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fw
join:2005-09-18
| reply to DracoFelis
Re: [Need Info] Can this be made into a reality?
Thanks for the lenghty comment, DracoFelis. As you've mentioned, there's lots to consider.
I was going to go with a common TV video out signal (not vga), and I am planning for a video in (for cable/sat box passthrough). Then again, I haven't had the time to research this to see what's available, I'm doing this in my free time.
Most of the people I'm doing this for live in apartments, so combining the signal in the way you mentioned will not always be possible. Although I could combine it right before the TV  I want this box to be an all-in-one (none of any sort of converters).
The idea of using Linux is good, but most of the streams are for Windows Media, are there players in Linux that can handle this?
I also don't want to buy already built PCs from retail stores, but rather start with a small box and cram stuff in. Of course, I'll have to consider overheating and try to limit the fan noise to a minimum.
The more I think about it, the more I get excited about adding the video conferencing feature. Most of these grandpas and grandmas have their grandchildren and relatives living far away, and giving them the ability to see them in the comfort of their own home at any time (when the other party is online) would be great. All it would take is custom fitting a webcam with a mic to the front of the enclosure.
Can you think of any other great features? | |
DracoFelis
Premium
join:2003-06-15
| said by fw  :I was going to go with a common TV video out signal (not vga), and I am planning for a video in (for cable/sat box passthrough). Then again, I haven't had the time to research this to see what's available, I'm doing this in my free time. If all you want to do is feed into a single TV (and you aren't planning to expand this into a setup with DVR abilities), than video/audio into the PC is an expense you can skip. Instead, you can bring both cable and video signals to the TV by ANY of the following means (take your pick, depending upon the TV):
1) If the TV has a free (not used by say a DVD player) set of video/audio inputs, just hook up the PC's output to those inputs on the TV (and hook the cable up to the cable jack of the TV). With almost all TVs on the market, this will allow you to choose between your "video" source, and any cable TV channels, from the TVs remote. So you can just leave things hooked up all the time, and the user would just see the PC's output as another "channel" on that TV. And remember, a lot of TVs these days have TWO sets of external inputs (either of which can be selected from the TVs remote, so you can hook stuff up to both sets), one set of jacks on the front of the TV and a second set on the back.
or 2) If the user already has a VCR hooked up to the TV (and yes, I know DVD players have made VCRs less common then they used to be), odds are good that the VCR has one or more free sets of video/audio inputs. So you could just hook up the PC to the VCR, and let the user tune the PC via the VCR (which again, just requires the cables to hook things up). And in theory, you might even be able to make VCR recording of the streaming programs on your PC. However, since this option is taking advantage of the VCR's tuner to watch the PC programs, you would lose the ability to watch the PC (on the TV) during those times you were recording some other program on the VCR.
or 3) If all of your TV's inputs are "maxed out", it's still easy to get a manual video/audio switch box (many of these boxes are under $20 retail), and hook that box up to the TV. The user would then have to get up and flip a switch (on the box) when they wanted to change video/audio sources (for example when switching between their DVD player, and their media PC), so there is a minor hassle with this option. But those switch boxes do allow you to easily pick between video sources without having to swap cables each time you want to change what you are viewing. Instead, you just have to press the proper button (on the manual selector box) to choose which video device is currently feeding into the TV.
said by fw :The idea of using Linux is good, but most of the streams are for Windows Media, are there players in Linux that can handle this? Not sure. You will have to do your own research in this area, I'm afraid.
At the time I setup the Linux box (for streaming), Windows Media streams were NOT supported in Linux (but thankfully the religious site the lady was interested in did support some formats other than just WMP, so Linux was an option due to those other formats supported by the web site). And even if (as I seem to recall hearing) there is now Linux software to support some "Windows Media" content (via "reverse engineering" of the MicroSoft CODECs), it's almost certain that any "Windows Media" content that uses DRM (content lockdown/restriction) features wouldn't have been licensed for use on Linux platforms. So even if some WMP formats are now supported under Linux, its almost certain that the DRM restricted versions are NOT supported.
said by fw :I also don't want to buy already built PCs from retail stores, but rather start with a small box and cram stuff in. Of course, I'll have to consider overheating and try to limit the fan noise to a minimum. In that case, check the web (including that PVR building site) for info on "media PCs" or "home theater PCs" for ideas on what people have actually built. Even if you decide it's not worth it (cost wise) to add DVR (video recording/playback) abilities to your box, you might still benefit by looking over what PCs people built (for playing media), what hardware they used, and how they crammed it into cases that looked like they fit in well with other devices next to a TV...
said by fw :The more I think about it, the more I get excited about adding the video conferencing feature. Should be pretty simple. Just needs a directional microphone (or better yet, a microphone on a headset), a web camera, and the proper software. And that is one area that clearly can be done with Linux based software (as well as easily being done via Windows), so it doesn't matter much which OS you have on the media PC.
And as long as you are going that route, you might as well put VoIP (internet phone) support on the PC as well (check out the »VOIP Tech Chat forum, for loads of info on this topic). Of course, those of us big into VoIP tend to use stand alone VoIP adapters (both for better sound, and ease of use without having to have the PC powered up to "use our phone"), so some of us wouldn't use that feature even if it were present. But for the many people that don't already have dedicated VoIP hardware, they might find it really a nice feature to be able to make cheap (or in some cases free) calls from the "media PC" they are getting anyway...
said by fw :Can you think of any other great features? As I mentioned before, search the web for blogs/articles/etc about "home theater" or "media center" PC setups, as many video enthusiasts have played with this technology. So there are many good ideas out there. | |
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