Server in family room, or client?

[Grasshopper]

Hello,

Sorry for my continuing newbie questions. I'm looking into the process of setting up a PC PVR system in my home, and I'd appreciate some advice regarding system architecture. As I see it, there are three ways to set up a system that'll do what I want -- which is tune 2 or 3 stations, record programs as needed, and play DVD's (and archive recorded shows to DVD), with most of those functions distributable to 2 or 3 TV's and a PC monitor.

One way to do this would be to build a Sage box for the family room. Put in a couple of Hauppage 250 cards as tuners, a video card to drive the (standard, for now -- no HD) TV (no monitor), DVD burner, and a big hard drive to store everything. This is attractive because it seems the simplest way to set up the main functions. Then, I could get Hauppage MVP's (once they're Sage-enabled) for the other TV's and set up the network that way. But after reading a whole lot on this forum, I'm worried about noise and heat in the PC.

Alternatively, I could build a server PC in another room (the office) and equip it with the big HD, the DVD burner and the 250 cards. Then I could build a second system to serve as a connected DVD player running Sage Client to put in the family room. That could be a small system with just a video card to drive the TV and a DVD player. Such a small system would be easier to keep quiet and cool, but would likely be somewhat more expensive (considering the cost of both systems). Also, I'd worry about difficulties of networking when the primary TV of the household is on a client machine and the tuner's in another room.

A variation on the above theme would be to put the server in the office, and instead of building a dedicated Sage Client PC, I could just buy an MVP and a cheap DVD player for the family room which would likely serve my purposes fine for now. But that would be less expandable for when (down the road) I get a big HDTV.

I'm really excited by the possibilities of Sage, and would appreciate any guidance and wisdom from folks who have done it and have thought about these issues more than I have. Thanks!

[EncoderHouse]

Grasshopper

I chose your first option, and I’ll tell you why and how I got it to be very quiet.

First the why! I have been using SageTV for a long time, I found that you could so much more by having the server on the main place you would watch TV, this is not an option for most people do to the noise, cables, ugly cases that look like computers and wife’s that don’t like the mess.

I had my server located in my office that is detached from the house. That is were I watch the most TV until recently when I finally finish a silent P4 system 3-tuner PVR-250 system, with DVD/CDRW player, DVD burner, 5-in-1 Card reader, fire wire, ect…. The reason I wanted to use all these features is because I want to use it like a computer, to plug in my MINI DV cam, Digital camera, and the other thing that a family would want to use in the digital lifestyle. I also want my son to be able to play his computer learning games, like Bob the Builder and Blues’ Clues. Those are family games, he is only 3 ½ so we like to play with him. As you can see I wanted a true home media computer, not just a PVR/DVR.

I do run a client, one that goes back to my office computer. The client has 2 tuners as well, one is an old Provideo PV256T (This was the first cards that supported SageTV), and a PVR-250. That gives me a total of 5 tuners and 500gigs of storage in my entire network.

My son has the MVP in his room too, it’s all the GUI he needs, until it is supported by SageTV front end. (at least I hope it will be one day)

So that’s my set-up.

Now I’ll tell you how I made my server.

I used a Cooler Master ATC-620C-BX1 (Black) Computer Desktop Case. I wanted something that was about the same size as my receiver, and that fit into my entertainment cabinet. This was a perfect chassis for my application. I use a Micro-ATX P4 motherboard; it has 3 PCI, 1 AGP, and all the bells and whistles.
Now that I had the core system it was time to find the quiet components.
I knew that my biggest problem would be the CPU fan and power supply, so I did some researcher and found the Zalman's CNPS7000-CU This thing is HUGE, beware it will not fit on all motherboards. It uses the BIG Copper SLOWER Fan method. It is very effective and very quiet. Now that I had the CPU under control I Looked for a Silent power supply, this was trial and era until I found the SilentMaxx proSilence PCS-350 this is a fan less 350-watt power supply. It has a big heat sink on the back of the power supply. ZERO NOISE> no humming, or buzzing.
I insulated the chassis with AcoustiPack™ it is standard acoustic composite sheets, used to dampen noise. I use 2 Seagate 120Gig drives that use the Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB). These drives are very quiet. Your probably wondering about heat, don’t be, the chassis can still breath freely and the PVR-250 are not that hot. That’s that!
Zalman CNPS 7000CU
SilentMaxx proSilence PCS-350
AcoustiPack™
Cooler Master ATC-620C-BX1

[Grasshopper]

Originally posted by EncoderHouse
Grasshopper

I chose your first option, and I’ll tell you why and how I got it to be very quiet.

First the why! I have been using SageTV for a long time, I found that you could so much more by having the server on the main place you would watch TV, this is not an option for most people do to the noise, cables, ugly cases that look like computers and wife’s that don’t like the mess.

Could you elaborate on this? Are there things you can do running Sage that you can't do on a box running Sage Client that's connected to another box running Sage via Fast Ethernet?

[insomniac]

Personally, I like the client in the front room. No noise(I dont have EncoderHouse's kinda money to silence a HI-PO computer , and no cable mess! I dont know about everyone else, but the back of my server looks like a spagetti factory!

I.


[QUOTE]Originally posted by EncoderHouse
[B]Grasshopper

I chose your first option, and I’ll tell you why and how I got it to be very quiet.