[mythtv-users] ATX Desktop case source

[Chris Pinkham]

> I like this black ATX case.  $69 or $99 with sound insulation.
> 
> http://www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Cases/ci6004.asp

Back when I started using computers years and years ago, these were just
regular "desktops".  It's kind of funny that this "low profile" case is
the equivalent of 3 half-height drives tall. :)

Anyway.  If anyone is looking for a low-powered frontend with 1 free PCI
slot, you might want to keep an eye on Surplus Computer's website at:

http://www.softwareandstuff.com/

I picked up a Dell Optiplex GX-100 Celeron 466 for $89.  They are out of
the Celeron 466 model right now but could get more.  They do have a P2-400
version but I'm not sure if it's fast enough for most people's video.

P2-400 version:  http://www.softwareandstuff.com/dsk_delloptigx100400.html
Picture of case: http://www.softwareandstuff.com/media/dsk_delloptiplexgx1.jpg

I painted mine black with some spray-on enamel.  Here's a link to few pictures:

http://www4.infi.net/~cpinkham/tmp/

I do most of my recording at 352x480 right now using mpeg4 but have also
run 352x480 mpeg2 through it as well testing my pvr-250 card.  It should
easily support 480x480 I believe.  I use it as the main frontend in my
living room with a creative IR reciever.  It has 2 PCI slots with one
taken up by the soundcard (which I had thought was built-in to the
motherboard but this particular model didn't have it on the MB).

One caveats I'd have about this are the power, it definitely won't do
720x480 or whatever mpeg2 and probably won't do 640x480.  I may relegate
this machine to some other use if I get a better TV and want to start
recording higher resolutions.

I originally bought the system hoping to use it as a second frontend
with my pvr-250 card as well, but had some problems with that configuration.
I could record shows fine and use LiveTV mode properly if I was recording
to the local hard disk, but when I tried to record saving the file across
the network (my normal mythtv config uses nfs for storage), the ivtv
driver would lock up after a retrieving a few megabytes of data.  I tested
this with both MythTV and "cat /dev/video0 > file.mpg" so the problem
wasn't myth related.  I tried changing around the pvr-250 and soundcard
slots as well as some of the irq settings in the bios but didn't get it
working.  May be a hardware issue or could be some setting I haven't
played with long enough to get right, but thought I'd warn people.

Deinterlacing must be turned off in Myth but since I'm displaying on a TV
via an Aitech Web Cable Plus it isn't an issue for me.

It's fairly silent, definitely much better than the Athlon 700 mini-tower I
did have in the living room.  I'm considering going diskless on it though
which will reduce noise quite a bit.

The main reason I bought it was because of the size and I knew it was
powerful enough to playback my videos.  As you can see in pic #5 on the
page above, the case is smaller than my (currently unused) VCR.  I think
the measurements are 3.5" high, 12" wide, and 14" deep.  Some of the pictures
have a ruler in front of the box to show how small it is.

Just thought I'd give people a heads up in case anyone was looking for
something like this.  I have seen the Celeron 466 version on Ebay and
other places as well in the past so googling might help find one if no
more show up on the website I linked to above.

Chris