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What Cases Work Well For Building Set-Top Boxes?

Posted by Cliff on from the outdoing-tivo-and-replay-on-your-own dept.

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?"

9 of 19 comments (clear)

  1. Been there, STILL haven't been able to do that. by Vito · · Score: 2

    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

  2. Search for BookPC by nathanm · · Score: 2

    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.

    1. Re:Search for BookPC by davidu · · Score: 2

      they don't have infrared or any pci slots. (nor AGP) -- they actually suck for anything video related. I have two. One is a great MP3 server, the other was a waste of a video experiment similar to yours. I have a new box I picked up at frys that I think will do the trick though.
      -Davidu

      --

      # Hack the planet, it's important.
    2. Re:Search for BookPC by psychosis · · Score: 2

      I have one as an MP3 server, and I agree that it's perfect. It does have S-Video out, which is plenty good enuff to show some info on the current track or status... XMMS visualizations look perdy too!

    3. Re:Search for BookPC by davidu · · Score: 2

      how did you get the TV-out to work in linux? If I could get that, I would be set.
      -Davidu

      --

      # Hack the planet, it's important.
  3. Close, but still no cigar for what you want... by cr0sh · · Score: 2

    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
  4. Hm. by danpbrowning · · Score: 2

    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
  5. Nothing too wrong with a standard PC case by mfarver · · Score: 2

    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.

  6. Old VCR by woolytsheep14 · · Score: 2

    Have you thought about modifying an old VCR Case?