Building a media server

[Valiant]

So I wanna build a media server that's less of a server. My Dell PowerEdge media server is far too loud/power hungry/ugly.

Basically I want something relatively good looking with at least a few TB of raid storage and the ability to play digital audio and video directly onto my tv/hifi. Want it to be network so I can access the files from any laptop/pc in the house. Apart from that it's not gonna do anything else. So basically a gloried NAS with high def AV capabilities. A proper server is overkill really. Oh and it'd want it very quiet too.

Any ideas on kit and software? I can put it all together meself.

[redshift]

For fanless or low-noise systems have you looked at the kind of kit that Mini-ITX can provide?  Some of those small motherboards are getting quite powerful now.  With a PCI slot, you should be able to put a suitable TV (Hauppauge?) card in, if the onboard gfx aren't up to it.  I keep meaning to put a kit together to see what it's capable of, but I haven't done it yet.  The Hush systems are pre-built in Germany as media servers, but are expensive.

What about changing the cooling in the Dell?  larger slower fans, or liquid cooling?  Of course that doesn't solve the ugly problem - how about a casemod while you're at it?   

[border-rider]

Myth TV is damn clever but (at least when I tried about a year ago) there wasn't a huge amount of hardware support

I used 2 Freeview cards with onboard PVR, and they weren't supported in Linux at the time.  I had to use Win in the end.  Plus, frankly, ICNBA with all the buggerage needed to get things like the remotes working properly under Linux.  And I'm a big Linux fan.

It's also a sod to set up.  But, as I said, damn clever when it works.

Actually the XP-MCE system I built works very well.  Linux boxes (now) can play back the saved video over the network and of course audio was never a problem.  And it was dead easy to put together.

[Chris S]

MythTV is very useful for some things, but as MV rightly says, way too high a faffage factor to be realistic as a PVR.

At the moment, my MythTV installation is used to automagically record, edit (commercial removal) and transfer to DVD, a week's worth of Neighbours for my old Mum who can't get C5 and is too blind to work an EPG. Some careful scripting means I've been able to remix in the AD channel as well - so she has AD as well as the primary audio.

Gold Star to me please  .

[TimO]

If you want several TB of storage, noise and/or size are going to be a problem.  Probably the only way to keep the temperature down is to use large fans, going relatively slowly, and big gaps between drives.  If you try and pack a whole load of drives and the motherboard/ancillary boards into a small case, you are going to hit heat problems, which will reduce the life of everything.  I'd go for a large case with the drives well spaced out, and more large fans than seems necessary, if at all possibly adjusted to be a bit slower and quieter, and then as others have said, put it in another room (under the stairs, in the attic etc) so you don't have a large, probably still a bit noisy, ugly box stuck in your living room.

[Zipperhead]

My NAS is *very* quiet as it's fanless, it uses the case to dissipate heat, but probably no good for you as it only holds a single internal drive, not good for much more than a terrabyte at the moment.

[TimO]

It's also worth noting that it's not just the fans that cause noise (although they cause most of it).  Some drives can produce quite a lot of noise, sometimes the heads moving can produce a quite noticeable "plinking", which can be irritating if the audio is quiet.  I suspect you'll need to google around for advice on which drives are currently considered to be quiet.  I think it used to be Seagate Barracudas, but that was a while back, and several generations of Barracudas previously.

[Valiant]

I've just seen this case. I want! That's a 7" 800x600 touch screen on the front.



http://www.xsreviews.co.uk/reviews/cases/thermaltake-dh102-htpc/1 almost willing to forgive the noise.

Hush are fantastic though expensive but well worth it.

[TimO]

That is so good.
Now I need to think of a reason why I need it...

[rae]

Don't put the disks near the TV.  All you need near the TV is graphics + interface + CPU.   Disks live in the basement.   MiniITX will do for the TV bit.

[Valiant]

I know and that's how it is atm but I sorta like the idea of an all in one lush unit.