The Official "DIY" HTPC movie server integrated into Control4 thread.

[wappinghigh]

This is way complicated.

If you want to spend hours of your time then search the forum, and post away what you are doing or have done.

If you don't want to do this, then you have a couple of options. They *will* be more expensive (because some other kind company has developed a working system, tested it and released it for your enjoyment).

Just remeber, time is money folks. So a paid for solution just may be more appropriate for tech loving but time poor people. It's up to you to work this out

Some excellent options are

Diamond Design's Media Server.

Autonomic Control's Mirage Media Server

Fusion Research Epic movie server

There are probably many others, but that is not the point of this thread. Please keep to the point!

So for those who want to tinker and push the boundaries, this thread is for you.

I don't want to here why your HTPC is better or the parts cheaper than a paid for solution. Of course it may be better (specifically for you)..because you have spent the hours perfecting it for what you want it to do. And the parts may well be cheaper, but what about the time spent?

So this thread is for the enthusiast.

What I want this thread to do is give an opportunity to post what you've done and link to others who are thinking or doing the same.

That way those who want to go down this DIY HTPC route can have the opportunity to put something like this together. Like me. No: I've never actually done it

One last absolute caveat. It MUST be relevant to Control4

I'll start by searching some recent threads and providing links to get the ball rolling

http://www.c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=12575

http://www.c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=12584

http://www.c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=12340

http://www.c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=12207

http://www.c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=10244

http://www.c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=10304

http://www.c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=11587

http://www.c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=12534

http://www.c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=12427

http://www.c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=8701

http://www.c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=7472

http://www.c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=7174

http://www.c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=7713

http://www.c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=7789

Of course there are *many* others..so can someone help me out with further links..?

Post away what you have done folks!! What you are planning.

Thanks for supporting this thread. And Enjoy your Control4 systems and this forum everyone

[janderfu]

Mine is a MacMini with a Drobo for storage. I run XBMC for the playback and it works beautifully with the MacMini driver that comes built into the C4 Database.

[well_armed]

I have built and integrated two HTPC's running a multitude of options. Nothing works better than XBMC, Apple TV, or a combination of both.

[wappinghigh]

Well I would like to build a HTPC server based on a 2009 Mac Pro.

By dream would then be to switch between say Windows and OSX somehow with some sort of IP C4 driver.. (don't ask me how)...

Then run say JRiver with the My Movies EV solution under Windows (or better still a Diamond Design version ), then switch (using the C4 driver) to say the EV itunes driver and an eyetv Control4 driver (if someone would write one)..with everything served up to Control4 somehow...

That's my "Dream" until Apple drops their ridiculous DRM...

Also it's a real pity you can't get a Thunderbolt card for the Mac Pro

Then I read stuff like this, which only confirms my suspicions that Apple doesn't really care about enthusiasts any more.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2405666,00.asp

Weird because isn't their name Apple Computer.

Oh well... "Dream on" I suppose...

[well_armed]

I believe they changed their name to just apple, dropping the computer.

You cannot make all the legacy product owners happy, Microsoft figured this out with Windows 8 (to go forward, you have to shorten the legacy tail).

Mac Pro is not a good HTPC platform, I've tried exactly what you are embarking and it all starts with a frustrating video card.

[wappinghigh]

^ Hi Nitro. Yeh JRiver is super impressive and the fact that it is platform independant is awesome I agree.

In this regard JRiver is like a hi spec'd version of XBMC... Don't worry I've started nagging Alan C for a driver

When it finally moves over to OSX, I just may ditch itunes as my primary music library. Yeh!!!!

But he is a busy man that Alan C...a busy man. We will just have to join the back of the "can my driver be next" queue :cool:

Can I ask a favour Nitro? Would you mind keeping your posts/updates and insightful comments on JRiver under the specific JRiver thread http://www.c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=12427

Thanks for the HTPC case links. BTW still looking forward to all the other specs of your latest HTPC posted here. Motherboards/audiocards etc..Cheers

Wap

[qVAMPIREp]

^Now we're talking! Great stuff

Are you running Hackinstosh?

[pstuart]

My current HTPC / Server NAS Build:

NORCO RPC-450TH 4U Case $230

Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 (no need for i7, don't plan on using hyperthreading, and this one is overclockable) $230

Intel BOXDZ77BH55K LGA 1155 Intel Z77 Motherboard (overclocking friendly, and intel stability) $160

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W Power supply $89

16 gigs of 1600 profile Ram $80

LG Black 10X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal 12X Internal Blu-ray Drive 3D (don't need / want bluray writing or software bundle) $40

Seagate Barracuda ST3000DM001 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" $150 each

NZXT Sentry-2 5.25" Touch Screen Fan Controller $25

Some fans for cooling $15 each

Intel 330 Series Solid-State Drive 180 GB SATA 6 $160 (can go cheaper but this drive will meet WHS minimum sizes)

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler (replace standard fan/heat sink) $25

StarTech.com SuperSpeed USB 3.0 eSATA Hard Drive Docking Station $44

Some extra SATA cables $15

SY-PEX40039 SATA 2 port controllers $17 each

Core system can be built for under $1000 and the extras and drives can put you well over $3k quickly

[qVAMPIREp]

pstuart does this board bitstream bluray hdaudio? One of my biggest confusions right now is how to ensure I get HDAudio out through my HDMI cable to my receiver without the DTS core being extracted.

[wappinghigh]

^Now we're talking! Great stuff

Yeh this is awesome !!

[wappinghigh]

The big advantage with Thunderbolt is that the new optical thunderbolt cables will you to place your devices up to (20M, 30M, and I heard of 40M) So for an HTPC it gives you a more flexible system.

Nitro

Ok!!! This is fantastic... So the idea is to set up a HTPC in a super quite case to keep the noise down. That way it can sit out where the home theatre is. Then run a thunderbolt cable out to a DAS box situated out of ear shot.. This could even be back at the rack. Then it doesn't matter how loud the DAS box or those enterprise drives are...

It also offers movie library expandability. Because the thunderbolt DAS can grow as the movie collection grows.

Now we are talking

[pstuart]

pstuart does this board bitstream bluray hdaudio? One of my biggest confusions right now is how to ensure I get HDAudio out through my HDMI cable to my receiver without the DTS core being extracted.

Yes, use it through my HDMI matrix via HDMI out via the Intel Ivy Bridge chipset, works great with Windows 7 64bit.

[Nitro]

My HTPC was rather easy build. Anyway, here is a great guide on the components to build an HTPC for a Mountain Lion.

I deleted my Build, but you can use this guide. I spent maybe around 2.5 hours, but mine was more of motherboard replacement, cpu, and ram.

I think pstuart said it took him around 20 hours to build his computer. A first time builder might take lot longer, just read the manuals. Take your time on the build.

The biggest amount of time is spent on loading the drivers and rebooting. I used the Asus 8277-V Pro Motherboard, but it is better to download the latest

drivers from Asus's website. My Areca 1280ML RAID card just need new drivers to be added, but that was it. I haven't bought a video card, but I am using

the Intel HD4000 right now. Seems to be fine. I probably update to a new card eventually.

This link is a buyer's guide on the the components to build it.

http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/search/label/CustoMac

A link on someone that has done it. The original poster has his own webpage, but the only thing right now is the audio will have to be USB.

Realize that the motherboard below was released 3 weeks ago, and so was Mountain Lion. I am sure more options in audio will change in the future.

Can you buy a system with mountain lion installed? NO! You can build one though. Your setup will be licensed with Apple.

http://www.tonymacx86.com/mountain-lion-desktop-guides/62127-success-gigabyte-ga-z77x-up5-th-thunderbolt.html

Asus 8277-V Pro Motherboard

http://www.tonymacx86.com/mountain-lion-desktop-support/62883-success-asus-p8z77-v-pro-i5-3570k-intel-hd4000-mountain-lion.html

Guide to install the software for Mac OS X

http://www.tonymacx86.com/61-unibeast-1-5-install-os-x-mountain-lion-any-supported-intel-based-pc.html

New Version coming soon..The guides was written for Lion, but there is a new version coming out for mountain lion.

http://www.tonymacx86.com/mountain-lion-desktop-support/63515-multibeast-5-0-0-mountain-lion-coming-soon.html

Nitro

P.S. This will post will remain.

[wappinghigh]

My HTPC was rather easy build. Anyway, here is a great guide on the components to build an HTPC for a Mountain Lion.

I deleted my Build, but you can use this guide. I spent maybe around 2.5 hours, but mine was more of motherboard replacement, cpu, and ram.

I think pstuart said it took him around 20 hours to build his computer. A first time builder might take lot longer, just read the manuals. Take your time on the build.

The biggest amount of time is spent on loading the drivers and rebooting. I used the Asus 8277-V Pro Motherboard, but it is better to download the latest

drivers from Asus's website. My Areca 1280ML RAID card just need new drivers to be added, but that was it. I haven't bought a video card, but I am using

the Intel HD4000 right now. Seems to be fine. I probably update to a new card eventually.

This link is a buyer's guide on the the components to build it.

http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/search/label/CustoMac

A link on someone that has done it. The original poster has his own webpage, but the only thing right now is the audio will have to be USB.

Realize that the motherboard below was released 3 weeks ago, and so was Mountain Lion. I am sure more options in audio will change in the future.

Can you buy a system with mountain lion installed? NO! You can build one though. Your setup will be licensed with Apple.

http://www.tonymacx86.com/mountain-lion-desktop-guides/62127-success-gigabyte-ga-z77x-up5-th-thunderbolt.html

Asus 8277-V Pro Motherboard

http://www.tonymacx86.com/mountain-lion-desktop-support/62883-success-asus-p8z77-v-pro-i5-3570k-intel-hd4000-mountain-lion.html

Guide to install the software for Mac OS X

http://www.tonymacx86.com/61-unibeast-1-5-install-os-x-mountain-lion-any-supported-intel-based-pc.html

New Version coming soon..The guides was written for Lion, but there is a new version coming out for mountain lion.

http://www.tonymacx86.com/mountain-lion-desktop-support/63515-multibeast-5-0-0-mountain-lion-coming-soon.html

Nitro

P.S. This will post will remain.

OK!!! Now to find some way to put all this together as a "silentPC.."..then it's a wait for JRiver OSX and a driver. Awesome Nitro..

[Nitro]

Wap, I just posted this on J River. Although, you can use the specs to build your silent pc.

Here is some specs of a company that makes them now. You can just use their specs and build your own for less cost.

Original poster on J River had a need for firewire. Asus doesn't have option in their motherboards, but Gigabyte has that option.

http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std/sku=hfx_classic_fanless_pc.html

Asus Thunderbolt Pro or the Premium doesn't have 1394 (firewire), so substitute it for this Thunderbolt motherboard.

Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP5-TH (Intel certified for Dual thunderbolt ports. Allows up to 12 thunderbolt devices to be attached to those ports)

As far as case design, there is lot of options. Wap, you have to look at Hfx and see who is the distributor in Australia. http://www.hfx.at/

hfx site lists the cooling options. If you chose that option.

I recommend looking at Lian Li cases, but you have to look at what is available. http://www.lian-li.com/v2/index.html

The main reason that I like Lian Li cases is that it is all aluminum design. They go to great lengths in making a good case for not lot of money, but add options

to take the side off rather easy without tools.

1) Passive power supply options. (read the reviews before you buy, but I probably look at the Kingwin.)

a) Passive Power supply from Silverstone only has 2 different watts available 400 or 500 watts http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/more_info/1106387.html Kingwin has a silent power supply that is 500 watts at endpcnoise.

Endpcnoise offers some other options for more watts. http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std/category=Quiet_Power_Supplies.html

2) SSD only use 3 watts (No noise from a SSD)

a) Areca has nice Thunderbolt case, if you need lot of drives. http://www.areca.com.tw/products/thunderbolt.htm

Sumitomo Electric Optical Thunderbolt cables http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/17/idUS10018+17-Apr-2012+BW20120417

1) Possible suppliers will be Belkin or Amazon in the USA.

3) Cpu Choice depends on your needs. Here is the one that I bought and it fits your 65 watt requirement.

a) Intel Core i7-3770S Ivy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 65W (Actually, I am using the Intel 4000 for video at the moment, but I will eventually get a new video card in the future.)

4) If you plan a bigger video card in the future, then make sure your case has the length to fit the card. Intel HD4000 is fine for 1080p, but you might develop the need for UHDTV with 4k video. (This will be coming out in 2013).

a) Nvidia will work fine on Gigabyte motherboard.

5) USB audio - Exasound e18 DAC. This DAC was reviewed by J River and highly recommended. http://www.exasound.com/e18DAC/Features.aspx

Has MAC OS X driver.

PS. I do plan to try the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP5-TH on my next pc build. Yes, I have it running mac osx. This PC is for my main PC, but it will also function for another zone with multichannel audio.

Nitro

[wappinghigh]

pstuart does this board bitstream bluray hdaudio? One of my biggest confusions right now is how to ensure I get HDAudio out through my HDMI cable to my receiver without the DTS core being extracted.

Yes' date=' use it through my HDMI matrix via HDMI out via the Intel Ivy Bridge chipset, works great with Windows 7 64bit.[/quote']

....pst, I've missed which HDMI matrix you use?...

[wappinghigh]

Wap, I just posted this on J River. Although, you can use the specs to build your silent pc.

Here is some specs of a company that makes them now. You can just use their specs and build your own for less cost.

Original poster on J River had a need for firewire. Asus doesn't have option in their motherboards, but Gigabyte has that option.

http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std/sku=hfx_classic_fanless_pc.html

Asus Thunderbolt Pro or the Premium doesn't have 1394 (firewire), so substitute it for this Thunderbolt motherboard.

Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP5-TH (Intel certified for Dual thunderbolt ports. Allows up to 12 thunderbolt devices to be attached to those ports)

As far as case design, there is lot of options. Wap, you have to look at Hfx and see who is the distributor in Australia. http://www.hfx.at/

hfx site lists the cooling options. If you chose that option.

I recommend looking at Lian Li cases, but you have to look at what is available. http://www.lian-li.com/v2/index.html

The main reason that I like Lian Li cases is that it is all aluminum design. They go to great lengths in making a good case for not lot of money, but add options

to take the side off rather easy without tools.

1) Passive power supply options. (read the reviews before you buy, but I probably look at the Kingwin.)

a) Passive Power supply from Silverstone only has 2 different watts available 400 or 500 watts http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/more_info/1106387.html Kingwin has a silent power supply that is 500 watts at endpcnoise.

Endpcnoise offers some other options for more watts. http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std/category=Quiet_Power_Supplies.html

2) SSD only use 3 watts (No noise from a SSD)

a) Areca has nice Thunderbolt case, if you need lot of drives. http://www.areca.com.tw/products/thunderbolt.htm

Sumitomo Electric Optical Thunderbolt cables http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/17/idUS10018+17-Apr-2012+BW20120417

1) Possible suppliers will be Belkin or Amazon in the USA.

3) Cpu Choice depends on your needs. Here is the one that I bought and it fits your 65 watt requirement.

a) Intel Core i7-3770S Ivy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 65W (Actually, I am using the Intel 4000 for video at the moment, but I will eventually get a new video card in the future.)

4) If you plan a bigger video card in the future, then make sure your case has the length to fit the card. Intel HD4000 is fine for 1080p, but you might develop the need for UHDTV with 4k video. (This will be coming out in 2013).

a) Nvidia will work fine on Gigabyte motherboard.

5) USB audio - Exasound e18 DAC. This DAC was reviewed by J River and highly recommended. http://www.exasound.com/e18DAC/Features.aspx

Has MAC OS X driver.

PS. I do plan to try the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP5-TH on my next pc build. Yes, I have it running mac osx. This PC is for my main PC, but it will also function for another zone with multichannel audio.

Nitro

Nitro. Your contributions on this thread are to be applauded.

If we are to get a HTPC or movie server that is truly viable and lives in the family room or Home theatre, IMHO it *must* be silent..

The next step is the developments at JRiver.

Then we need James from DD and pstuart together on board and offer us Control4 "Control"

Whether we build it ourselves or someone builds it for us (like a DD, or an endpcnoise), your points are truely valid. The cost is up to us. Some may want to tinker, others will pay for a plug and play finished product. It just depends how we value our time.

But it needs to be in a practical case and format. Most importantly: it is best if it is silent. And you are right. If one want's it to have additional movie "server" function, hard drive capacity needs to be either SSD's (expensive) or via thunderbolt connection to a DAS box out of site (and earshot).

Awesome stuff Nitro...

[pstuart]

I'm using the SnapAV Binary 4x4 HDMI Matrix

http://www.snapav.com/p-1072-b-300-hdmatrix-4x4.aspx

[Nitro]

I'm using the SnapAV Binary 4x4 HDMI Matrix

http://www.snapav.com/p-1072-b-300-hdmatrix-4x4.aspx

That brand has a problem with heat. It heats up, and the switch comes unreliable. My dealer installed one in a business, and within a week it had issues.

What people do is use a cooling pack to cool the Chinese electronics down.

Wap, you might look into this brand. It has 10 year warranty on the Switch. Not sure of the cost though, but it does have a control4 driver.

http://avocationsystems.com/ My Dealer hasn't tried it, but this brand is rather new. Looks to be the most promising, because of the design.

In the future, Apple might eliminate the HDMI switch with Thunderbolt/DisplayPort, as they did with the floppy disk in the past. HDMI has been a disaster from day one, and it is hard to get a reliable HDMI switch. Most of the HDMI manufacturers are going with CAT6/CAT6A/CAT7 etc. Fiber Optics is the best solution, but only a few companies offer that. Avocation Systems is one of them. 4k and 8k video is coming very soon, so you need a fiber optics solution.

Savant Systems and Crestron have a fiber optics solutions. Savant Systems has the best specs that I found so far. (I looked at their technical specs, not the brochures).

Nitro

[Nitro]

Nitro. Your contributions on this thread are to be applauded.

If we are to get a HTPC or movie server that is truly viable and lives in the family room or Home theatre, IMHO it *must* be silent..

The next step is the developments at JRiver.

Then we need James from DD and pstuart together on board and offer us Control4 "Control"

Whether we build it ourselves or someone builds it for us (like a DD, or an endpcnoise), your points are truely valid. The cost is up to us. Some may want to tinker, others will pay for a plug and play finished product. It just depends how we value our time.

But it needs to be in a practical case and format. Most importantly: it is best if it is silent. And you are right. If one want's it to have additional movie "server" function, hard drive capacity needs to be either SSD's (expensive) or via thunderbolt connection to a DAS box out of site (and earshot).

Awesome stuff Nitro...

DD server will be noisy, because of the drives. If you have hard drives in the HTPC, then you might try these enclosures. This is what endpcnoise uses in their fanless server. http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std/sku=smart_drive_neo.html

Time vs Money issue: If I can save several thousand dollars, then I would go that direction. Now you can go to your local computer store and have the HTPC built for less cost. Typically, it is about $80 to $100, the computer store will be better equipped in monitoring the burn in time.

It is not hard to put the computer together at all. Ram is easy now with these cool coverings, before the ram was not covered. So static electricity was a problem.

CPU is easy, but you just have to line it up. Take your time and read the instructions.

SSD cost has dropped.

This drive would serve as a boot drive on Mac OS X. I have the same size drive for windows 7.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006EKJCWM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tonymacx86com-20

that is only $100 for 120 gig. That is much faster than my old SSD, that I paid over $250 in the past.

A 480 gig would be great for music files. SACD etc.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006EKJCWM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tonymacx86com-20

$375 now. A month ago it was $700. So, you can see on how much SSD has dropped in cost.

DVD, Bluray, then put on a hard drive with thunderbolt. There is USB 3.0 option, and Sans Digital has some nice other options. Thunderbolt allows you to daisy chain your drives. So, you can expand your storage as required. Actually, I am redoing my server to this option. I have a Lian Li HTPC case that I am going to use for a silent pc. Then I will go with the thunderbolt storage option. The Kingwin passive power supply looks to the best option. It is 500 watts. Has a 5 year warranty.

Case design will vary upon the user. There is lots of options, but you need to look at them. Always go with an ATX size case. Which means ATX only. (If you go with a smaller case then it limits your choice in motherboards, and no thunderbolt options).

Nitro

P.S. You have to use the Thunderbolt cases that I listed, because it has built in RAID card, power supply, etc. So you can't use any DAS case for Thunderbolt. That is only negative about it. Areca, Promise, and Sans Digital are going to produce Thunderbolt storage. Might be a few more. Areca looks like the best option. Just not out yet.

[pstuart]

I'm using the SnapAV Binary 4x4 HDMI Matrix

http://www.snapav.com/p-1072-b-300-hdmatrix-4x4.aspx

That brand has a problem with heat. It heats up' date=' and the switch comes unreliable. My dealer installed one in a business, and within a week it had issues.

What people do is use a cooling pack to cool the Chinese electronics down.

Wap, you might look into this brand. It has 10 year warranty on the Switch. Not sure of the cost though, but it does have a control4 driver.

[url']http://avocationsystems.com/ My Dealer hasn't tried it, but this brand is rather new. Looks to be the most promising, because of the design.

In the future, Apple might eliminate the HDMI switch with Thunderbolt/DisplayPort, as they did with the floppy disk in the past. HDMI has been a disaster from day one, and it is hard to get a reliable HDMI switch. Most of the HDMI manufacturers are going with CAT6/CAT6A/CAT7 etc. Fiber Optics is the best solution, but only a few companies offer that. Avocation Systems is one of them. 4k and 8k video is coming very soon, so you need a fiber optics solution.

Savant Systems and Crestron have a fiber optics solutions. Savant Systems has the best specs that I found so far. (I looked at their technical specs, not the brochures).

Nitro

Just cause one has an issue doesn't equal a problem across the line. Mine runs quiet and cool, no problems running all 8 ports out (4 hdmi and 4 ethernet) at same time with 4 inputs.

I have temp sensors in my rack to monitor temp and nothing gets too hot.

The switch has been very reliable, even supports 3D and ARC. I did work with the manufacturer to get a bios upgrade to support ARC, but other than that, its been rock solid even up to 1080P 7.1 sound throughput and also with mixed sources as low as 720p (appleTv) and multiple output types, straight to TVs, AVRs and into other matrix switches (cascaded for more outputs)

Anyway, don't take what Nitro says too heart, sounds like his dealer got a bad batch, or didn't work with the manufacturer to fix the issue. I hate when that happens.

Oh and Nitro, most, if not all Apple products are built in China

And I do agree, Fiber is ultimately the best long term solution, if you can afford it and ran fiber during the build.

[Nitro]

Just cause one has an issue doesn't equal a problem across the line. Mine runs quiet and cool, no problems running all 8 ports out (4 hdmi and 4 ethernet) at same time with 4 inputs.

I have temp sensors in my rack to monitor temp and nothing gets too hot.

The switch has been very reliable, even supports 3D and ARC. I did work with the manufacturer to get a bios upgrade to support ARC, but other than that, its been rock solid even up to 1080P 7.1 sound throughput and also with mixed sources as low as 720p (appleTv) and multiple output types, straight to TVs, AVRs and into other matrix switches (cascaded for more outputs)

Anyway, don't take what Nitro says too heart, sounds like his dealer got a bad batch, or didn't work with the manufacturer to fix the issue. I hate when that happens.

Oh and Nitro, most, if not all Apple products are built in China

And I do agree, Fiber is ultimately the best long term solution, if you can afford it and ran fiber during the build.

Not just one, it is several binary switches. There is several posts about the problem on avsforum. What people do is use a cooling pack to get around the problem. I might seen that post here, but not sure. My installer told me to look around before I buy a hdmi switch. Gave me a few brands to look at. I am not in a hurry to buy an hdmi switch. My installer had to work with Key Digital on a problem with one of their high end switches. Key Digital is consider to be the best around, so the HDMI matrix switch still has problems.

Apple has great quality control, but it will depend on the company. I still using an iPhone 3GS, but I will upgrade on the new iPhone 5.

The issue with Fiber is the connectors, but if you look at the latest thunderbolt connector. Then they seem to have that problem solved. Here is the link, and you can bend it 180 degrees. http://www.cablinginstall.com/index/display/article-display/5880928051/articles/cabling-installation-maintenance/news/data-center/high-speed-cabling/2012/april/sumitomo-now_sampling.html

That company is going to sell to big vendors like Amazon, Belkin, etc.

[Nitro]

But it needs to be in a practical case and format. Most importantly: it is best if it is silent. And you are right. If one want's it to have additional movie "server" function, hard drive capacity needs to be either SSD's (expensive) or via thunderbolt connection to a DAS box out of site (and earshot).

Awesome stuff Nitro...

Wap,

I will be starting on the second pc this week, but I decided to eliminate my rackmount server. So, I am going to try this new case from Chenbro. It is rather large, but this case will serve as my main pc and server in my office. Supposed to be quiet, so we have to see on that one. http://usa.chenbro.com/corporatesite/products_detail.php?sku=104 The original plan was to use a NAS, but it was going to cost to much. So, this way, I can have a dual use computer. Yes, it will be used for audio in the future. The cool thing about it is that you can modify the case to hold more hot swap drives. Technically, the case can hold 13 hard drives, but I have just 11 hard drives in it. Yes, I still be able to expand via Thunderbolt. Just those cases haven't come out yet.

Nitro

[Nitro]

I'm using the SnapAV Binary 4x4 HDMI Matrix

http://www.snapav.com/p-1072-b-300-hdmatrix-4x4.aspx

That brand has a problem with heat. It heats up' date=' and the switch comes unreliable. My dealer installed one in a business, and within a week it had issues.

What people do is use a cooling pack to cool the Chinese electronics down.

Wap, you might look into this brand. It has 10 year warranty on the Switch. Not sure of the cost though, but it does have a control4 driver.

[url']http://avocationsystems.com/ My Dealer hasn't tried it, but this brand is rather new. Looks to be the most promising, because of the design.

In the future, Apple might eliminate the HDMI switch with Thunderbolt/DisplayPort, as they did with the floppy disk in the past. HDMI has been a disaster from day one, and it is hard to get a reliable HDMI switch. Most of the HDMI manufacturers are going with CAT6/CAT6A/CAT7 etc. Fiber Optics is the best solution, but only a few companies offer that. Avocation Systems is one of them. 4k and 8k video is coming very soon, so you need a fiber optics solution.

Savant Systems and Crestron have a fiber optics solutions. Savant Systems has the best specs that I found so far. (I looked at their technical specs, not the brochures).

Nitro

Just cause one has an issue doesn't equal a problem across the line. Mine runs quiet and cool, no problems running all 8 ports out (4 hdmi and 4 ethernet) at same time with 4 inputs.

I have temp sensors in my rack to monitor temp and nothing gets too hot.

The switch has been very reliable, even supports 3D and ARC. I did work with the manufacturer to get a bios upgrade to support ARC, but other than that, its been rock solid even up to 1080P 7.1 sound throughput and also with mixed sources as low as 720p (appleTv) and multiple output types, straight to TVs, AVRs and into other matrix switches (cascaded for more outputs)

Anyway, don't take what Nitro says too heart, sounds like his dealer got a bad batch, or didn't work with the manufacturer to fix the issue. I hate when that happens.

Oh and Nitro, most, if not all Apple products are built in China

And I do agree, Fiber is ultimately the best long term solution, if you can afford it and ran fiber during the build.

Here is the the thread about the Snap AV and heat. I guess my dealer is not the only that is having the same problem..

http://www.c4forums.com/viewtopic.php?id=10778

[pstuart]

And like I said, they fixed it in the latest firmware... Just work with the manufacturer. Mine does not have heat issues.