipping at all.

Is this cause by my processor choking? Or is it cause by my built-in audio 6ch? Is KM player a resource hog? I Will try to upgrade all my drivers (audio and video) later today and see if the stutters are gone.

Thanks

[Clondalkin]

Hi sir,
Would it have a difference in performance when playing if I were to put all my movies (720p and 1080p mkv) onto an external hard disk  and connect via usb, than on a hard drive that is connected directly through sata? Since this hobby is a storage hungry, i'm planning on having several external hard disk as storage for
my increasing library of HD mkv's and playing them via usb. Thanks.

There should be but whether the difference "makes so much difference" depends on the raw power of your CPU.  In my main rig for instance, I don't notice any difference in quality whether I play from an external drive or from the internal drive.  My daughter's laptop on the other hand is able to eliminate synch problems of 1080p contents by playing from the internal drive.

What is your usual viewing habit and situation at home?  If you are like my family who all have personal preferences of high def contents, it is very convenient to use many external drive para di agaw-agawan.  So while the daughter is watching teenage movies, wife a love story and TV series, I can watch mix martial arts, documentaries and most importantly, sleazy stuff.      

And if you stick to brand external drives, makers have proprietary drivers to overdrive the USB read/write speeds.  External hard drives are also self-powered, so PSU won't be an issue especially if your rig contains power hungry components such as modern high end graphics cards.  Tapos, you only need to power the one external drive that contains the movie you're watching.

On the other hand, using internal drives would save you some money on the component cost per se.

[Clondalkin]

hi sir,
    I am having stutter problems with my KM player when playing 720p mkv's though not very often. It is not very noticeable on movies but on music videos it is annoying. How can I totally remove this stutter problems. I notice that when using zoom player it does not stutter. I love KM player and would want to know it anyone here experience occasional stuttering on mkv's.  My specs for my HTPC are:
               
                                Core 2 Duo E6420
                                Asus mobo
                                3 gb ddr2 667
                                500 gb hard disk sata
                                Palit 8800gt sonic 512 mb
                                5m hdmi cable
                                Monitor -> set to dual monitor with independent view for each
                                           for pc use 19" samsung lcd
                                           for watching mkv's a plasma 42pv70h connected via hdmi
 
                                built-in 6 ch audio on mobo connected to a 6 ch analog amplifier
       

No problem at all with your system.

What you're experiencing with 720p and 1080p is what I consider GROWING PAINS of a format that is not yet legally accepted and still a challenge to encoders and decoders.

There are quite a number of media players but there is always a trade-off.  KM Player is awesome but it's still buggy.  I'm not sure if the latest beta (1431) would perform better, but it's stable so perhaps you should give it a try.  The KM Player still has some kinks to be fixed but I like it the best nevertheless. 

In any case, if you feel like Zoom Player performs best, or any other media player for that mattter, then you should stick with it.

Some contents are simply NOT PROPERLY encoded, or perhaps better optimized for certain players,  but I'm thankful for their availability and playability (though sometimes imperfect) just the same.

1080p contents will push any system to its limits with the current generation of media players, and lack of hardware decoding.  If a 1080p content plays perfectly, then that is indicative of the adeptness of the person who ripped it.   I have not seen how those standalone players would perform on a 14GB-30GB 1080p 12Mbps and higher 1080p mkv.

Tanong, is it still true that the HD PureVideo Engine (not the 3d engine) of the 8800GT is inferior/older to that of 8600 and 9600/9800 series??? - Nvidia's assumption was that the 8800GT would have be installed with a very powerful CPU in the first place, thus no need to power up the HD video engine.   Or has the new drivers rectified that?

[mrm]

No problem at all with your system.

What you're experiencing with 720p and 1080p is what I consider GROWING PAINS of a format that is not yet legally accepted and still a challenge to encoders and decoders.

There are quite a number of media players but there is always a trade-off.  KM Player is awesome but it's still buggy.  I'm not sure if the latest beta (1431) would perform better, but it's stable so perhaps you should give it a try.  The KM Player still has some kinks to be fixed but I like it the best nevertheless. 

In any case, if you feel like Zoom Player performs best, or any other media player for that mattter, then you should stick with it.

Some contents are simply NOT PROPERLY encoded, or perhaps better optimized for certain players,  but I'm thankful for their availability and playability (though sometimes imperfect) just the same.

1080p contents will push any system to its limits with the current generation of media players, and lack of hardware decoding.  If a 1080p content plays perfectly, then that is indicative of the adeptness of the person who ripped it.   I have not seen how those standalone players would perform on a 14GB-30GB 1080p 12Mbps and higher 1080p mkv.

Tanong, is it still true that the HD PureVideo Engine (not the 3d engine) of the 8800GT is inferior/older to that of 8600 and 9600/9800 series??? - Nvidia's assumption was that the 8800GT would have be installed with a very powerful CPU in the first place, thus no need to power up the HD video engine.   Or has the new drivers rectified that?

hi sir, thanks for the info. more power to you sir.

[ert]

@mrm buy ka na lang popcorn hour no stuttering problems at all even at 1080p 

[uvax]

1080p contents will push any system to its limits with the current generation of media players, and lack of hardware decoding.  If a 1080p content plays perfectly, then that is indicative of the adeptness of the person who ripped it.   I have not seen how those standalone players would perform on a 14GB-30GB 1080p 12Mbps and higher 1080p mkv.

Although I'm using a different brand of media player than ert I can say from my personal experience that my player has played a 1080p 23.98fps 6ch AC3 mkv file (Earth) flawlessly.

[Clondalkin]

Although I'm using a different brand of media player than ert I can say from my personal experience that my player has played a 1080p 23.98fps 6ch AC3 mkv file (Earth) flawlessly.

Can you possibly test any of these 1080p titles on your standalone player and give us some feedback.  Not just browsing through scenes but full-length viewing.  Medyo mahaba ang more than 10 hours of viewing but thanks kung sakaling puede.

3:10 Yuma (10.7GB)
The Other Boleyn Girl (8.4GB)
Elizabeth The Golden Age (8.4GB)
Total Recall (10.4GB)
LOTR Return Of The King (12.5GB)

By the way, the same request goes for those using media players other than KMP.  If your player can play the above 5 absolutely flawlessly, then your player is arguably the best right now.   For those who want to try but would rather not download, I'm vacationing in Manila  sa last week of July.  I'll give anybody these test 1080ps for the sake of science, in our common quest to determine the best media player 

FYI, KMP exhibits some synch problems at certain scenes of the above titles, but automatically resynchs somehow (humahabol).  VLC is totally hopeless.  GOM has worse synching issue.  As for the rest of 1080ps I've watched so far (about 40 other titles), they're OK with KMP - thanks to the geniuses who "repackaged" them brilliantly.

As for 720ps, you can watch them with anything available out there.

[dyerds]

Can you possibly test any of these 1080p titles on your standalone player and give us some feedback.  Not just browsing through scenes but full-length viewing.  Medyo mahaba ang more than 10 hours of viewing but thanks kung sakaling puede.

3:10 Yuma (10.7GB)
The Other Boleyn Girl (8.4GB)
Elizabeth The Golden Age (8.4GB)
Total Recall (10.4GB)
LOTR Return Of The King (12.5GB)

By the way, the same request goes for those using media players other than KMP.  If your player can play the above 5 absolutely flawlessly, then your player is arguably the best right now.   For those who want to try but would rather not download, I'm vacationing in Manila  sa last week of July.  I'll give anybody these test 1080ps for the sake of science, in our common quest to determine the best media player 

FYI, KMP exhibits some synch problems at certain scenes of the above titles, but automatically resynchs somehow (humahabol).  VLC is totally hopeless.  GOM has worse synching issue.  As for the rest of 1080ps I've watched so far (about 40 other titles), they're OK with KMP - thanks to the geniuses who "repackaged" them brilliantly.

As for 720ps, you can watch them with anything available out there.

Uso namang ang shoot-out ngayon. Why don't we have a shoot-out between a MKV player and a HTPC? 

[HD_MOVIES]

baka me kinalaman din ang os.. tried playing 1080p planet earth sa vista ultimate pero merong stutter.. pero pag sa windows xp, wala naman at smooth..

although di ko pa na-try iplay sa pch a100..

maganda sana kung makuha ko yung mga test movies ni Clondalkin para matry ko sa PCH ko at sa HTPC ko..

[momay]

sa laptop k0 na vista basic walang stutter pero sa vista ultimate at home premium meron.siguro less resource hog ang basic kaya walang stutter.when playing HD movies dapat walang ibang application na nagrurun sa background.

[uvax]

@Clondalkin

The only one among your list that I have is Total Recall. I've only gone through about 30 minutes of it and have had no problems. Since it was shot natively on film and then transferred to HD it is not as good visually as Planet Earth which was shot in HD natively. By the way, Total Recall movie file is at 1920x1040 so it's not 1080p strictly speaking .

I'm not espousing media players over HTPC. I would not want to get into a debate on pros and cons as it is a matter of personal preference. As long as the hardware has the grunt it's now down to firmware/software. In my case, the manufacturer made several firmware iterations to get the media player to where it is now. I'm hoping that they put in TrueHD and DTS Master Audio support in their next firmware iteration whenever that may be.

[Clondalkin]

@Clondalkin

The only one among your list that I have is Total Recall. I've only gone through about 30 minutes of it and have had no problems. Since it was shot natively on film and then transferred to HD it is not as good visually as Planet Earth which was shot in HD natively. By the way, Total Recall movie file is at 1920x1040 so it's not 1080p strictly speaking .

It's a nice player you have then.  Is it the Korean-made one?  Yeah, PQ of that particular transfer is below average.  And strictly speaking, there are only soooooo few r*ps out there that meet 720p and 1080p standard resolutions respectively.   Try to run mediainfo on all your downloaded files and you'd see that resolutions are practically halo-halo.  No standardization.   It appears to me that encoders played around with the resolution to their indulgence, or perhaps in trying to optimize the encode, or probably to control the final size of the compressed file.  I don't know.  Not much of a bother though as long as the resulting file plays well.

[Clondalkin]

Interesting observations regarding the comparative performances using different OS on HTPC set-ups.   This could be the key to excellent performance of standalones;  although standalones may appear to have inferior hardware on paper relative to that of high-end PCs, their firmware/software/driver/system are comparatively simplified.

[HD_MOVIES]

sa laptop k0 na vista basic walang stutter pero sa vista ultimate at home premium meron.siguro less resource hog ang basic kaya walang stutter.when playing HD movies dapat walang ibang application na nagrurun sa background.

baka dahil sa driver/player sa x64 ng vista? i dont think na hardware ang problem.. tried playing it sa q6600 oc'ed to 3.4ghz at 8800gt na video card with 2gb ddr2 1200mhz ram pero stutter parin.. same result sa be2350, onboard video ng gigabyte 780g and 2gb ram..

[momay]

well those OS are 32bit version.theres no need for 64bit version unless you want your 4gb ram to be fully utilized.

eto spec ng laptop ko. its a dell inspiron 1720.
T7250 Core2Duo
Nvidia 8600M GT 256mb DDR2
2GB ram DDR2
Fujitsu SATA HDD

i am using the latest drivers from dell and the latest k-lite codec pack. no stutter or what so ever.the mkv rips are 720p and 1080p even if the native resolution is lower than those because its anamorphic.

one thing i noticed with similar laptop is the antivirus installed. with similar setup using norton/mcafee anti virus (known to be resource hogs, then coupled with vista home premium/ultimate OS) mkv rips has some stutter. i only use the avg free edition and vista basic as my OS and I have not seen any stutter.

good mkv's to test if your system stutters is the 1080p version of Ice Age 2 (water slide scene). on my desktop pc it stutter at that scene badly. also the planet earth scene with the flock of birds dancing in the sky is a good test also. even at only 720p my desktop pc also stutters at that scene. heres my desktop pc setup

DFI Lanparty NF4 Ultra-D
AMD Opteron 146 1mb cache memory and oc to 3ghz
1gb (512x2) DDR400 dual channel setup
Nvidia 7800gtx 256mb ddr3
320gb SATA2 seagate HDD