Computer Setup

Nice! I'll check it out

I'm thinking he typed that wrong.

If Yatse is such a great XBMC companion app why did it sway you from XBMC to Plex?

Yatse is pretty good, but try XBMC Remote and you will never look back again!

I typed it rather confusingly, Yatse was the only thing keeping me on XBMC, the Plex features were awesome. But with Plex and a Chromecast, I have most of what yatse could do for me.

Ahh, I see! Guess I will have to try Plex then :-) thank you for the what's up.

I was going to recommend this as well. I loved XBMC for a long time but Plex has replaced it completely. my plex server streams about 220GB every month.

It's the only way to browse a large music library.

What is XBMC? A WMP Netflix hybrid? Looks like the hard way of a website like projectfreetv or movie4k.

Sick aquarium dude. What sorts of problems does the Profilux Aquarium computer pick up? And what changes can you make just from programming alone? basically I'm just curious as to how much control the computer has over the tank

The profilux controls 14 channels of lighting, heater, chiller, 4 part nutrient dosing, wave making via a wireless pump, co2 injection, cooling fan speeds, feed pauses, lighting scenes, cloud simulation, thunderstorm simulation, lunar cycles, and a few other things.

That is the most high-tech fish tank I have ever heard of.

Actually it's probably the only device without a speaker. Apart from the keyboard perhaps ;)

I knew a joke like this was coming! I was going to edit it to "heard of", but decided to leave it ;)

Well great now I feel pretty uncreative. Hah!

I'm just gonna go edit my original post now to make you look like a bigger idiot than you look now! HAHAAA!

That's a lot of crazy stuff! Honest question, why is all that necessary? Is it the size of the tank?

It's not. I just like automating things and it makes me worry about the tank less

How often do you clean that tank. That is one sick setup in your home

Like taking water out and adding in newer water and manually? That seems like a lot of work

I put in about one hour a week into water changes, pruning and various tinkering. It's not bad

Can you link to it?

If it's anything like the other systems I've seen (Neptune, etc.), not a whole lot, other than controlling power outlets and the lighting. But, that in itself can be awful handy in the event of a pump failure, or a heater that is damaged and stuck on. Could really be a lifesaver.

And you have cats? I would never leave that home...ever.

I'm an avid indoorsman.

Hence the username? J/k man, you've got a kickass setup here :)

That's exactly why the username lol

Saw the cat house, but no cats.... awesome aquarium though

My first thought when coolcomputersetups loaded was holy crap thats a lot of dvds.

Those are all my girlfriends too, I have maybe 25 in that entire collection

Wow dude. May i just ask why you haven't spent a weekend ripping the dvds and storing them in a nas or something similar? Other than that, nice gaming setup, and the aquarium looks really good.

I'm sure he has, his girlfriend prefers having the physical discs

I know that it is an extension of your girlfriend's preference and I respect that... but god does it look ugly. Would she be ok storing them inside a filing cabinet or something made of black wood that conceals it. You can fit more in the space provided and you can then maybe put up posters or make it look more minimalist. That way she still has them, but they aren't all on display.

I have mixed feelings about it myself. I don't mind displaying them in this way, it actually looks a million times better than how she had them before we moved in together.

Fair. I would probably do a few movie/video game figurines and such... that and some books. I dunno. A good library of books always felt better than a dvd library. Again, just personal preference.

I'm doing this right now...a collection that size, at least at my rate of rip & transcode, would take a few months.

Yeah, we're at over 1000 movies and a monumental collection of TV shows. It's no small commitment to hard drive space to digitize.

Man, how much storage have you used up so far?

2-3 TB at around 200 DVDs .. still another 300 DVDs to go, then the blu rays.. then the VHS tapes

That's probably because it's all digital. Or with Netflix there's no point in owning the movie.

Could you explain how you did the teardown of the Apple TV? I'm looking to do the same with mine!

I'm out at dinner currently but when I get home I'll post an album of how I did it for you

I would also love this!

Thanks so much, really appreciate it.

Seconded... thirded? I dunno, but it seems like a neat concept and for less than a hundred bucks, it would be a fun project.

Holy cow i want your life!! what do u do for a living? if u don't mind me asking.

I install pro audio, video and lighting systems. My home stuff is just an extension of my interests

I was just thinking how amazing everything looked and it looked professionally installed

Your a lucky guy thats so cool.

Bump. I must have that!

What made you go with Plasma?

I can't speak for the OP, and obviously opinions vary, but plasma generally have better blacks for less money.

This. It's also fantastic bang for your buck, I install tons of screens for a living and I'm still not a fan of led. Love 4k but I can't afford that.

I just cant stand that plasma heat it gives off. not ideal for smaller rooms

Yeah that is a downside, but I don't live in a hot part of the country so it's a minor concern

Don't forget to reply to Rwesswien! I saw you just commented, just reminding :)

I may be drunk, but OP delivered.

You did good bud, you did good.

I will, I've just been coolcomputersetupsing from a bar. I'm not home yet

Wait, XBMC as in... Xbox Media Center? On an Apple TV?

Yes, it has evolved a lot and is now for all platforms

Oh wow I didn't know that

As a fellow planted tank owner, there is no way you took that shot of your maintank without first: Cleaning, scraping, trimming and removing.

That's 3 days after pruning and I quickly mag floated the glass :) I'm anal about maintenance

That Antec 1200 is a load of maintenance as well. Takes me an hour to clean mine. Glad my new PC is much easier to clean - Corsair 750D.

I blow out the front once a week and take it apart once every two months for a thorough cleaning. It's no small task!

Holy shit you've got great cable management for that case! Mine...not so much.

Damn! Color me impressed, that's a work of art man. What are the odds on getting a plant list?

It will take me a bit to put one together, Ive had a few drinks and am feeling kind of fuzzy. If I forget to reply here drop me a PM and I'll shoot you a list.

Incredible DVD collection. Please tell me it's alphabetized..?

Yep! Children's movies have their own section though

My jaw dropped as im reading about your planted tank technology... i didnt even know you could do that.

I regularly post in r/aquariums and r/plantedtank

Yeah I am a lover of Aquariums and I would love to know a TON more about your Aquarium setup, especially all this automated stuff!

I know you likely have subscriptions to better services for half the price, but damn would I miss live sports, news, etc.

I work insane hours all over the place, and often out of town anyway. watching TV "live" isnt something I have been able to do for at least 4 years so it was a pretty easy switch.

How easy is it to set the Logitech remote up to work with xbmc?

With the appletv it's easy, you just add the appletv as a device!

I have a Harmony remote that works great with XBMC on a Win7 pc. There is a IR USB plugged into it and I the Harmony is setup with keyboard commands.

It's a keyboard specifically for my tv, but also worked with my other gear. It was an easy purchase

Ha! Im on the box of the mouse you have :)

I like your gaming setup but i am more curious about your fish tank and how it works. what did you need to set it all up

Everyone should grow up wanting a Gaming setup like yours.

Hope i am not late, what keyboard is that? I currently use the logitech k400.

This is how i've always imagined my place once I'm done with college and have a decent paying job.

Link for the keyboard / remote please?

Just my guess, but it looks like this one.

Thats exactly what it is!

Love the aquarium! Nice job man.

Are you running any kind of software RAID or hardware RAID for the server? Also what software do you have running on the server besides the SQL server? Looks like an awesome setup!

I just picked up a pair of 4 bay tower raid esata enclosures and a hardware raid controller. Currently the library is spread across several single drives but I am building an array of 8 X 4tb drives it will live on

If you upgrade to Windows Server 2012 R2 you can just stick a bunch of disks into a storage pool and call it a day - you can dynamically add and remove to/from the pool too, so if you come to upgrade later you can do it disk by disk - remove smallest, add new HDD and it'll cope with that fine and dynamically expand the pool.

I didn't know one could do this...sounds neat.

Awesome looks great. I am currently working on something similar but all internal and a mix of different drives with software RAID. Are you running a windows environment or a linux environment?

How much work did it get for you to get your SQL server working?

I followed the mysql instructions on the xbmc wiki and it took me about 15 minutes

Very cool setup. I love the look of the full physical media surround on the TV, but I hate using the media. Is most of your XBMC setup housing digital versions of those discs?

There is some overlap but a lot of unique content

Very cool setup man! I dig the movie collection as well!

YOU, sir, have my dream setup. This is being saved as a reference of awesome ideas and clean looking setups. Fantastic job to you!

Nice setup! Which XBMC theme are you using?

Thanks. Gonna check it out and see if I can replace reFocus

Very nice setup. Thanks for not using a potato to take the pictures!

What would you suggest as a starting point for someone wanting to put together a similar setup? I currently have a WDTV and run everything through that (from my main PC), but I think this sounds way easier/user friendly. Would love any input. Thanks!

Start with XBMC running on a PC/Mac. Its easy to get set up, but building your library can take some time. My collection was massive when I started building this set up and it took me a few weeks of diligent renaming and scraping to get all of my art and media descriptions correct. Once that was done everything new I added was a piece of cake.

I'm jealous of you. Very nice setup! I like the dedication on controls and the aquarium.

That is a very impressive set up. Something I would like to put together when I move out. Really need to look into setting up a server for XBMC since I've need to move away from local media.

Very nice! Consider adding a Flirc receiver to your set up for easier XBMC control using the Harmony remote.

Where are your Windows?

When you face the media wall the entire wall to the right is windows

Maybe its just me, but I always wonder what people do for a living when they have these big setups.

I'm an installer for pro audio, video and lighting, my girlfriend works in payroll for a decent sized organization

Are...are you fucking kidding me? I want it. All of it. When can I move in?

This is my favorite gaming setup I've seen! Been trying to figure out what to do with all my stuff!

How do you like that samsung blu ray player? I need to get one and I'm not sure which one I want. I need something that can be used with my monitor.

I hate it. It's slow and buggy as hell

Holy shit! You guys sure do like TV and movies. Nice setup.

Pretty sure my brain just exploded looking at all of this. I feel like your setup costs the same amount that I make in a year right now. lol

As a single investment the aquarium is the most expensive. Then the computer. The home theater was surprisingly cheap because we got everything on ridiculous sales or used over the last 2 years.

What does OP do so I can start doing that and get a similar home with similar computer setups?

Work and subsequently burn out of a career in IT.... bum around for a few years managing fish stores then start installing pro audio/video. Also helps having a partner who makes as much money as you do so you can share the costs of everyday things. I don't make a ton of money, just spend my money on the things I enjoy most.

Any tutorials on the XBMC setup? I've heard of it, but I've never messed with it. I have all my movies on (4) 3TB USB 3.0 WD drives plugged into my main rig. I then use VLC to send to various iPads in the house. The rig converts them on the fly and any iPad in the house can watch any movie. I would love to setup a dedicated computer with some internal drives....

I dont have much experience using xbmc as a player on ipads, but I'll give it a shot over the next few days. Drop me a PM and I'll let you know what I find out.

As someone who has had planted tanks you years, I'm impressed.

Proof good photography can make things look extraordinary.

Shooting in wide angle makes everything look dramatic lol

How do you get Xbmc to show cover art on the remote app? Is it some setting I'm missing?

The xbmc remote app does this by default. It pulls the banner art from the target machine. If you haven't downloaded banner art it won't display anything

Thanks! I'll give this a try :)

What does the SQL xbmc implementation give you?

The sql server let's me maintain the same library across any xbmc host on my network (I have 4). This means that the "watched" tag, artwork, etc persist across all devices. I can pause in one room, then resume in another etc.

Ah of course. I never change the artwork, and am not that bothered by the watched tag. Being able to pause and resume would be cool I guess, but I can probably live without it. Thanks for the reply though.

This is awesome. How do you ever not watch movies until your eyes bleed in that room?

Not going to lie, it is definitely a room that leads to me getting fatter. I often use the laptop attached to the home theatre as a 60" gaming platform for the few games this thing can handle. Other times the 60" screen is nice if Im trying to design a audio program or want to test a video im working on on a TV screen vs a monitor

Points to you for not putting humble in the title

We get it, you are fucking rich.

Far from it. We just buy smart. Get up at 4am for crazy sales on boxing day, clearance sales, end of year blowouts etc.

It's not a gaming rig. It's a programming/photo/video editing rig.

One of the image descriptions says that they don't, they use it for video/photo editing, in which case it's more than adequate.

Why do so many people in this thread think this? What is overly pricey about this setup? The CPU, perhaps. But nothing here screams to me "this guy is loaded"

Thank you! I was kind of surprised at some of the comments I got, other than the ridiculous computer investment everything else has been pretty modest honestly. Plasma screens, consumer hardware, nothing really insane.

Yeah, Nothing screens im modest like a polished aluminum desk made to look like an aircraft wing.

Not going to lie, that fish tank is fucking awesome.

Why no PS3? I mean.. why get a blu-ray player and not just a PS3?

I hate to be "that guy" but I really hate the controller layout. I'm also a minimal gamer so investing in another game console that I would use infrequently seemed silly.

All I need is a decent video card in my Server and it will be a pretty kickass gaming rig.. heh.. But alas I fear it would be wasted on me. I game, but casually on that PC.

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