A/V Capturing: The Indolikaa Way

[indolikaa]

I have been asked recently what kind of 'workstation array' I'm running for my video and audio needs.

There are four basic things I do in this hobby:
* Capture and archive satellite television programming,
* Archive original media (DVD, LaserDisc, etc.) and restore older media,
* Capture and archive satellite radio programming,
* Edit and archive DVD Recorder programming.

I had this stupid idea that I could consolidate my three previous machines into one bad-ass Dual Xeon workstation and get all my work done from there. Wrong! What I did learn is that the horsepower requirements for this hobby aren't nearly what they appear at the surface. A TMPGEnc encode that might take 8 hours is just fine if you have other machines to continue other work with, so that's the theory from which I decided to pursue my recent purchases. Brilliant, huh?

So, with $1500 in hand, here's what I came up with. The items in red were cannibalized from existing machines.


CPU 1 - ATI Video Capture and DVD-RAM Conversion
ASRock K7S41GX Mainboard
AMD Athlon XP 266/2400+ @ 2.0 GHz
Mushkin 512MB @ 266 MHz
ATI AIW 9000 Pro
Soundblaster Live! 5.1
Maxtor 30GB 7200RPM HDD
Toshiba SD-M1712 DVD-ROM
Optorite DD-0203 DVD±RW
EchoStar DVR-522 Dual-Tuner IRD

CPU 2 - ATI Video Capture and DVD-RAM Conversion
ASRock K7S41GX Mainboard
AMD Athlon XP 266/2400+ @ 2.0 GHz
Mushkin 512MB @ 266 MHz
ATI AIW 9000 Pro
Soundblaster Live! 5.1
Maxtor 30GB 7200RPM HDD
Toshiba SD-M1712 DVD-ROM
Optorite DD-0203 DVD±RW
DirecTV TiVo Dual-Tuner IRD

CPU 3 - Multi-Source Video Conversion, and Audio Restoration
ASRock K7S41GX Mainboard
-Onboard Video with 32MB Shared Memory
AMD Athlon XP 266/2400+ @ 2.0 GHz
Mushkin 512MB @ 266 MHz
SoundBlaster Live! MP3+ with Digital I/O Controller
Maxtor 30GB 7200RPM HDD
Toshiba SD-M1502 DVD-ROM
LG GSA 4082B DVD±R/W/RAM
Canopus ADVC-100 DV Controller

CPU 4 - Audio 'Post-Production'
MSI K7T Turbo2 Mainboard
AMD Athlon 266/1200 CPU
Samsung 768MB PC133 RAM
SoundBlaster Live! MP3+
IBM 80GB 7200RPM HDD
Optorite CW-5201 CD-RW

CPU 5 - Desktop Publishing and General Use
MSI K7T Turbo2 Mainboard
-Onboard Sound
AMD Athlon 266/1200 CPU
Samsung 768MB PC133 RAM
Maxtor 30GB 7200RPM HDD
Optorite CW-5201 CD-RW
Epson R200 CD/DVD Printer
Lexmark Z515 Printer
Canon N650U Scanner


I do miss the ego-stroke that comes along with multi-processor horsepower, but this have proven to be a great workstation setup. These little ASRocks boards are solid, efficient, and haven't shown any problems, which is a pleasant surprise considering they are powered by SiS chipsets. They all run Windows 2000 Professional (it's the Indolikaa way) and lockups are completely nonexistent.

If you are thinking about one big machine for your audio and video needs, you might consider an option like this. I know a lot of people have spare hardware lying around; until about a month ago, I could fill an entire bedroom with older computer hardware that is still quite usable.

Oh, and the best part? I had enough money left over to buy 500 printable Taiyo Yuden CD-Rs.

[stiltman]

What are these?
EchoStar DVR-522 Dual-Tuner IRD
DirecTV TiVo Dual-Tuner IRD

[indolikaa]

What are these?
EchoStar DVR-522 Dual-Tuner IRD
DirecTV TiVo Dual-Tuner IRD

Satellite receivers with TiVo/TiVo-type HDD recorders.

Dish Network PVR
DirecTV TiVo

[yoda313]

Hello,

I know a lot of people have spare hardware lying around; until about a month ago, I could fill an entire bedroom with older computer hardware that is still quite usable

What you got? Interested in selling any????? pm me or post here.

Kevin

---I'm not really in the market for anything in particular but if it's unique enough or the right price I could be interested----

[stiltman]

What are these?
EchoStar DVR-522 Dual-Tuner IRD
DirecTV TiVo Dual-Tuner IRD

Satellite receivers with TiVo/TiVo-type HDD recorders.

Dish Network PVR
DirecTV TiVo

Those are in/conneted to you computers?
You have both Direct TV and Dish Network services?

Hmmm

[indolikaa]

What are these?
EchoStar DVR-522 Dual-Tuner IRD
DirecTV TiVo Dual-Tuner IRD

Satellite receivers with TiVo/TiVo-type HDD recorders.

Dish Network PVR
DirecTV TiVo

Those are in/conneted to you computers?
You have both Direct TV and Dish Network services?

Hmmm

They are both connected to the computers through the ATI cards. And yes, I have both satellite providers.

And yes, they are both legally-obtained satellite feeds. I keep the DirecTV account running for two reasons: I have the NFL Sunday Ticket package (which Dish Network does not have) and I have the NY and LA broadcast networks. The first requires that I have DirecTV, the second is a novelty that I'm not willing to give up.

What you got? Interested in selling any????? pm me or post here.

Kevin

---I'm not really in the market for anything in particular but if it's unique enough or the right price I could be interested----

I was speaking in past tense when I mentioned that. The goods are, shall we say, long gone.

[yoda313]

Helo,

I was speaking in past tense when I mentioned that. The goods are, shall we say, long gone.

Thanks anyway.

Kevin

[rallynavvie]

Indeed indo, I realized I needed more as well so I have two SMP machines

However I've noticed I could use faster transfer speeds between computers for sending large video files over to the little machine for work. I'm getting a gigabit switch and a GbE NIC for the little one so that I can get those faster transfer speeds. Gigabit is pretty close to ATA133 speeds isn't it? With all your interconnected systems you may want to do the same. Might make things a little bit easier.

[indolikaa]

Indeed indo, I realized I needed more as well so I have two SMP machines

However I've noticed I could use faster transfer speeds between computers for sending large video files over to the little machine for work. I'm getting a gigabit switch and a GbE NIC for the little one so that I can get those faster transfer speeds. Gigabit is pretty close to ATA133 speeds isn't it? With all your interconnected systems you may want to do the same. Might make things a little bit easier.

A Dual Xeon system is still on the list...


THAT is a major bottleneck that I am dealing with as we speak. The first time I had to move a 2-hour WAV file from one machine to another over the network, I immediately started budgeting for GbE. The first time I had to move two different files between the network at the same time, I moved the GbE purchase to the top of the Priority List!

[ViRaL1]

In the interim, have you tried firewire?

[stiltman]

In the interim, have you tried firewire?

What's wrong with using a firewire drive for storage until you build your NAS?

[Doramius]

Dude, you should have gone with the ATI 9600 series. You want DirectX9 Capable, not Compatible. At least you went ATI AIW with a good quality card. You made a budgeted wise decision at least.

[ViRaL1]

I was referring to FW networking. Should be almost midway between 100Mbps and GbE.

[stiltman]

Dude, you should have gone with the ATI 9600 series. You want DirectX9 Capable, not Compatible. At least you went ATI AIW with a good quality card. You made a budgeted wise decision at least.

I have the 9000 Pro too. Very good card for the price. I have not had one problem with it. I gave up on all the ATI driver updates after I did the first install with the latest drivers

[Doramius]

Dude, you should have gone with the ATI 9600 series. You want DirectX9 Capable, not Compatible. At least you went ATI AIW with a good quality card. You made a budgeted wise decision at least.

I have the 9000 Pro too. Very good card for the price. I have not had one problem with it. I gave up on all the ATI driver updates after I did the first install with the latest drivers

I'm not saying the 9000 is a bad series, I'm just saying spend the money on a card that'll be top quality for quite the while. The only thing that sucks Is that I currently have three machines with the AIW 9600 card in them. I haven't figured out how to get the remotes to a different signal, if there is a way. I use one remote and it affects all 3 comps. So I shut off or unplug the remote receiver on the other 2 systems when I'm listening to music in another room. Kind of annoying. It'd be cool if the frequencies could be adjusted by a level to stop interference, much like radio controlled car frequencies.

Speaking of radio controlled frequencies, I have a radio controlled car that once in a while steers left when I press the skip button. Found this out by sheer accident.

[indolikaa]

In the interim, have you tried firewire?

No. I haven't...

Please elaborate.

[rallynavvie]

FireWire networking? I could never get it to work through a hub. I think the $80 Linksys GbE switch is still the best way to go. Just skip going out someplace nice to eat each week and instead buy a good GbE NIC for each computer. I think the Linksys one I'm thinking of is a 5-port, hopefully one isn't the WAN included.

[indolikaa]

FireWire networking? I could never get it to work through a hub. I think the $80 Linksys GbE switch is still the best way to go. Just skip going out someplace nice to eat each week and instead buy a good GbE NIC for each computer. I think the Linksys one I'm thinking of is a 5-port, hopefully one isn't the WAN included.

Well that won't work anymore because I'm on this low-fat diet. And it sucks big sweaty donkey balls, too!


No, I've decided that GbE is so critical to my sanity that I'm going to...

...not order Taiyo Yuden media next month.

[size=24]GASP!!![/color]

[mrtristan]

Oh damn you guys. I've been wanting to build a second smp machine for about a while, but I don't have the cash on hand to do it. I could get off my lazy ass on the weekend and do side construction jobs, but that would defeat the point of waiting for money to fall in my lap.

[rallynavvie]

but that would defeat the point of waiting for money to fall in my lap.

But that method is so much nicer. Don't have to go anywhere or do anything

[ViRaL1]

I think the $80 Linksys GbE switch is still the best way to go. Just skip going out someplace nice to eat each week and instead buy a good GbE NIC for each computer. I think the Linksys one I'm thinking of is a 5-port, hopefully one isn't the WAN included.

There's no separate uplink port, so you'd have to use 1 to connect to the rest of your network. For myself, I'm going to go with the SD2008 when I get a couple more checks. I was really wanting to get the EG008W, which is the older model; that is until I contacted Linksys support and found out that only the newer post-Cisco models (SD2005 and SD2008) carry a lifetime warranty. The EG005W and EG008W only get 2 years. The new ones won't stack with my existing Linksys gear.

[ViRaL1]

If you don't mind rebates ($150 mail-in, but DELL is VERY good with their rebates and not slow)...you can get a 16 port GbE rackmount switch for $150.

Also have an 8-port for $80 after $50 mail-in.

[QuaiBoy]

Rather than upgrading my perfectly adequate 100mbps network just to transfer video files between my two power machines, I purchased this USB2 to USB2 device. I've been around PCs for 10yrs+, so I know you hardcore hardware guys will scoff at it. Figured I'd take a chance and it's a solid performer (less than $20 for a 480mbps connection) and has worked flawlessly for six months. Both machines run XP Pro... one has SP1 and one SP2 (both had SP1 until last week). Both computers are also connected to the same 100mbps switch so they have two connections to each other. XP uses the network connection until it's saturated and the USB2 480mbps connection picks up the slack. I've burned 4x DVD-Rs and 52x CDRs on the fly through the connection... not a coaster to be had. I would suggest using USB2 ports included with your mainboard (that are controlled by the southbridge). If you use a PCI card port you'll quickly saturate the PCI bus with this connection alone.

It's a nice low-cost alternative if you're simply looking to connect two machines for video transfer. It will save you from saturating your PCI bus (if you use onboard ports instead of an PCI gigabit card). You could also use several of them as a bridge between each of your video proc machines and a burning machine.

Just a thought. Best of Luck to all,
-Evan-[/url]

[ViRaL1]

Sounds like an interesting idea. Not sure how practical it would be for multiple machines though. You'd either need lots of cables, or have to route through one machine. For 2 PCs it seems like a quick and easy alternative to GbE.

[rallynavvie]

Most A/V folks have FireWire on their PCs already so that would be a better option than a USB network.

I can't wait to get my GbE equipment and see what everyone has been talking about with this Intel CSA GbE controller on my new machine. Apparently it bypasses the whole PCI bus and goes right to the ICH.