HTPC (Home Theater PC) for under 1K?

[billpa]

I am thinking of building a HTPC for work. We produce videos and commercials and have a boatload of material we show clients in our conference room (see attachment). Currently I encode all our projects to DVD and then they are cataloged in one of those disc binders. However, it gets to be a pain when you want to show someone different videos and of course, there is always the person that takes a disc out to give to someone. Also, we are producing a lot more HD content and we have no means of showing it in the room as it stands right now.

So I talked to my boss about building an HTPC that would have a touchscreen interface (located in the right corner of the photo) and would be able to store and play our collection of videos. It would have to have dual monitor support (one for touchscreen and one to display on the 42" plasma) and it would have to be able to play 1080i content without a hitch.

He seemed interested...asking if it had to be a PC (we are all Mac based here) which I answered, yes. I figured it would be cheaper to build a dedicated PC for this type of application. He then told me if I could keep it under a thousand (that includes the touchscreen) he would probably go for it.

So I am wondering what suggestions everyone has on the components to build this thing....case, motherboard, processor, power supply, video card, audio card (5.1 sound), memory, etc. I know there are a ton of different options but I need to keep this within the budget....could possibly go over a little bit especially if I am doing this piecemeal. Or would it be cheaper to buy a manufactured PC??

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
billpa

[RayB]

I guess this thread is reserved for the exclusive club of people who know what "HTPC" is.

[billpa]

Sorry...Home Theater PC

[massive88]

First, I dont really know about touchscreen costs.

Second, keeping the first point in mind, you can easily do this for under 1k.  Main point being, you dont need a beefy graphics card for an HTPC.  Decoding HD content is mainly a processor intensive feat, but even that should not be a problem for any reasonably powered computer, especially if thats basically all you need it to do at one time.

Third, peicemeal will always be far cheaper.  However, if you want something thats ready to go, and that you dont have to be the tech support guy on at work, then Id look into premade options.

That said if I were to build a HTPC today I would probably go with something like this...

Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856101034
Processor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115052
Ram - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098
HDD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152100
BluRay (if needed) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106227
If not Needed - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827101131
And if you need another Vid Card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500033

Just as an example... that would run you...
$715 plus shipping for BluRay
$602 for just a dvd player

And it gets you a Core2Duo with 750 gig HDD, 2 gigs ram.  You could definitely get by with a much weaker processor as well, and depending on your HDD needs, a smaller (and cheaper) HDD.  You probably dont need 2 gigs ram either, but with it being so cheap, Id aim high!

On board sound should be fine, as should just about any video card (including on board).  I chose a shuttle just because I like em!

Edit:  Also, if you are all Mac users, perhaps going along the lines of a linux based machine would be good as well.  I know there are dedicated HTPC linux based solutions out there, then you could also cut your costs by not needing to purchase an operating system.  I have no experience what so ever in interacting Linux with Macs over networks though, but I assume there are solutions.

[wbassett]

It also depends on what you are shooting for.  If you want 1080p then you will need a good video card and CPU, but you can still bring it in for a grand of less.

[Goz]

1080p video typically requires a 2.2Ghz CPU or a video card with HD playback such as the ATI 2600XT or NVIDIA 8600 and above.

[ark_ader]

Get a Xbox and softmod it.

Install XBMC and take the rest of that spare cash and go to Vegas for a holiday. 

[coolburn]

It definitely wont be cheaper to buy a manufactured PC imo.  I built mine several yrs ago and spent about $1250 on all my parts (but won a free Hauppage card to record TV with).  One thing I didn't take into consideration was the video connection on my TV.  I didn't have DVI on there and that necessitated an extra purchase of DVI to Component to do HD content.  I'm sure the plasma has a DVI connection like a standard monitor these days.  I also wanted to use standard height cards and full ATX motherboard and power supply so that limited my available purchases.  If you dont go with a Shuttle case, you'll also need to pick up a motherboard that fits whatever case you choose.  If you dont care what the case looks like, then I would go with the Shuttle.

Most of the components listed by massive88 would suit your needs.  For an HTPC, I would suggest going with an ATI card as opposed to an nVidia one but both will do what you want. 

Take a look at PCAlchemy.com for some parts as I've gotten good deals from there.

[massive88]

Another point on the video connections, I just recently built a computer for a friend and his video card came with a DVI to HDMI connection, which as well had an SPDIF hookup on it to connect to the mother board.  I dont know how you will be doing sound in your conference room, but if its all set up for some HDMI action, that would be something to look into as well.

The specific card that I used for his computer was a Zotar 8800GT, which is way more horsepower than you need, but just for your reference.

[Bloinkxp]

Depending on the type of system you want take a look at the AMD 780G based motherboards.  The integrated video does all of the HD decoding and actually has some 3D chops as well.
Anandtech did a good review of this and newegg has a number of different mobos.

Good Luck!

[scotthh]

...asking if it had to be a PC (we are all Mac based here) which I answered, yes. I figured it would be cheaper to build a dedicated PC for this type of application. He then told me if I could keep it under a thousand (that includes the touchscreen) he would probably go for it.

It would be cheaper to build an HTPC than to buy a Mac up front. But who is going to support it? If the company has all Macs are you going to be the support? Or are you going to need to train or hire a new IT person? If and when it breaks down you're going to be on the hook for the problem. I'm a PC user, so I don't know too much about Mac, but It looks like iMovie can do what you want. Perhaps you even have a machine you can use for this purpose already on site (not as much fun as building a new one, but cheaper).

[Neverending Project]

What about just getting an appleTV?

Since you are all macs anyway, all you will need to do is store your video in iTunes on a computer on the network. No extra computer needed, no touchscreen interface. And appleTV will handle HD too. In the board room, you would simply need the remote to control the appleTV interface.

So for under $300 you have a great solution. And you get to stay mac! 

[Brian Zellinger]

Windows Media Center. Requires Vista Premium or Ultimate. Check out www.thegreenbutton.com. It's a forum dedicated for Media Center enthusiasts. They can answer a lot of your questions.

Check out some YouTube videos and you'll see how cool it is.

Also, I don't think you can have two monitors with 2 different resolutions. Clone only. So, your touch screen will have to output 1080. Are these even made? Good luck with that one.

[billpa]

Okay...I am getting some good info here. In regards to support, I do a majority of the troubleshooting and repair although we do have an IT guy who can do both Mac and PC.

AppleTV is a bit weak IMO. Sure its great to rent movies off of ITunes but it cant play back anything faster/higher than 720p. Plus I dont want another remote. I want a touchscreen interface...partly for the wow factor (since we bring prospective clients into this room a lot).

Not sure why you could not run two monitors at 2 different resolutions I will definitely check out thegreenbutton.com

Cheers,
Bill

[Samstag]

I run two monitors at different resolutions both at home and at work.  No special software or setup is required.

[hillbilly]

I just use a PS3 I know you can do more with a PC but this is the list of things that are nice on the PS3

DLNA compliant
Blu-ray/DVD Player
Supports Divx/Xvid
and it can handle 1080p

If you are wanting to play those HD MKV files look up mkv2vob it is a converter and is decently quick.

all this for like 400 bucks, oh and it plays video games and has a bluetooth remote

[Brian Zellinger]

Sam, what happens when you play a video full screen?

[pmc]

The requirement for dual screen and touchscreen and all that stuff knocks this contender out of the play field, but I still wanted to mention it anyway.

I recently got a Popcorn Hour A-100 NMT and this thing is really nice. $179 and it plays any video file I throw at it. Flawless streaming 1080 hidef with HDMI, component, and SPDIF outputs. Saved me the trouble of building a HTPC and it's cheap too. You can even put a hard drive in it and run Bittorent right on the appliance. 

-pmc

[Samstag]

Sam, what happens when you play a video full screen?

Going fullscreen (any window) only fills one monitor on my setup.  There's a setting in display properties that lets you treat multiple monitors as a single virtual monitor if you want a video to wrap, but I prefer to watch on one or the other.