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Home Entertainment PC Mod

Posted by michael on from the rewind-the-program-when-finished dept.

Hughesey writes "With PC's beginning to enter the Home Entertainment scene, OC-Melbourne have come up with the perfect way to integrate a PC into your Home Theater setup. The OC-Melbourne HEPC. Quote From the Article: 'So now we have a PC that is capable of replacing many separate devices (such as a DVD player, and consoles), but lets admit it, that big beige case probably looks far worse than the hardware its replacing. Some people have gotten around this by using specialised cases such as those from Shuttle, or fancy aluminium cases such as those from LianLi. These cases, however, still don't integrate seamlessly into modern home theater systems, as they still maintain their "PC" look. Enter the OC-Melbourne HEPC...'"

10 of 203 comments (clear)

  1. Not to PC-looking case by SigveK · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Check it out

  2. Anyone remember those Intel cases? by httpamphibio.us · · Score: 4, Interesting

    A couple years back when Intel had the guys in the anti-static suits doing their advertising I remember catching some pictures of some really awesome cases at some Intel show in Japan. There were a couple round ones in colors like bright orange and pink. Overall they were really great, but of course they were never mass produced. I'd love to get my hands on one, it at least pictures.

    Am I the only one that remembers these?

    --
    sig.
  3. Frozen Case by duren686 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I wouldn't mind having one of these next to my TV.

    --
    Y2K Compliant since the late 1890s
  4. Necessary in the long term by virtual_mps · · Score: 2, Interesting

    (Sure, the images load fast--it's the unnecessary shtml that's /.ed...when will they learn?)

    This sort of integration is a good thing, though it really needs to be done commercially (not as a case mod hack.) At some point in the future I hope to see ubiqutous computing--people should just be able to do what they want without having to sit in front of "the computer" like a supplicant in a shrine. That sort of approach changes the design of computers out of necessity--a distinct keyboard and monitor just don't make any sense in that environment. And human nature being what it is, people are going to want machines that blend into their homes, not stick out like ugly distractions the way they do now.

  5. a computer will allways be a computer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    a computer will allways be a computer, and a television will allways be a television, you can take some of the features of a computer and add it to a television, and maybe improve it, like maybe one of those new 200 gig harddrives would replace a VCR for recording & replaying shows, etc...etc...

    but to try to add a desktop computer to a TV/Stereo combo in the living will only complicate things, what do you do of a family member wants to piddle with the computer while you want to watch TV, i can see the feuds now over something like this...

    keep computers & TV/stereos seperate, but it does not hurt to add features from one to the other...

  6. Laptops by zevans · · Score: 2, Interesting

    My laptop, along with 802.11 setup, makes a decent entertainment system in EVERY room in the house (and the garden, although I do have problems with sunlight [when I don't have problems with rain :-) ] ).

    It's handy (obviously), attractive (small black thing with sexy flat panel display), and does most things pretty well (Radeon is OK for 3D games, and there's an inbuilt DVD and CD-RW.)

    Plus, it has SVGA out for those occasions where you do want to use the big TV - and when you are doing that, the Clie solves the problem of multiple remote controls. I am lacking a wireless keyboard and mouse, because the range on most of them is only a couple of metres which isn't quite enough in a big Victorian house.

    Integration of all the software is of course a nightmare, under both of the installed operating systems.

    Zack

    --
    "... and more and more now there are all kinds of electronic goodies available" -- Pink Floyd 1972
  7. The best way to do it? by lute3 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I've been working on the whole HEPC/TVPC thing for a while.. Most of my 'work', of course, has consisted of tons and tons of research and drawings/schematics instead of purchasing/building much of anything.

    I finally broke down and built a TV machine last summer.. I mainly used it to play Divx movies--both ones I ripped from my DVDs myself and ones I downloaded from Morpheus.

    Remote Control:

    1. I bought an IRman and got it working with Winamp's VidAmp..
    2. At first, I kept no mouse or keyboard on the box. I opted instead to use the remote,
      TweakUI-configured auto-login, and VNC (from my laptop already wired-up in the living room.
    Case:
    1. I tore down a mid-tower case and buffered all of the metal joints with duct tape as I built it back up.
      This eliminated any inherent case rattle.
    2. I layed the side and reconfigured my entertainment center's shelves to accommodate it.
    3. The case had a interesting configuration of fans (combinations of Thermaltake "smart" fans and things)
      to try to keep the AthlonXP 1700+ and three Maxtor drives (one 30GB and two 80GB) cool.

    What have I learned?

    1. I *have* to have TiVo functionality and soon.
    2. Morpheus/Kazaa and other online sources of movies are dying.
    3. Drives fail quickly if not properly cooled.
    4. Drives tend to fail anyway or have the remote possibility of very quickly losing 100 of your
      hard-earned movies in the event of failure.
    5. Almost no matter what, a TV PC is going to be too loud to enjoy having in the living room.

    What will I do differently next time?

    1. I will build two different boxes--one bare and quiet set-top box or something in the living room and the other a
      nasty, tricked-out, noisy system to handle all of the grunt-work in another room.
    2. IDE RAID. 'nuff said.
    3. Linux--as much as possible. I will actually make the full effort to get away from Windows and build
      On-Screen Display menus and things.. One of the bottom lines of my experience is that Windows/FAT32
      *kills* drives.
    4. I *have* to have TiVo/PVR/DVB/DVR/VDR functionality.. I could theoretically
      have one DVB card in the
      STB to add pause-live-TV functionality. For the setup and recording of other scheduled TV programs and movies, the "big box" in the other room that will have somewhere in the
      neighborhood of 4 or 5 DVB cards. This is fine for Digital Cable.. If I had a dish, it would
      likely be very different.
    5. Rip, rip, rip. Get those DVDs archived onto file and quit letting other peoples' copies be sufficient.
      I really didn't do all *that* bad.. I had ripped somewhere around 60 of the DVDs myself.
      I've really got to say this--AVI-archived DVDs beats the friggin bug juice out of any multi-DVD player.

    Here are some more related links..
    LinuxDVB
    VDR

  8. Re:Temple of Worship by Sarcasm_Orgasm · · Score: 0, Interesting

    Please go back to China you dirty communist.

    --
    Special people have long socks, ride short buses, & invent witty sigs.
  9. Re:15 seconds is too slow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Why would it need to boot? Why would you switch it off? Just let it go sleep when not needed, and wake up when you do. A reasonable system comes up from standby in under a second.

  10. Best AV Case Yet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    It depresses me that because I don't have an account, most poeple will never see this case. I won't, however, make an account.

    Case fits an ATX motherboard, 600W PSU, and the facade has an IR port as well as a place for a DVD drive.

    AV Computer Case