smal htpc for DVBWORLD PCIE2006

[ghia]

I recently purchased a DVBWORLD PCIE2006 card and attempted to get it working with Windows7 64 bit. I ran into problems with the unsigned driver and could not get the blind scan feature to work. So I decided to build a small W7 32bit pc to connect to a 32" LCD hdtv. I decided to go with the ITX form factor and here is my list of components.

»Thermaltake Element Q VL5000 case with a decent 220 w power supply included
»Zotac IONITX-G-E board which includes an ATOM N330, sata raid, hdmi output and a minipcie and standard pcie expansion slot.( Needed for the DVBWorld card)
»Two 250gb 2.5" Hitachi travelstar 7200rpm sata laptop drives
»A 3.5 inch to dual 2.5 inch bay convertor to mount the laptop drives
»Samsung SH-B083 DB-ROM / DVD writer
»two sticks of Patriot DDR2 800Mhz 5-5-5-12 2gb sticks of ram
»ASUS ATSC usb tuner model U3100MINI (I do not recommend this device)
»one copy of W7 32
» One generic GENIE brand wireless keyboard with built-in trackball.

I am very pleased with the results so far. The DVBWORLD software and drivers installed without issue this time, unlike on W764. Blind scans are fast, memory and processor usage is under control when watching HD content, the video performance is very good. The case still has an empty 3.5" bay and is very quiet. I now have bluray in my office. The case is small and does not take up much room. I was a bit concerned that this equipment would not have enough performance and power for the lnb/motor and hd video content but that is not an issue.

The only bad purchase was the ASUS atsc tuner card, the software included is complete garbage and the tuner on the card is the poorest at locking signal that I have used. I do have it working with Windows Media Center, so it wasn´t a total loss of 35 dollars.

I do not have any picture of it but will try to take a couple tomorrow. It looks similar to PRO96´s Microwave DVB but without the see through panels and much less glowing blue light.

 

[crackt]

im not sure id recommend powering that sg6000 from that itx power supply. otherwise im sure that machine will keep you very satisfied. are you only using the dvbworld software or do you use some other software ?

crackt out,.

 

[ghia]

im not sure id recommend powering that sg6000 from that itx power supply. otherwise im sure that machine will keep you very satisfied. are you only using the dvbworld software or do you use some other software ?

crackt out,.

So far I have only been using the dvbworld software. I have been researching what else to use. Progdvb looks interesting. What would you recommend?

The ITX power supply is doing fine so far. I have it connected via UPS and line conditioner with voltage trim/boost as needed.

 

[concord]

How quiet is the PSU fan? One thing I hate is fan noise from a HTPC.

I went with a picoPSU (150w) and a power brick (110w) on my ITX system. I use it mostly as a PlayOn server and DLNA server. I've thought of getting the DVBWorld USB device, because I assume that the PSU wouldn't be able to drive the PCIe card.

 

[Larry1]

Keep a watch out for how hot it gets. With all that in a small form factor, it can get hot quick. If it is running cool, then you are fine, but if it gets hot it can cause problems fast. Fans can be noisy in a home theatre pc. One way to quiet them down is to use a large, high volume fan and run it at a lower voltage. It should turn slower and create less noise, but still have enough air movement to cool it down. In my desktop, a fan placed in front of my raid drives keeps then very cool. Without the fan, they become too hot to touch. You may not have an issue with heat as it sounds like you have selected low power, which translates to less heat, devices.

 

[ghia]

So far I have not had any issues with heat. I do not notice the noise of the fans. There are only two fans, the one that came with the motherboard and the one inside the power supply. I have this setup in an office which has noise coming from other devices such as a NAS, etc. The noise generated might be more noticeable in a living room.