Want to see what you can do with PVS3 and a Shuttle XPC?

[PBMax]

Welcome to the Snapstream Community. This is a section of our site dedicated to showing the Snapstream community what you can do with your computer and Snapstream PVS 3. If you have some suggestion for new articles please email them to percy@snapstream.com. I plan on regularly updating the site with new articles.

http://www.snapstream.com/Community/

[Equivicus]

Nice but I kinda like mine better without and internal CD-ROM or the dreaded floppy.

[Hosermage]

I see the Shuttle is bundling a "special" version of Snapstream 3.0. Now... what's "special" about it? Is there any place that I can see the difference between the special version and the full 3.0 version? I've been looking to buy a Shuttle XPC for a while, this will definitely push me over the edge!

[Mexmoon]

Neat is being able to take the optical out and feed it into my surround sound processor (Dolby 5.1 - 60w per channel) and display though Panasonic 32" widescreen TV.

How are you guys managing the heat generated by the Shuttle - my main board is currently running at 60 degrees C and that is with an upgraded fan for the box? Most of the heat is coming off the hard drives - may be due to the Radeon feeding off the HD power supply? I have a 3G PIV but I don't dare drop it in with temperatures at this kind of level.

SB51G, 512M RAM, 2x80G HD, PIVb 2.4G
Radeon 9500 Pro, Leadtek Winfast 2000XP Deluxe
Win XP Pro, PVS3 - 25fps 720x480

[festivalman]

well, if they getting it working with a hardware encoder where it's not just a beta feature, maybe i'll grab one.

[PBMax]

I have pretty good air flow after doing some origami on the cables. But at 52% CPU usage (Watching and recording with Snapstream) on a 2.26 Ghz P4 processor I get the temperture to go from 47 C to 53 C. I would have to say that's pretty good.

[Mexmoon]

Thanks - fixed the problem...When installing a new fan into the shuttle you have to put the fan in backwards (i.e. the label on the fan needs to point away from the fanguard not towards it). I was sucking air in over the heatsink and then blowing it back out through the power supply.

Doh!!!

[mpfountz]

Hey guys,

i was getting ready to buy a AMD based xpc. I noticed it has a geforce 4 with tv out built on the motherboard. Is this good enough to meet my snapstream requirements or do i need a seperate video card. Also, i am reading the minimum and reccomended requirements on the site. But does anybody have a real estimate on what kind of hardware you need to run this software without any delay? Will a xp 2400 be enough to run without any jumping?

Matt

[Mexmoon]

The general axiom applies - the more processing power you have the better. I can squeeze 720x540 25fps out of a 2.4Ghz Pentium so you should get reasonable performane out of the AMD spec machine. If you wish to get better quality encoding then you will need hardware accelerated video capture (Hauppauge WinTV PVR-250) which will be fully supported by Snapstream in the near future.

If you are planning to use the XPC in the living room near the TV and noise is a consideration you may wish to wait for Shuttle to release their upcoming Pentium IV-M machines with the Centrino processor. As these processors generate much less heat then there is less need for loud fans (OK- the shuttle doesn't sound like my other desktop but it is still quite noisy). Though with the Centrino I suspect the processor will need the hardware acceleration of the PVR-250 for encoding. I would anticipate that this option would make an interesting PVR machine.

You may also wish to check whether the XPC you are buying has an optical SP-DIF out connector. If you have a surround sound amp with optical input the difference from using the 3.5mm jack audio is quite substantial (most PCs don't have very good on-board D-A conversion). And if you are connecting from the PC to the television remember to invest in good quality cables - these make a difference to the perceived quality of the video. You may also wish to condier a wireless keyboard and mouse (saves cables all over the place) even if you do have a remote control. These little add-ons do push up the cost a little, but are worth it.

Just for reference, I am using an ATI Radeon 9000 in a Shuttle SB51G to power the TV. ATI have a bunch of additional technology built into their card for smoothing TV playback (block smoothing, etc...) this improves the quality and smoothness of playback, though you will need to check other forums to determine whether this provides a substantial improvement over the in-built video card. For starters though using the in-board video and then deciding later whether you want to upgrade is a sensible way to go.

Hope this helps

[twistedmelon]

My system is currently without Snapstream. But I'll likely change that later this summer when I move to my new house and reconnect my satelite equipment.

Current Shuttle system however (heat and all):

XPC SS51G (P4 1.7GHz, 512MB)
DVD-ROM
120GB Maxtor 7200 RPM HD
60 GB Maxtor 7200 RPM HD
ATI All-In-Wonder 9700 Pro (likely to be replaced by the 9800)


Been working like a charm since last November.

Right now it looks like this (this photo is actually courtesy of another Sudhian fourm member with an identcal case setup):



If anyone is interested, I have some extra aluminum face plates I'd be willing to sell. SOme identical to the one pictures, plus a full-size CD opening one (with plate to cover complete drive), plus one slot-load model.

Bruno

[dreamer]

I'm thinking of building my PVR using this:
MSI Mega 651
Anyone ever heard good or bad about this Box?

[bobbysue]

Here's mine. It's working great. Ice-Cube P4-2.53, Win PVR 250, G Force FX 5900 Ultra, 120 Gig WD HD, 512 Meg DDR 333 Ram, Internal Lite-On DVD player, External Sony Dual Format DVD Writer, Logitech Cordless Key board with MX-700 Mouse, connected to Sony Surround Sound System. Will mount black face, green back-lit temp unit where floppy should go. Opted to put a 9in one media reader, but I have plenty of other systems that already have those.

[festivalman]

wow looks great. can you post a url where one could buy that?

[Blind]

I'd get one too! All that matters is PVR250 working with SS

[bobbysue]

Try www.tcwo.com, I bought this one at Comp USA. I am very excited and pleased with this set-up and Snap Stream. The recording are let's say wow! Live TV works great as well.