New to LMCE and forming my PC specs

[alexperi]

Hi all,

I am new to LMCE and would greatly appreciate any help.
I am looking for a Media Director/Core that is fairly QUIET and will be used to record the TV, record and play DVDs, play DivX files etc, play music, play streaming internet radio, surf the internet, act as network storage (e.g. configured as an FTP server), and possibly host a website. I am sure i will think of more uses ;-)

Below is my idea of the PC specs.
a) Case       NanoPoint Aplus GL-3 Media Center Compact Case
b) PSU        PSU 650W Modular 12cm Fan - 20+4pin 4/8pin ATX12V, PCI-E, 3x SATA
c) Mobo      A8N32-SLI Deluxe M/B (SLI, Dual network ports)
d) CPU        AMD 4200 64 X2 processor
e) Heatsink  Scythe Ninja-PLUS Rev B Socket 478, 754, 940, 775, 939 & AM2 CPU Cooler
f) Graphics   ASUS 7600GS SLi SILENT 256MB DDR2 DVI VGA HDTV out AGP Graphics Card
g) DVD        Optiarc AD-7191S 20X DVD±RW/DL/RAM LightScribe Serial ATA Black Bare Drive - OEM
h) TVtuner   WinTV HVR 1300 DVB-T Digital & Analog & FM - PC TV Card
i) Wifi          Netgear WG311 Wireless-G 54Mbps PCI Card
j) HDD         Sata II - 350 GB Western digital

Questions:
1) Any comments on the setup?
2) Is SLi a feature that is supported by LMCE? Or is this something transparent to the OS (i.e. the Mobo takes care of it)?
3) I found no documentation about WinTV HVR 1300 support.
   Assuming it works in LMCE, is the hardware encoding of this card used by LMCE or does the CPU take all the encoding load?
   Has anyone any experience with the TV tuner and it's remote?
4) Can you switch on from hibernate (or even from shutdown) the LMCE box using the MCE IR remote? Does this depend on the Case, the Motherboard and Bios, or the IR receiver?


Any help appreciated.
A.

[1audio]

1) I don't think there is a benefit for this application w/ SLI. Video is handled differently from graphic rendering.
2) Turning off a DVR renders it pretty much useless. It must be on to record TV when you aren't around.
3) I would use an HDHomeRun for TV in markets where it works. Offloading the video from the system seems to help stability a lot and the mfrs. actively support Myth. Analog TV has 12 months to go and then its history. The cable systems will also shut down analog fast so they won't have support issues and also be able to get a fee for the cable box.

[alexperi]

Thanks for the reply
1) I don't think there is a benefit for this application w/ SLI. Video is handled differently from graphic rendering.
> So for TV what should i be looking for? Should i be looking at the highest resolution and the refresh-rate only?

2) Turning off a DVR renders it pretty much useless. It must be on to record TV when you aren't around.
> Disagree that is has to always be switched on. you might use it most of the time but i wouldn't. I don't constantly record things and i could switch on my LMCE during daytime hours. Furthermore within a TV card you get DAB and Freeview all in one.

3) I would use an HDHomeRun for TV in markets where it works. Offloading the video from the system seems to help stability a lot and the mfrs. actively support Myth. Analog TV has 12 months to go and then its history. The cable systems will also shut down analog fast so they won't have support issues and also be able to get a fee for the cable box.
> Sound very logical what you are saying BUT using HDHomeRun goes against the logic of one box does it all which is what most (I think) are looking for in an MCE.

[1audio]

For video the formats and frame rates are essentially fixed and not changing for a few years or more. 1080p 60 and 1080p24 are the near term limits. I would use an nvidia card that is supported in Linux. And card newer that a 5000 series will work. On board nvidia video is enough actually. The bigger faster video cards make no difference in HD video playback on Linux.

The DVR issue relates to how you watch TV. I have little idea when the programs are broadcast that I watch. Effectively all of my video is video on demand.

Actually the HDHomeRun is essentially a tuner card bonded to a network interface with the best software to drive it. It can also be located at the best place to get the signal, not necessarily where the core is. The one box does everything causes a lot of angst when the interfaces aren't all in the same place to connect to the box.

I don't think an EU version of the HDHomeRun has been released yet.

[alexperi]

Thanks this is useful info. I can reduce my costs now.