DIY multimedia. How to create a home media center: programs and devices

That's all, now in our system one remote control controls only MediaPortal and the TV, and the keyboard and mouse are used in other programs.

There is actually one more small detail that has irritated me for a long time. When I was working at the monitor, the mouse cursor kept trying to get out onto the TV and this was very annoying. Unfortunately, Windows is terrible at managing multiple monitors, and standard means nothing could be done. So I asked a friend to write a small program that would limit the cursor to one screen, which he soon did, for which I thank him. True, later I discovered a wonderful project - . It not only has a program with which you can limit the cursor, but also several others that make working with two monitors much easier. For example, the DisMon program will allow you to run games on a second monitor (in our case, a TV), even those in which this feature is not provided by the developers.
Well, along the way, we solved another problem - launching games on any of the installed screens. If you don’t like the DisMon program for some reason, you can use another one - UltraMon, but keep in mind that this program is not free.

It is worth noting that when playing on a TV, you also need to somehow switch the sound to it; this can be solved by selecting the HDMI output as the default sound device before starting the game. In order not to spend a long time crawling through the system settings each time, you can use a wonderful program that allows you to do this with one click of the mouse on a shortcut.

There is nothing special to describe with television. Insert the DVB card, install the drivers, configure it in the MediaPortal server. There are of course a lot of subtleties and pitfalls, but if you talk about it, you’ll have to write a separate article.

Finally, I will describe my home system to you for clarity.

The first room contains one of the personal computers.

Configuration:

Motherboard: Asus F1A75-V Pro
Processor: AMD A4-3300 APU with Radeon HD Graphics (2500 MHz)
Video adapter (integrated): AMD Radeon HD 6410D (512 MB)
RAM: 3 GB
Disk drive: Western Digital 1 TB and 750 GB
Power supply: 350 W
Monitor: Samsung 19"
TV: LG 32"
Operating system: Windows 7 x32

His tasks:

Act as a personal computer in the first room. Surfing, watching movies, internet videos, music, etc.
To carry out this task, a monitor, keyboard, mouse and sound speakers are located in the first room next to the system unit.
Serve as a media center in the second room. Watching movies, TV series, TV programs, as well as communicating via Skype.
For this purpose, in the second room there is a TV and a remote control receiver, as well as a webcam. The TV is connected with a fifteen-meter HDMI cable that runs through the entire apartment, and the cable is the cheapest, even without ferrite rings. Remote control receiver and camera are connected USB cables. Two passive cables of five meters each are connected together (I couldn’t find ten meters). It is worth noting that the Microsoft Remote Control receiver has a five-meter cable.
Responsible for reception satellite television and subsequent broadcasting of streams to clients using running server MediaPortal.
The signal from the satellite is received by two DVB cards, to which cables from one satellite dish are connected.
This computer also serves as a media storage and torrent downloader. It works around the clock, non-stop.

The third room contains another personal computer.

Configuration:

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-770TA-UD3
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) II X3 445 (3200 MHz)
Video adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti (1024 MB)
RAM: 6 GB
Disk drive: Western Digital 640 GB
CPU cooler: Scythe Ninja Mini (no fan)
Input devices: Keyboard, Mouse, remote control
Power supply: 450 W
Monitor: Asus 24"
TV: LG 32"
Operating system: Windows 7 x64

Tasks:

Act as a personal computer in the third room.
Next to the system unit there are a monitor, keyboard, mouse and sound speakers.
At the same time serve as a media center for watching videos from YouTube and Vimeo, films and TV series.
To do this, in the same room there is a TV connected by a five-meter HDMI cable and a remote control receiver.
The computer is also actively used as a gaming platform.
If the game is conveniently controlled with a gamepad, then I play on the TV while lying on the couch, if with a keyboard and mouse, then I play while sitting at the table in front of the monitor. If, for example, someone is watching a movie on TV, and I’m playing at the same time, then instead of speakers I use headphones so as not to interfere with each other.
If you want, you can watch TV or record programs.
The MediaPortal server running on the first computer is responsible for this; the second computer connects to it as a client via home network. By the way, at home I have a 100 megabit network and this is enough to watch not only SD, but also HD movies.

And this results in two full-fledged workplaces located in the first and third rooms, plus two full-fledged home theaters located in the second and third rooms. Soon we plan to buy another small computer like Nettop-nT-330i and a TV for the kitchen, but it will work exclusively as an HTPC. The MediaPortal server supports as many clients as you like, so you can also watch satellite TV in the kitchen.

And finally, the pros and cons of such a system.

Pros:

Does not require significant costs. Of course, if you already have a personal computer at home, designed not only for work, but also for games and entertainment. A TV is also not a purchase, since it is obvious that it is necessary for any HTPC. In fact, if you have at home gaming computer, you will only need to buy a remote control.
The system is universal and scalable. By purchasing one computer, you get a lot of possibilities. If you want to improve it somehow, then it will be easy to do, and you won’t need to change the entire device.
Omnivorous. That is, this HTPC will play almost any video and audio format.

Minuses:

I would consider the “reliability” of the system to be a disadvantage. It's worth explaining here. If it is assumed that people who do not understand the intricacies of its operation will work on a personal computer, then minor problems will inevitably arise. Moreover, if they use MediaPortal exclusively (watch movies, TV and series on the TV), then there will be no problems. Here, of course, everything is decided by proper Windows settings, antiviruses and, of course, backups.
I also recommend using only proven hardware. For example, I started having problems only after I upgraded my “server” to new platform from AMD. The previous system on their 785G chipset worked stably. What was I thinking when I started the upgrade...
Also, the disadvantages include non-trivial system setup. If installing MediaPortal is quite an easy task that any user can handle, then setting up codecs, a remote control and especially a TV server may be an obstacle for some. Especially after it stopped working a while ago

After studying the market situation, I realized that there is no this moment truly universal and relatively inexpensive devices that allow you to watch most of the variety of codecs and video containers high resolution, which is actively walking around the Internet.

With Blu-ray and HD DVD, in general, everything is clear - players have already appeared, are on sale and are quite actively falling in price. However, even if inexpensive universal players appear in the near future, this will not really solve the problem, if only due to the fact that in the country Blu-ray discs and HD DVDs will not appear in more or less mass quantities any time soon - in a year, not earlier. At the moment, we have officially released only about five Blu-ray discs (I have never seen HD DVDs), they are sold for wild money of 50-70 dollars (in the West they cost about 25 dollars and there is already a very large selection there), and in in their right mind, people would only spend that kind of money on “Casino Royale” - after all, it’s a spectacular movie, or on “Spider-Man 3” (out of great boredom), because they would buy the same film “Closer” on Blu-ray ", which, due to its intimacy, looks the same on Blu-ray, on DVD, or even on the fish-eye of a kitchen TV - it’s just stupid.

However, the Network exists to open up to wide-channel users (what a wonderful word) various interesting opportunities. There are now a large number of high-definition films (from 720p to 1080p) downloaded from original Western Blu-ray and HD DVDs floating around in torrents, and you want to watch them on something, and not on a monitor screen, but on a panel, through a projector, and so on .

There are two ways out.

The first is to purchase some kind of special device. However, inexpensive devices are crooked and not universal; expensive ones (from $700 and up) are more universal, but also quite crooked. I considered several similar options - from Dune Ultra to TViX-HD, but somehow I didn’t want to spend under $1000 (or more) for devices whose versatility and flexibility are in great doubt. And then I looked at my second home computer, which was assembled for various auxiliary tasks using half of old components, and I thought why not try to make do little blood and see what comes of it.

As a result, I conducted an experiment - turned old computer to the media center and tried to use it in this capacity. Typically, everything worked out, so now I’ll report on what exactly was used and how.

Just in case, I’ll immediately emphasize: I was not faced with the task of purchasing components most suitable for a universal media center and assembling the corresponding unit from them. The guys from THG solved this problem and wrote a very informative article about it "Building a multimedia PC (HTPC) for Blu-ray, HD-DVD and HDTV". I just took an old computer, modernized it very slightly, installed the appropriate software and saw what would happen. Well, here's what happened...

So, for these purposes I had a computer with the following configuration:

"mother" ASUS P5GD1 Pro;
processor - single-core Intel P4 3 GHz;
memory - 2 gig;
video - NVidia GeForce 8500 GT 128 MB ;
screw - 300 gig Seagate Barracuda SATA.

The “mother” with the processor and memory are left over from the old working machine, and they are already about three years old. I recently bought a video card and hard drive. The body of the machine was good - Ascot 6AR6-F/420, but I decided to change it, because such a body is clearly inconvenient to install in a rack with equipment. I needed something desktop and, if possible, inexpensive - it’s clear that there are special solutions like SilverStone GRANDIA, but they cost around 7.5 thousand, which was clearly a bit steep.

Nothing special at all, but:

looks decent and can be positioned vertically and horizontally;
it can accommodate a full-size ATX motherboard (many analogues only install microATX, which was not suitable for me);
has two coolers, one of which is switched on automatically based on the set temperature inside the case;
has a liquid crystal display that shows the temperature inside the case, the operation of the hard drive, and warning numbers light up when certain temperatures are exceeded;
two bays for hard drives in different compartments of the case;
two DVD bays;
good 400 W power supply.

With a 350-watt power supply, this case cost about 1800 rubles, with a 400-watt one - a little more than 2000 rubles. In my opinion, quite decent.

True, I was a little worried about installing a full-size motherboard into it - I had to first disassemble absolutely everything inside. However, with microATX such stress can be avoided, and I spent about twenty minutes on all this - also, in general, not so much.

An assembled computer in a rack with equipment looks like this:

I won’t say it’s worth a million dollars, but it’s quite decent, and my task was to make the most economical option.

Remote Control

Remote control with IrDA block from WMC

This is what I used, although in fact any Universal remote with an IrDA receiver - for example, like this:

Such devices cost around 1000 rubles. The Microsoft remote didn't even require drivers - all players and media centers that can work with external remotes used it without problems.

Media center

To effectively control your computer from the remote control, you need an appropriate media center program. There was such a thing in the already mentioned Windows Media Center, and a similar system is available in Vista. However, installing outdated Windows Media Center (I had licensed disk from 2005) I didn’t want to, and I didn’t want to use Vista for these tasks either (especially since I don’t have a second licensed Vista). So I put regular Windows XP and began to look for a suitable media center.

It turned out that the media center is not a problem. The eighth Nero has a similar media center (Nero Home), and other packages also have similar programs.

However, they suggested to me an even more convenient, and most importantly, completely free program called MediaPortal.

The installer weighs 27 megabytes, and after installation it is quite flexibly configured. It easily understands all audio and video codecs installed in the system, and you can either select them in a separate configuration program or change them inside the media center itself.

The interface of the media portal is simple and convenient. You can select any type of media files - DVD, pictures, music, video, TV, after which you go to the appropriate folders and select what you will play:

All this is perfectly controlled by the remote control, the video player is quite convenient and allows you to change various parameters: display mode, subtitles, audio track, bookmarks and so on.

In addition, while watching, you can not only speed up playback forward and backward, but also, which is very valuable, jump forward and backward by a specified number of minutes or seconds (the range bar is set in the configuration), and this works without any problems on any containers and codecs.

This is very, very convenient, because, for example, the same Dune One rewinds HD movies absolutely disgustingly, or rather, practically does not rewind them, and if you accidentally press the Stop button on the remote control (which is no wonder with their remote control), then the movie It turns out that it’s at the very beginning and it’s easier to hang yourself here, because skipping, for example, until the middle is completely unrealistic. They say that some other players that play HD video also have such problems.

With a computer player, and especially a media center, you are deprived of these problems - it is instantly positioned where you need it.

Codecs

If, if you have a media center, you generally don’t need to look for some kind of software player, then quite a lot depends on the codecs installed in the system, especially when playing 1080p video encoded with all sorts of exotic codecs.

I studied this issue for quite a long time, downloaded and installed a variety of codecs and codec kits. As a result, I settled on the following option.

2. If you are not installing K-Lite Codec Pack Standard, and, for example, K-Lite Codec Pack Basic, then you will also need Haali MatroskaSplitter (download) - support for the most popular Matroska container on the Internet and other containers:

MP4,
AVI,
OGG/OGM,
MPEGTS.

After installing MatroskaSplitter (now called MediaSplitter, because it supports not only Matroska), any players in the system will play MKV and other containers - provided, of course, the appropriate codecs are available, but almost all of them are included in the K-Lite Codec Pack. For example, after installing the K-Lite Codec Pack and Matroska Splitter, even the most standard Windows Media Player I played MKV movies made with the H.264 or VC-1 codec without any problems or stutters. The same applies to the player built into MediaPortal.

If you install exactlyK-Lite Codec Pack Standard or Full , then you don’t have to install MatroskaSplitter separately, this program is included in the codec package.

3. The third codec, in general, is not required, and, unlike previous programs, it is not free, however Current Package considered optimal for playing movies encoded with the H.264 codec and packaged in MKV (Matroska). Not even very good with him powerful computers managed to avoid brakes and jerks during playback, so I purchased and installed this particular onecodec for H.264 playback is CoreAVC.

So, in theory, one free K-Lite Codec Pack Standard should be enough for you. Well, if some codecs slow down during playback, then you will have to start optimizing the codecs and players (for example, there is a Crystal Player, which, as they write on the forums, saves many problematic situations). However, on my computer configuration, nothing else was needed -K-Lite Codec Pack Standard, CoreAVC and MediaPortal.

Iron

Well, the last thing we need to talk about is bringing all this splendor to the home theater. With video, the situation is resolved, in general, simply. If you have a modern LCD TV, plasma panel or projector (in my case we are talking about a projector), then they should have an HDMI input. A DVI-HDMI adapter costs 200 rubles and can be purchased at any store. I also saw DVI-HDMI wires - especially for such cases.

The situation with sound was also resolved quite simply. My motherboard has 5.1 audio installed (it has been included in many motherboards for several years), and the outputs include optical and coaxial S/PDIF. I bought a regular S/PDIF coaxial cable and connected the computer's audio output to a similar input on the receiver. In the case of TVs and panels, purely theoretically, it is possible to display ordinary stereo sound on them, but what the hell do you need with ordinary stereo sound when playing high-definition video? And the sound is output to the receiver via S/PDIF, that’s all.

The only thing is that, of course, a maximum of DD/DTS will be available and you will be deprived of the delights of 5.1 PCM HD sound. However, for my purposes this is not a problem - usually in HD films distributed via the Internet, there is a regular DD or DTS track.

Also, this option does not solve the problem of playing Blu-ray and HD DVD discs.

However, as I already said, you can start thinking about Blu-ray and HD DVD no earlier than in a year, and even in this case for this kit you will need to install a universal Blu-ray and HD DVD drive, as well as change the video card to something like ATI HD 2600 XT/Pro - this will solve the problem with HD sound and HDCP (encrypted content) support.

In this case, these problems are not yet a concern, so the computer is simply placed in a rack, connected to the projector’s HDMI cable via an adapter, connected to the receiver via an S/PDIF cable, and off you go - watch movies in high definition.

I've been chasing this joy for three days now - the flight is quite normal. The only thing missing is the ability to turn on the computer from the remote control (I’ll have to dig into the BIOS - maybe it still supports wake-up via USB), but this is not a problem - I’m not too lazy to press the button.

Yes, it is connected to the local home network via a regular WiFi adapter that plugs into USB (I did not have Ethernet connected to the rack). The transfer speed is about 2 megabytes per second. This is clearly not enough for playing HD video from other computers, but I only use the network to upload new movies to the media center disk - in this case, this speed is quite enough. In addition, if necessary, you can connect some external screw to the media center via USB - and download movies at a noticeably higher speed (usually about 40 megabytes per second).

In general, the experiment, I think, was a success. The task was to assemble a multimedia computer with “little effort” from virtually unnecessary components - that’s how it was all done. You only had to purchase a housing, a DVI-HDMI adapter and an S/PDIF cable (in your case, you will also need to buy a universal remote control with an IrDA sensor).

The computer has turned into a universal media center and now plays both DVDs and any media content from the Internet (and I still don’t use it for playing and recording television and satellite programs, since I simply don’t need it). Taking into account the use of some old components, this pleasure was quite inexpensive, and in terms of versatility, compatibility, customizability and customizability, such a kit is noticeably superior to any ready-made solutions, which usually only start at $700.

Of course, a personal computer or laptop is the most universal tool for working with media content. The ability to install any codecs and use any players attracts many users. However, from the point of view of convenience, in addition to single viewing, there are certain complaints about this solution. First, you need to ensure that the device is connected to a widescreen TV and/or receiver, which can be difficult if they are located remotely. Secondly, you need a remote control and setting up a program or multimedia shell for it. Thirdly, you need to pay attention to the system configuration and software selection. Of course, many users successfully cope with these tasks, but all this takes time and experience.

An alternative to this approach are ready-made network media players. After them minimum settings the user gets the opportunity to comfortably work with video, music, photos, online services and broadcasts on a large screen over the network - using the media library on a PC or network drive. Moreover, the cost of the solution can be significantly lower than the simplest computer.

A couple more options worth mentioning are watching videos through modern gaming consoles and players built into TVs - but today we will not talk about them in detail.

Let us list in the table the comparative advantages of modern media players and computers for solving the problem.

Currently, there are many models of media players on the market, differing both in capabilities and cost. In general, the minimum list of functions looks like this: work over a network and from USB drives, an HDMI output for connecting to a TV or receiver, support for video up to Full HD inclusive, built-in tools for working with online resources. Additionally may be available: built-in storage, optical drive for BD and DVD discs, built-in wireless controller, network storage services, as well as downloading files from p2p networks, the ability to install additional software. Detailed Reviews interesting models can be read in the “Multimedia” section of our website.

Today, as an example, we have chosen the C-200 player from the famous Popcorn Hour brand. A year and a half ago, this model was already tested on our website, but since then some changes have been implemented in it, so we’ll tell you a little about the device.

Media player Popcorn Hour C-200

This model belongs to the top class of modern media players. It is designed in a standard rack-mount format and supports all current media content sources. The basis of the device is the Sigma Designs SMP8643 chip, which is capable of playing video in all formats, with the exception of stereo Blu-ray. To connect to audio/video equipment, the player has a wide range of appropriate outputs - from composite video and stereo audio to HDMI 1.3a. An interesting feature of the device is the remote control, which operates via a radio channel. This allows you to freely choose where to install the device. The manufacturer has also provided the ability to control the player via Wi-Fi from mobile devices through special programs for Android and iOS.

In some cases, a fairly large monochrome matrix screen may be useful. With its help, you can, for example, play audio compositions without turning to the TV.

The media can be those connected via USB ports drives, SMB/NFS/DLNA network resources, as well as hard drives and optical drives installed inside the device. The mount for the latter in the modification under consideration allows you to simultaneously use a standard 3.5″ hard drive with quick replacement through a special compartment and a “thin” BD or DVD optical drive. They are connected to two SATA ports of the main processor.

Popcorn Hour C-200 supports big set online services, has the ability to change appearance interface and implementation of advanced network functions.

There is a built-in FastEthernet port for working with a local network. Additionally, you can purchase a proprietary 802.11n wireless controller, which is also installed inside the player. The WMP-ND02 model we used is based on the Ralink RT2880+RT2850 chipset and allows operation at speeds of up to 450 MHz in the 2.4 or 5 GHz bands. Its three antennas are installed through the provided holes in the device body. Support for the not yet very busy 5 GHz band allows this controller to wirelessly view even high-definition video, including BD images. But, of course, the user will also need an appropriate router. Alternatively, compatible USB dongles or Wi-Fi-Ethernet bridges can be used.

Assembling and connecting the player

First, you need to understand the hardware options of the device, in particular the configuration of the drives installed inside the player. The most versatile option would be a BD optical drive and a hard drive. To install the first one you will have to be smart and attentive. A hard drive can be added at any time through the quick-swap bay on the front panel. The disc may already contain files and they will be immediately available through the player menu.

In addition, you need to pay attention to the possibility of installing a USB storage device inside the device. It can be useful for implementing full-fledged operation of the BD menu, as well as operation of additional NMT applications. You can use any 2-4 GB model. The advantage of this option is that the drive will not take up external ports and will be constantly available to the player. It is also possible to connect a hard drive to this connector if you need to increase the volume of your media library and/or have a permanently connected high-capacity drive.

If you purchased an original wireless module, then it also needs to be installed inside the device.

The last point that you need to pay attention to is ensuring a comfortable temperature regime in the Popcorn Hour C-200 case. The manufacturer talks about installing the fan in the place provided for it in the case only if problems arise with the operation of the player or disk. We would recommend doing this if you constantly use the internal 3.5″ hard drive. In testing, when watching HD videos for a long time or downloading torrents, the temperature of the used 1 TB Seagate drive reached 48 degrees.

After these operations, the player body can be closed and installed on the workplace. Many other player models also allow installation of a hard drive inside the device for storing files and implementing additional functions. Very compact devices usually work only with external drives With USB interfaces or eSATA.

In addition to the power cable, at a minimum you need to connect a TV or projector. The most convenient and quality option- via HDMI port. If you need to have multi-channel sound through the receiver, it is connected between the player and the TV, and if the receiver does not have an HDMI port, you can use the digital audio outputs of the player.

Basic player settings

In most cases, after turning on the player and TV, you will see the Popcorn Hour C-200 interface on the latter. If this does not happen, you need to check the settings of the display device and/or change the type of video output of the player via special combinations buttons on the remote control.

The main settings of the player include choosing the interface language, audio/video output parameters and setting network connection parameters. For video, the best option is to use digital output and enabling the option by automatic selection frame rate depending on the parameters of the file being played, if supported by the TV. Setting up audio includes specifying the processing option for audio track formats - output to the receiver in its original form or decoding inside the player and mixing in stereo (“downmix”). The second of them can be useful when installing a player only with a TV without a receiver.

For media players we recommend using wired connection to the network. Only it can guarantee the playback of all high-resolution video options from network resources. This is due to performance - the maximum video bitrate today is about 40 Mbit/s. Cable connection capable of operating at this speed in any case. But the quality wireless communication significantly depends on the state of the air - obstacles, interference and neighboring networks. And not all of these parameters can be controlled by the user. The 802.11g standard with its real speed V ideal conditions about 25 Mbps can only be used on video files up to 15 GB per movie (a very rough estimate). With 802.11n the situation is much better. WITH good equipment it provides speeds of 100 Mbps and above, and the ability to operate in the 5 GHz band further improves the chances of lag-free video playback.

In this regard, the player model in question looks very good - its built-in controller is capable of operating at high speeds and has support for the 5 GHz band.

Joint testing of Popcorn Hour C-200 and WMP-ND02 card with one of the most fast routers- ASUS RT-N66U - showed that at 2.4 GHz in the presence of large quantity other wireless networks on the air, the player is capable of displaying files up to BD, however, while viewing them, freezes and scattered pictures are possible. If you switch the adapter to the 5 GHz band, then there will be no problems - you can view files specially prepared for the test with a bitrate of 50 Mbit/s and higher.

Note that for the convenience of entering wireless network passwords and other text fields, you can connect a regular USB keyboard to the player.

As for setting up IP addresses, in most cases you can use automatic receipt them via DHCP from the router. However, if you plan to work with the device’s own network services, then it is better to configure the router with a fixed assignment of addresses based on the player’s MAC address.

Working with network resources

To view files from USB drives, just select required document in the player browser. But working with network resources will require creating and configuring the latter. However, this is not difficult to do.

Most player models support SMB/CIFS, NFS and DLNA protocols. The first is the standard option for Windows-based networks. The description of the network resource in this case consists of the name (or IP address) of the server, the name of the shared folder on it and the name/password of the user who has access to it.

We have already configured such resources on the network storage device. For convenience, you can program a special user in the drive for access from the player, giving him read (or full) rights to the desired network folders. A similar setup is carried out on the computer - select a folder and provide it with general access, not forgetting about the list of users.

Next, you need to specify these parameters in the player in the “Network Resources” section. Here you will also be able to enter your own resource name for the player. After programming all the links, they will be available from the main menu of the device in the “network” section.

Usage NFS protocol may be useful for those users who have Linux installed on their computers. In addition, it is usually supported in modern network storage devices. For the player model under consideration, NFS does not have significant advantages, however, for less powerful devices it can potentially provide higher speeds (smoothly playable video bitrate).

Let's look at the setup using the Synology network drive as an example. After enabling the NFS server, you must allow access to it from the required IP addresses in the properties of the share. As a result, the parameters for accessing data will consist of the name or IP address of the server and the path to shared resource(it will be shown in the settings window on the network storage). Usernames and passwords are not used in this case. Please note that in some cases you need to use the “NFS TCP” protocol option, which is also supported by the player.

To simplify setup, you can use the built-in network browser - then you only need to enter the resource name and user data.

The third protocol by which the player can receive data from the local network is DLNA (previously known as UPnP AV). It was conceived as a simple way to connect numerous home network devices, including PCs, players, game consoles, cell phones, into a single whole for sharing videos, photos and music. Unfortunately, even today, even with certificates, you can encounter partial incompatibility of devices or lack of support for certain functions.

To implement a DLNA server on a PC, you must use special software (for example) or regular Windows Media Player, which can also perform this function. Server settings are usually minimal - you only need to select the folders in which the media content is located and allow access to a specific player. Unlike standard network protocols described above, files are sorted and searched on the DLNA server not by directories (although this option is usually also provided), but by specially created indexes. For example, for music files this could be information from tags - artist name, album name, year of release. To compile them, the server must spend some time, which must be taken into account when using it. The indexing process, depending on the server and its settings, occurs at the user’s request, according to a schedule, or when new documents appear.

Setting up a server on a network storage device consists only of selecting folders to scan.

The advantage of DLNA, which may be of interest to some models of players with weak processors, is its use for transferring content HTTP protocol, which is “lighter” and allows you to slightly increase the maximum video bitrate available over the network.

DLNA resources are connected automatically in the player. They do not need to be programmed anywhere in advance.

Internet services

Popcorn Hour C-200, like most others, have built-in clients for viewing content from Internet resources such as YouTube, SHOUTcast, flickr and dozens of others. You don't need to make any special settings to work with them. You just need to ensure the player has access to the Internet.

Additional features

In our opinion, the most correct option organizing media viewing on a home network - a network storage device with a library and the required number of simple network players with access to it. This allows you to have a single place for storage and processing, simplifies the setup of players, and they themselves can be compact and quiet, with only a network connection.

But this scenario is not always possible. For example, if there is no network storage, you want to have local media in the player for watching high-bitrate videos or the ability to use it offline or at a party.

In this case, the ability to implement additional functions by the player itself will be useful.

So, on devices of the family you can install special set applications, which will allow you to use it in new scenarios. To store program code, you need to allocate a special partition on one of the local drives. You can use internal USB port, connecting to it a flash drive with a capacity of 2 GB or higher. This will allow you to easily change the hard drive installed in the front bay without worrying about the performance of applications. On the other hand, installing on a hard drive will simplify the use of data on the hard drive for built-in services.

Direct installation of programs is carried out from the “Maintenance” → “NMT Setup Wizard” menu. If the player is connected to the Internet, then it can download all the data necessary for installation on its own.

During installation, new partitions are created on a blank drive - one allocated for applications and one for user files in the remaining space. Please note that by default file system data partition - EXT3, which is not accessible from Windows without special drivers, but you can write files to the disk over the network.

The standard set of applications for this family of NMT players consists of UPnP servers AV, myiHome, FTP, SMB, NFS and clients for downloading torrents and files from Usenet networks.

The first two servers can be useful if the player uses a capacious hard drive with a media library and there are other players on the local network. Using these protocols, other players will be able to access files on this device. You can also use SMB and NFS for this.

FTP and SMB will be useful for reading/writing data to the player's disk from a computer. Unfortunately, the system does not provide any access control to directories - there is a single user account (name - nmt, default password - “1234”, but it can be changed), which has access to all read and write resources. Note that with NMT applications installed, you can change the device’s network name and workgroup name.

The built-in torrent client allows you to download files directly to the player without a PC. This model has two programs installed at once. It is perhaps more convenient to use the second - the well-known transmission utility. Its web interface is available at http://pch-c200:8077 and is password protected. If necessary, you can provide control via the Internet - just configure the router to broadcast port 8077 to the player’s IP address. If the capabilities of the web interface are not enough, the Transmission Remote GUI or transmission-remote-dotnet programs, which can be found on the included CD, will come to the rescue. For efficient downloading and distribution, you also need to open the port of the service itself (default 51413).

When working with additional services Don’t forget that although the processor used in media players does an excellent job of decoding video, when it comes to the functions of a network storage device, autonomous system loading files or other non-core functions, then by modern standards it is relatively weak. No need for speed characteristics: considering what is used Network Controller 100 Mbps, network write speed (SMB protocol) is about 6 MB/s, and read speed is more than 7 MB/s.

As you can see, setting up a network player on your home network is very simple and accessible to everyone. Using this type of equipment will allow you not to waste time setting up your computer and software, but to use it for comfortable viewing favorite series on a widescreen TV in a large company.

The idea of making a home multimedia system has been around for quite some time. The prerequisite for the creation was getting rid of a large system unit and installation on workplaces laptop with a connected monitor. The first implementation option that did not start is a media server from an unused Android smartphone. This idea ran into hardware limitations (weak Wi-Fi module, small amount of built-in memory, slow reading/writing of files via OTG) and software (lack of stable “server” software for Android system). Afterwards, the workplace was reorganized and there was nowhere to put the monitor. Then we could have stopped, disposed of it, taken the monitor to the dacha, connected the TV hanging above the computer to VGA port, and move the window with the movie running on the computer for everyone to see, but a 20", 16:9 format monitor, with a resolution of 1600x900, is preferable to a 15", 4:3 format TV, with a resolution of 1024x768. Having replaced the TV with a monitor, one could have stopped, but the TV was controlled by a remote control and it was used by household members who, with a computer, were like, “Oh, what is this?”

If you are interested in the idea, welcome to cat.

Note:

Initially, the project involved using an old netbook from which the display could be removed. Fortunately, it turned out to have insufficient memory for a multimedia device, only 160 GB, and the laptop has a 500 GB hard drive. It could have been changed hard disks in places, but it didn't seem like the best idea.

For convenience, in addition, it was necessary to purchase an IR receiver with a remote control for the PC. Based on numerous reviews and feedback, I decided on Microsoft MCE Remote. Buying one in Russia, even in Moscow, turned out to be not such an easy task. There were none left for sale anywhere, and where they once were there was a price tag close to 3,000 rubles. Found on eBay required models, from 700 rubles for an IR receiver and remote control, but you would have to wait about a month. In the very first Internet flea market from TV advertising in Moscow, the only option was found, from Lenovo, suspiciously reminiscent of the Philips SRM5100/10 model, due to the lack of a choice of operating modes. Interestingly, the same remote control (without selecting operating modes) is included with ASUS EeeBox PC, but ASUS uses three AAA batteries instead of two. The price turned out to be quite affordable, 300 rubles. I managed to pick it up on time, snatching it in front of the person who asked to send it from Moscow to St. Petersburg by mail (if you are reading this, a person from St. Petersburg, then please excuse me). My location turned out to be more advantageous; the journey from the house to the seller took 20 minutes. As a surprise, I saw two remote controls, one of which turned out to be unused.

When finishing the hardware, you can add a cool USB hub, because the laptop has only 3 USB ports, one of which is USB 3.0, used to connect flash drives, and you need to connect a printer, scanner, IR receiver and mouse.

Full list of hardware used:

Laptop ASUS K46CM;
Monitor ASUS VE208N;
IR receiver Lenovo eHome OVU430006/01;
Lenovo MCE Remote RC1974511/00;
USB hub CBR CH 165 ;
Logitech M185 mouse;
Router D-Link DIR-615.

Software implementation

Installed on a laptop operating system- Windows 8.1 with WMC, which makes me think of using it as Windows shell Media Center, but WMC is not omnivorous; The interface also seemed overloaded. Without thinking for a long time, I chose XBMC, since the name was well-known and I had tried to install it before, but then I couldn’t figure out how to use the media center.
XBMC is free, open source, and cross-platform.

We install XBMC. After installation, the remote control is immediately supported, but the launch is performed on the main screen of the laptop. The standard interface language is English. We do the initial setup.

To change the language go to:

System > Appearance > International > Language

To output to a second monitor:

System > System > Video Output > Display Mode > select Full Screen #2

The disadvantages of standard remote control control immediately become visible:

If the XBMC window is not in focus, then XBMC cannot be controlled;
If the XBMC window is not in focus, control is transferred to Windows;
You cannot launch XBMC from the remote;
Insufficient control settings, for example, you cannot call the context menu;
Impossible self-configuration remote control buttons to call an event in the player.

Also, a solution is needed on how to control the monitor on/off from the remote control, with simultaneous switching on XBMC.

The point of departure for the search was the article “How to make a “two in one” from a home computer - home theater + personal computer”, which uses MediaPortal, which contains standard setting Require focus. To solve the problem of transferring control to Windows, the author manually edited the registry.

In the process it was found how possible without third party programs Assign the launch of the application to the green button on the remote control with the Windows icon. The point is that we set up quick start program to any key combination, and add the code for this key combination to the green button. You can read more in the topic “Reassigning MSRemote buttons and starting XBMC with the “GREEN” button” on XBMC Russia.

Another search led to two articles on how to completely (without a blinking diode) turn off the monitor using software methods. Articles on Habré, for different OS:

Run EventGhost as administrator. Let's add a plugin for managing XBMC.

Configuration > Add Plugin… > from Program folders Control select XBMC2

From the plugin settings, it is clear that, by intercepting the signal from the remote control buttons, EventGhost sends a command to XBMC. Therefore, let's go to the XBMC settings.

System > Settings > Services > Remote control> check the box Allow programs on this system to manage XBMC

Next, we finish setting up the XBCM2 plugin and in the EventGhost window, we create a folder with the same name as the plugin. The folder and subfolders list control commands that can be passed to XBMC. I set up a folder /XBMC2/Buttons/Remote/. It contains macros for buttons that may be on the remote control. To assign a remote control button to execute a macro, you need to drag an event onto the macro. An event is dragged from the program log, and it appears in the log after pressing a button on the remote control, or even when something happens in the system. Thus, we click the buttons and assign them to the desired event.

All that remains is to find the following:

Launch XBMC from the remote control;
Switching display modes from the remote control.

Switching display modes, which will ultimately look like turning the monitor on/off, is most logical by setting the On/Off button on the remote control. This can also be linked to the startup/shutdown of XBMC, since XBMC will not need to be output to the laptop's main display.

To automate switching screen modes, let's create two *. bat file A:

Taskkill /im XBMC.exe %windir%\System32\DisplaySwitch.exe /internal
To switch to a computer where we first terminate the XBMC.exe process so that XBMC does not jump to the built-in display.

%windir%\System32\DisplaySwitch.exe /extend
To switch to advanced mode.

Let's create our own macro:

Configuration > Add Macro... > Window > Find a window > select XBMC

This event will check whether XBMC is open on our system. To enable a macro in the Find a windows setting, there should be a checkbox at the top called Stop macro if target is found (if we have an XBMC window running, it does not need to be turned on again).

The regular tool from EventGhost, called Start Application, does not have the ability to run *.bat files, so you need to add Python script execution to the created macro. Let's select the macro we created and proceed further:

Configuration > Add Action… > EventGhost > Python Script

The contents of the script to turn on the monitor and start XBMC are as follows:

Import os import time os.system("C:\Media.bat") time.sleep(2) os.startfile(r"C:\Program Files (x86)\XBMC\XBMC.exe")
Those. we launch the *.bat file, wait 2 seconds for the display mode to switch so that XBMC starts on the second screen and launch XBMC.exe

In the image and likeness of the previous macro, we create a new one to turn off external monitor and XBMC
In Find a window you need to check the box Stop macro if target is not found, and the Python Script to turn it off:

Import os os.system("C:\Computer.bat")
In both created macros you need to move the event that occurs when you press the On/Off button on the remote control.

Using command line scripts has a small drawback: when the script is executed, the cmd window blinks. You can avoid this by writing a program that executes the script code on your behalf.

As a result, we should get something like this view of the EventGhost window:

When using the functionality created by EventGhost, a problem arose that XBMC starts out of focus and the taskbar is always lit on top of the media center.

Because of this, I made the window move ahead of all others using the familiar Find function a window, with a check mark Stop macro if target is not found. I hung a green “Start” button on this on the remote control, together with going to the main menu, when controlling XBMC. I won’t go into detail about creating the macro; I’m attaching a screenshot:

On the colored buttons of the remote control, in the bottom row, I hung the following events:

The result is the final EventGhost configuration:

Let's save:

To configure the system, all that remains is to automate the launch of EventGhost at system startup. The only solution that worked was to enable the built-in Administrator account and run the cmd script from startup.

Lusrmgr.msc

Users > right click Go to Administrator > uncheck Disable account

Any text editor, which can be saved in DOS-866 encoding, create a *.bat file with the following content:

Runas /savecred /user:Administrator "C:\Program Files (x86)\EventGhost\EventGhost.exe -h"
That is, run the EventGhost program, saving the password, as an administrator, with the -h switch (run to tray). Be sure to save in DOS-866 if you did not change the encoding on the command line.

Turn off EventGhost, run the resulting script, enter the password.
Place the script in startup:

Shell:Startup
The way will open C:\Users\%user%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup, into which we will move the resulting script. When %user% logs in, EventGhost is automatically launched with full rights. When using other startup methods, full access was not transmitted, including through the Task Scheduler.

Now turning on the computer will greet us with a blinking command line window, which will notify us that EventGhost has started.

In terms of startup, IR Server Suite would be better, since it starts as Windows service, but I didn’t really want to deal with its settings when EventGhost started working for me.

For more complete remote control from the remote control, you need to make some Windows settings in the power options:

%power plan% > Require password on wakeup > No;
USB Settings > Temporarily disable USB port option > Disabled;
Power buttons and lid > Close lid action > No action required;
Power Buttons and Cover > Power Button Action > Sleep.

We reboot the computer (using the button from the remote control, of course), check the operation of everything that we have configured and configure XBMC to our liking. For example, I included full support UPnP so that you can access your home media library from your smartphone or, conversely, run a media file from your smartphone in XBMC.

System > Services > UPnP > put a dot next to each menu item

Let's add the promised IPTV.
First, let's download the PVR IPTV Simple plugin for XBMC. GitHub page, download (Google Docs).

Install the add-on in XBMC:

System > Add-ons > Install from ZIP file > select the path to the downloaded *.zip file

Let's turn on the TV:

System > TV > General > set the dot to On.

Let's follow the installation instructions:

System > TV > General > Clear PVR database

Let's set up IPTV channels:

System > Add-ons > Included add-ons > PVR IPTV Simple Client > Configure

Specify the path to the *.m3u file. If you have a reliable online TV provider, then you can also specify the path to *.epg, which is the TV program, then you will add additional convenient functionality.
The required *.m3u format is as follows:

#EXTM3U tvg-shift=3 #EXTINF:-1 tvg-id="id1" tvg-name="Channel_1" tvg-logo="logo1" group-title="Group 1",Channel 1 http://STREAMURL #EXTINF:-1 tvg-id="id2" tvg-name="Channel_2" tvg-logo="logo2" group-title="Group 2",Channel 2 udp://STREAMURL ... !}
Although I also had this plugin:

#EXTM3U #EXTINF:0,Europa Plus TV rtmp://europaplus.cdnvideo.ru/europaplus-live/mp4:eptv_main.sdp ...
The main thing is to save the *.m3u file in UTF-8 encoding in order to correctly display Russian names of TV channels.

We assign any convenient button on the remote control to open TV channels in EventGhost (XBMC2 > Buttons > Remote > Live TV) and by clicking on it a list of available TV channels will open.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to configure stream recording, which apparently is not supported by the plugin, since the record button is not active, unlike the other buttons.

Full list of software used: Add tags

Another option is to buy a media player instead of a computer. Them in Lately There are a sufficient number with rich functionality. There are even almost computers with the ability to work over a network, with the Internet... A media player usually has many different connectors and is easy to connect to any TV.

Even simpler - many new TV models can play files from flash drives and external hard drives. But TVs and media players will not be able to play absolutely all formats, they still need to be updated, and the functionality is not always enough, and...
And in general - a small media player box or a flash drive sticking out on the side of the TV - somehow everything is not solid, or something. I'm a preservative. For me, the equipment must be beautiful, stand in a rack above the amplifier (maybe along with a turntable and cassette deck) and... must be 430 mm wide. (many here will laugh at me, well, laugh ;-)

So, the decision was made, I will make a computer!
And I went in search of the building. There are many different HTPC cases on the Internet, and there are many correct cases in this world...
If you search on the Internet or come to your nearest store and ask about the prices of HTPC cases, I think you will be surprised at their “cheap” prices. A small mATX case with a 270W power supply costs about 3,000 rubles, which is 2-3 times more expensive than a regular MidiTower with a 350W power supply. But it’s still inexpensive, “usually” prices start at 5-6 thousand. I didn't want to pay that kind of money for the case...
But most importantly, it is very difficult to find a case with a depth of less than 340mm, and if you can find it, you will definitely not be happy with the price: SilverStone GD02B-MT approx. 16,000 rubles!

A budget solution was found - for 1000 rubles via the Internet I bought an old (even working) CD player AKAI CD-37...

And... I stuffed all the computer hardware there...

A detailed report on how this happened is in the next part.

A lyrical digression or about connecting a computer to a TV...

Warning! Connect and disconnect the cable after first unplugging the TV and computer from the outlet!!! There may be dangerous voltage between the TV and computer cases! You can measure it with a tester... This is the specificity of ungrounded pulse sources power supply, and even on the “ground” of the cable collective antenna unknown what...
Let's start from the stove. There is a TV with a regular video input - the so-called “bells” that we all used to connect video cameras and then DVD players. If the computer’s video card had a TV-out video output, then you could connect a TV and everything seemed to be fine. At least for watching DVDs and DVD-Rips.

BUT! Video card manufacturers and programmers did not make this solution correct. Why? Yes, because the video signal is for TV PAL standard must have 625 lines per frame, of which 576 are informational, which actually contain the image. And the frame rate is 25 per second (or rather 50 fields per second, but this is not so important in this case). Since the aspect ratio of the TV was 4:3, it is not difficult to calculate that the screen size in “pixels” of a regular TV is 768x576! Therefore, in order to get GOOD image, you need to set the same screen resolution on your computer. But there is no such thing! There are 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, etc. And the video input only works in these three resolutions, scaling them to 768x576! (even if you force the desktop resolution to 768x576 pixels - some driver versions allow this, TV-out will not work in it, I checked it myself various video cards). As a result, the image on the screen can only be called satisfactory when watching videos and in some games; it will not be possible to read text. I don’t understand why this was done, can someone explain? After all, it was possible to display not the entire desktop, but part of it, for example, or active window... It’s nothing other than copy protection, otherwise it’s terrible(!), you can record a protected DVD on a VCR... By the way, ordinary DV PAL cameras shoot in a resolution of 720x576 or 704x576, and for a DVD PAL disc the maximum resolution is also 720x576 (yes, their pixel is not square, just like that... a regular TV doesn’t care - it has an analog kinescope, it will draw a line instead of a dot and everything will be beautiful. But on LCD TVs there will definitely be artifacts from scaling).

But then LCD TVs appeared with an input for a computer. And computers appeared with HDMI output... (only DVD and BlueRay recorders with HDMI INPUT, such as copy protection, will never appear)
And if you are the owner of a Full HD TV with HDMI, you just need to connect the computer and TV with a cable, specify 1920x1080 (1080i standard) or 1280x720 (720p standard) in the video card resolution and enjoy a good picture.

But if you decide to connect your TV via VGA or DVI, then surprises may arise, especially with inexpensive HD Ready TVs. The fact is that most LCD TVs of this standard have a 1366x768 matrix and an aspect ratio of 16:9. (Try dividing 1366 by 16... or 768 by 9... Did you like it?

Why didn't they make the standard 720p 1280x720? Well, if the pixel were a little larger, so what? Nooo, we need to come up with something non-standard.) So, to display a pixel-to-pixel image, you need to set the same resolution on your computer - 1366x768. BUT! Many TVs do not support resolutions greater than 1024x768. As a result - scaling again, curve text again. Or black bars on the right and left.. True, many TVs support a resolution of 1360x768, leaving 3 pixels at the top and bottom as dark stripes.

Anyway, Before purchasing, read the specifications and reviews O specific model on the Internet, or even better, take a laptop and come to the store to check how it will look.