Category: NZTekonverse -> HTPC
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Home Theatre PC and all that…[2]
In the first post of this series I took a look at some options out there using different form factors and chassis for a home theatre PC. After a month or two of the current form factor I’m sharing some more thoughts about the form factor options. Generally when you are talking PCs, it is…
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Home Theatre PC and all that…[1]
A few years ago I purchased a Mini-ITX chassis and installed a Gigabyte board with integrated CPU in it. This was supposed to get me something like a HTPC in a compact form factor that could fit in a small space next to a TV. However that board turned out to be too low powered…
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Raspberry Pi or HPTC For Livestream Player [5]
Last time I wrote on this subject I took a look at whether to continue using a Raspberry Pi to play livestreams and video clips, or to take a look at a more conventional HPTC setup with a normal computer. Original attempts to use a normal computer were with the Mini-ITX board and chassis I…
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Raspberry Pi as Livestream Player [4]… Or Conventional HTPC?
So after recent posts talking about Raspberry Pi possibilities I am probably going to forgo using my Pi as a media player because I have pulled out an old Intel DB75EN board that used to be a desktop computer here and it plays videos very well. So that old computer can be repurposed. It needs…
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Using a Raspberry Pi as a livestream player [3]
Well since I last wrote about this I have had more time to test, the outcome of which is that the Pi’s CPU still runs very hot even with the lid removed off the top of the case. This undoubtedly continues to be relevant to display performance which generally is still challenging. I have also…
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Using a Raspberry Pi as a livestream player [2]
Last time when I wrote this column I was looking at updating the Model 3B Pi that I have to the latest version because the RPi3B seemed to be a little slow for playing live video streams off Youtube. Well a new RPi would cost around $120 including the case and a new power supply…
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Using a Raspberry Pi as a livestream player [1]
When I wrote the first post of this series I fully expected using my former Windows 10 PC as a home theater PC would work out. That didn’t last long and the Windows 10 part was soon moved to another computer so the Mini-ITX system could be reinstalled with Lubuntu for the specific role that…
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Using a Windows 10 computer as a media player
UPDATE 19-10-7: Due to cost the Win10PC was put into an old obsolete chassis and parked in a corner of the room so it can be used when needed but it will not sit on my desk and will hardly ever be used. This was accomplished using an identical spare G-E350 WIN8 mainboard and the…
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New bits for “old” computers
As of today the new SSD for the bedroom PC (NUC) and the one for the “server” have arrived. The NUC has now got the SSD installed and Xubuntu 18.04 (Bionic) installed on it and the video clips now being downloaded over the wireless from the mediapc. The difference in sound level is quite notable…
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NUC as HTPC or small portable computer [2]
Last time I posted about this. Here are some further thoughts after using a NUC for 2 1/2 weeks. In addition to HTPC, I took the NUC with me on a holiday in the south of New Zealand, leveraging its tiny form factor to save on transport space/weight. The NUC has been a very useful…