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What Cases Work Well For Building Set-Top Boxes?
magnitron asks: "I'm interested in building my own set-top box like TiVo et al, but adding DVD support and the ability to surf the Web. I have looked all over the place for a decent case that will hold the ATI Radeon All-in-Wonder (this is the heart of the system). The nice and small cases usually have a real small power supply and proprietary motherboard (No AGP). I really like this one, but need it gutless and want to upgrade the motherboard and power supply. Anybody know where I could get a small case that would fit a 250W power supply, a DVD drive and an ATI AGP card in it?"
I took it, sprayed it black and it looks very slick. Especially with the slot loading DVD drive showing out the front.
Word of warning, I had problems with the colour red on the ATI all-in-wonder. Sometimes it flickered and other times it showed up as white.
Hope this helps.
Finally, someone who wants to put a PC in their living room, without it actually looking like a PC in their living room. Someone with taste has posted to Slashdot at last.
:)
;)
First, the Qbex isn't what you want. From that shot, it looks like a standard black NLX formfactor box. Which means it's got room for a slim CD/DVD, room for a couple HDs, room for a slim floppy, onboard everything, and usually one or two PCI slots in the back. That's it. No upgradeable AGP, and because of the formfactor, it still looks like a PC. Bleagh.
The Gateway Destination set-top unit is one of these, too.
Unfortunately, that's as close as you can come to a decent PC in a decent case, with much upgradeability at all. Rackmount cases are 19" wide, which is wider than some shelves or TVs, and usually also onboard everything, but they don't look back as set-top boxes, and 1U units can have a single PCI slot, and 2U units can have 2, maybe three?
Then there's "real" set-top boxes. Units like this offer a very non-threatening non-PC look, while still supporting a single PCI slot. Click on the "HTPC" link at the top of the page to see where Qbex probably gets their chassis from.
There's also a nice iDVD offering from GCT-Allwell with an integrated DVD player and PCI MPEG2 decoder... unfortunately it's not upgradeable at all, since the MPEG2 decoder takes up the only available PCI slot.
So in otherwords, you're pretty much stuck. I'd just LOVE to be proven wrong on this, but I think the only real choice you have is to have a chassis custom-built for you. Then get it FCC approved, and sell it online, and have a tidy little side business.
--Vito
There are systems available called BookPCs that are perfectly suited for this. It has integrated video & sound on a Micro ATX board. It has RCA & S-Video outputs, 56K modem, 10/100 ethernet, 2 USB, & 1 parallel port.
They're mostly sold as barebone, so you'll need a CPU (Celeron socket 370), RAM (PC66 or PC100 SDRAM), & harddisk (3.5" IDE).
Make sure you get the one with DVD-ROM & wireless keyboard.
You can get them new at Directtron, or find them on eBay.
Hello:
The link by magnitron redirects you to the homepage of qbex.com.
Assuming you are using hardware MPEG-2 decoding for DVD movie playback, you don't need a lot of power. I'm not sure quite how fast would be suitable, but I think any reasonably modern CPU would work just fine. If you are using a software based player, you will need some decent horsepower for good quality, but I'd strongly recommend using a decoder card (many graphics cards have this built in or you can buy a seperate decoder card - don't know about your ATI specifically).
The other thing to consider is whether you might want to be able to play DivX movies on this box. The DivX/MP4 codec is very CPU intensive and requires a good processor to get acceptable quality playback (I'd guess around 300-500MHz depending on bitrate). Though it isn't too widespread at the moment, DivX is quite cool and you can find a pretty good selection of material on Gnutella, IRC, etc. (not that I would ever advocate infringing upon copyrights).
Regards, RJS
Me an a couple other people are experimenting with the Acer NT-150 (details at www.phoenixgarage.net) - now, this box was never sold to consumers, but it has basically turned out to be a set-top box based around an AMD 586/133 - one of the guys (Chris Healy) has managed to set up a system to play MP3s and run Nintendo and Sega emulators, but I don't think it will have anywhere enough power to run DVDs, let alone VCD movies (which I am thinking about trying).
But you might try an AOLTV box - it is supposedly more powerful (pentium something or another), and maybe hackable as well. Of course, getting one without a subscription might prove challenging...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
Intel now sells laptops that can be sort-of custom built. They look really sweet, and you can put in your own processor/ram/hdd/etc., like a regular white box.
Daniel
I built a box to hold a 20x20 AV matrix switch (purchased surplus from BGMicro.com two years ago) and a small linux pc to control it. I just used a standard ATX formfactor desktop case. Its about the same size as standard A/V components, and now that its painted black it blends in nicely. I replaced the standard 3/4sq label with an IR window and hid a LIRC ( http://www.lirc.org ) receiver module behind it for IR remote control. A backlit LCDProc display in one of the drive bays gives out status information. The only thing I would recommend is not connecting the LEDs on the front panel.. on most cases they are way to bright and end up looking tacky.
You say that the cases you have found have proprietary motherboards with no AGP. Could the Radeon All-In-Wonder PCI be any help? ATI's site doesn't mention it yet (although I've read comments from people who claim to have one), but these guys are selling it.
sup
Have you thought about modifying an old VCR Case?
It would be very hard to stay with those dimensions since you'd also have to fit at least a power supply, hard drive, dvd drive, and a couple PCI cards in there as well (audio, network). For a reasonably fast processor (such as would be requisite for good DivX/MP4 encoding/decoding) and the AIW card, a 300W power supply will be necessary. Again, ATX format PS is the most flexible so you've got another big chunk (roughly 5 1/2 x 3 3/4 x 6 inches - see ATX Specs). Also realize that you'll need a good heatsink for your CPU (I'd recommend a Duron or Thunderbird whose included heatsinks are 2 inches high). Using an NLX/Micro-ATX/FlexATX form factor (specs) buys some size, but limits peripheral/mobo choices. Also check out this quick form factor guide and comparison chart.
I haven't settled on a choice yet, but you might look at the following (these cases are typically about 17 x 17 x 6 inches, which is smaller than the Qbex you mention above). Key components are Abit KT7A, Athlon ~1GHz, ATI Radeon AIW, Pioneer DV-105S, IBM 75GXP HD, NetGear FA312, and Soundblaster Platinum.
Personally, I think the thing to concentrate on is the loudness of the unit, rather than its physical size (and, to a lesser extent its stylishness). I have a Tivo (Phillips HDR312 with 1 30G Quantum) and find it unacceptably loud when watching movies unless placed in an enclosed cabinet (its considerably more quiet than a PC). My focus on cases is just for something that can fit inside my audio cabinet and which can flow enough air (preferably out the back) to keep the system reasonably cool. If I get something really good together, I'll probably just build myself a custom case once its all settled out (but there is lots more important things to do for integration software, remote contol, DivX support, mp3 management, etc. first IMO). Remember you are also going to have a tangle of cables to deal with if you want good integration to an A/V receiver or multiple components.
Some other options to think about:
Good luck, and please email me if you find anything else good or build software around the AIW and/or remote controls.
Regards, RJS
I'm looking at doing something similar (one step at a time). I'm currently setting up the classic MP3 player to my home stereo. I'd like to be able to add DVD at some time, but I'm wondering what kind of power you would need to run DVD to the TV. I don't have the machine in front of me so I don't have exact specs, but here's roughly what it is. 300A Celeron (not overclocked - I know I should), 64MB, with an onboard 8mb ATI w/S-Video out. I don't know the exact model of video. I don't have a DVD drive, so I can't see how well this would perform. So what does everyone think? If I added a DVD drive, could I watch a movie?