Wanting to build a Home Theater PC. Advice?

[RDLightning01]

Tried searching, The search function on this site is odd.
Anyways, Wanting to build a HTPC, and have been out of the game for awhile.
Wanting to run Kodi/ XBMC, TV Tuner, Blu-Ray Ripper, Large hard drive, Capabilities to grow/ graphics card. Need recomendations for everything from power supply to case
-Tv tuner/DVR Clear QAM be able to record tv
-rip blu-rays and store
-Run kodi like a champ
- HDMI
-4k if possible (for future prep)
Budget 500$??
You tell me what im missing

 

[08mojo]

$500 is going to be tough!!! I just built a mini-itx motherboard based htpc. Mu budget was $750, and it went fast! I didnt account for was the operating system, so that was an unpleasant $130 surprise.

Anyways, it will be tough to get a 4k ready system for $500 with everything, but I think $700 is realistic. Google DIY 2016 htpc. You will get a lot of good advice/builds.

 

[bigmoose]

I had really good luck with silicon dust tuners on WMC. I also had ceton which always had problems.

 

[RDLightning01]

700$ is do able
for tv tuner was thinking
Hauppauge WinTV HVR-2250

 

[Sladester2]

$500 is going to be tough!!! I just built a mini-itx motherboard based htpc. Mu budget was $750, and it went fast! I didnt account for was the operating system, so that was an unpleasant $130 surprise.

Anyways, it will be tough to get a 4k ready system for $500 with everything, but I think $700 is realistic. Google DIY 2016 htpc. You will get a lot of good advice/builds.

Just FYI you can get operating system keys off reddit for like 10 bucks.

 

[Blown 89]

These days you shouldn't have to spend that kind of money to do all of those things. Get a raspberry pi 3, used NUC, or something similar. Hell, even Nas devices will run Plex and encode 4 streams these days. Spend $40 on a rp3, $40 on a tuner, grab any of the free kodi builds or Plex, don't worry about 4k and call it a day. You're a sucker if you spend $700 on a htpc.

 

[Satyr]

Your budget is doable (depending on some untouched variables), but the BR ripping will be the biggest hindrance in terms of performance. One of the newer generation core i3's will handle everything you want, and most new onboard video chips can support everything-- generally able to handle 4K content just fine.

Neither of my past HTPC's had dedicated graphics cards, and they never had an issue with 4K or 3D content. The TV tuner requirement eliminates a lot of the sleeker mini itx cases that are popular among HTPC'ers, but you can look into the offerings of Lian Li, Silverstone and Fractal to find decent alternatives. Their units are usually very spacious and the design lends itself well to the home theater look. PSU choice is really up to you. Look for something that's certified and of quality brand (Corsair, Enermax, Silverstone, Thermaltake). Newegg commonly has MIR's for them, so I would choose based on price. You won't need anymore than 450W, unless you go with an aftermarket GPU.

How many drives are you looking to use, and how much storage space do you actually need (and will need in the future). Drives generally become the most expensive element of an HTPC build, unless the plan is for only a few TB's. If your plans are one large drive, I'd get an SSD for the OS install and then a 4 or 6 TB secondary for media. The SSD will help with BR rips and will make bootups and whatnot significantly faster. If the plan is more than 10 TB's, I would recommend a dedicated server (such as that which I mention, below).

These days you shouldn't have to spend that kind of money to do all of those things. Get a raspberry pi 3, used NUC, or something similar. Hell, even Nas devices will run Plex and encode 4 streams these days. Spend $40 on a rp3, $40 on a tuner, grab any of the free kodi builds or Plex, don't worry about 4k and call it a day. You're a sucker if you spend $700 on a htpc.

A better, albeit more expensive option is to build a small server for the media and then use things like the Amazon Fire Stick (or similar) to connect that media to TV's. All the processing is handled by the server and it gives you the ability to stream away from home on a cell phone or anything that has internet.

 

[nofire]

How big are the files sizes you guys use for movies? You're talking a couple of TB for total space and that doesn't hold much in the way of movies when my average file size is 10GB. right now I've got a SSD for the actual programs and 2 8TB HDDs for storage with a spot for a third one if I need it. And I was considering stepping up to a NAS for even more storage.

 

[Satyr]

How big are the files sizes you guys use for movies? You're talking a couple of TB for total space and that doesn't hold much in the way of movies when my average file size is 10GB. right now I've got a SSD for the actual programs and 2 8TB HDDs for storage with a spot for a third one if I need it. And I was considering stepping up to a NAS for even more storage.

Mine vary from 1.5 gb-5 gb, with TV shows usually in the 200 mb/30 min range (aside from those where HD is actually useful). There's virtually no difference in video quality between 5 gb and 20 gb, but there is an audio difference (provided you have a hifi system)--I can't comment on 4K because I have virtually no 4K media.

I currently have a 30TB zfz2 freenas server that operates as the backend for all of my media. It's really the best option in terms of performance and backup, but is also the most expensive.

Since OP mentioned "large hard drive," I assumed he was planning on a single, essentially indicating he didn't plan to have a very large storage environment. If that's incorrect it changes things a bit.

 

[ddschmitz]

Someone already mentioned it in here but look into a raspberry pi. Set up a plex server on your home PC (If you have one) and you're ready to go! If you need more space just put another hard drive in a PC you may already have.

As for 4k content it depends where you are getting it from. I haven't seen much downloadable 4k content online yet and I personally don't have any. But I know Netflix or Youtube or other streaming services are starting to have some. Also for that I would again think a raspberry pi should suit you well and should be a super cheap solution to stream content to your TV. https://www.element14.com/community...werful-plex-media-server-using-raspberry-pi-3

If you do decide to build a pc I can give you some links to help. If you want to save the ~$100 or whatever it would be for you to get Windows, just go with a Linux distro instead. I'd recommend Linux Mint or Ubuntu. They are quite easy to install and work with if you're new to Linux. Also as for 4k and a graphics card, I would think you wouldn't need a graphics card if you want to save some money. If the PC is just a media server than the CPU can handle that (I think don't quote me on that). For example, this CPU supports 4k http://ark.intel.com/products/90729/Intel-Core-i3-6100-Processor-3M-Cache-3_70-GHz. So all you'd really need is a cheap case, motherboard, power supply, CPU, and some hard drives.
http://pcpartpicker.com/
https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc

I tried coming up with a parts list and here's what I made http://pcpartpicker.com/list/ddt8M8. I would HIGHLY recommend you double check and do some research and see if this is a build you would want. Double check to make sure everything is compatible. Try posting to that subreddit r/buildapc and see what they think of the build. Just do some research man. But nevertheless, that build I would think would make a nice little home entertainment storage streaming box thing.

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/ddt8M8

 

[MovingZen]

I agree with the NAS and Plex idea. Rip from whatever computer you already have.

 

[mavisky]

If it's only going to be a media HTPC then it should be pretty easy to stay at the $500 budget since you don't need much in the way of horsepower for that. Basic mobo/cpu combo and a lower level GPU and you should be fine. Throw the OS and your required software on a small 64 GB SSD and then slap a couple Terabyte drives in there for storage and call it a day.

 

[SonicDTR]

You really want two separate devices for this. I use a NUC, Asrock Beebox(total about $300 with SSD and 16gb RAM), and then have a media "server" that is my gaming rig in my office. HTPC/NUC sits by the TV and streams games or video files from the media server.

 

[Blown 89]

You really want two separate devices for this. I use a NUC, Asrock Beebox(total about $300 with SSD and 16gb RAM), and then have a media "server" that is my gaming rig in my office. HTPC/NUC sits by the TV and streams games or video files from the media server.

In that instance a NUC is a total overkill since a $5 Pi Zero or a $30 Chromecast would do everything that NUC is at a much lower price point. With the leftover savings you could buy an XBOX One...which, coincidentally, could handle the receiving stream as well.

 

[SonicDTR]

In that instance a NUC is a total overkill since a $5 Pi Zero or a $30 Chromecast would do everything that NUC is at a much lower price point. With the leftover savings you could buy an XBOX One...which, coincidentally, could handle the receiving stream as well.

Very true, just stating what path I went with. I dont think you can steam stream games with a Pi or Chromecast though. I have an XBOX controller receiver on my NUC and stream more graphics intense games from the Media/gaming PC. Some games are installed locally though.

 

[Blown 89]

Very true, just stating what path I went with. I dont think you can steam stream games with a Pi or Chromecast though. I have an XBOX controller receiver on my NUC and stream more graphics intense games from the Media/gaming PC. Some games are installed locally though.

In doing what the OP wanted however that's overkill. He doesn't need two devices, one would work just fine.

 

[RDLightning01]

What i have right now is just a macbook for a computer.
in my media center right now
use a set top clear qam tv tuner,
ps4
xbox1
amazon fire tv with kodi/xbmc.
Fire tv runs kodi good enough, but doesnt have the storage to buffer hd content very well.
and just have a set top box qam tuner which works but un able to record anything, so im just trying to combine my tv tuner and with a device with ample storage and processing power to run kodi and setup kodi to work with my tv tuner.
so i can stay on 1 channel on my receiver and get rid of some remotes off the couch

 

[SonicDTR]

In doing what the OP wanted however that's overkill. He doesn't need two devices, one would work just fine.

I didnt say "need".

However I prefer not to have a tower full of drives whirring away in the living room. If you want a significant amount of storage and graphics capabilities it will not be very living room friendly. An alternative such as chromecast/pi/nuc attached to the TV and streaming from a desktop/server/NAS in another room is more ideal.

 

[WireEater]

I personally liked using Serviio more than Plex. It's been awhile since I've gotten into media since I moved and got stuck with DSL. However, Comcast just buried cables finally and I will be getting the 150mbps connection once they go live and will probably get back into it since I can afford to download movies quickly.

 

[Blown 89]

I didnt say "need".

However I prefer not to have a tower full of drives whirring away in the living room. If you want a significant amount of storage and graphics capabilities it will not be very living room friendly. An alternative such as chromecast/pi/nuc attached to the TV and streaming from a desktop/server/NAS in another room is more ideal.

The whirring stack is a direct result of overbuilding. In car terms it's like building a 12,000 hp top fuel car for a daily commute then complaining about the exhaust noise. If it were the 1990s I'd agree that a whirring stack in a big tower is unavoidable but in 2016 there's no reason you should hear a computer, especially a htpc and server.

OP, download the BR images and don't fall into the early adoption money pit.

I get the need thing though.....overdoing it can be fun.