Jukebox

One of my computers is a dedicated jukebox.

Unfortunately, this computer has been acting up so I need to figure out what is wrong and fix it. Twice in the past days it has shut itself off, for reasons unknown. The system is pictured below and I've had some fun modding it - I used glow wire drive cables since I also added an aquarium side panel. The aquarium lighting was dim so I stuck in a blue cathode light as well. :)

This computer just sits there and holds a copy of all my music, ripped to MP3 format. Yes, I know there are many better formats, but MP3 works on every device I have, from my car's CD player to my iPod mini. When I want to listen to something, I just fire up iTunes, Windows Media Player, or WinAmp (these programs all have various advantages and disadvantages). Playing music this way is infinitely better than searching through a stack of CD's for the right one, at least to me.

Since I can re-use the CDRW and some harddrives, the total cost of a replacement computer is about $300: $155 for the case/mainboard/power supply (Biostar IDEQ 200v), $70 for a CPU (Athlon XP 2400), and $80 for memory (512 MB). The onboard sound and video are good enough for the intended use. The CPU and memory are chosen for good price/performance ratios, I don't need the latest and greatest (and most expensive). I like the Biostar SFF systems; my other two computers are basically clones.

The other purpose my Jukebox serves is to be a ReplayTV server, using the very handy DVArchive. This program turns a computer into a networked ReplayTV - it can copy shows off the ReplayTV, or let the ReplayTV play shows off the computer.

When the new parts arrive I'll build it, move over two harddrives, and it should be up and running with just a few other tweaks. However, I really like the look of the aquarium case mod, so I'll just leave it running in the corner.

The jukebox is running Windows XP, and I considered switching it to Linux. But, I want Windows for this system as there are a bunch of multimedia apps I use (TMPGEnc, DVD2SVCD) that are Windows based. Plus, I can put a game or two on it and play the occasional network game when someone visits. The jukebox is currently a VIA EPIA M10000 mini itx system, which means it really isn't powerful enough for games.

Besides, I can always build another machine to run Linux and be a MythTV box!

Jukebox


Blue Glow