Ideas for a HTPC system

[Austinisftw]

Recently i have been fed up with how much my family is paying to rent DVRs and signal converters from the company. I want to build network HTPC devices so that we can access one device and watch different channels or just watch them on each HTPC.

TVs
Two flat screen TV's with HDMI ports
two older TV that does not have HDMI ports and currently gets cable though a COAX port

Network
linksys router that supports 350Mbps on 802.11n
Ubuntu server (Intel duo with a 1tb hard drive) used as a personal ftp.

Other devices
2 IPad 2 airs
2 Window 7 laptops
1 Ubuntu Laptop
2 Windows 7 desktops

Operating system would have to be easy enough for a some what computer literate couple (my parents to use). Also the system cost effective that it will pay off in one to two years @30/month. I am willing to spend some extra money on an 802.11AC router and getting NIC's that are compilable with that but i can not run Ethernet though the walls.

If at possible i would like the set up to be able to be run as shown bellow. Because of the way service electric does their encoding of signal.

Coax in ---> Converter ----> HTPC ----> other end devices ----> TV

I would like to make the recorded shows be stored on a NAS device. I can use my server for this and buy SSD'S or such as time goes on.

If at possible i would also like the devices to be able to access the recordings and the stream of the TV.

 

[JQB45]

$30 a month x 24 months = $720.00

Is that your budget for the home made DVR?

The reason I ask is that will tell me what kind of video capture card you can afford. For example a Ceton InfiniTV 6 Channel tuner is $279.99 USD
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815706005

 

[Austinisftw]

$30 a month x 24 months = $720.00

Is that your budget for the home made DVR?

The reason I ask is that will tell me what kind of video capture card you can afford. For example a Ceton InfiniTV 6 Channel tuner is $279.99 USD
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815706005

[strike]Not to be rude, would i just use this in one device and stream it to all other devices? [/strike]and if so does this have the compatibility with the other devices such as my Ubuntu laptop and my mom's and dads i pads. And even if so would it justify a network upgrade for the streaming. I wrote the problem in the way i don't just want hardware but i want a general system as well.

but budget wise as long as it is under 600 for everything i am okay. AC router not included in budget.

 

[JQB45]

Right I understand. The Ceton is not a valid option for you then. I'll keep researching as its a subject that interests me as well.

 

[Austinisftw]

Right I understand. The Ceton is not a valid option for you then. I'll keep researching as its a subject that interests me as well.

Okay i didn't see the fact there was six of them lol but this isn't bad hardware. i should put that the main focus are the TVs but i would like to come up with a solution that all the devices could get streamed. Ideally i would like one or many boxes to be able to be connected to via what ever device and the watched though there. The ipads are going to be the hardest one to do but even if it's just them watching recorded shows on there that will work to

in the HTPC I'm assuming i would also need a graphics card or some type of output to the TV. there must be a way to output to coax for the two TVs

 

[Austinisftw]

Ubuntu TV seems to be the OS of choice here.

http/www.ubuntu.com/tv/industry

It seems to support what i need for the HTPC(s) to stream to the end devices and seems to have a easy interface.

now here comes the hardware question of how it will be done?

 

[JQB45]

With the Ceton you would need either an Xbox 360 or one of Cetons set top boxes. The set top boxes are not cheap. As for the main system with the Ceton card you could go with any quad core AMD Kaveri.

AMD A8-7600 Kaveri Quad-Core 3.1GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) Socket FM2+ 65W AD7600YBJABOX Desktop Processor Radeon R7 series
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113371

That processor would provide enough power plus the graphics performance with the built in graphics would handle output to the TV where that HTPC is connected.

The Set top box for each tv: http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815706003

The problem you face is budget. Also the ipads are not compatible.

 

[Austinisftw]

Well i see the windows Media player solution you are talking about but i would i more of want to see about using Ubuntu for a cheaper solution. i was thinking if i could buy cheep end devices that stream to a main device that could cut down on the cost and that way i will only be relying on the network bandwidth as the biggest issue.



Cable in ---> Main HTPC -----> Cheep box ----> TV

 

[JQB45]

I like Linux I'm using Debian at the moment but not for streaming. There are a lot of how to manuals on the web related to video streaming using Linux distros. I can only suggest a google search for now, but searching for "DVR Linux" I came up with https/www.mythtv.org/.

 

[Austinisftw]

I believe Ubuntu TV will solve the issue with this. Bu t I'm going to play around with it