Solar - Terrestrial Data

Friday, October 19, 2007

HTPC anyone?

We recently bought a digital-TV set-top box (DVB-C) with a built-in harddisk-drive so one can record programs or time-shift programs when needed.
Now when there is streaming-TV of all kind out there on the web it would be nice to integrate that also into one and the same gadget along with DVD-player-burner. Normal web-surfing in the sofa on the 37" screen would be nice also when there is nothing on the telly.
I decided a while ago that I will try to build my own multimedia-PC and also integrate Digital-TV into the same.
My first preference is low power consumption so it will be built around stuff commonly used in Lap-Tops, my second preference is cheap.
Cheap and laptop components don't really fit together so I must search auction-sites for used or refurbished stuff. That takes a lot of time, trying to get MoBos and CPU:s to a low price.
Then one should find a reliable PCI-card for cable-TV reception here in Europe. The market seems to be small and there isn't much (cheap) stuff around on web-auctions.
But when I've gathered the components I will start to build this fancy apparatus. :)

Anyone out there with experiences from such a project?

4 comments:

Vallypee said...

Hans, I'm afriad I know nothing about such technicalities, so cannot help you there. On our barges we don't have much in the way of technology other than our computers!

I've just been reading the answer you left to my last comment, and am fascinated to learn a) that you are Swedish speaking b. that your dialect is reminiscent of Dutch and c. that you spent so much time on the ferries as a child. What a great adventure just to go to the city!
I am going to leave here and head for the Wiipedia page you mentioned!

I did look at your MySpace page, and yes, could only see the rolling slideshows but they were also very nice to see.

Thank you again for your interest in my story. I'll write some more during the week, but as I said, it will probably not be all that much. I'm enjoying it, though, and your interest is a great encouragement to keep going.

Hans said...

Hi Val, it's okay, you don't have to care about the technicalities but it is always nice to get comments from fellow bloggers you know. :)
Regarding Dutch and my dialect I found the connection early in my childhood when I first got to read the declarations of content and "users instructions" in Dutch on a package of "Van Houten Cacao".
Though it sounded funny I suddenly found that I could understand part of it when reading it aloud to myself! :)
There is a certain connection languagewise from the Netherlands along the coast of Germany, up the islands and the coast of Sweden and Finland up here.

The first ferry connection between the Island of Replot and the mainland made it in some 15 to 20 minutes and if I recognized some familiar person at the wheel I jumped out of the bus and climbed up to the wheelhouse. It was the most fascinating place in the world.

Keep on writing!

alegni said...

Grattis, gubben!

Hans said...

Tackar så mycket Gumman!
-*-

 
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