RagE Theater

[PS-RagE]

Hopefully, starting this thread will get others to also make new threads aside from the gallery posts.

Anyhow, more than two years ago, I started to create a HTPC. It was a new concept at the time, so I figured I would build the HTPC to end all HTPCs. Ak. All my high end parts refused to work together and in the end (years later), I ended up with two seperate machines.

The HTPC itself is:
P4 @ 3.02GHz
1G Corsair XMS
Gigabyte Titan4 (865 chipset)
Radeon 9700AIW
Terratec Space sound
80G SATA Barracuda
all enclosed in a CoolerMaster ATC 610-GX1 "Desktop-style" case.

While I was getting the damned thing to work, I was also buying and building the Home Theater:

Yamaha RX-Z1 Receiver

Mirage Omni 260 fronts

Mirage Omni CC front and rear centers

Mirage Omni FX surround and front effects

Mirage OM200 subwoofer

JVC 36" iART HDTV (CRT)


I installed the stereo components, HTPC and XBOX in a Middle Atlantic SRSR sliding rail rack inside my wall unit. This thing is really slick. It pulls out from the wall unit and then rotates 45 degrees so you can work behind.

Normally, I would never zip tie my stereo cables. However, since everthing is seperate here, cleaning up the cabling is not a problem

The rack is quite heavy so I added a huge 1/4" plate as a counterweight/washer to the inside of the wall unit. Even still (with the ~300lb weight of the TV) I pull it out slowly.

Each individual component has its own shelf with a custom laser-cut annodized aluminum bezel. Finally, an annodized aluminum trim strip went on to cover up the mounting screws.

Components (bottom to top):
Yamaha RX-Z1 Receiver
Blank 2U spacer
XBOX
HTPC
Denon DVD-910 Progressive Scan DVD player
(these last three are sitting on an open shelf due to their limited lifespan)
Sony CDP-C910 CD Changer
JVC HR-53800U S-VHS
XpressVu 2700 Sat Receiver

All this is connected via 100Mbit to the TeraByte Server in the basement (2.53G P4, 512M RDRAM). All the music and movies are safely (RAID5) stored here.

 

[d34dly]

Wow... just wow.

Very clean. I love it!

 

[Grandmasta_J]

Very, very sexy.

 

[Lairans]

I have spoken english for 22 years and, I am speechless. Incredible.

 

[MERKMAN]

First, the obvious... "Your system kicks ass!"

No wait... that's Rodney's line.

How about "Those are some of the most amazing speakers I have ever seen!!!" In all seriousness, those are tweaters hanging over midranges, are they not? Wild looking, but if they sound good...

Meanwhile, your server in the basement is impressive. I wanted to build my latest drive enclosure with Vantec fan-cooled HD racks, but in the end I simply made sure the cooling for the case was sufficent and it seems to work well. Anyone know if I can monitor the HD temps of EIDE drives that are spanned and connected to my PC with EIDE to SATA converters?

Anyway, thanks for sharing and keep up the great work! PS... get a copy of Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 from New Egg or Directron if you haven't already. It and the new remotes are pretty sweet!

P.S. Did anyone else notice the hard drive temperatures seem to go up as you look at the LCD displays in the enclosure? Would love to know if the top is really the highest, and what all their temps are.

 

[Alyosha]

Oh my. My oh my. Props to the uber-ness.

 

[Synchro]

The only reason I haven't done something like that can be shown with a small international symbol....


$


Nice work!

 

[bpimmerman]

wow.....you got skillz...that receiver is the granddaddy of mine...i love the yamaha, the sound is incredible.

 

[Tawnos]

How about "Those are some of the most amazing speakers I have ever seen!!!" In all seriousness, those are tweaters hanging over midranges, are they not? Wild looking, but if they sound good...

Sadly, that's a car stereo design, not high end audio design. Causes lots of distortion to the tweeter.

I like the AV rack though, makes maintenance easier.

 

[PS-RagE]

Sadly, that's a car stereo design, not high end audio design. Causes lots of distortion to the tweeter.

I like the AV rack though, makes maintenance easier.

Hmmm, well me and a few hundred other people over at AVS would disagree with that opinion.

 

[CrimandEvil]

Wow.

I envy you.

 

[Wyrdone]

Heh. I have a similar setup though not quite as grand.

HTPC: AMD Barton 2500+, 512MB PC3200, Shuttle MN31N nForce2 motherboard, 30GB system drive, 120GB onsystem storage drive, 4x/2.4x/16x DVD-RW. All compressed into a mATX case...custom modded with very quiet 120mm fans (CPU cooler uses low profile 80mm fan).
Receiver: Kenwood VR-7080
Sat: Hughes HDVR2 DirectTV TIVO (upgraded to 120GB HDD)
DVD: Pioneer Progressive scan DVD Player.
TV: Cheap RCA 27" TV. It takes S-Video in right now....but I'm upgrading to HDTV 36" widescreen here shortly when I have the $$$ again.

Custom made speakers ( http://www.speakerbuilder.net/ I built the "Veritas" for my mains and the "PeeCreek" for surrounds.).

I also have the raid array in the basement....doesn't everyone? (mine is only 1/2 terrabyte right now...need to expand as space is getting tight again).

 

[Adisharr]

Wow nice system PS Now I can't wait to show everyone my completely opposite system. I opted to do an incredibly low end system made with junk and garbage compared to yours.

 

[cnealjr]

Super sweet setup. That's just incredible and makes me so jealous...

Oh, and grats on the front page pimpage.

 

[Unperson]

What are you using for RAID on the server? I would guess the Windows software RAID 5 as hardware RAID 5 wouldn't be cheap (either $600 for the RAID controller and $150 each for 200G for SATA, or $700 each for 147G drives and $300 for the controller for SCSI)

If you're streaming video, how is the performance? 100Mb should probably be sufficient but gigabit isn't too expensive to upgrade (~$150 including 2 adapters and 5-port gigabit switch).

 

[CrimandEvil]

What are you using for RAID on the server? I would guess the Windows software RAID 5 as hardware RAID 5 wouldn't be cheap (either $600 for the RAID controller and $150 each for 200G for SATA, or $700 each for 147G drives and $300 for the controller for SCSI)

If you're streaming video, how is the performance? 100Mb should probably be sufficient but gigabit isn't too expensive to upgrade (~$150 including 2 adapters and 5-port gigabit switch).

Check the links.
http://www.pheatonforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1287&highlight=
http://www.houseofrage.com/server.html

 

[Alpha736]

Supreme setup. Planning on getting an even bigger display?

 

[DthInd]

I think WOW, pretty much says it all.

WOW

 

[PS-RagE]

What are you using for RAID on the server? I would guess the Windows software RAID 5 as hardware RAID 5 wouldn't be cheap (either $600 for the RAID controller and $150 each for 200G for SATA, or $700 each for 147G drives and $300 for the controller for SCSI)

If you're streaming video, how is the performance? 100Mb should probably be sufficient but gigabit isn't too expensive to upgrade (~$150 including 2 adapters and 5-port gigabit switch).

The server has a Promise Supertrac:

The 100Mbit is fine so far. I haven't tried multiple vid streams yet.

 

[Z3Px]

Thats increadible. Where did you get that rack?

 

[PS-RagE]

maybe i missed something but how are you guys connecting the htpc to the tv? are you doing it via component? s-video or dvi?

i have a Grand wega 3 and they dont have the standard 720 res... mine is 788... dvi to the GW3 is a pain... i was wondering if s video would look good?

thanks.

Yes, component video. I'm set at 720P

 

[intercollector]

where is this guide... i've been researching this problem with my GW3 on avsforum... for some reason i cant get the timings correct...

thanks for the suggestion.

Hate to be a pessimist, but why such a small tv when ya threw so much money at all of this?

I'd figure a nice front projector or even a plasma would go along more with what you have.

 

[SirViro]

It was so beautiful I fell to my knees and cried...
This puts my entire life to shame! Props to your uber leetness.

 

[PS-RagE]

Hate to be a pessimist, but why such a small tv when ya threw so much money at all of this?

I'd figure a nice front projector or even a plasma would go along more with what you have.

1) I do not like plasmas
2) There is too much light polution in the living room for any kind of projection TV
3) Nothing larger will fit in the wall unit
4) That is as big a CRT as you can get and it has a perfect image no matter where you sit in the room
5) It is by no means a small TV! 300 lbs! It tried to crush me when I originally put the home theater in

 

[Kendrak]

1) I do not like plasmas
2) There is too much light polution in the living room for any kind of projection TV
3) Nothing larger will fit in the wall unit
4) That is as big a CRT as you can get and it has a perfect image no matter where you sit in the room
5) It is by no means a small TV! 300 lbs! It tried to crush me when I originally put the home theater in

Awsome system.... CRT can get realy realy heavy. What front end are you running on it?

 

[nomar]

Rage - what OS, front end, and/or software are you running on your HTPC? How do you control it?

Great system BTW.

 

[Blackdog]

That is all I have to say. Wow. When I get a place of my own, I hope to even afford something similar.

 

[PS-RagE]

Thats increadible. Where did you get that rack?

Middle Atlantic is a line one of my suppliers carrys so I bought it from me. I give myself pretty good deals

 

[PS-RagE]

Rage - what OS, front end, and/or software are you running on your HTPC? How do you control it?

Great system BTW.

The OS is XP Pro. I use PowerDVD to play the VOBs (control O to access the server). For music, I use MusicMatch. No front end yet. May never be one - dunno.

Control is with Logitech® Cordless MX™ Duo

 

[d34dly]

Congrats on making the front page!!! Looks awesome.

 

[N_Raged]

I don't really have an opinion about the computer, but I totally approve of the rest of the HT . I too have Yamaha receivers driving speakers from the Canadian based Mirage/Energy company. And only us with the high end Yamaha receivers get the pleasure of having Front Effect/Presence speakers which make the front sound field so much richer.

 

[TheAnkh]

Wow.. sweetness...

I have to also disagree with the person who doesn't like the Mirage speakers... Personally, I will never be able to afford a pair, but I have never heard anything sound bad from them. A few years ago a few of their lowest end models could be a little thin, but they were designed to be used with subs, not as a stand alone pair.

Anyway, great looking setup mate. Maybe if I start saving now... Nah, screw it.. I'd be like 90 and unable to hear or see anything clearly by that point.

 

[7718]

I don't mean to rain on anybodys parade but... Why no HDTV? ANd although i totally think your system rules , is a widescreen even gonna fit in there? Like i said, not meaning to be a bastardhole , i just don't understand why you would have such kickass everything else and then have a 4:3 tv.

 

[PS-RagE]

That is a HDTV. Note where I said above that I was running in 720P.

 

[Jason711]

uhhhhhh.........

 

[Duster]

very very nice work man.....

not only this but the truck on ur webpage too

as for the people saying you need a bigger tv the tv looks big enough for the room it is sitting it from the angle of pics

very nice work you have alot of toyw to play with looks like fun

 

[PowerLlama]

I would've died doing all that cable work... You did an EXCELLENT job keeping it nice and neat

 

[goatlord]

That rack is like sliding-tray sex.

Nice.

 

[Lord_Balance]

*BOING*

fapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfap

LB

 

[Maddcovv]

What DVD case storage is that? Looks greeat and I'm in the market for somethign to hold 400 dvds. Im reffering to the black shelf thingy to the right of your tv.

THANKS!

Great system!

Ps. fix the ceiling drywall seam!!