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  1. Member pchan's Avatar
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    Hi,
    Electronics stores at my area no longer sell TV hard disk video recorder. By next year all tv signals are in digital format. Hence I am starting to think about a htpc to record free to air channels.
    1. i7 mobile system. Need to get hold of industrial mini ITX mother board. Power saving and low noise level ?
    2. Run Kodi and NextPVR
    3. TV card with 2 digital tuners
    4. FLIRC remote
    My main objective is to schedule the free to air recording. Put the system on standby mode and wake for scheduled recording and back to standby mode again. Can Kodi and NextPVR do that reliably ?
    Thanks in advance for your tips and comments.
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  2. Mod Neophyte Super Moderator redwudz's Avatar
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    If you don't mind looking into a AMD MB, I've used two of these in small HTPCs with good success:
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128696

    The MB is about 6 3/4" by 8 3/4" and will likely outperform most ITX MBs about the same size.
    A 25W quad core 2GHZ CPU for the MB runs about $50US, so an inexpensive package.
    Last edited by redwudz; 3rd Jul 2016 at 02:17.
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  3. Member pchan's Avatar
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    Hi redwudz,
    It's been awhile! That AMD mobo that you recommend is cheap.
    Actually, I have a i7-740QM cpu, 4gig SO-DIMM ram and a 500gig HD from my dead laptop. But I need to shell out US$275 for a mini ITX mobo. With the AMD mobo that you recommend, it may cost me less for AMD mobo, RAM and HD than US$275. My main concern is the reliability of the scheduled recording. What software did you use for your htpc ? I was burnt real bad in my first htpc. The software messed up after a few months and the schedule recording crapped out. So, I am very cautious before I take the plunge.
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    Mini ITX builds require careful planning. Mini ITX motherboards have only one expansion slot, which you will likely want to use for a TV tuner card, so the motherboard needs to supply wireless Internet and graphics connections. Don't plan on buying a very small mini-ITX case because they don't typically provide a way to install even one half-height card.
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  5. Mod Neophyte Super Moderator redwudz's Avatar
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    I don't really do scheduled recordings, so not much help with software.
    But hopefully others that do will be able to make some suggestions.

    That is quite a bit for a ITX MB. This is a photo of the HTPC with the AMD MB in it.
    It has a 120GB SSD drive, a 2TB HHD and a BD burner. Also a WiFi card.
    The small case was about $50, but hard to find.
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  6. Member pchan's Avatar
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    Thanks for the heads up. I don't intend to add any card except the TV card. I will use home plug i.e. network through power line if network is needed. The pc will connect to TV via hdmi.I will stick my main objective scheduled recording of free to air channels. Less than a handful in my area.
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  7. Member pchan's Avatar
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    @redwudz,
    Great wiring works.
    Mine is horrible.
    I would like my htpc to be as small as possible. No burner.
    So that it can stay behind the TV.
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    I use NextPVR without Kodi. NextPVR is pretty reliable, but most days I only have my HTPC on in the evening. Saturday to Sunday is the only time when the PC runs for 24 hours. There is a recording service for NextPVR which runs in the background. About 1% of the time the recording service fails to start after I turn on the PC. Without the service nothing will record, and I cannot watch TV with Next PVR either. I try to check to make sure the recording service is running after I start the PC. I have no idea what prevents the recording service from starting as it should. It doesn't happen often enough for a pattern to emerge.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 3rd Jul 2016 at 03:20.
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  9. Member pchan's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    I use NextPVR without Kodi. NextPVR is pretty reliable, but most days I only have my HTPC on in the evening. Saturday to Sunday is the only time when the PC runs for 24 hours. There is a recording service for NextPVR which runs in the background. About 1% of the time the recording service fails to start after I turn on the PC. Without the service nothing will record, and I cannot watch TV with Next PVR either. I try to check to make sure the recording service is running after I start the PC. I have no idea what prevents the recording service from starting as it should. It doesn't happen often enough for a pattern to emerge.
    Thanks. If this is the case, I would be very cautious in using NextPVR. Not sure if it's OK running under Kodi. This is why I trust DVR. It will wake up and record without fail if the clock is set correctly. I used to have pc running xp and showshifter. It ran without fail for 3 months. After, it woke up sometimes.
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    Your Core i7 740QM does not include Intel HD Graphics. You'll need graphics to be supplied entirely by the motherboard or via a discrete graphics card.
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  11. Member pchan's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    Your Core i7 740QM does not include Intel HD Graphics. You'll need graphics to be supplied entirely by the motherboard or via a discrete graphics card.
    I miss this completely. Thanks indeed. That mobo that I am planning to use needs Intel built-in gpu. So, I hit a dead end.
    You have saved me US$275.
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    If you really want a very low-power PC that you can hide behind the TV, you might look at either an Intel NUC or Gigabyte Brix bare-bones mini PC. ...but you will have to use an external TV tuner. Maybe the Hauppauge WinTV-DualHD DVB-T/T2 model would work. Hauppauge has a Singapore office. http://www.hauppauge.com.sg/ If that is not a good option, then there may be other external dual tuner models available from companies that don't operate in N. America.
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  13. Member pchan's Avatar
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    I am glad that I started this thread. I almost bought this card.

    Now, I may want to consider those thin mini ITX board so that I could reuse the SO-DIMM ram and 2.5inch hard disk and may be the wifi module.
    I will try Kodi on my Xp machine and the Compro TV card that I bought in 2004.

    Keep my finger cross and hope Kodi can do the job.
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  14. Member pchan's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    If you really want a very low-power PC that you can hide behind the TV, you might look at either an Intel NUC or Gigabyte Brix bare-bones mini PC. ...but you will have to use an external TV tuner. Maybe the Hauppauge WinTV-DualHD DVB-T/T2 model would work. Hauppauge has a Singapore office. http://www.hauppauge.com.sg/ If that is not a good option, then there may be other external dual tuner models available from companies that don't operate in N. America.
    Thanks. I may just want to get the dual tuner card.
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    Originally Posted by pchan View Post
    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    If you really want a very low-power PC that you can hide behind the TV, you might look at either an Intel NUC or Gigabyte Brix bare-bones mini PC. ...but you will have to use an external TV tuner. Maybe the Hauppauge WinTV-DualHD DVB-T/T2 model would work. Hauppauge has a Singapore office. http://www.hauppauge.com.sg/ If that is not a good option, then there may be other external dual tuner models available from companies that don't operate in N. America.
    Thanks. I may just want to get the dual tuner card.
    I should mention that a PCI-e TV tuner is probably going to last longer than a USB stick-type device due to less chance of over-heating. ...but since PCI-e cards are incompatible with the smallest ITX form-factor cases, you may have no other choice if you have made up your mind that you want a tiny case that can be mounted on the back of the TV.
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  16. Member pchan's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    Originally Posted by pchan View Post
    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    If you really want a very low-power PC that you can hide behind the TV, you might look at either an Intel NUC or Gigabyte Brix bare-bones mini PC. ...but you will have to use an external TV tuner. Maybe the Hauppauge WinTV-DualHD DVB-T/T2 model would work. Hauppauge has a Singapore office. http://www.hauppauge.com.sg/ If that is not a good option, then there may be other external dual tuner models available from companies that don't operate in N. America.
    Thanks. I may just want to get the dual tuner card.
    I should mention that a PCI-e TV tuner is probably going to last longer than a USB stick-type device due to less chance of over-heating. ...but since PCI-e cards are incompatible with the smallest ITX form-factor cases, you may have no other choice if you have made up your mind that you want a tiny case that can be mounted on the back of the TV.
    Once again, you are absolutely correct. This one looks more like a DVR and nice too.


    I may have to settle for a Silverstone case that looks similar to this one.
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    Originally Posted by pchan View Post
    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    I should mention that a PCI-e TV tuner is probably going to last longer than a USB stick-type device due to less chance of over-heating. ...but since PCI-e cards are incompatible with the smallest ITX form-factor cases, you may have no other choice if you have made up your mind that you want a tiny case that can be mounted on the back of the TV.
    Once again, you are absolutely correct. This one looks more like a DVR and nice too.

    I may have to settle for a Silverstone case that looks similar to this one.
    Yes, a Silverstone case like the Silverstone Milo ML05 with a Sliverstone SFX power supply would be a more practical choice. I have Sliverstone's modular 500W SFX PSU in my Lian Li MATX HTPC case. The PSU was not cheap, but the small size, shorter cable length and modular cables were all a great help.

    There are some issues with the case pictured in your post. The labels indicate it comes with a PCI riser card, but all the dual-tuner TV cards I have seen are PCI-e. It also takes a proprietary open-frame DC power converter which could be difficult to replace if it were to fail. 50mm fans are noisier than 80mm fans.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 4th Jul 2016 at 14:05. Reason: grammar
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  18. Member pchan's Avatar
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    Kodi won't run on XP.
    What do you know ? Compro Video Mate Gold+ even has driver up to Windows 7. This what I call real support !
    My XP machine has MSI 865GM2 motherboard. It has no driver beyond XP.

    Here are my questions.
    1. Can I load Linux and run Kodi on it ?
    2. Possible to get Compro Video Mate Gold+ to run on Linux ? I didn't see any Linux driver in their website.

    Thanks in advance.

    BTW, the Compro tv card still works after more that 10 years in the box.
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    Originally Posted by pchan View Post
    Kodi won't run on XP.
    What do you know ? Compro Video Mate Gold+ even has driver up to Windows 7. This what I call real support !
    My XP machine has MSI 865GM2 motherboard. It has no driver beyond XP.

    Here are my questions.
    1. Can I load Linux and run Kodi on it ?
    2. Possible to get Compro Video Mate Gold+ to run on Linux ? I didn't see any Linux driver in their website.

    Thanks in advance.

    BTW, the Compro tv card still works after more that 10 years in the box.
    Yes, Kodi is available for Linux http://kodi.wiki/view/HOW-TO:Install_Kodi_for_Linux. ...but I don't know anything about how recording TV works when using Linux and Kodi. Also not all TV cards have Linux drivers available. You will have to make certain that Linux drivers are available before buying one.

    Information about your present card: https://www.linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/Compro_VideoMate_TV_Gold-Plus
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 8th Jul 2016 at 23:29.
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