recommendation for flat vcr-like pc case for building my own tivo

In My Humble Opinion
1

So I’ve got my heart set on building a freevo (open source tivo, based on linux). First step, I need a PC. I’ve got several, but I want one that’s the size and shape of say a Tivo-box or VCR or DVD player. I went to Fry’s (ugh, I hate even saying the name for fear they’ll get an extra customer they won’t deserve), and found tons of towers of various sizes, and a couple of cute cubish enclosures (maybe 6-8 inches per side, but nothing like the form factor I’m after.

Any suggestions? Anyone who’s had experience at building a freevo or other “consumer appliance” from a pc is welcome to chime in with other comments.

Thanks.

2

How about an old Satellite receiver box?

3

Do a Google search for “HTPC” (Home Theatre PC). You should find a few. They tend to be expensive though.

4

Couldn’t you use an old VCR case? It’s already got the infrared window for the remote, and rca and cable jacks. You’d have to fabricate or adapt mounting hardware, but that shouldn’t be too hard. There must be a million of them thrown out every day. Go trash-diving behind repair shop. :smiley:

What’s in there BTW? A motherboard, hard drive, what else? Daughterboard? DVD Writer?

5

I’m planning on buying an Antec Overture case when I save up enough money. Very stylish.

6

I went with a Cooler Master 610 in black. It’s a bit deeper than standard AV components (~18 inches vs. 12 or 16), but fits in nicely with my reciever and DVD player. I think it was about $100.

I did look at miniATX cases (like the cubes or thinner boxes), but the limiting factor was the TV capture card. I have a Hauppauge PVR-250 and it’s fairly tall, so you may need to consider that.

I use MythTV running on RedHat 9, and it seems to work pretty well. I haven’t looked at Freevo lately, though.

7

Philster and NutMagnet, thanks, but I really don’t want to re-invent the wheel; I just need a PC case that’s the right size. Unfortunately, there are a ton of mechanical modifications required in your suggestions.

Thanks very much, scr4, Hodge, and Sparklo for the excellent suggestions; I’m checking them all out.

Sparklo, MythTV is the other one I’m considering. In fact, my intent is to build both and see which I like better, but that’s only because I can’t find anyone who has tried both and get their opinion. Do you have any further advice? What TV card did you choose and why?

Thanks again to all.

8

It seems like Freevo is designed more for watching TV on your computer, while MythTV is more for a stand-alone box. Some key (for me, at least) advantages that MythTV has over Freevo are:
[ul]
[li]can do live TV pause, rewind, and fast-forward[/li][li]automatically flags commercials in recorded programs and can skip on playback[/li][li]has a fairly sophisticated recording system (for dealing with conflicts, duplicate shows, etc.)[/li][li]can support more than one TV capture card; I only have one for now, but am considering adding another for picture-in-picture and to be able to watch one show while recording another (I can watch recorded programs while recording but not live TV)[/li][li]can support a client/server setup, with one computer recording, and another for playback; I’m hoping to set this up soon, possibly using a cheap Xbox for playback on a different TV (unfortunately, I’m set up with wireless networking, and 802.11b isn’t fast enough for video)[/li][/ul]
Here’s my hardware setup:
[ul]
[li]Chaintech 7NIF2 motherboard - has built-in sound and S-video out; not the most Linux friendly board, however[/li][li]Hauppauge WinTV PVR 250 tuner/capture card - uses a hardware encoder, meaning that a less powerful CPU is needed; comes with remote[/li][li]Athlon SP 1800+ processor - inexpensive, but powerful enough to decode video in real time[/li][li]120 GB hard drive - exclusively for video; highest quality recording takes about 2 GB/hour[/li][li]15 GB hard drive - used for operating system and programs[/li][/ul]

9

Thanks very much, Sparklo. Very valuable information.

I picked up a bunch of components on the way to work this morning, and tonight I’ll play. I’m particularly fascinated with your XBox idea, Sparklo. Hauppage makes a stand alone box for $99 that has tv (video/audio) outs and an ethernet in, with the intent that all your content lives on a networked server. The box says it has linux inside, but I’m guessing it’s not very configurable, i.e. that I can’t change the UI or give it extra capabilities. Any thoughts on this?