looking to build a HTPC need help

[Ecthelion]

tho the title says HTPC im not realy sure what i want but i know what i want to do.

at this point im tired of loading 1 dvd at a time rofl so i thought i know you can put movies on your pc it sounds cool lets look into it. i believe but i could be wrong a HTPC is just hooked up to 1 tv id like to watch the movies i put on the pc on more then just the tv. then im into the realm of a server i think so i have no clue what id need to buy for this. or if it can even be done for 300 dollars i was looking at the amd AM1 line of quad cores. but of course a 100bucks for windows kinds of blows the budget so i was wondering if there a linux version out there that would work ive never used linux but i know its a free OS lol

 

[PP Mguire]

If you have any spare parts around that are decent then slap together a file server, toss a cheap GPU like a GT610 in it, and load it up with HDDs.

 

[Ecthelion]

i dont =/

 

[PP Mguire]

You could look at Walmart and see if they have any Dells in your price range. Bout all you can really do.

 

[Ecthelion]

only point to that is to get windows. so linux wont work?

cpu - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113364&cm_re=amd_am1-_-19-113-364-_-Product

board - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128696&cm_re=amd_am1-_-13-128-696-_-Product

psu - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151086

ram - http://www.newegg.com/Shopping/ShoppingItem.aspx?ItemList=N82E16820231634

hdd - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339&cm_re=wd_blue-_-22-236-339-_-Product

case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...11&cm_re=microatx_case-_-11-553-011-_-Product

 

[Joe C]

A guide:
HTPC Build Getting Started - HTPCBuild.com

For a case, personally I would want something very quiet and does not stand out...something to match the looks of my receiver that sits below the tv on a tv stand.
Here are some cases that are designed to what a htpc case should be:
Newegg.com - Computer Hardware, Computer Cases, HTPC / Media Center Cases, Lian-Li, Silverstone, NMEDIAPC

You can check out Myth TV for recording your favorite programs and such...
http://www.mythtv.org/

What I do for the videos that I own, I use a program called Any DVD to back up my video to my hard drive, then I use DVD Shrink because I'm limited on hard drive space and DVD Shrink will let me make a back up of only the movie itself without previews and trash you might not want or need.
Then I need to convert the VOB files to something that my tv can use because VOB files do play but they are out of order from the tv's software, so I use a program to convert the VOB files to a single MPEG file called VOB2MGP V3
All the software is free except Any DVD but you can get a 20 day free trial on that.
I know it sounds like a lot to go through just to watch my videos from my pc to my tv but it does work well.
I'm sure there's a much more simpler way that someone here can chime in on

 

[PP Mguire]

Personally if I was you I would go with a Haswell based Celeron instead and an H81 board.

I don't use Linux as a daily driver so I don't know of any media programs for it. I'm sure Plex has a Linux version but I'm not sure.

 

[carnageX]

Personally if I was you I would go with a Haswell based Celeron instead and an H81 board.

I don't use Linux as a daily driver so I don't know of any media programs for it. I'm sure Plex has a Linux version but I'm not sure.

Yes, Plex has a Linux version for their server; though their Home Theatre applicaion doesn't have an official version; can check out this thread though: https://forums.plex.tv/index.php/topic/87253-plex-home-theater-linux-builds/ .

Can also check out Kodi (formerly XBMC) as a dedicated media center.

 

[Joe C]

Myth Tv is a *nix software.... Not available for windows
Download MythTV

Watch and record analog and/or digital TV, including HDTV.
Pause, skip, and rewind live TV shows.
Completely automatic commercial detection/skipping, with manual correction via an intuitive cutlist editor.
Intelligently schedules recordings to avoid conflicts.
Parental controls to keep your kids out of the good shows.
Watch and archive DVDs.
Listen to your digital music collection.
Schedule and administer many functions remotely via a web browser.
Flexible client/server architecture allows multiple frontend client machines to access content served by one or more backend servers (although the most common installation consists of a single computer running both the client and server together).
Many more...