Mini PC for home theatre use

[Ozymandias]

Hi,

I want to purchase a mini PC to use in my home theatre, and would greatly appreciate some specifications-feedback on what configuration I should go for.

I want it to be as quiet as possible, and for it to boot up quickly - maybe to keep it in hibernation most of the time or something similar.

I am going to stream 1080p files over a gigabit wired network from my QNAP NAS drive.

I also want to be able to watch online TV in maximized screen resolution, and to do web browsing, skype chats etc.

I want to connect the mini PC via HDMI to a an Epson TW3600 1080p projector, and I am using a logitech surround system with it.

I want to be able to play BluRay discs on the system, but I don't want the Cinavia DRM-crap in my hardware which is currently not letting me play legally ripped DVD .mkv-files on my PS3. The HTPC will replace the PS3 which is headed for ebay.

I don't want any stuttering playback or flaky performance, but this is basically all I will be doing with this system.

So what is the ideal configuration?

Any help appreciated!

 

[Tom DWC]

Hi and welcome to the forums.

What's the budget range we have to work with?

 

[Ozymandias]

Thanks for the welcome. I'd like to try to stay under £400, but I'd rather spend a bit extra than cutting back on something that will make the system more capable of performing as indicated above..

 

[Meds]

I think you'd be looking at something along the lines of this;

Processor (CPU)
AMD ATHLON II X2 255 (3.10GHz/2MB CACHE/AM3)
Motherboard
ASUS® M4A88T-I DELUXE: 880G Chipset, 2x DDR3, 2 x USB 3.0, 6 x USB 2.0
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 2GB)
Graphics Card
Integrated ATI Radeon™ HD 4250 + HDMI, DVI-D
Memory - Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Bluetooth & Wireless
INTEGRATED GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD (AS STANDARD)
USB Options
8 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Bluetooth & Infrared Options
Integrated V2.0 Bluetooth Adapter + EDR Capability
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 11 to 13 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £412.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/amd-mini-pc/

 

[Ozymandias]

Thanks for the spec suggestion. You recon this system would be able to perform well as an HTPC?
Would it give me Cinavia DRM issues like my PS3 has take a habit of doing with my own digitized DVDs - will I need to rip them again on the HTPC? (I am guessing the license conflict on the PS3 is because I rip them on another machine, then copy to the NAS drive to stream into the livingroom. The files play well on our other PC's and Macs in the house.)

I am pretty well ready to place an order if this system will do the job!

Thanks!

 

[Voyeurism]

Ozy: Cinavia is an audio watermark, that needs to be supported both by the particular disc (ie. the audio track must contain the watermark) and by the player (either in hardware or software). If the player supports Cinavia and detects a watermarked audio stream, it checks the disc ID of the source and if it doesn't match what that watermark says it should be then the player stops playback or disables audio (as instructed by the watermark). On the PS3 this works whether the source is streamed over a network or read from local media (optical or USB storage), and regardless of the format of the source (ie. transcoding doesn't help).

Whether you will have the same problems with a HTPC will depend entirely on whether you use a software player which support Cinavia. In taking a decision as to which software player to use, you may find this thread useful, although I am not sure how frequently it is updated.