diamonddesign Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Sorry so many photos but you really need to see the video I'll try and have on Youtube to even really see what it does.I included the drives photo because WHS 2011 doesn't normally have drives like that so I wanted to show how it was reconfigured for this purpose. The out of box experience photos and end user license agreement photos are just to show how far the integration and customization went. When you pop the lid down, beside seeing a media reader you're seeing thermal management which controls the hard drive fans, processor fan and system fans independently based upon how hard and hot its running to save on electric. Speaking of that, the photo of the system properties shows its a new Intel HTPC power saving processor designed to run applications like this. The D drive (music, movies and tv) is formatted to 64kb cluster and its not for small files but big ones only, hence why C was extended over normal microsoft defaults. Because D is 64kb and a GPT drive, you get a free copy of Perfectdisk 12 Home Server edition so that you can manage and defragment the 64kb GPT drive. You also get the diamond design version of MyMovies for WHS 2011 which is fully featured and advertising/points free. It fully automates everything with the LG blu ray drive that is also a writer pictured. PowerDVD/PowerBluRay suite is included including lightscribe if you want to make blu rays with labels.As you can tell, its tabletop (shelf) or rackmount. The C4 driver controls everything after being plugged in and set up (it has 2 drivers to use as intended). The c4 remote controls it 100% including powering off and on, etc. The 7" touchscreen works like other c4 touches in addition to everything else and when it boots up, it defaults immediately to myhome in fullscreen mode (as pictured) making it look like a regular touch. If you want to do somethign that requires precise pinpointing, the pen/stylus pictured in a few photos comes with the unit.It also has a second default touch front screen that runs (its up to you which and when to use either) that shows, weather, news, email alerts, system info, etc., its the red one pictured in the rack photos).Also, when you put a disc in, Power DVD doesn't start up, it looks like nothing happens except about 10 min later (if a huge disc) it pops out and has been backed up and catalogged and added to the share.Also, Dune user and Dune Index has been pre-setup. Just basically plug it into system and add a few lines on the dune home screen and you're all set.Finally, you'll notice in the connections photo that it has dual LAN ports and it includes a teaming utility to help you setup teaming (to run both at once) but that isn't required. You'll also notice HD audio out and HDMI out Speaking of pimp hardware, it also features hardware (not software) Raid 5 from 3Ware/LSI over 6 drives for 12TB total (2tb each) what your seeing available at 9tb is due to the raid requirements.I'm utterly amazed I haven't been divorced with the amount of work I put into this box and design so if you see my wife at Cedia tell her thanks for me Finally, I will be editing these photos in photoshop so sorry for the unedited nature. I don't fancy advertisements or spokesmodels/covergirls but if you need trendy ads with models displaying everything, your products must not sell themselves.I guess to really be "somebody" you have to do an EULA so I did one really this also has the warranty info on it as well so its a worthy read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 <3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pstuart Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Pricing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamonddesign Posted August 21, 2011 Author Share Posted August 21, 2011 Just email me. Its not 100% yet anyway. Low 4s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vankaren Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 James, that is a serious piece of equipment. This Smart Server would be placed right on top of my desk I use everyday because of the touchscreen and PowerDVD feature. I can certainly see the results of all the hours you spent on creating this Smart Server. Once the Smart Server ships and we get a chance to use it, I am certain that we could convince your wife that your time was well spent.From reading your description above, I am amazed at the capability this thing pack!!Don't know about others on this forum but dealing with you has made my "Home Automation" life easier,enjoyable and getting this bad boy with "My Movie + the Dune would pretty much address all my needs. Congratulation!!!Felix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wappinghigh Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Incredible James. Unbelievable stuff. It looks a fabulous concept. You obviously have lived thru all the hassles before and know what was missing in all the movie library thing.. I have 2 Dunes at the moment running straight off their internal HDD's...but they are rapidly filling up, so might be in the market for something like this... I can also envisage this thing actually sitting out in my TV Cabinet. And as I have no touchscreens in my place at the moment I envisage my family just walking up to the TV cabinet, selecting a movie and "presto"....But being not too familiar with Windows Home Server..(I use OSX) can I ask a couple of questions?1/ Viruses a problem?2/ How loud is the thing..particularly if you use it outside a rack (say in a TV cabinet)..say as loud as an HC1000?3/ Could I mount the raided drive (were all the backups are stored) in OSX using samba..like I do at the moment mounting the Dune's internal HDD's4/ What is the HDMI out for?..can this be set up to play movies straight to a TV? Or do you still need a separate Dune. That is could I use this box in a separate room to add another movie "zone" without adding another Dune?5/ How upgradeable is it..say when you run out of disc space. And are the HDD's easily hot swappable?6/ I assume it can act as a server for other things like Sonos7/ Universal power supply ? Gotta love this sort of ingenuity James. Congrats!Wap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamonddesign Posted August 21, 2011 Author Share Posted August 21, 2011 1) Because WHS is an OS built on Windows Server 2008 R2 (microsoft's heavy hitter), it has lots of security patches and restrictions so its more secure. However, it does come with an add-in (WHS benefits from an add in panel, for instance mymovies is an add in) of ClamAV which is a free antivirus for WHS but doesn't scan real time only on schedules. Avast has a paid product which is about $40 that will scan real time.2) It is quieter than a 1000. Because its managed by the thermal management, I guess it could get louder than a 1000 if you were having it do a TON of things at once but streaming movies you'll find it is very quiet. All components are for HTPC so they are all designed to stream movies and (possibly) sit in the viewing room.3) I have a guide I can provide for OSX. Because WHS has built in features for OSX, those users can also login with the nifty client control panel and benefit from being added to the WHS system. WHS does so much such as backing up desktops, laptops nightly, acting as a fax server, streaming boxes especially dune (because we've added lots of preconfigurations) and Xbox 360.4) HDMI out is for using a tv as a second monitor (in addition to the touchscreen). That would give you a navigator on a tv that didn't have it before and also allow you to control the dd desktop. I may not have explained this before but C4 controls the actual mouse on the unit and the * button is left click and the # button is right click. Our Dune wireless keyboard also works great with the box so that you could type onto it from the theater without having to use the onscreen keyboard.5) Not hot swappable. We could talk about 3tb (18tb total options) or, although I dont recommend it, you could let the motherboard do thermal management and instead of the add in device (the one with the silver grilles in the photos) you could put in a 7th hard drive in that bay because the raid has 2 free SATA ports left on it (I guess you could velco a drive in there somewhere too to use up those ports but obviously I'm not going to recommend it, if you did that you could fit 8 drives or 9 if you used the thermal bay).6) Read up on WHS. It does so much and will stream everything to C4 and dune. One driver is to control the box as a video end point in the room, the other is the normal network file storage driver that works like a nas that will allow the contenet (videos, photos, 4store account, etc.) to be stored and shared with C4.7) It has an 80 plus (energy efficient) power supply that is one of those high end ones that automatically knows if 220 is connected to it and switches to that power format. Both cords are included in the box for all shipments. However, if anyone needs a non-english language pack it will require a quote depending on the pack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 That thing looks bitchin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterwilson Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Wow what a monster James, can't wait to see what the hell this thing does! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamonddesign Posted August 21, 2011 Author Share Posted August 21, 2011 Just finished a 13 minute video and uploading to Youtube now. I could have done 45 minutes with all of the features but I covered the main aspects and the C4 control of them. See it on our YouTube Channel here:http://www.youtube.com/diamonddesignc4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vankaren Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 WOW!!That is a sweet Beast! Wish I had the dd Smart Server in my system today! If I had the unit today I could rip all my lifetime CD collection and blu ray movies without worrying about the cover art program. I have the Dune from diamond design and adding this Smart Server would complete my media streaming setup!Again Congratulations!!Felix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamonddesign Posted August 21, 2011 Author Share Posted August 21, 2011 Thanks, to clarify on a post I made on Youtube:It will back up home dvds or home blu rays out of the box. It will not break any encryptions as it comes from us or a dealer but it does have mymovies installed so you'd have to google the possibilities if you are so inclined and live in a country where that is legal but I cannot explain how or walk anyone through that part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qVAMPIREp Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Does this control the Sony Multidisk Changer using MyMovies as the interface for all media? (i.e. NAS and Bluray Disks) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamonddesign Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 Yes but let me mention that in the video when I mention the mega changer in the video I mean a Nimbie NB11-BR which isn't for playing its for backing up (CDs presumably right?) up to 100 discs consecutively, you reload it and repeat. Within a few days all such discs are then on the dd Smart Server and you can safely store the hard discs away. I believe some of my dealers may maintain a Nimbie and rent it out for a week or two to their customers (I may do the same). To answer your question, you can indicate in mymovies that you have 2 copies of the movie, one in digital format on the dd Smart Server (or NAS, or wherever it is) and one in hard media format. If you choose the hard media format it normally says insert the disc into the player (on a regular panasonic single disc player for instance). I haven't tried with a mega changer to see if it automatically spins to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qVAMPIREp Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 MyMovies has a driver for WMC that controls the Sony player. Your player should be able to do that directly so no need for a digital copy except when you want one. It would be seamless like the C4 interface to select movies from a NAS or the player but it would finally have a decent interface for the movie titles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C4-Brian Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 How simple is it to use this device to rip Bluray movies to the raid set? What type of compression does it use? Im looking for a media server for a client that is simple and straight forward to use. The video looks pretty straightforward using the C4 drive but I have used MediaMax in the past on multiple sites and with the problems with their MediaDecks locking up and the constant battle with Bluray encryption it was a nightmare at times. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamonddesign Posted September 5, 2011 Author Share Posted September 5, 2011 It doesn't copy studio blu ray movies out of the box nor does it have any encryption breaking software installed when it ships. It does have an OEM mymovies WHS 2011 installed. You can visit the mymovies.dk site for the automation of that version and discs and let your client decide what he wants to back up with it should he choose to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Make's me want one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWRobinson Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Can you give the dimensions? Rack U used? email pricing on the 3TB options. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xc420 Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Height 7.3"Width 17"Depth 17.2" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWRobinson Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamonddesign Posted September 13, 2011 Author Share Posted September 13, 2011 Yes with feet it is 7 1/4" but with the rackmount it is actually 4U. However, the feet will extend below that 4U so use a blank plate or a smaller unit (like the 300 pictured) under it. The HDD fans are on the bottom so a 1U blank plate is what I recommend under it if possible. sending 3TB email now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xc420 Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Oh, I was going by the dimensions posted here.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163107 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamonddesign Posted September 13, 2011 Author Share Posted September 13, 2011 Well we are both going from Euro measurements. Its technically 184mm which according to google is 7.24409449 inches Again in a rack its shorter because the feet are quite large. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cvlboy Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 I'm just curious, how did you manage to erase/remove the "SILVERSTONE" and its LOGO and put the DD logo on the case? I think I still can see ...STONE from the 5th photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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