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Good computer for a standalone MP3 player...

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LAN_403

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Sat Feb 11 2006, 07:32AM

Registered Member #56 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:02AM
Location: Southern Califorina, USA
Posts: 2445

See my dvd-rom CD player with a tube based amp! for the rest of the project, here is where the discussion is (per the project board rules)
Ok, so I was thinking of giving my cd player a littel more processing ability, which means using the dvd drive as a normal drive instead of a cd player... But to do that requires the computer you plug into to drive :-@

So I was wondering what I would need to pay for a little mobo that had enough processing capability to run some type of mp3 player and ideally a web page that controlled it...
I am thinking I will need around 200mhz for that? It need to have integrated atapi/ide for the dvd-rom and the hdd at the least. It would be sweet to get the file os small enough to run it off a flash card (which I believe requires you to have more ram than the os so you create a ram drive to run the os off, since the repeated read/write cycles would be too much for a normal compact flash?), but I think I can live with a normal hdd with decent sound isolation...
I also need a way to get good music off of it, probably the easiest way would to use a spdif signal, then use an external dac since any on board sound card would be prone to noise from the computer... It will also need integrated ethernet, and be an air cooled processor.
But mainly it needs to be cheap

So what size os am I looking at for a mp3 player that will scan the dvd drive/network and have a web page to control it be?

Any suggestions to a cheap small aircooled mobo with a cf slot, room for plenty of ram, integrated ide/atapi, and spdif out?

Really the only thing I have seen close to what I want to do was the bass station... I will probably contact him if it looks like this is ever going to get off the ground...

Thanks!

tecNik

Sun Feb 12 2006, 01:38PM

Registered Member #77 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 10:24AM
Location: Leicestershire, England
Posts: 26

Maybe some kind of Mini-ITX or PC/104. I'd think the most interesting part of this project will be the operating system.

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Mon Feb 13 2006, 05:02AM

Registered Member #56 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:02AM
Location: Southern Califorina, USA
Posts: 2445

I will admit I am not really a softare guy, so unless one of you sugests a really cool idea I will probably end up putting win2k and winamp on it, then use autoit with the remote control hack...

I havn't really had much time to look arround mobo's yet, but before I spend to much time looking it it possible to find one that meets my criteria or am I looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow

Thanks!

Carbon_Rod

Fri Feb 17 2006, 02:04AM

Registered Member #65 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 06:43AM
Location:
Posts: 1155

Why not try this for fun,

Or an old P2/P3 laptop with a dead LCD/batt should be cheap.
In server mode with no GUI anything better than a 266 MHz unit should be able to do it just fine. (built in sound driver may be a pain in linux.)

Cheers

Alex

Fri Feb 17 2006, 02:13AM

Geometrically Frustrated
Registered Member #6 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 04:18AM
Location: Bowdoin, Maine
Posts: 373

Ouch Carbon_Rod, that page looks cool but it's severely broken!

tecNIK is right on with the Mini ITX/PC/104 suggestion. PC/104 would be ideal, because it can be specialized for the application, and it's smaller, but it's also bound to be more expensive. The cheapest Mini ITX would fit your criteria for $100 or so total. You could use CF, but if you use a HD it could act as a fileserver/music server too. Chris Russell is making a Mini ITX radio for that purpose (it'll have more functionality than that, but its main purpose is to be a radio). Maybe he'll tell us more about it.

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Fri Feb 17 2006, 03:38AM

Registered Member #56 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:02AM
Location: Southern Califorina, USA
Posts: 2445

hmm, that looks interesting... I am still debating whether to go for linux (it would be the first time I used an os that was not made by M$) or to stick with win2k. I am not really concerned about precessing capability/storage requirements (those are cheap these days), but having it integrate seamlessly might be easier with a linux based solution... Although the autoit scrips look like they will work very well for what I want it to do (although I have yet to try them for my self)

I think I found the right mobo...
EPIA-5000, by VIA it is a 500mhz fanless eden processor and it has all of the ports, including spdif; and they are going for like $70 on ebay... I know I have some ram laying around, but if I am going to be using a hard drive I am going to buy a nice quiet one. Its small size will also help keep the amp nice and compact :)

I am kind of hesitant to use an old laptop because they often won't support linux, they need forced air cooling, and I will need to add a card for spdif out somehow... Also the stock audio usually sucks...

BTW the site worked fine for me... Both IE and Firefox...

Alex

Fri Feb 17 2006, 04:39AM

Geometrically Frustrated
Registered Member #6 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 04:18AM
Location: Bowdoin, Maine
Posts: 373

Yes, that VIA board should work well. Using linux would make it a lot easier to remotely manage and set up in a box with navigation buttons, but use whatever you feel comfertable with.

As for the site, validator.w3.org finds 79 errors, and it doesn't work in my version of firefox (1.0.4), so I don't think it's too absurd to say it's borked.

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