Media Centre

RedeyesUK · Post by **RedeyesUK** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 7:53 pm

After moving into my new place, I've finally got a living room I can call my own. The trouble is, I've got nothing to put in it, entertainment-wise. I need a media centre!

Not having any money spare as usual, I raided my box'o'bits and cobbled together a usable PC. Installing it and setting it up was a catalogue of disasters, what with a corrupted W2K install, a shagged motherboard, dead memory, a wifi setup that point-blank refused to play nicely, but now it's there.

As a bonus, I found a stereo sitting in the loft, which, despite being a Goodmans, seems to work OK. A bit of hacking cables later, and it's now plugged into the PC.

Behold:

<img src='http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/redeyes_uk/th_DSCF1481.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>

Isn't it great? <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/laugh.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='laugh.gif' />

OK, for a free throwtogether, it's not bad - it does play music! Obviously, the screen is too woeful to watch films on, and besides, it has no DVD player.

The question is, what next? Obviously I need a new screen - would 22" widescreen do the job? A DVD drive will be coming shortly, and next year I plan to get a decent amp and speakers to run it all. The case, while being pretty knackered (bits keep falling off when you touch it <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/unsure.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='unsure.gif' /> ), does the job, so it's just aesthetics.

The CPU is a Duron 750 with 256mb RAM (I've got some more memory somewhere, I just can't find it!), so should probably do the job for now - just!

Suggestions please - the cheaper the better! <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/laugh.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='laugh.gif' />

belchingmatt · Post by **belchingmatt** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 8:00 pm

We used to watch DVDs on the laptop's 17" widescreen panel on a coffee table in front of us. As the 1440*900 resolution was greater than that for a DVD your only issue would probably be how far away you watch it from.

It's not a laptop but I may need to resurrect Project: ZERO when I get to Oz. I can still remember the day when I upgraded the DVD drive to DVD+/-RW via a swap at work. <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/4013/140/emo/eusa_whistle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='eusa_whistle.gif' />

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<div class='signature'> I'm not addicted to porn, I'm addicted to masturbation. Porn is just an enabler.

<img src='http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y81/ma ... Threat.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>

There are plenty more fish in the sea, get your tackle out and see what bites.

Divers go deeper and stay down for longer.

RedeyesUK · Post by **RedeyesUK** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 8:12 pm

belchingmatt wrote:Project: ZERO

I remember that. Jammy git. <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/laugh.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='laugh.gif' />

I think with this one, I'm not going to skimp on the monitor, so I'll earmark a couple of hungered squid for that. Everything else will be done on the cheap - one thing I'll keep my eye out for will be a decent(ish) cabinet to replace that tacky chipboard MFI workstation. I doubt I'll get anything decent for free, so I might have to splash out as much as twenty quid for that!

I've just been looking on scan, and it looks like I can get the bones of a decent PC (mobo, CPU, memory, case) for about ?100. Every component I can find - even at the lowest price range - is better specced than my main PC. <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/unsure.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='unsure.gif' /> <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/4013/140/emo/blush.jpg' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='blush.jpg' />

belchingmatt · Post by **belchingmatt** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 8:20 pm

My power tools that I was going to use on the case for ZERO are still in Oz. I'd only had them there a couple of days until I split with the missus.

--------------------

<div class='signature'> I'm not addicted to porn, I'm addicted to masturbation. Porn is just an enabler.

<img src='http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y81/ma ... Threat.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>

There are plenty more fish in the sea, get your tackle out and see what bites.

Divers go deeper and stay down for longer.

Post by **JJW009** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 1:23 pm

Is that a bit of laminate floor on top of carpet, or a bit of carpet on top of laminate floor?

My media centre is still on KW's mum's old coffee table she gave me when they were throwing it out. I think it looks OK, but your trolly looks quite business like. The speakers look pretty decent too - probably better than most PC speakers.

If you're in for a bit of DIY, I've got a few amplifier guts floating around at my place including a ~50Watt jobby me & cirrus put together back at college. You're welcome to it - there's only so many amps a house needs!

Anyways - yeah the monitor is the first upgrade, If you're only going to use it as a media centre, then I'd get a flat TV like mine. How big depends on how big the room is. TVs seem to shrink in the wash like jeans, so go for one that looks too big. It's a lot more convenient than using a TV card, and the celery 750 isn't going to have a lot of performance for good video. It should just about manage DVD playback, but it'll struggle with hi-definition and even Youtube is going to run it flat out.

Check what video modes it supports before you buy the screen. If it's a fairly old card, then it may not do strange widescreen modes.

In all, looks pretty good for the price!

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<div class='signature'> <img src='http://myanimelist.net/signature/JJW009.png' border='0' alt='user posted image'> ??? <img src='http://imagegen.last.fm/LastfmMyspace/oartists/5/JJW009.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>

RedeyesUK · Post by **RedeyesUK** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 4:13 pm

It's neither - it's a bit of carpet on top of some lino that's been patterned to look like laminate flooring.

I don't really like laminate flooring to start with, and this is just a naff imitation of it. I hate it. <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/dry.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='dry.gif' /> I'll be getting a rug for the place the next time I get the chance to go up to the market. I suppose one advantage is it's a wipe-clean surface! <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/laugh.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='laugh.gif' />

You're right about the workstation unit - my place is a barn conversion, complete with exposed beams etc, and that thing just really doesn't fit in. It does its job, in the sense that it stops all my PC equipment from falling on the floor, but it needs to be replaced for something a bit better looking. And cheap. <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif' />

I don't think I really need an actual TV, as I really never watch any - the idea here is just to be able to watch DVDs. That said, how much did yours cost, and what size is it? That looks pretty good for my purposes.

The amp might be a good idea - I was planning to knock up a little control centre thingy, with some basic stop/play/pause controls, as well as volume control etc. An amp could quite easily be built into this - my original idea was to pick up an old but decent amp off fleabay and hack it to bits for that.

I nearly bought some new speakers on ebay last night - a pair of decentish Mourdant Short ones. Unfortunately, the bidding ended at an exorbitant ?13 - way above my budget! <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/laugh.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='laugh.gif' />

Post by **JJW009** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 5:42 pm

Even if you don't watch TV, my 26" was half the price of a monitor the same size. TVs have a lower resolution and pixels cost hard cash!

Although saying that, this screen is much higher resolution than mine and still a good price:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/125735

You could use that as a monitor without getting iStrain iReckon.

Oh man, this 32" is loads less than I paid for mine. I paid about ?500 I think. I'd been living with a 14" portable for about 5 years, so you could say I'd saved up for quite a long time <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/laugh.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='laugh.gif' />

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/129151

I know I don't need a bigger Higher-Res screen, but I do want one. Then I can put the 26" in the bedroom to watch <strike>porn</strike> movies in bed <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/laugh.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='laugh.gif' />

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<div class='signature'> <img src='http://myanimelist.net/signature/JJW009.png' border='0' alt='user posted image'> ??? <img src='http://imagegen.last.fm/LastfmMyspace/oartists/5/JJW009.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>

RedeyesUK · Post by **RedeyesUK** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 6:59 pm

JJW009 wrote:http://www.ebuyer.com/product/125735

That one looks pretty sweet, and almost on budget too.

It's kind of annoying looking about - all the cheap stuff is either 22" or goes straight to 30"+! I reckon an ideal size for me is around 24/26".

As nice as a 32" screen sounds, I think that'll be too big - after all, with the way I've got the room set up, I'll only be about 6ft away. At that distance, I'll probably be able to see the individual pixels! <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/laugh.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='laugh.gif' />

As for the cabinet, I think I might just build one. I've been looking around on ebay, and all the cabinets on there are either silly money, or they look cheap and nasty. Or both. <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/unsure.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='unsure.gif' /> It never fails to make me laugh when I see 'antique' TV stands for sale! <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/laugh.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='laugh.gif' />

As my requirements go beyond the usual TV/DVD player cabinet, I think the only way to get exactly what I want, looking the way I want it, is to build it myself.

Seems like I've got my project hat on with this one; good thing really, I could do with an indoor project for the winter months.

Post by **JJW009** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 7:49 pm

One problem with eBay for furniture is the postage.

I've been planning on building an old-fashioned bureau style computer desk to replace that old kitchen table your rig was on when you brought it. I was planning on actually building it onto the wall so I could hoover under it easily, and make it so it all closes up and has loads of shelf space.

Big carpentry project though, and although I'm OK with simple stuff I suck when it comes to anything smarter than a but-joint <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/dry.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='dry.gif' />

<img src='http://www.arthurbrett.com/bespoke/cata ... bureau.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>

like that <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/laugh.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='laugh.gif' />

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<div class='signature'> <img src='http://myanimelist.net/signature/JJW009.png' border='0' alt='user posted image'> ??? <img src='http://imagegen.last.fm/LastfmMyspace/oartists/5/JJW009.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>

RedeyesUK · Post by **RedeyesUK** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 8:07 pm

<img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/laugh.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='laugh.gif' />

I don't think I'll be going for anything that complex - just a nice simple box with a couple of shelves and a door for now.

And if it ends up all wonky and out of square, I'll just pretend I was going for the rustic look to fit in with the flat! <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/tongue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tongue.gif' />

RedeyesUK · Post by **RedeyesUK** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 5:25 pm

I just bought a saw. <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/4013/140/emo/ninja.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ninja.gif' />

All I need now is some wood to saw up with it, some screws to hold the whole thing together and some varnish to make it look pretty, and it's all ready to build.

Oh, and a design would be good as well, I suppose. Otherwise I'll just end up with a pile of randomly sawn-up bits of wood screwed together! <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/laugh.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='laugh.gif' />

On another plus note, my boss has just given me a ?200 bonus on my next pay - more money=bigger screen! <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/cool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cool.gif' />

belchingmatt · Post by **belchingmatt** » Sun Dec 02, 2007 6:42 am

They had a nice 103" 1080p screen at the airport. <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/cool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cool.gif' />

--------------------

<div class='signature'> I'm not addicted to porn, I'm addicted to masturbation. Porn is just an enabler.

<img src='http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y81/ma ... Threat.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>

There are plenty more fish in the sea, get your tackle out and see what bites.

Divers go deeper and stay down for longer.

RedeyesUK · Post by **RedeyesUK** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 10:28 pm

That's actually bigger than my wall! <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/laugh.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='laugh.gif' />

I've just moved a couple of steps closer to a decent system:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=320193790671

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=130182955947

Not exactly high end stuff, but for ?51 I'm happy enough, and it's leagues ahead of the crappy Goodmans thing I'm using at the moment.

Now I've just got to wait until the January sales so I can flash some plastic and get a decent screen. <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/cool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cool.gif' />

Post by **JJW009** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 2:04 pm

That looks pretty solid, and both good prices. I could probably fix the phono input if you ever want to use a turntable on it.

I have much respect for Denon. It's almost certainly ten times better than the DIY job I forgot to give you when you were here <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/laugh.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='laugh.gif' />

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<div class='signature'> <img src='http://myanimelist.net/signature/JJW009.png' border='0' alt='user posted image'> ??? <img src='http://imagegen.last.fm/LastfmMyspace/oartists/5/JJW009.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>

RedeyesUK · Post by **RedeyesUK** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 2:19 pm

Lol, I forgot about that as well! <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/tongue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tongue.gif' />

The only thing I know about Denon is that Richer Sounds loaned me a Denon amp when my Cambridge unit had to be sent away for a warranty repair. I thought the Cambridge amp was good, but this sounded awesome!

I look forward to hooking this lot up. <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /> The speakers should be alright, not the best. But I don't have ?150+ to spend on the ones I really want!

What's a 'turntable'? <img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/laugh.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='laugh.gif' />