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-Introduction-
An HTPC using Mediaportal is for me THE number one solution for an 'All-in-one' device. I'm using it since a couple of years now and I really can't miss it in my daily life anymore.. Maybe it sounds a bit dramatic, but this system has changed my life and the way I'm watching/listening to all kinds of media!
My goal was to create a device that could replace all other devices in the living room such as a PS3, TiVo, DVD player, Bluray player and Mediaplayer.
This isn't my first HTPC project.. I have done some projects in the past including projects based on different software like Windows mediacenter and XBMC. I can honestly tell you all that this project is the best I have made so far and I'm really proud at the result! I think this system should be fast enough to keep its job doing for the next couple of years.
-Usage-
Watch & Record Live Television - I'm using this system mostly for watching/recording live (HD) television.. With an Anysee tuner (that isn't officialy suported by Mediaportal) this system is THE answer to all cheap, slow and bugy (interactive) TiVO's (settopbox) of this world..
Watch & Collect Movies - As I'm a real movie fan, this system is a wet dream for anyone who likes to spent there whole weekend on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn in their hand.. Mediaportal is excellent for this. The built-in video plugin of Mediaportal is doing it's job quite well, but personally I prefer MovingPictures as the ultimate plugin for all your movie collections. The plugin grabs all information from the web you need; all in your language.. Like to see a movietrailer before starting a movie? CHECK! downloaded a movie without subtitles and like to download some? CHECK!
Watch & Collect TVSeries - For this one I'm using MP-TVSeries. it's similar to MovingPictures, and does kind of the same for TV Series.. Really awesome if you are a fan of watching series. You can grab complete series from the web, put them on your harddrive, and MP-TVSeries is doing the rest for you.. It 'sees' which serie, which season and which episode is added and automatically grab the right information including banners, posters and info from the web and classifies it in a nice and clear lay-out. Missing a subtitle and want to download it? CHECK!
View Pictures - As I'm taking a lot of pictures, It's nice to see them back on your big screen television.
Watch online content - There is one plugin you really should give a try. We call it: OnlineVideos! With this amazing plugin you can watch and download almost every video available on the web. Nothing on television? No problem.. With OnlineVideos there is always something nice on your television. With this plugin enabled you don't have a simple TiVo, but an all-in-one interactive one!
Listen to music - Of course Mediaportal can play all your music tracks located on your harddrive. But it's doing a lot more! You have a good overview about all your files. There are a lot of different views available, so you always have fast access to all your tracks. Even in a collection of ~100.000 tracks it's easy to find the music you want. Another nice plugin you can use is My Lyrics, to show the songtext of the current playing track.
Listen to live Radio - As I'm using a digital tv card, I can use it to listen to radio as well.. Including a nice EPG, channel logos and the ability to schedule/record your favourite radio show, this should be the best solution to radio fans as well!
Listen to online content - Do you have an account on Spotify and/or Grooveshark? You really have to install the Rockstar plugin for Mediaportal. With this plugin you can stream almost every music track in the world to your speakers.
Play Games! - Using your HTPC as a kind of Playstation/XBOX? Why not?! With a wireless XBOX360 controller included (that is also configured to control Mediaportal itself as well) my HTPC is doing a much better job than a dedicated playstation 3 or XBOX 360. As my hardware is a lot more recent/faster than the actual gameconsoles of this world, the game experience is a lot better, even in FullHD! To make this happen you should take a look at our GameEmulator plugin: MyEmulators2.
Read news, weather and surf on the internet - To keep up-to-date in the hectic world we're living in, it's really nice to watch the news on your big screen television. With InfoService installed as a plugin, you can add all feeds from websites you like. Another nice plugin is Worldweather. With this weather plugin, especially for weather freaks, you can view almost every kind of condition you want.
A LOT MORE.. - There is so much possible with Mediaportal including[ install Windows updates|https://www.team-mediaportal.com/extensions/system/update-control], sleeptimers, connect to Trakt.TV, Netflix etc.. Too much to tell you about, but it is worth the time to investigate to see what is possible for you!
-Configuration-
HTPC:
Case: Moneual932 (including a 7" touchscreen to show/control your current playing Media. To make this happen: MPDisplay++ )
CPU: Intel i3 2100
RAM: Kingston, 8GB DDR3, 1600Mhz
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67, rev 3.1
GPU: ASUS HD5770, 1GB
SSD: OCZ agility 3, 60GB
HDD: Samsung spinpoint F3, 1TB
TV-Card: Anysee E30C PLUS
Drive: ASUS BC-08B1ST
PSU: OCZ stealth 430 wat
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate, SP1, x64
Game and test system:
(I'm using this pc to test new releases/features of Mediaportal and write translations/skinfiles for it)
Case: Corsair obsidian 650D
RAM: OCZ Gold, 6GB DDR3, 1333Mhz
Motherboard: Gigabyte X58A-OC
GPU: XFX HD7970 Black Edition Double Dissipation
SSD: OCZ Vertex 2, 60GB
HDD: Samsung spinpoint F1, 750GB
Drive: GH22NS30LG
PSU: Coolermaster Xtreme, 650 watt
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate, SP1, x64
*-Sound & View-*
My HTPC is connected to my LG 42" plasma television (LG 42PG6000) using DVI<--->HDMI. Of course it can always be bigger and better, but the screen is doing it's job fine. For movies I really like the colors and the contrast of a plasma TV as it has a real natural reproduction.
For a great sound experience, the system is connected to a Logitech Z-5500 speakerset using a digital optical cable.. I'm not going to say that this is the best sound solution in the world; but the balance between price and quality is totally awesome! In my previous house I was using a big AV receiver from Marantz with an enormous speaker set from B&W, (640i) and of course that was 'different'. But for now, in the small house I'm living in, the[ Z-5500|http://www.logitech.com/nl-nl/support/224?crid=409] does a great job, especially when playing movies and games.
*-Cooling-*
It is a lot harder to cool down an HTPC compared to a normal PC. There is no much space for big cooling elements/fans, and the case itself has in most situations not much space to drain hot air at the backside of it. Another thing is of course that an HTPC should be really silent! What I have done is trying to put the best cooling solutions together with a low sound production as highest priority. For the CPU I'm using a Scythe Ninja mini rev. b. It fits nicely in the case, and with a 96mm silent fan from Coolermaster that runs at low speed, you wiil not hear it, but it cools great! The temp of my processor is at idle around the ~39C and on full load around the ~55C. Another component that is normally getting even hotter is the GPU of the graphiccard. So I have bought a good aftermarket cooler for that one as well.. It is an Accelero Twin Turbo Pro with 2 96mm fans. It is really the most quiet fan I have ever seen! And at the same time it is cooling the GPU very well.. On idle: ~37c, and under full load: ~55c. For a bit more airflow in the case I'm using 4 8cm fans from coolermaster. They are running around ~800RPM, so you really can't hear them.
*-Controls-*
I have spent a lot of time to this, to take control over my HTPC as easy as possible.. Normally I'm using the remote that came with my HTPC case. It's an iMon remote that is working very well. It was only a challenge to change the controls of some buttons. For that I'm using another Mediaportal plugin called MP shortcutter. You can specify a Mediaportal ID with it (Every window in Mediaportal has it's own unique ID) to a specific shortcut. (key combination). With the software from iMon you can couple a button on the remote to that specific key combination. And with that, every button is working fine now! I have configured the coloured buttons on the remote as well, so by example: when I press the red button, it goes directly to my movies, pressing green to music, etc.
A second method to control the system is using my Android smartphone (Samsung Galaxy S III). The app I'm using for that is called aMPdroid. it's free in the Google Play store, and you can enter your whole movie/series/music collection with it, and it's working really awesome! A nice feature as well is the option to stream media right to you smartphone including live (HD) television!
Last but not least, I'm using my wireless XBOX360 controller a lot as well to control my mediacenter. I have configured every button on it to a Mediaportal control using Xpadder. Working great!
-Pictures-
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