my new HTPC + Nas server

[res0nat0r]

So I finally got around to buying stuff. Check out the goods!

HTPC:

ASRock ION 330

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/2792/asrock_ion_330_bd_nettop_affordable_overclockable_and_1080p_hd/index.html

Specs:

HDMI Out
Atom 330 Intel Dual core CPU
Nvidia ION GPU
2GB DDR 800 mhz RAM
10/100/1000 Ethernet
330GB HD

Got it for about 380$

This thing is silent and boots ubuntu in about 20 seconds. It sits underneath my TV connected to my home network. This thing can fully decode any 1080p movie i have thrown at it w/o any stuttering or issues whatsoever due to the nvidia gpu doing all of the hidef vid decoding. so this little thing is a fully functional bluray player w/ an hdmi out. so i get full DTS/DD/5.1 sound and true 1080p playback from this little thing.


HTPC OS / Interface:

Running XBMC on ubuntu:

http://xbmc.org/

Let me tell you, this is one very gorgeous piece of free software, it looks extremly well put together and professional. I am using this skin on top of the software and this is the interface I see on my 1080p 50" TV:

The skin is called Aeon Project:

http://aeonproject.com/

90% of all of this content is pulled down from the web, like imdb / thetvdb.com automatically.

you put a new movie in your movies dir and tell it to scan, it will id the file by the dir/filename/nfo file and pull down the movie poster / summary / backdrop info from imdb without you having to do anything.

VERY SWEET

Plus I have this Logitech diNovo Mini Bluetooth remote, so no keyboard/mouse needed at all:

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/keyboards/keyboard/devices/3848&cl=US,EN

[res0nat0r]

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

NAS Array:

I bought a 15 bay NAS array from lime-technology:

http://www.lime-technology.com/joomla/

This thing is the bomb! It can pontentially hold 21TB of storage (or even more when larger drives are available for a decent price). It runs linux off of an internally mounted 1GB USB key.




I currently only have 4x1TB drives in it (3 for data, 1 for parity), and this is my current space:

root@nas:~# df -h
Filesystem            Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda1             956M   41M  916M   5% /boot
/dev/md2              932G  931G  676M 100% /mnt/disk2
/dev/md1              932G  881G   51G  95% /mnt/disk1
/dev/md3              932G   47G  885G   6% /mnt/disk3
shfs                  2.8T  1.9T  937G  67% /mnt/user
root@nas:~#

Each of the 3 data disks are 1TB each, and the ~3TB filesystem is just an aggregation of all of the disks. So I have one big movie dir I point the xbmc program to, and it indexes all of my movies across all of the data disks transparently as if it was one big movie dir. I am currently ripping all of my dvds to isos and keeping them on this. I have now at my fingertips about 250 movies thru the menu above, without swapping any dvd media out at all since it is on the network. And I have only 4 of the 15 slots used in this thing.

I bought this because it doesnt do standard raid, basically all of the disks stand alone, and there is one parity disk for the whole array. therefore if one disk dies, you can repair it. If you lose two or more disks at once, then you only lose data on those disks only, unlike raid 5. this is basically doing raid 4, so no striping. and the best part is this can grow on the fly, so if i want to add 2TB drives in the future when they become cheap I can w/o having to move all of my data off and recreate the array which you would have to do with raid5. i am happy.

[picklemonkey]

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

I'm jealous of all of it, but what the hell do you need a home NAS for

[res0nat0r]

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

i want to keep all of my movies and mp3s on the network so that i can stream any/all of that crap from one central spot. i have about 250 movies right now i can access in my living room with a click of the remote in and they are all HD. they will all just stream to my tv. when i get done coverting all of my old dvds into isos i will have like 700 movies available immediately. plus i can get tv shows in hd and stuff like this and just store it all on a central storage spot available from my desktop/laptop/living room/bedroom tv etc. so with all of this storage i will have access to a lot of media anywhere. like streaming music to wherever in the house, etc. also since this is doing raid i wont have to worry about a HD failing and me losing 300GB of dj sets ive been gathering over the years, so it adds some extra security so i dont worry about losing my music

[picklemonkey]

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

yeah, I'm pretty jealous

[feather]

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

So your NAS is connected to the HTPC? You don't actually need 330GB in your HTPC do you?

Does the NAS or HTPC have a built in bittorrent client so you can remote control and add downloads while you're away from home?

[Kamal]

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

I'm jealous of all of it, but what the hell do you need a home NAS for

believe me, once you go hi-def, you go nas

/story ends.

unbelievable stuff there res, jealous for sure but why get an "Atom" processor (even if it is dual core), do they even come with MMX? (dont remember off the top of my head, thought they were made primarily for netbooks enough for web surfing etc.)

I'm not sure how handy this would be for me since I also use my media server to record a bucket load of TV programs and with Microsoft officially announcing that CableCard compatible TV Tuners will run DRM free, that just changes the whole game in the media center business with Windows 7.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/09/media-center-cablecards-freed-from-oem-requirement/

[Kamal]

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

How loud is it?

[res0nat0r]

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

believe me, once you go hi-def, you go nas

/story ends.

unbelievable stuff there res, jealous for sure but why get an "Atom" processor (even if it is dual core), do they even come with MMX? (dont remember off the top of my head, thought they were made primarily for netbooks enough for web surfing etc.)

I'm not sure how handy this would be for me since I also use my media server to record a bucket load of TV programs and with Microsoft officially announcing that CableCard compatible TV Tuners will run DRM free, that just changes the whole game in the media center business with Windows 7.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/09/m...m-requirement/

the atom processor handles all of my hd decoding perfectly, and that is all i am looking for this box to do. it is a mini itx form factor, so it is nice and small and very quiet and low power. it does not have a tv tuner card so i unfortunately cant do a dvr type thing. i got rid of my cable tv last month and dont miss it at all. i still get abc/nbc/cbs/fox/pbs in HD over the digital coax connection to my apartment for free and the channels look great. so i have no problems w/o cable. plus any tv shows i miss i can download off the net the next day in hd from someone who has capped them.
plus the nvidia gpu does all of the hd h.264 decoding just fine. i can watch the 'top' output and see the thing is only about 4% busy while its decoding a pretty high bps 1080p x264 encoded mkv.

model name : Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU 330 @ 1.60GHz

How loud is it?

i asked the guy who makes this the exact same question before i bought it b/c i was worried about this too. it is very quiet. it is based off of a lian li case, so it is nice and quiet. actually the computer i still have that works that is 7 years old that i built myself is much larger than this. i keep that in my living room in the corner as i still live in a pretty small place, and was worried about noise, but it is no problem at all.

[res0nat0r]

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

So your NAS is connected to the HTPC? You don't actually need 330GB in your HTPC do you?

Does the NAS or HTPC have a built in bittorrent client so you can remote control and add downloads while you're away from home?

i have not yet configured the usb based linux os on the nas device to run hellanzb / sabnzbd yet but i am going to. i have hellanzb running on my htpc which i have it automatically download and decode new hd tv shows as they get put out already.

it does have a builtin 330gb hd that came w/ the unit as a standard option, so this was just included by default.

the big server is just connected to my home network via 1GB network, and so is the HTPC. the HTPC sits below my tv in place of a dvd player, and is connected to my receiver and tv via HDMI.

[feather]

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

i have not yet configured the usb based linux os on the nas device to run hellanzb / sabnzbd yet but i am going to. i have hellanzb running on my htpc which i have it automatically download and decode new hd tv shows as they get put out already.

it does have a builtin 330gb hd that came w/ the unit as a standard option, so this was just included by default.

the big server is just connected to my home network via 1GB network, and so is the HTPC. the HTPC sits below my tv in place of a dvd player, and is connected to my receiver and tv via HDMI.

Very nice set up!

[Kamal]

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

wow cool, glad to know it's decoding well. Is it a bitch to get codecs installed on Ubuntu? I know you said you got MKV working.

[res0nat0r]

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

nope, not at all. normally with the standard ubuntu setup you need to install a separate package to install all of the codecs for the propriatary windows crap. i just installed the xbmc packages and was done with it. it uses ffmpeg, and that program decodes about EVERYTHING.

check out the supported codec list:

http://www.xbmc.org/wiki/?title=XBMC_Features_and_Supported_Formats/Codecs

i really liked the WD device that tom mentioned a while back, but this is why i bought a full blown computer.

[ganjamo]

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

damn brotha thats sick, wish i had money to make one of those arrays.
Hope the FBI doesnt get to your house lol

[Hg_addict]

Re: my new HTPC + Nas server

Great post!!!