For a couple of years I've been burning video to a DVD-R and wandering downstairs to watch it on the DVD player and big telly. This wasn't too bad but got annoying and at the back of my mind I was always looking to do a media PC or similar.
ScaryOldCortina thread on the EEEpc got me thinking of building something out of scrap bits and bobs and using Ubuntu as a less system hungry version of Windows, to make a media PC to stream the video direct and also allow iplayer etc on the main TV.
I knocked one up for the bedroom from an old emachines unit and it worked well. Had the parts to do the same for downstairs but no case. Of course I could have gone and bought one but where's the fun in that?
This is what I ended up with, a media PC in a tough light case and the clear plastic I find kinda funky.
It's an AMD Duron 1600 with 1GB ram and a 64MB AGP graphic card. Picked the card out of the box of bits as it had no fan so lower noise.
Found a laptop harddrive of 4GB and used that with an adaptor on the standard I'd. Laptop drive seemed quiet and less power hungry so could get away with a smaller PSU.
Installed a wireless card I had from Maplins as well for the streaming. Also added a spare USB socket pair mounted on other sides of box to give more option for plug in.
I was hoping for a motherboard with built in graphics but had none, that would have made the board shorter and I could got away with a lower box if I ditched the wireless PCI card and went wired or usb dongle instead. Could also have mounted the power supply remote to the box a bit like an xbox 360. In the end my existing ATX power supply was needed elsewhere so got a cheap micro ATX off ebay for £10 delivered.
This is version 1 so far. Need to replace the power button with a maplin push one I can mount easier. I may add a HDMI card as well for better connectivity. At present using a Samsung 32" with a VGA input. May have to run it on a wired network as well as the wireless signal is patchy downstairs (concrete floors).
Total cost so far is £10 for the power supply. I've ordered a bluetooth adaptor for it which I'm told I'll be able to use a Wii remote to control it so will try that first. Failing that a wireless mouse.
ScaryOldCortina thread on the EEEpc got me thinking of building something out of scrap bits and bobs and using Ubuntu as a less system hungry version of Windows, to make a media PC to stream the video direct and also allow iplayer etc on the main TV.
I knocked one up for the bedroom from an old emachines unit and it worked well. Had the parts to do the same for downstairs but no case. Of course I could have gone and bought one but where's the fun in that?
This is what I ended up with, a media PC in a tough light case and the clear plastic I find kinda funky.
It's an AMD Duron 1600 with 1GB ram and a 64MB AGP graphic card. Picked the card out of the box of bits as it had no fan so lower noise.
Found a laptop harddrive of 4GB and used that with an adaptor on the standard I'd. Laptop drive seemed quiet and less power hungry so could get away with a smaller PSU.
Installed a wireless card I had from Maplins as well for the streaming. Also added a spare USB socket pair mounted on other sides of box to give more option for plug in.
I was hoping for a motherboard with built in graphics but had none, that would have made the board shorter and I could got away with a lower box if I ditched the wireless PCI card and went wired or usb dongle instead. Could also have mounted the power supply remote to the box a bit like an xbox 360. In the end my existing ATX power supply was needed elsewhere so got a cheap micro ATX off ebay for £10 delivered.
This is version 1 so far. Need to replace the power button with a maplin push one I can mount easier. I may add a HDMI card as well for better connectivity. At present using a Samsung 32" with a VGA input. May have to run it on a wired network as well as the wireless signal is patchy downstairs (concrete floors).
Total cost so far is £10 for the power supply. I've ordered a bluetooth adaptor for it which I'm told I'll be able to use a Wii remote to control it so will try that first. Failing that a wireless mouse.
I like the plastic box idea! Here's an idea though, how about packing it into a suitably retro looking VCR case? (I might do that - no shortage of either PC boards or dead video recorders here...)
