By Eric
Published: March 23, 2008
Updated: March 23, 2008
Print    Email

Ok so you learn a few things from the people that your stuck onsite with for weeks at a time. My buddy and colleague Marc Fruth was telling me how he used the FREE Linux based KnoppMyth to build out his 1 TeraByte Media Server. Boasting its DVR capability (for 15 bucks a year). I have been looking for a good use for my old PC when i was finally finished with building my new one. I began to think of it as a server option, possibly using it for running a few VPC's and maybe active directory so my wife and I could sync up calendars. Then hearing what and how Marc did his, it seemed to be a perfect fit for a aging but FULLY capable P4 3.2 Ghz HyperThreaded CPU, water cooled with 3 gigs of visible ram (Two 2 gig modules).

I did an assessment of my DVD collection. And well, a rounded up number of 400 DVD's with a rounded up Max of 4.7 gigs each is about 1.8 TeraBytes of storage I'd need to just get what I have now (all non HD dvd's) onto the server. Then i'll need enough space to start storing Blu Ray movies. I know a Blu Ray Disk is 50 gigs of storage, I cant see the movie itself taking up that much space. Regardless I need storage. 1 TB drives are roughly 215 bucks so to pull 4 gigs of raid 5 I gotta dump a cool grand on just drives. But in return at least i'll have a reason to get rid of the stacks of DVD binders i have laying around.

The box will need an HD quality video card, with HDMI output which I have done zero research into I also have to figure out how to get the sound from the video in through the video card and out the HDMI cable (since HDMI is just dvi with sound right? or is that VGA with sound, i cant remember). Anyway. Then i have to probably get a HDMI switch for my main tv it only has 2 HDMI inputs and one carries my XBOX and the other the Fios TV. I know the wife is going to end up getting her PS3 one of these days so i might need at least a 2 port switch.

The only crap thing with KnoppMyth is that you have to have an independent computer at each TV's location an input for the ethernet to get the video and sound and a HDMI/DVI output to push the video to the TV. But all my TV's have ethernet inputs, cant i just run it right into the network? I'll have to check into this one. If not I can score one of those micro linux computers that fit into at box the size of a electrical wall socket.

I'll keep all 6 of you that read this blog in the loop on how she gets built out.

Submit Article

6241 Views - View Comments (0)