New SageTV HTPC recommendations?

[GovtMule]

Thinking of building a new PC for SageTV and would like some of you experienced users to chime in. I am pretty sure I want to base it on a Sandy Bridge Core i5-2500K CPU and that I want to use 2 Hauppauge 2250 tuners (this is not set in stone if you have a better idea). Not sure if I should go discrete graphics or just use the intel HD 3000 in Sandy Bridge. The duties this PC will be responsible for are as follows:

1 - This will be the SageTV server serving all my audio/video/tv content to up to 4 extenders/clients simultaneously.

2 - This will be connected to my main TV in my living room (It will have to be able to serve and display HD video content to its display and the extenders).

3 - I would like it to be as quiet as possible but it doesn't have to be silent. My current setup is far from silent.

Assume price is not that important although I don't want to spend senselessly. Thanks all.

[KeithAbbott]

What are your source(s)?

Have you considered using an HD300 for your main TV also? That way, you could locate the server somewhere where sound level and aesthetics don't really matter.

[GovtMule]

Yes.. I did consider that but it seems like such a waste as I could use that PC at a display instead of just hiding it. Again, sound is the last consideration but would be nice as the PC I'm using now not so quiet. Further, I need it for netflix viewing at the main display.

OHH forgot to mention in initial post that my cable is analog...

[KeithAbbott]

Originally Posted by GovtMule

OHH forgot to mention in initial post that my cable is analog...

For analog cable, Hauppauge 2250's are a good choice. Maybe the only choice these days, not sure. However, some people seem to be having a tough time getting them to work in Sage7. I haven't tried yet, still trying to get my Colossus working reliably.

You definitely will not be lacking for cpu. I assume you are planning to use comskip, to take advantage of the four cores? You could probably consider using a Sandy Bridge with a smaller TDP, save a little on your energy bills. Or are you planning to underclock?

With four extenders, unless you already have a fast ethernet network, I would consider a gigabit network setup.

[GovtMule]

good note.. i am not using a gigabit switch at the moment but I will change that (I am already running Cat6 to all locations). I will be using Comskip. You think that CPU is overkill? I just wanted plenty of headroom.


Hmmmm. ..just had a though... I could go with a HD300/server and just add an AppleTV or WDTV for the netflix needs... if that might be more cost effective or better in some other way.

[trallyus]

I agree with KeithAbbott - I have a 2250 and they are really finicky to get to work just right. The main problem I have with them is when you first set them up they tend to throw out error codes and wont scan for new channels but usually a reboot will fix that problem and if all else fails I just uninstall sage and remove the sage directory and reinstall sage all from scratch and that usually fixes the problem. Only once or twice have I had to totally format the computer to restore my tuners to working condition with sage and that was due to try to use the 2250's to tune in both digital and analog signal on both of the tuners which is definitely not suggested

[GovtMule]

Ok.. what tuners would be better?

[Savage1701]

I'll second that other poster - my 2250 is a problem child. Any other Hauppauge or high-quality PCI, PCI-express, or USB stick beats my 2250 for OTA ATSC reliability and non-quirkiness.

I've got an OTA ATSC channel that every other tuner in my lineup handles just fine that the 2250 can't handle. I've had one of the tuners work fine and the other fail, even when fed the same antenna signal. I've had to create a custom lineup to handle the Rockford, IL market with my 2250 because it is the only one that won't tune 13-1 on either of its tuners; my other tuners peg the channel.

And be careful with the Sage 7 Beta - it made my 2250 think it was on the DVB standard, then it insisted it was on QAM. I had to go into the properties file and force it to ATSC and use it for my Madison, WI lineup.

I can't speak to how reliable a 2250 is for QAM or analog cable.

[KeithAbbott]

Originally Posted by Savage1701

I can't speak to how reliable a 2250 is for QAM or analog cable.

I'm still running on the 6.6.2 version, and my 2250's have been rock solid for a year and a half. Whatever the cause of the problems in Sage7, I'm pretty sure it's not a hardware problem...

[valnar]

A few years ago I built the quietest PC possible with the hardware available and it still wasn't quiet enough. Unless you go with a passive PC (which is unlikely for your main Sage box with tuners, hdd's, etc), you will notice it. And if it indeed is your main Sage box, you'll never turn it off because of the 4 clients.

It may cost a bit more, but upgrade to a Blu-ray player that can stream Netflix.

[GovtMule]

Well, in my theater room I have a Panasonic Bluray that will handle netflix. It is my living room that does not. I had been using windows MCE with a Bluray HDDVD combo drive running TMT3 for HD content and then of course the WMC had the netflix stuff built in. However, I can just buy an AppleTV for netflix (kinda been wantin one anyway).
OK... so then I guess I will just get another HD300 and an AppleTV. So for the server back end, I am a little confused as to how much processing power I need. Is my current Athlon X2 4850e more than enough?

[valnar]

I've been told (can't verify) that a faster processor makes the extenders more snappy, but I don't know. Sage doesn't really need much CPU but comskip processing may. Even with my fast server, I block out 6-11pm every day so it won't run when most of my recording is going on. However long it takes, it's easily done by morning.

[seglertx]

I have been using two Hauppauge 2250's in a BeyondTV DVR for about two years and installed one in my new DVR that I tested with Windows Media Center and am now using SageTV on. I have used Windows XP Pro 32-bit, and Win 7 32 and 64 bit and had the same problems with all. It is a hardware problem on the 2250's probably due to splitting the signal on the card to go to the two analog tuners and two digital tuners. It has trouble receiving weak signals or signals with interference on both the analog and digital tuners. The only solution I have found is using an amplifier on the coax feeding these tuners, but then I get diagonal interference lines on the analog channels and I have tried 3 different amplifiers. I have no problems with my old PVR-150's but they are only analog and only run on a 32-bit OS.

As far as a CPU choice, you would only need a high end quad core if compressing videos to DivX/h264/mp4/m4v on the DVR itself. Decent tuners cards will have the hardware for mpeg2 compression of analog signals built in and digital channels are already compressed by the TV station.

I prefer moving files to a separate video editing PC and using VideoReDo to remove commercials and Handbrake to crop and compress analog mpeg2 recordings to mp4. I then move the shows back to my DVR for archiving, and use a Windows Home Server for keeping backups. Most Media PC cases have poor ventilation so the use of a separate video editing PC with plenty of 120mm or larger fans for ventilation is a better choice. Handbrake especially will run all cores at near 100% when compressing video.

[autoboy]

Setting up the HTPC to play back all formats correctly with hardware acceleration and DD and DTS audio functioning properly is a PITA. Doing anything on the HTPC other than sageTV screws up focus on the HTPC and ruins WAF. Go with a HD300. You won't look back.

A 2500K seems like overkill to me, but if you think you can use it then go for it. I personally don't even use all of a Dual Core Atom but I don't run comskip. The HD3000 Intel graphics are more than enough for video playback and even some light gaming.

[tmiranda]

Rather than start a new thread I figured I'd sidetrack this one a little bit since my question is related to the OPs. I'm also looking to build a new Sage server based on Sandy Bridge but with an i3 instead of the i5. (I don't need all that i5 horsepower and I like the idea of the lower power consumption of the i3).

My question has to do with motherboard chipsets. I see there are two chipsets for Sandy Bridge but I'm not sure the differences. I read some review that said one of the chipsets "disabled" the GPU on the CPU. That would be bad for me because I don't want to get a graphics card for a headless server. So what's the lowdown on the chipsets and which one is a better bet for a headless server?

Tom

[valnar]

Originally Posted by tmiranda

Rather than start a new thread I figured I'd sidetrack this one a little bit since my question is related to the OPs. I'm also looking to build a new Sage server based on Sandy Bridge but with an i3 instead of the i5. (I don't need all that i5 horsepower and I like the idea of the lower power consumption of the i3).

My question has to do with motherboard chipsets. I see there are two chipsets for Sandy Bridge but I'm not sure the differences. I read some review that said one of the chipsets "disabled" the GPU on the CPU. That would be bad for me because I don't want to get a graphics card for a headless server. So what's the lowdown on the chipsets and which one is a better bet for a headless server?

Tom

The H67 chipset is what you want.

[KeithAbbott]

Originally Posted by tmiranda

I'm also looking to build a new Sage server based on Sandy Bridge but with an i3 instead of the i5. (I don't need all that i5 horsepower and I like the idea of the lower power consumption of the i3).

Check out the i3-2100T, 35w TDP for dual-core and graphics. I doubt if you could get much lower power consumption than that...

[tmiranda]

Thanks valnar and KeithAbbott.

[SWKerr]

Keep in mind that the idle power consumption of most i3 & i5 cpus is virtually the same. Considering that the sage server will sit idle most of the times the difference in overall real world power consumption should be very low. I would go with the i5 for a moderately higher upfront cost.

[tmiranda]

Originally Posted by SWKerr

Keep in mind that the idle power consumption of most i3 & i5 cpus is virtually the same. Considering that the sage server will sit idle most of the times the difference in overall real world power consumption should be very low. I would go with the i5 for a moderately higher upfront cost.

Can you point me towards a review or two? I don't mind a slightly higher cost if I can get more bang without a lot of extra heat and electricity costs. The server is on 24x7 so the difference between 35W (or 65W) and 95W would be substantial. The server does sit idle most of the time so hitting 95W at peak isn't a big deal if the idle power consumption is comparable to the i3.

Tom