Upgrade path--suggestions/advice needed (long post)

[civerson4]

I am trying to put together an upgrade roadmap to get everything ready for the Hauppauge HD PVR’s. I have a wiring cabinet where all the coax and network cabling is terminated/routed (this is where the HDHR’s are located). I’d like to keep the “clean” look of my Media room and avoid stacking multiple cable boxes and HD PVR’s in the entertainment center.

Here is my current set up:

Media Room:
Sage Server (homebuilt)

CPU: Intel 6600 Quad Core
RAM: 4 GB Ram
Storage: 1 TB system drive and DVD rip storage
1 TB x3 on board Raid 5 (1.9 GB storage) TV/music/photo storage
Video Card: Nvidia 7600 GT Passive out via DVI to HDMI cable
TV tuners: Hauppauge PVR 500 (Analog x 2)
2x HDHR QAM Digital Tuners (4x QAM HD tuners)
OS: Vista SP1
Optical: DVD Drive (not Blu-Ray…..yet)
Soundcard: Auzentech Prelude
Audio: SPDIF out to Onkyo 805
TV: Panny 50” Plasma (720P)
Speakers: NHT Classic 3 Mains, 3C center, NHT IC3 in ceiling surrounds, Velodyne SPL 10 Subwoofer

Family Room
Dell XPS 210 Client:
CPU: Intel Core 2 6300 (1.86 ghz)
RAM: 2 GB
Video Card: Nvidia 8400 GS Passive out via DVI to HDMI cable
OS: Vista SP1
Optical: DVD Drive
Soundcard: On Board
Audio: SPDIF out to Onkyo 805
TV: LG 42” LCD (1080 P)
Speakers: NHT IC3 in ceiling (6x for all mains and surrounds), Velodyne SPL 10 Subwoofer

Exercise Room
Sage HD 100 Extender
HDMI out to Sharp 32” LCD (1080 P)
Using TV speakers

Questions:

1. I have an “extra” HD100 Extender (no, it’s not for sale!) that I could use in the family room (in lieu of the current client computer). I could then turn this into a server—but it is a low profile Dell XPS 210—so my PVR 500 analog tuner won’t fit in the case. Is it possible to run two servers (one for the analog tuners and the HDHR’s, the other for the Hauppauge HD PVR’s when they come out)? If so, would the servers be able to “see” and utilize the other tuners? Any ideas for a low profile, dual analog tuner card (there is only 1 availble PCI slot in the XPS) if that won’t work? Is this CPU powerful enough for HD server duty?

2. If I put the XPS computer into a new case (that will accept a normal PCI tuner card) and use this as my Sage Server, I will be forced to write all recordings over the network to the current server computer. I have Cat 6 networking cable, but the XPS is only 10/100 (on board networking—with no expansion if I use the PCI slot for an analog tuner). This doesn’t seem like enough bandwith to write (and sometimes simultaneously read) multiple HD recording streams.

3. Should I just build a new server computer and put that in the wiring closet? If I do, any suggestions for backing up/transferring 2 TB of recordings/DVD’s (I assume I will lose all the recordings if I move the hard drives to the new server since it is using On-board raid—and likely the new Motherboard won’t have the same RAID chip.

4. I have both the Media Room and Family Room “controlled” by a Universal remote (universal MX 900). Does the extender have discrete on/off codes? How can I get them (getting rid of the universal remote is a non-starter for the family room).

5. I’d rather not move the main server out of the media room—I use the DVD drive to rip movies (and sometime watch them directly). I guess a stand alone DVD player is an option—but my preference is to keep this computer where it is. I also use this as a CD player and plan to get the Auzentech “daughter card” to allow HDCP compliant uncompressed audio out via HDMI (for my eventual blu ray upgrade.)

Sorry for the long post. Pics of my setup are attached (hopefully they help with ideas).

Thanks in advance for any all advice/suggestions/ideas.....

[SpiffyRex]

I am trying to put together an upgrade roadmap to get everything ready for the Hauppauge HD PVR’s. I have a wiring cabinet where all the coax and network cabling is terminated/routed (this is where the HDHR’s are located). I’d like to keep the “clean” look of my Media room and avoid stacking multiple cable boxes and HD PVR’s in the entertainment center.

You need to take care of two things, network throughput and h.264 playback.

1. I have an “extra” HD100 Extender (no, it’s not for sale!) that I could use in the family room (in lieu of the current client computer). I could then turn this into a server—but it is a low profile Dell XPS 210—so my PVR 500 analog tuner won’t fit in the case. Is it possible to run two servers (one for the analog tuners and the HDHR’s, the other for the Hauppauge HD PVR’s when they come out)? If so, would the servers be able to “see” and utilize the other tuners? Any ideas for a low profile, dual analog tuner card (there is only 1 availble PCI slot in the XPS) if that won’t work? Is this CPU powerful enough for HD server duty?

There's no such thing as an "extra" HD Extender. You can always put them to good use.
My advice is to keep your architecture simple, because its implementation will get complicated on its own. Stick to one Sage server.

2. If I put the XPS computer into a new case (that will accept a normal PCI tuner card) and use this as my Sage Server, I will be forced to write all recordings over the network to the current server computer. I have Cat 6 networking cable, but the XPS is only 10/100 (on board networking—with no expansion if I use the PCI slot for an analog tuner). This doesn’t seem like enough bandwith to write (and sometimes simultaneously read) multiple HD recording streams.

I don't like to record over the network. Latencies, network glitches, etc can affect your recordings. Keep your recording drive local to the Sage server and use the network only for playback or, if you have to, for remote tuners like the HDHR.

3. Should I just build a new server computer and put that in the wiring closet? If I do, any suggestions for backing up/transferring 2 TB of recordings/DVD’s (I assume I will lose all the recordings if I move the hard drives to the new server since it is using On-board raid—and likely the new Motherboard won’t have the same RAID chip.

Nope, you already have plenty of hardware. Yes, transferring files in a RAID filesystems is a pain, so don't do it. I would use my $$$ on HD extenders and extra storage space.

Consider keeping your media room server and using HD extenders for any other rooms. You have a very fast CPU and with the 7600GT card it might be enough to playback h.264 in your server. The HD extenders will have no problem with that as long as your network is fast enough. If your server can't play h.264, consider getting an 8600 GT card or running it as a headless server and using another HD extender in your media room.

Keep in mind that once you start recording in HD you will need a lot of storage space. You seem to have enough for now, but start planning for expanding your RAID system or building a second one in the future. I actually prefer to have the Sage the server with two drives, an small one just for the OS and a big one for recording. Then transfer the recordings you want to save to a second system with a RAID5 filesystem. My main concern is that the Save server runs almost 24x7, so power consumption, heat, and noise are big issues with me. But that's not really important to everyone.

Also, have you looked into the r5000 mod? It's more expensive than the upcoming HD PVR but it gives you real digital recordings.