Media Server NAS

I haven't posted anything in a while - it's not that I haven't had anything to post, just been too busy.

So the first thing I've been messing around with is my little NAS - a D-Link DNS-323, with a single 1TB (for now). It's an awesome little box, nice and quiet (except at bootup when the fan swings into action) with great features. Power consumption is nice and low, and the HDD spins down when not in use so I get some pretty nice 'always-on' features without upsetting Al Gore ;-) There's really good community support as well with loads of other users out there. I really like the funplug stuff - where you can run pretty much a full *nix OS on it and all sorts of add-on applications without much effort at all.

I'm using the Fonz Funplug (FFP), which is as easy to install as dropping the script and a .tgz file and rebooting. Then change the root password, enable the sshd daemon and your away. Check out this list of pre-compiled add-on packages!

One of the primary goals of running the NAS was as a Media Server for my XBox360 in my bedroom. Something to stream TV/movies and Video Podcasts without requiring another PC running all the time. I started out with Twonky - the 30 day trial version and it worked like a charm, with only a few hiccups. One issue I had with it - and many others have experienced the same thing - is while streaming Music it just cuts out. The song time keeps counting but there's no sound. You can skip to the next song and it starts and plays fine for a while, then cuts out again.

So I thought I'd have a look at alternatives before parting with my 30 euros :-} The main app that people have been discussing is uShare. I started by upgrading to FFP 0.5 (delete the old one, reboot, put the new files on, reboot) then I downloaded the pre-built archive mentioned here, extracted it and ran the install script. A quick edit of the /ffp/etc/ushare.conf file to point at my media directories and its up and running.

So far it works great for Videos, Music is still a bit random with it listing all files instead of sorting by Album etc. But I'm looking into a fix. I'm sure someone else has come across the same thing and hopefully knows the resolution.

The other thing I'd like to be able to do is Wake-On-LAN from the DNS-323. So I can VPN in, SSH to the NAS and startup a PC if needed. I'm sure there's other cool things that can be done too, the combination of price and features makes this a really nice little box. Highly recommended.

Xbox 360 Elite and TVersity

In preparation for the arrival of Grand Theft Auto 4 tomorrow night (GPStore is open for pickups at midnight) I bought myself another Xbox 360 - this time an Xbox 360 Elite. I dont really need the 120GB HDD, or particularly prefer black over white - I just want the HDMI connection. I'm installing the Elite in my bedroom, and so the HDMI connection means a single cable going across the wall rather than a much bulkier (and shorter) Xbox HDTV cable. I wish I had an Elite in the lounge instead of my original - the HDMI would mean I could get 1080p on the big TV, as opposed to the 1080i I have to put up with through Component connection.

So I got the new console all up and running, using the USB WiFi connection I already had (went wired on the other Xbox a while back). Got connected to my main PC (via TVersity) and was browsing around the music & videos and then tried the 'Internet Videos' link. Low and behold I found YouTube - sweet!, I thought. Stupidly I never realised that TVersity streams and recodes YouTube content too :-) And it works a charm.
So I had a play around with adding more Internet URLs -Video RSS feeds, and got Tekzilla, Mahalo Daily working, and also added the TWiT audio podcast.

Totally stoked. Even though I knew I'd be able to use the new 360 for DVDs and Streamed Videos I never clocked that I'd be able to use it for Podcasts and YouTube too, so thats definitely a big bonus. Now I only need one more thing to make me truly happy - Region 2 (+4) DVD playback!

I've also got to try and find a Black Xbox 360 controller battery pack somehow - it doesn't look like anyone sells the Black ones in NZ!

New MediaCenter/HTPC Setup

I've been thinking about a new MediaCenter setup for quite a while now, and have been going through the options. What I'm after (at a minimum):

• Small + quiet form factor
• Instant/Very Fast startup
  
• DVD Playback (Region Free)
• DivX/Xvid Playback (Local or over network)
• WiFi Connection (minimum 802.11G, N=even better)
• HDMI output

What I'd like to have (but not critical):

• You Tube Playback (Web Browser/Flash)
  
• DVR/TV Recording Functionality
• BluRay Playback

The options I've come down to:

• XBox 360 Elite (+ TVersity on main PC) = $790
• - No region free DVD
• + Xbox360 Games
  
• Apple Mac Mini = $1850
• - Maybe no region free DVD
• + MacOS Leopard
  
• Custom HTPC Linux-based PC = $1600
• + TV Tuner & PVR capability
  

I also thought about, but discounted lots of others (including Xbox MediaCenter, Playstation3, AppleTV), for one reason or another.

I think either a Mac Mini, or a LinuxMCE box would suit me the best. Mainly because I'd love to have a Mac, just to play with, and I kind of like the idea of trying to setup a really nice Linux box, just to see how well it would work. The custom box is also a good challenge too, as it requires lots of comparison shopping for cases, components etc. My mate Pete suggested it, to see how much I could build one for, originally thinking about $1000, but I think the budget's probably going to get blown out a bit more than that.

So far, on the custom LinuxMCE front, I've got a list of components like this:

• Case + PSU:
• Silverstone ML02B-MXR - $350.56
• or Silverstone LC11M - $291
  
• Motherboard:
• ASUS P5K-VM - $187
  
• CPU:
• Intel Core-2 Duo E4600 2.4GHz Allendale - $218
  
• RAM:
• Corsair XMS2 2GB DDR2-800 RAM - $104
  
• Graphics Card:
• MSI nVidia 8600GTS HDMI - $278
  
• TV Tuner Card:
• Hauppauge HVR4000 HD TV Tuner - $209
  
• IR Receiver + Remote:
• Microsoft Remote + IR Receiver - $56
  
• Hard Disk Drive:
• 500GB SATA2 HDD - $184
  
• DVD Drive:
• SATA DVD Writer - $55
• SATA BluRay Player + DVD Writer - $523
• SATA BluRay + HDDVD Player + DVD Writer - $510
  

Unfortunately that's clocking up to $1641 :-| OK its a better spec than the Mac Mini, but that's still without a keyboard & mouse - not to mention an OS. Could probably save some money on the TV card and/or the case.

MediaCenter nightmare!

I have an Alienware DHS-2 system, which runs Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. Ever since the recent update rollups have started coming out I've had all sorts of stability issues with MCE. I looked at using Vista in February - but it was WAY too early. So recently I thought of moving to a Linux/OpenSource Media Centre/HTPC alternative (like MythTV).

And it's been a nightmare!

I've had all sorts of issues just getting Linux onto the DHS-2.
Fedora Core 5 - Installed, but wouldnt boot (hang at "starting udev")
Fedora Core 4 - Crashed during installation
KnoppMyth - Hung during CDrom boot

So I searched and found a BIOS update. The DHS-2 is based on an Intel D915POM motherboard, so from the Intel website, I downloaded the latest BIOS. Now I have even more problems!

Fedora Core 5 - Wont install, crashes on DVDrom boot. (Kernel Panic)

So I've downloaded the Debian install DVD image, and I'm going to give that a try - but what a drama. I'm going to search everywhere to see if anyone else has got Linux running on a DHS-2 or any other PC with a D915POM motherboard. Why does Windows seem so simple alongside Linux?

Maybe I'll go back to Windows and try out: MediaPortal