Ceton/Silicondust PC build question

[neovan]

Planning on building a HTPC with either Ceton or Silicondust and wondering what type of PC build I should have? I'd like it to record/stream shows over to a few XBOX360s I have laying around.

Also any recommendation on which Ceton or Silicondust I should get?

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Purely streaming from WMC doesn't require much juice. An i3 would be plenty and even a Celeron would work perfectly fine, even for 4 streams at a time while watching live TV or a recording on the same machine. If you plan on doing any transcoding you would want to step up to an i5.

As far as which one you should get, what is the max number of tuners you envision in use at any one time? Keep in mind that includes live TV and DVRed shows at the same time.

 

[neovan]

I don't plan on transcoding just DVRing and delete after I watch that show/episode. Max number of streaming would be 3.

I just purchased this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815345006

Is this all I need?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I don't plan on transcoding just DVRing and delete after I watch that show/episode. Max number of streaming would be 3.

I just purchased this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815345006

Is this all I need?

The price-tag on those used to be somewhat greater: I can't remember if I paid $150 or more. But -- yeah -- that's the one I use, and it's been in service for three or four years.

You can either connect it directly to an RJ-45 LAN port of your computer, or to a switch or router on your network. If the former, search the Silly-dust web-site for the instructions.

If your IS or AV software separates software into "Trusted," "Restricted" or "Untrusted," check to assure that none of the Silly-dust driver programs are "Limited" or "Restricted." They should be "Trusted."

I'm assuming you have a cable-TV subscription, or cable-TV bundled with your internet -- but the bundling doesn't matter. You would need to go to the service-desk of your cable-provider and obtain a cable-card -- figured into your cable subscription bill. For my Charter subscription, the cablecard only adds $2/month, and every subsequent cablecard costs $2/month. [Some providers charge more, and some folks here have expressed their irritation at the practice.] The cable-card should come with a "tuner-adapter" -- much the same shape, color and appearance as the HDHomeRun Prime. You'll need a 3' coax patch cable, a 3' (more like 6' available) USB cable, and an Ethernet cable long enough to reach your switch or router. The coax from your wall connects to the tuner adapter; the tuner adapter connects to the HomeRun Prime with the USB and a coax patch.

 

[Maiyr]

So with one of these Homeruns.... Do you just put it on the network and then somehow configure your HTPC to connect to it in order to stream the video/cable TV from it?

Thanks,

Maiyr

 

[poofyhairguy]

So with one of these Homeruns.... Do you just put it on the network and then somehow configure your HTPC to connect to it in order to stream the video/cable TV from it?

Thanks,

Maiyr

Yup, you got it.

 

[neovan]

The price-tag on those used to be somewhat greater: I can't remember if I paid $150 or more. But -- yeah -- that's the one I use, and it's been in service for three or four years.

You can either connect it directly to an RJ-45 LAN port of your computer, or to a switch or router on your network. If the former, search the Silly-dust web-site for the instructions.

If your IS or AV software separates software into "Trusted," "Restricted" or "Untrusted," check to assure that none of the Silly-dust driver programs are "Limited" or "Restricted." They should be "Trusted."

I'm assuming you have a cable-TV subscription, or cable-TV bundled with your internet -- but the bundling doesn't matter. You would need to go to the service-desk of your cable-provider and obtain a cable-card -- figured into your cable subscription bill. For my Charter subscription, the cablecard only adds $2/month, and every subsequent cablecard costs $2/month. [Some providers charge more, and some folks here have expressed their irritation at the practice.] The cable-card should come with a "tuner-adapter" -- much the same shape, color and appearance as the HDHomeRun Prime. You'll need a 3' coax patch cable, a 3' (more like 6' available) USB cable, and an Ethernet cable long enough to reach your switch or router. The coax from your wall connects to the tuner adapter; the tuner adapter connects to the HomeRun Prime with the USB and a coax patch.

Thanks for the info. I have Verizon FIOS and they charge $11.99 for a STB and $4.99 for the cablecard.