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• Custom Silent HTPC Uses Entire Case as a Heatsink

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  This silent media center PC dissipates heat in a rather clever way; the entire back of the case is one giant heatsink. Courtesy of computer enthusiast and tinker DeFex, the build isn’t just silent but quite eye catching too. He used a combination of one massive heatsink, custom brackets, acrylic, and bicycle spokes to create a sleek case that looks as much like a computer-inspired work of art as it does a media center computer. Hit up the link below to check out the build gallery and see how he mated the CPU to the heatsink-body with a custom milled aluminum bridge. Heatsink HTPC [via Hack A Day] Secure Yourself by Using Two-Step Verification on These 16 Web Services How to Fix a Stuck Pixel on an LCD Monitor How to Factory Reset Your Android Phone or Tablet When It Won’t Boot

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• Windows 7 MCE client server HTPC

  - by Dan Hook

  My HTPC is downstairs connected to my large screen. I would like to use my desktop upstairs to record over the air HDTV and stream it to the HTPC. I have Windows 7 Professional installed on the desktop. I currently have XP on the HTPC, but I'm going to upgrade it to Windows 7. Is there a particular flavor of Win 7 I should use? Is it possible to record on the desktop and use Windows MCE on the HTPC to watch the recorded content? What about live TV? The consensus I've seen is that Windows 7 cannot be configured as a Windows Media Center Extender. Is that the case? If so, what's the cheapest solution for an extender?

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• Best HTPC solution that supports MKV

  - by wag2639

  So it seems like there are many solutions (Boxee, GoogleTV, AppleTV, XMBC, etc) out there for HTPC setups but I can't seem to find a good solution for playing MKV files and I would say the bulk of my video library is encoded in MKVs. Whats a good solution for an HTPC if I want the following: NAS / Samba support to use files from server or Windows share Preferably Linux based solution Cleanish UX Nice to have but not a requirement: - Android Remote App so I can control with my Android device

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• Are there any HTPC-optimized web browsers?

  - by smackfu

  Features that I would ideally include in "HTPC-optimized": Full-screen. Navigable using a remote or the keyboard arrows. Legible at couch distances. Or, to put it another way, imagine the design requirements for Hulu Desktop or XBMC or WMC, applied to a web browser. Opera on a Wii meets most of these criteria but not being HD wastes a lot of potential. If a single solution doesn't exist, is there some combination of Firefox add-ons that will get me there?

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• Are there any HTPC-optimized web browsers?

  - by smackfu

  Features that I would ideally include in "HTPC-optimized": Full-screen. Navigable using a remote or the keyboard arrows. Legible at couch distances. Or, to put it another way, imagine the design requirements for Hulu Desktop or XBMC or WMC, applied to a web browser. Opera on a Wii meets most of these criteria but not being HD wastes a lot of potential. If a single solution doesn't exist, is there some combination of Firefox add-ons that will get me there?

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• HDMI Sound for HTPC

  - by Brent Arias

  I have the (perhaps) the same problem as stated in this other HDMI sound to HTPC question. I tried the advice of clicking on the speaker in the system tray. I can see the HDMI audio device I want to use. That device claims to be functioning properly. But there is no sound, and it won't let me select it as the active audio device. When I click on the troubleshooter, it says that there are no speakers connected. I would think this is because my computer us unable to pipe sound through the video card (preventing the HDMI from carrying it), except that it truly claims that it has an HDMI sound device that is working correctly. So I'm not sure what is wrong at this point. Thoughts? My system is Windows 7 x64. In case it makes a difference, the video card I'm using is this GeForce GTX 560

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• Htpc aka "Media Center": cheap and *silent*?

  - by Unknown

  It may be me, or the place I live (Italy), but it seems pretty hard to get a build or a prebuilt nettop or a laptop that fits the need. I need something silent able to playback all h.264 fullhd content without stuttering, and well (and not loosing the hw acceleration because of softsubs...) silent not ugly silent and (possibly) cheap. I'm going the linux route, therefore i'm moving towards a cpu-based or nvida-integrated solution (i don't think ati hw accelerated playback - or the intel "hd" acceleration - is useable yet). Ion nettop; it's either the Acer Revo (but here it's incredibly pricey and it's hard to find the dualcore version) or the Asrock Ion 330, that in the current version is rated "silent" at 26Db. 26. Sounds pretty noisy to me!!! the previous version was even worse. was this product really aimed at htpc market?? the Dell Zino - i think it's ATI based unfortunately. Laptop: correct me if I'm wrong: sub 600€/$ units are quite loud under full load (because of the tiny fans). ULW laptops are indeed quite similar: tiniest fans = high pitched noise and the cpu still lacks power for non hd-accelerated video decoding Handmade build: little money can be saved with underpowered cpus, a low-midrange cpu would help in the case of non-hw-accelerated content the cases are quite pricey the PSU one has to get ranges between 100/150 €/$ minimum to keep the noise down a low-mid build, all included, sums up to over 650 €/$ for a still-looking-ugly-unit, without the blu-ray drive. Please help. What do you advise on this? ;) Am I ignoring laptops too much, maybe? Are low-priced Acers that noisy/high pitched under full load?

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• How to eliminate overscan on Ubuntu HTPC

  - by Norman Ramsey

  I'm using an Ubuntu box with Nvidia graphics card as an HTPC. My HDTV is a Sony Bravia KDS-R50XBR1; this is a rear-projection unit with many inputs. I am using the HDMI input. I'm using the proprietary Nvidia drivers and they recognize the 1080x1920 resolution just fine. The display is a little fuzzy but at 50 inches it's perfect for movies. My problem is that the TV has three overscan settings, and none of them reduces overscan to zero. When I was using dual-screen this was fine, but I'm moving to where the TV is my only screen, and the Gnome panels are not visible because of the overscan. I'd like to figure out how to eliminate the overscan, without trying to scale my 1080p content down to 920p or something ridiculous like that. Ideally there would be some scurvy trick, perhaps involving the TV service menu, to get rid of the overscan on the TV side. Or I could move the Gnome panels, but I still would be missing the edges of my movies. Suggestions most welcome.

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• I want to buy Acer AspireRevo to use as an HTPC

  - by Adnan

  Is this a good config to use? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002O3W44Q/ref=s9_simz_gw_s0_p147_t1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1FN9CDZKMJF31SBT8QVX&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846 I plan to install Boxee beta on it and use it for Netflix, movies, photos and music, as well as some light internet browsing. For those who are familiar with this product, does HD work well on it?

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• HTPC/DVR computer won't go into standby

  - by Robert

  When I select Start-Turn off computer-Standby the 'turn off computer' option window closes, and then nothing else happens. I can start new applications, and Windows acts like I never selected standby. I ran it for several hours after that. If I have a TV program scheduled to record when I select standby I get a window (the Pinnacle TV software) asking if I'm sure, there are programs scheduled to record - and the computer just keeps running after I select yes, never going into standby. I added that detail as it shows the standby process is starting. [This problem also happens if a TV program is not scheduled, so the scheduler task in not running/in memory. This problem happens regardless of whether I'm not watching TV. This problem happens regardless of whether Media Center is running (it usually isn't, I'm using Pinnacle to watch TV).] I looked at "How to troubleshoot hibernation and standby issues in Windows XP" http://support.microsoft.com/kb/907477 - ACPI is enabled, and "standby" is an option in "Power Options Properties." So it appears to be setup correctly. Windows XP SP3 Media Center Edition, all current updates installed.

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• Send chrome tab from w7 laptop to w7 HTPC? (Like with iPad to AppleTV)

  - by Justin

  For the last couple days I've been trying to figure out how to get open tabs syncing between chrome installs on different computers to no avail. (if it's supposed to work the way I think it should, that is.) I have a laptop that I do all my web browsing on. Once in a while I'll come across some video that's worthy of the big-screen and the surround sound and want to open that tab (or media) on the HTPC. It'd be nice if I could just 'Right click Send to HTPC' and it opens up there with no further hassle. But even opening chrome on the HTPC and finding all my current tabs waiting would be fine. Alas, open tabs syncing doesn't seem to actually open tabs on other devices for me. Has anyone come up with a way to accomplish anything similar? Thanks all!

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• Can a web server and XBMC HTPC co exist happily?

  - by Mild Fuzz

  I have a machine that is currently dedicated to running my home theatre. It is way more powerful than it needs to be, and spec wise would have no problem running both a few websites and an HTPC What I wanted to know is that is this was a reasonable thing to expect of a single machine? 90% of the time, all it's power would be just for the web server ( and the odd torrent) Currently it's running Windows, but I am pretty sure I will have to turn it into a Linux box Will I run into any problems? Is there anything I need to know before I start? Any prerequisites? The webserver will be required to run Ruby on Rails sites mainly, but might be called upon to run PHP for Wordpress also.

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• Does Google Tv (NSZ-GS7) work with HTPC?

  - by Mark Trinh

  I was wondering if my Google Tv will seamlessly work with my HTPC. I'm running Windows Media Center using a InfiniTv quad tuner with a cable card. I'm able to connect my GTV with my HTPC and be able to see the GTV interface overlaid on top of media center. Unfortunately, I'm not really able to use the Tv/Movies App to look at live shows and change the channel. I have the Video device setup as Media Center PC, but then the Live Tv App doesn't work. If I change to my tv service provider (Verizon FIOS), the Live Tv App works, but then it won't be able to change the channel.

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• Can I run Win7 virtualized for my HTPC?

  - by Daniel Schaffer

  I'm currently running Vista for my HTPC, and am planning on upgrading to Win7 soon. However, I've been considering installing it as a VM so that I can run Windows Server 2008 and/or Windows Home Server. The single requirement is that the HTPC must boot up to Windows Media Center with absolutely no user intervention. I need to be able to hit the power button have it go. I've got this working currently, so I don't need to keep a keyboard or mouse plugged in - all I use is my remote. If possible, I'd love to be able to do these other things: Use Win2k8 Server as a VM host for Win7 Pro and WHS. This also lets me run IIS7 for doing ASP.NET development Use WHS for all the wonderful things it does for a home network Are either of the two optional things possible while meeting the WMC requirement?

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• Windows 7 Media Center PC not displaying MKV files properly

  - by David

  Does anyone know why Windows Media Center wouldn't correctly display a 16x9 video? I just upgraded my home-built HTPC from Vista Ultimate (hey, it was a giveaway) to Windows 7 Ultimate - clean install. After that, I installed the Divx7 beta (to get .MKV support) and AC3filter (so I could HEAR the MKV files). Previously, under Vista Ultimate (32 bit), I had Arcsoft's Total Theater Pro for playing Blu-Rays and MKV decoding under Media Center. Now when I play a 720p 16x9 MKV file, I get some 'letterboxing' - like it's halfway between 4x3 and 16x9 - with the aspect ration looking alightly squished as a result. Here's the wierd part. If I use the Media Center connection software in my XBox 360 - it plays perfectly, filling the 16x9 screen edge-to-edge, just like Vista's WMC software USED to. Of course, beats the network up because the XBox goes to the HTPC, the HTPC goes to my WHS machine to fetch the data, it comes back to the HTPC, gets transcoded and streamed back to the Xbox. I'm running the latest drivers for an NVidia card (as fetched by Windows 7). I have no idea WHY this is because if I play "ordinary" (i.s. SD) Divx files that are 16x9, they play just fine, scaled right up to my screen's edges. It puzzles me as to why the same machine that properly converts the bits for the Xbox can't display/scale them properly for the attached display. Mind you, Windows Media Player exhibits the same symptoms. Ideas?

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• Looking for Remote Control that works with everything (even Windows 7 Media Center)

  - by T Reddy

  Using my Google-Fu, it seems that the most basic of things one gets with any DVR is the remote control. Had I known it would be difficult just to get a consumer IR receiver for Windows 7 I may not have bothered to build an HTPC. But too late, I already have the HTPC ready to go (minus the CETON card...) So I'm moving away from TiVo, I hate paying the monthly fees and my box is ancient. I'm looking for these solutions to my HTCP setup...I want to: Switch audio from HDMI to SPDIF via the remote control (i.e., switch from TV to Receiver) (as a side note, the built-in audio on the mobo has software to do this). Pressing the volume button on the remote will always change the TV's volume (or the Receiver's if possible) and NOT the PC's volume. The remote/receiver works well around 25 feet. Bonus if the IR Receiver can work with my existing TiVo remote (or other remotes laying around the house) I read a review of the Bluetooth TiVo remote...it sounds promising...but I'm not sure if it is great for Windows 7 HTPC?

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• Super-silent (mid tower) case and fan combo

  - by Dennis G.

  I want to build a HTPC for music/video/blu-ray playback (no gaming). I don't need an expensive HTPC case but just want to go with a standard medium tower case. However, I want it to be super silent so it doesn't make any annoying fan/disk noises when I watch movies. Ideally, it shouldn't make any noticeable noise at all. I understand that choosing a board, CPU and graphic card that run cool and don't consume a lot of power is important for designing a quiet machine, and I think I got that covered. However, there are so many choices in regards to cases, fans and power supplies that it's hard to get started. What are your recommendations for a case/fan (cpu+case)/power supply combination that run absolutely silent and can cool a standard Intel system with a low-power (possibly passively cooled) graphic card? I'm usually a fan of Antec cases, would an Antec Mini P180 be a good starting point? If so, which case fans, CPU fan and power supply would you recommend?

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• Are any Zotac Zboxs suitable as HTPC / media centres?

  - by Jakub

  Are any Zotac Zboxes suitable as HTPC / media centres? I'm after a fanless HTPC client in the living room to work with my MythTV server in my home office. I like the small compact form factor of the Zbox but what little I could find by Googling didn't clearly recommend any particular models for Ubuntu / MythTV / XBMC. Can anyone recommend any models that work with little hassle? Or, if there aren't any, are there other more Linux-friendly small format fanless PCs I should be looking at instead?

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• How can a reduce the read speed of a Liteon DVD drive under Windows 7

  - by McBainUK

  How can a reduce the read speed of a Liteon DVD drive under Windows 7? The aim is to reduce the level of noise generated by an wasteful high-speed as it's used in an HTPC environment.

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• NAS + XBMC combination

  - by Hendrik

  I currently own a WD Sharespace and I am not too happy about it. It will freeze constantly and its rather slow. I've been thinking of replacing it. I also own a WD HD Live, and it works like it is supposed to, but recently I've seen XBMC in action and I was quite impressed. I've been wondering lately about the possibility of replacing both products with one new device: a fast reliable nas which I can install XBMC on and is capable of rendering video and has an HDMI out. Do any such devices exist for sale or is the only way to build one from scratch? I've seen HTPC's for sale but I've never seen any of them with a raid setup. I've also read about building your own NAS with freeNAS but those setups dont allow you to run XBMC. Does anyone have experience with this?

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• Internet (Flash) video without a PC

  - by Rob Allen

  I am looking to retire my HTPC. So much of what we do with it can be done with one of our video game consoles or an AppleTV that is seems like a waste of space, power and time to maintain. The trouble is that my wife does streaming yoga classes served up via specific websites. I am assuming they are Flash based and so far I have been unable to find Apps for these content providers. My question is, is there a GOOD way to handle flash-based or even HTML5/h.264 web content with one of the other Internet enabled devices in our stack? So far we have: Nintendo Wii Playstation 3 XBox 360 And we're looking to purchase a current generation AppleTV. update The sites are YogisAnonymmous.com and YogaJournal.com, both are confirmed as Flash.

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• Inconsistent black levels in windows 7 media center

  - by James G

  I've got a HTPC running windows 7 64bit, hooked up to a Samsung LCD TV. My problem is different types of video are displaying different black levels on the TV. When I play a bluray through Arcsoft Total Media Theater I have to set the "HDMI Black Level" to "normal" in the TV picture options menu. When I play recorded TV through WMC I have to set it to "low" otherwise the black colors on the video are washed out and grey. Is there any way to configure the system so all videos are displayed with the same black level? The hdmi black level setting is deep in Samsung's menus so it's becoming a chore to keep switching it everytime I watch a different type of video. I'm using an ATI 4670 graphics card with HDMI output going straight to the TV. In the ATI catalyst control center I've got pixel format set to RGB 4:4:4 (Full RGB) since the TV wont allow me to change the HDMI black level if I choose one of the other settings.

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• How do I start silverlight on netflix in full screen automatically?

  - by KronoS

  I know that there this great big button that I can click for full screen on the bottom left of the screen. What I'm doing though is launching the direct movie/tv episode in chrome from XBMC using XBMCflicks. It's like pasting the video html address in the address bar and going directly to the video feed. Here's my dilemma, I want a fully working, no need for a keyboard/mouse HTPC, which means I don't want to have to click on the 'full screen' button. Is there a way to run chrome and silverlight automatically in full screen mode when launched?

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• How can I access my mini-pc (RaspberryPi / MK802 / Mele A1000 / VIA APC) via ethernet/wifi without having Monitor?

  - by sky770

  Soon I will be getting my own mini-PC (RaspberryPi / MK802 / Mele A1000 / VIA APC). But I was wondering whether is there any possibility that I can just power up and access my mini-pc's OS by connecting it to wifi/ethernet link and remotely access it over the LAN without actually needing a monitor (throughout the process?) ? I currently own a laptop and need a download box and later will be getting a HDTV for converting to a HTPC :D So, I don't really own a spare monitor now but I do have an extra keyboard and mouse. Is there exists any linux distro for the same? which I can use to directly fireup my mini-pc and hook it up across my LAN to remotely access through my laptop? Any suggestions appreciated :) Regards, sky770

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• Lenovo Mini Wireless Keyboard N5901: Remap orange "My Computer" button

  - by Jon Schneider

  I have a Lenovo Mini Wireless Keyboard N5901 (a.k.a. Part No. 57Y6336) that I'm using with an HTPC running Windows 7. The remote comes with an orange button in the top-left corner that by default, when pressed, opens the Windows "My Computer" window. I would like to remap / reprogram this button to act like the green "Windows Media Center" button instead on a Windows Media Center (WMC) remote; that is, open Windows Media Center if it isn't already open, or go to the WMC homepage if WMC is already open. I've tried several keyboard-remapping utilities (as recommended in other, more general "how to remap keyboard key?" SuperUser.com questions) including SharpKeys, Key Mapper, and KeyTweak, with no luck so far. None of these utilities recognize the orange button -- they all do recognize that some key was pressed, but display a value for the key of "unsupported" or something similar. I was able to use a utility called Keyboard Scan Code Generator to determine that a press of the orange button has a KeyData value of 16777217 (0x1000001), and a "Virtual Code" value of 182. (The other "media" buttons on the N5901 have the same KeyData value, but different Virtual Code values). I'm not sure at this point where in Windows this keystroke is being interpreted as a command to open "My Computer." There is no special software / driver for this device; it worked out of the box with Windows 7, no special driver install necessary. Is there any way to accomplish this? Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

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