Build a Mini-ITX Personal Video Recorder

The problem is that no consumer wants to see PC hardware--or hear fan noise--in their living room or den. That's where Mini-ITX hardware shines. Built in a case that looks more like a set-top box than a PC, Mini-ITX supports both major operating systems and runs PVR software cool and quiet.

In this article, I will detail all the parts you need to build your own sleek looking PVR. I will explain some of the detail about video capture hardware, as well as provide some tips about a popular Linux software selection and its configuration.

Having PC power as a part of your entertainment center opens up a whole world of computing possibilities. And the build is clean and simple with Mini-ITX. Let's begin.

WHAT IS MINI-ITX?

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At the heart of our PVR is a mini-ITX mainboard, what standard PC builders would call a motherboard. In fact, it's much the same as a standard ATX motherboard, though with a few notable exceptions: It's obviously smaller; processors are not upgradable, there are typically fewer expansion slots, and it's typically a bit pricier than a common motherboard.

For most mini-ITX applications, these are not major issues. Rather, they can be thought of as the trade-off for a compact and quiet system.

Mini-ITX's ultra-compact (6.7 x 6.7 in.) mainboard form-factor was developed by Via Technologies. The company remains a leader in mini-ITX innovation and manufacturing.

The highly integrated features of mini-ITX make these mainboards popular for building information and entertainment systems that are powerful, quiet and, of course, small. Less than one third the size of the FlexATX motherboard--the smallest of the ATX family--to be exact.

Innovative cases and power supplies allow these systems to be used in cars, kiosks, digital signage and other places. Essentially, they permit embedded applications and appliance computing where you need the power of a PC, but not the size, noise and heat.

Here is a summary of the good points about mini-ITX:

Things to consider before implementing a mini-ITX solution:

PVR PARTS LIST

Let's take a look at our choices for components for our compact PVR and I'll explain a bit about why these parts are a good fit for our recipe.

Mainboard: Via EPIA-SP13000 Compact mini-ITX form factor with VGA with S-VideoComposite TV-Out; 168-pin DIMM memory sockets (2); 10/100 LAN; AGP2X with 2D/3D Graphics Acceleration with motion compensation for DVD playback; Sound Blaster Pro Compatible Audio; and one PCI slot and two USB 1.1 ports to which an optional 2-port USB 1.1 module may be added. Chosen for its on-board data encryption engine.

Memory: Kingston KVR400X64C3A/512 (512 MB, 400 MHz) DDR DIMM. This is reliable and affordable.

Case and Power Supply: Travla Model c158 with 90-watt power supply and holders for media and hard drive. Chosen for its solid construction, power rating and good looks. (Back I/O panel supplied with motherboard.)

Hard Disk: I chose Seagate's Barracuda ST3300831A, 300 GB with 8MB cache. Provides high speed, capacity and reliable data storage.

CD/DVD burner: Quanta's SDW-082 Slimline CD-RW and 8x +/-DVD writer

Video Card: Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 350 With its onboard MPEG encoder/decoder hardware, this card offloads much of the work normally done by the processor. The MPEG-1/2 hardware encoder/decoder is a must for operation without the power of a high-end processor. Comes with an infra-red remote control transmitter and receiver.

Slimline CDR-to-ATA Adapter: This is needed because the Quanta SDW-082 has a slimline design for laptop and notebook connecters.

Keyboard, Mouse and Monitor: You'll want a standard PS/2 keyboard, mouse and VGA monitor around for software installation and configuration. But you may not want to make these permanent parts of an entertainment system.

PVR SOFTWARE

My choice for PVR software: iMedia MythTV. The default MythTV template on iMedia Embedded linux automatically installs the drivers needed for mythtv running on VIA mini-ITX mainboard with a Hauppauge PVR card.

This template also configures 2d/3d and MPEG hardware acceleration on VIA boards and has the latest drivers for hauppauge cards (including firmware).

Here are some features of iMedia MythTV I especially like:

HARDWARE ASSEMBLY

Assembling a mini-ITX box follows all the same principles as a standard ATX PC build, but with particular attention to space and some different looking parts. For example, while mini-ITX mainboards may support a PCI card, most cases are styled too flat to support the card's full height. To address this issue, cases come with a horizontal riser to reorient the card horizontally.

It's clear that most mini-ITX cases are built to take full advantage of the small format to present a correspondingly small footprint. This means that, as with PCI cards, components like media drives are frequently located directly over each other and perhaps the mainboard, as well. This presents a dense configuration of parts and close quarters in which to work. The result, however, is a powerful, compatible system in a small and stylish package that looks and works well.

Mini-ITX is cool and quiet. An interesting difference from standard ATX formats is that mini-ITX components are designed to run cool and, unless you have a special application, e.g., constant drive access or limited access to outside airflow, systems can run with minimum cooling and, in many cases, no fan at all!

Here are the 13 steps to assemble our mini-ITX PVR:

(Before you begin assembly, it's a good idea to download Via's detailed product manual. Only Quick Start directions come packaged with VIA's mainboard.)

INSTALL iMEDIA LINUX

Installing iMedia Linux is very simple due to its menu driven installation. Just follow these 6 easy steps:

At this point, users can choose to install sets of software support or custom-install individual packages. During the installation, a progress bar will show you the progress of each package's installation.

Once the software packages and Linux distribution has been installed, you will be guided through these final 3 steps:

At this point the installation is complete. Your mini-ITX PVR will boot up iMedia MythTV software.

To learn more about how to use MythTV, view this iMedia documents list.

LEARN MORE: VALUABLE MINI-ITX RESOURCES

Here are a few of my favorite mini-ITX related sites and documents:

ANDY MCDONOUGH is a professional musician, composer, voice actor, enginee, and educator happily freelancing in New Jersey.