TouchME Media Center

[therantis]

This is my first ever case mod and has been inspired by the case at the following link:

http://www.origenae.com/product_x15e.htm

While this case is beautiful I didn't like the DVD tray and Media bays as they seem to disrupt the cases look. Plus the hefty $600 price tag helped discourage me as well. So I figure I can do one my self.

I've started with a black 17" Inwin tower case (17" being the standard width of home component stereo systems)

http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/17517.jpg

I've also purchase an 8" touch screen monitor from ebay to be mounted in the front of the case.

http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic6.jpg

To Complete the system I am using the Following Components:
Intel Pentium D 805
ASUS P5V800-MX w/ optical output module
512MB RAM
200GB Hard Drive
WirelessG PCI Card
Geforce 5200 Dual Monitor out (VGA/DVI)
TwinHan 102g Satellite DVB-S Card

Grand total so far: $650 (I had the hard drive and video card laying around)

There will be no optical drives in the system at this point since room is looking to be a premium but if I do add one it will be a slot load laptop dvd+rw.

So Here we go!!!


I Started by stripping the case of everthing I could and marking around the case where I need to take out 3.5" to make the case fit with in standard home theatre furniture. I had to be extra sure about getting these cut lines straight and square so obviously I used a square.

The Case Stripped:
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic2.jpg

The Section marking of the material to be removed:
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic1.jpg

I was careful to make sure that the section I was removing didn't contain any neccessary mounts or such for the MB.

Oops forgot to take pictures of the cutting but it's done and the case has been MIG welded back together. I chose to section the case with a dremel since it is nowhere near as violent as a jigsaw. I also had to remove a portion of the inside of the drive cage for the motherboard clearence. You can't see that in any of the pictures.

The Case Welded back together:
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic3.jpg

I then installed all the components. Wow! They fit! Tightly though.

http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic4.jpg

http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic5.jpg

So I started on the Face of the case.

http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic10.jpg

I started by removing all of the drive bay faceplates and the front usb ports. The gods must be on my side as the height of the monitor is exactly the width of the drive bays. I removed the cross members between the cdrom bays and the floppy bays and most of the material around the floppy bays.

Here is a picture of the lcd test fit (perfectly):
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic7.jpg

I then replaced the grill on the faceplate:
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic8.jpg

At this point I am planning on using some bondo to seal the lcd into place and paint the lcd housing black. I'm a little unsure at to whether I will paint the grill black or not as part of me likes the silver and the other part doesn't.

I then fitted the faceplate back on the case. another perfect fit as the lcd fits just between the face and the front metal of the case.

http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic9.jpg


Well That's it for now. I'll post some more progress in a couple of days.

[OvRiDe]

Welcome to the boards!!!

Nice start.. Looks great so far... Can't wait to see your progress!!

[Custom]

WOW nice mod so far mate good luck and welcome to TBCS!

[legoman786]

Very strange... I give you that. Also, I give you a thumbs up for trying that! Welcome to the boards.

[invalid]

love it. how much was the lcd?

[therantis]

love it. how much was the lcd?

Well it was a little hefty but around $250. It operates on 12v so you could use it in a CarPC as well. And since it's a touch screen it would be great for a GPS solution. It's big clear and crisp. I decided to do this because I just hate having my 50" TV on to play music.

[jdbnsn]

I love it!!! That is almost exactly what I was wanting to do with my media center. I couldn't afford the screen though, so I opted for a different look. But I think yours look fantastic, great job and welcome to TBCS (again).
Jon

[therantis]

Well, my day hasn't started of that great. My raid 0 array had a failed member but luckly that's why I have it so my desktop machine is up and running. Funny store though, when I called Dell (sorry to swear) I ending up getting my wifes best friend from high school as a support tech. Haven't seen him in years.

Anyways onto the mod.

I started today with a few goals.

1. Don't break the LCD
2. Permenently Mount the bezel of the LCD to the Case
3. Don't break the LCD
4. Start the body filler work around the LCD bezel
5. Don't break the LCD

So i took the LCD apart and that wasn't bad. 2 screws and the back comes off and then 4 screws hold the panel in the bezel. Voila it's apart and I don't think i broke the LCD.;)

http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic11.jpg

Next I dry fitted the bezel into the front face plate of the case.

http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic12.jpg

Then it was onto permently affixing the bezel to the case face. I used Plastic weld on both sides trying to keep it all neet and tidy.

http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic13.jpg

http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic14.jpg

Hopefully I will be able to post some pics of the first round of body filler later this evening.

That's all for now.

[Aero]

wow, lookin good. What are you going to run on it? Window Media Center, Linux?

[therantis]

wow, lookin good. What are you going to run on it? Window Media Center, Linux?

Not sure yet. Most likely Windows Media Center or Media Portal (Open Source) what ever works best with MyTheatre satellite software. Of course the concept is to have the control software/ menus running on the touch screen and the video output to my HDTV via DVI

[DaveW]

Impressive work so far. Keep it up...cos i'm watching you!



1. Don't break the LCD
2. Permenently Mount the bezel of the LCD to the Case
3. Don't break the LCD
4. Start the body filler work around the LCD bezel
5. Don't break the LCD
Good goals.

-Dave

[public_eyesore]

wow nice job and ideas

[tybrenis]

Looks awesome! Great way to enter the forums, welcome!!

[Slug Toy]

this may be a stupid idea, but ive liked it since i came up with it... the whole ten seconds.

i think you should integrate 5.1 surround sound into the case too. im sure you would be the one and only. id really like to see an 18 inch subwoofer hanging out of the bottom, rattling all your work apart. there's really nothing better is there?

ill shut up now.

[therantis]

this may be a stupid idea, but ive liked it since i came up with it... the whole ten seconds.

i think you should integrate 5.1 surround sound into the case too. im sure you would be the one and only. id really like to see an 18 inch subwoofer hanging out of the bottom, rattling all your work apart. there's really nothing better is there?

ill shut up now.

Well the 24"h X 24"d x 26"w box housing a dedicated 12" 300W Amped sub sitting next to it on the floor is more than capable of doing the same.:D

However TouchME will have Digital Optical & Coaxial Outputs to go straight to my surround sound receiver.

[therantis]

Well I've made it through the first 2 coats of filler and waiting for the second to dry. So tomorrow I'll be really able to finish off the LCD.

First Coat, I had left this in the garage to dry but it was way to cold and was taking forever so I broke down and stunk up the house.
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic15.jpg

Second Coat, sanded the first coat to find I still had a long way to go.
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic16.jpg


I am however starting to consider relocating the LCDs buttons or filling them in completely. Since the monitor can be operated via IR Remote I may just leave the IR window visable and fill the button holes.

What do you guys think?

[Custom]

I thoguht it was touch screen if so you can fill in all the buttons and just use the onscreen controls!

[therantis]

I thoguht it was touch screen if so you can fill in all the buttons and just use the onscreen controls!

It is a touch screen but it still has a power button and an OSD that may need to be used once in a while.

[legoman786]

relocate the buttons else where so that u can still use them but they are not smackdab in the middle of your case... its an idea

[onelegout]

yeah definately relocate them, you could even just have them on the top of the frame so that you would have to take the top panel off the case to see them, that way you wouldn't have to look at them but they would still work!
This looks like a great mod! I'd try something like it myself if I had the money!

[therantis]

Well I think I've almost finished the front face. Here are some more pictures of the progress on the LCD Bezel mounting.

Last coat of filler applied.
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic17.jpg

Finished sanding of bezel.
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic18.jpg

First coat of Primer/Filler and then a sanding of the primer with 400Grit:
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic19.jpg

Final coat of primer/filler and one more sanding with 400grit:
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic20.jpg

My choice of amunition:
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic21.jpg

And tada! second coat applied of final color. I'll be sure to take some really good pictures once I have the LCD mounted (and showing picture I hope) and the rest of the front back together.
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic22.jpg

Hopefully It will dry a little closer to black then the very dark grey it looks currently wet.

[opengswede]

I really like this. Especially taking a tower and flipping it to desktop, out of the box thinking there, litteraly. About your system though, if you're going to use the lcd to access functions in, say Media Portal, beware that you need proper drivers for that, which should be supported by Media Portal (if this is not included in win XP, i'm not sure.

In addition, Media Portal does not support dual output (directX can only be run on primary monitor), which means that you'd be running the lcd if listening to music, then switching primary monitor if you want to to watch something on your 50" (was that right?) screen.

Further, in addition, Media Portal, to my experience, is ssslllooowww as $h1t. I hate it.

Basically, use Windows Media Center if you want better performance.
If you want relly good performance, use Linux (mythTV or Freevo). However, drivers for the lcd might be tricky to get working, I'm sure that the satellite reciever is supported but don't take my word for it.

Again, great work. I wish I had time modding... :(
-.erik

[public_eyesore]

cool paint job, itll hid any flaws(if ya gott'em)

[therantis]

Well that paint took forever to dry and it's still a bit tacky after 48 hours:eek: . But anyways I have some nice progress to show/completion of the front of the case.

Here is the finished product:
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic23.jpg

I am considering hitting the finish with a 2000+ grit sandpaper to take the gloss off the finish but I'm not sure I will have to see how the case looks with my Home Theatre System.

Next order of business is to shorten the top and both side panels to close up the case. I haven't decided how I'm gonna cut these yet cuz I'd really love to keep the current finish on the panels but I will not be able to do that with a dremel. I wonder if they make metal cutting blades you can put on a table saw.

Any Idea's Guys

Also I'm going to attempt to stealth the USB ports which used to be mounted in the drive bay area back behide the large slotted grill on the left of the case in the picture.

[Brunhold]

Nice work so far!

Take a jigsaw and a joist to cut in a straight line. That is how I cut my door out of the side.

[Rankenphile]

Thumbs up, bro. Very clever.

Just an idea, but have you considered adding handles to this to make it easier to transport? Putting a couple spring-loaded handles that lie flat when not in use on the top or sides of the case would make your life much easier when it comes time to move this box around.

Either way it is a very clever implementation. Let us know what media center OS you end up going with, and your feelings about it. I'm considering making a DVR/MC box here soon and was looking at MythTV, but I'm still up in the air about it.

[TheAtomicMan]

Are you going to turn that power button rightside up?


Let us know what media center OS you end up going with
From that last picture it looks like he's going with Windows.

[Rankenphile]

From that last picture it looks like he's going with Windows.

I realize that, but I was wondering if he ends up running Windows Media Center, or if it will be a program for XP, or what.

[therantis]

Well right now i'm looking at Windows Media Center + MyTheatre to run my DVB Card however unless I can some how hack the MCE interface to launch MyTheatre for TV and remove a few other un-needed menu options (My Pictures and such) it may not be my best choice. Also I am going to take a look at MythTV as it has a DVB plugin module and a nice customizable interface.

MythTV runs on linux and I am by far even familiar with linux so it could be an educational adventure:rolleyes:

I'll let you guys know. Hopefully tonight I can get the side panels cut and touched up to be put back on. And maybe even get some nice feet made or find an old stereo and steal the feet from it.

As for the power button, I will probably leave it the way it is since it is an elaborate peice of molded plastic on the back side (spring action built in). But I suppose I could just glue it to the face from behide to turn it. Something I never would have thought of. Total attention to detail you have there.

[OvRiDe]

Since your not sure about the whole linux part of it. Check out KnoppMyth (http://mysettopbox.tv/knoppmyth.html). Its an offshoot of Knoppix that already has Myth instegrated. It will give you a bootable CD that you can run off of and try it out. That way you can maybe kick the tires abit before you go thru the whole linux installation. Im not sure about the stability of KnoppMyth, but a few have my friends have said its decent, but they said a full installation was better in the long run.

I am aware that you don't have a optical drive in your system, but you could hook one up temorarily just to test. Might save you some time if you end up not liking Myth. :eek:

EDIT: Something fun to play around with might be frodoplayer (http://www.frodoplayer.com/) (runs in Windows), its actually a front end for car computers, but its setup for touchscreens, so it might be fun to play with. I don't think it will have all the functionality you require, but it may be kinda fun.

[opengswede]

if going the linux way + mythtv, i deeply recommend fedora as OS and follow the guide at http://wilsonet.com/mythtv/fcmyth.php.

it's fast, easy and get updated regu.. regur.. regrarl... often.

knoppMyth is nice, with a bootable CD but is based on Debian, which is less frequenent in bells and whistle updates (that you might not need, so it could be a viable solution).
Both have graphical and easy installations.

if you need any more info, I'm currently working on my mythv box... but it's based on via mini-itx, which happens to be a bit troublesome...

One hint, DO NOT USE LVM. that is prone to disk writing errors during multiple disk accesses. Fedora uses that as default, so use the manual disk setup thingy.
-.erik

[therantis]

Well I've been playing with Fedora and have been unsuccesful at getting the touch screen working. It only came with windows drivers and the manuf. site does not have linux drivers. So I may need to stick with windows.

[therantis]

Well I finally got started on the side panels of the case. Again since I have taken 3.5 inchs out of the length of the case I needed to do the same to the side panels. I also wanted to keep the original finish on the panels so destroying the finish needed to be avoided.

Here we go!

I masked off the area where the jigsaw would be sliding on the panel and then scribed a line across the panel and then clamped a straight edge (square) to the panel to use as a guide for the jigsaw.
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic24.jpg

Top Panel cut and standing beside the bottom panel.
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic25.jpg

All 3 panels have now been cut. you can see on the bottom panel that the jigsaw got away on me a little bit, but that's ok since its on the bottom and no one will ever see it. But I'll know it's there.
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic26.jpg

The pieces that where cut off the ends of the panels. I need to rescue the metal clips on the front end of each piece so that they may be reattached to the now cut panels.
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic27.jpg

Clip removed from the side panel, I used my dremel to grind away the material on the edge until the clips basically fell off.
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic28.jpg

Clip removed from the top panel: (no picture of the bottom panel)
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic29.jpg

The Clips removed
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic30.jpg

I've never used this stuff but hopefully it will be strong enough to bond the clips on to the cut panels.
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic31.jpg

Clips bonded onto the cut panels. I could only do 2 panels since I didn't have enough clamps to do all at once. That's ok it only takes 20 minutes for the stuff to set.
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic32.jpg

Well hopefully the next posting will be with the panels on and some hometheatre style feet for this bad boy. Also I need to figure out something for the other side of the case (the bottom of the tower) It didn't have a panel. I may just have to fill it smooth and then paint it. If I do this of couse I will probably need to paint all of the panels as I will never get a matching color.

[jdbnsn]

Looking great so far! I am still working on a similar media center and I was planning on running windows media center edition 2005. I have been running it on my home PC to see how it works and I'm a little concerned, it seems a bit sluggish and the TV feed locks up consistently after anout 2 minutes of video, I'm curious how it works out for you if that is what you go with and if it works well, did you have to tweak it in any way? Just a thought here, you mentioned feet for your box, I thought about cutting short peices of ~2" conduit style pipe and shaping them up a bit which would make decent feet and leave lots of room for design.

[therantis]

Looking great so far! I am still working on a similar media center and I was planning on running windows media center edition 2005. I have been running it on my home PC to see how it works and I'm a little concerned, it seems a bit sluggish and the TV feed locks up consistently after anout 2 minutes of video, I'm curious how it works out for you if that is what you go with and if it works well, did you have to tweak it in any way? Just a thought here, you mentioned feet for your box, I thought about cutting short peices of ~2" conduit style pipe and shaping them up a bit which would make decent feet and leave lots of room for design.

Well I have decided on Media Portal because of it's highly customisable interface and since I will still be using MyTheatre for my DVB card. It runs very fast on my setup.

As for feet I'm either going to find an old receiver and steal them or use a hole saw to cut a 2" diam by 1/2" from wood then use some chrome pinstriping to wrap the feet in.

[jdbnsn]

Sounds good, I think I need to look into Media Portal and MyTheatre a little. I know nothing about them and a good alternative to Media Center may be the way to go.

[public_eyesore]

looking better and better each day. Keep up the good work.

[XcOM]

i love it, it has given me some good ideas for my next mod (WHen i can afford it that is)

[opengswede]

Well I have decided on Media Portal because of it's highly customisable interface and since I will still be using MyTheatre for my DVB card. It runs very fast on my setup.

I've decided to do somthing serious with my mythtv box at the moment, including pushing into an old dvd-player. Just wondered, do you get Media Player to handle dual output? If that is the case, they've improved lately and would be a viable alternative.

looks good by the way. looking forward to see it in action.
still makes me want more time for these kinds of passtimes.
.erik

[therantis]

Just wondered, do you get Media Player to handle dual output? If that is the case, they've improved lately and would be a viable alternative.



I don't think so. The TV/MPG video playback will be handled by MyTheatre which handles dual output very good. I wanted the ability to have the project play music with out the tv on or requiring a mouse or keyboard hence the touch screen. It's a little overboard I know, but that's what moddings all about right!?

8)

[opengswede]

I don't think so. The TV/MPG video playback will be handled by MyTheatre which handles dual output very good.
That explains it, shall have a look at that.

I wanted the ability to have the project play music with out the tv on or requiring a mouse or keyboard hence the touch screen.
Yeah, I know. I have the same thoughts, but I thought I just use a remote and an LCD...

It's a little overboard I know, but that's what moddings all about right!?

8)
It should be! My hack will come out looking lame in comparison. It'll be fast and dirty, which isn't really modding, but time, om my god were is the time!

thanks for the heads up about MyTheater.
-.erik

[therantis]

Well I'm only 2 weeks into this project and have discovered it's much like home reno's, you drywall, tape, mud, sand, prime, paint all in 2 days and then it take 2 years to put the baseboards back on:D

But Anyways I have finished the touch ups on the side panels and they fit good. I had to do something with the left side of the case (former bottom) so I have started the process of filling the bottom to sand it flat.

Only the first coat.
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic33.jpg


But todays big progress has been the feet for TouchME. I wanted to go for the classic Home Theatre Receiver feet (chrome) so here is how I have done it.

Started with a scrape of 1/4 MDF and a 2 1/4" hole saw.
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic34.jpg

:eek: Special note: Cheap hole saw + MDF = LOTS OF SMOKE :eek:

Once I had cut the four feet I then created a recess on the bottom of the feet (for black rubber case feet to be attached) using a 1" forsner bit.
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic35.jpg

After I created the recess on all four feet I then used a counter sink bit on the center hole for the screw that will be used to attach the feet to the case.
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic36.jpg

I then used some metal repair tape and wrapped the feet with it. As I contemplated the unevenness of the finish I got to thinking that I would preffer a brushed metal look. So I used some 1000 grit to sand the repair tape. This didn't work to well since the tape was so uneven. I then decided to tape down a peice of the repair tape to a flat surface and sand it, I also realized that first sanding with 180 then 1000 turned out better results.
http://www.fitchie.ca/casemod/pic37.jpg

The one on the right is the brushed one.

Well I'm off to bed, just wanted to give my thread a bump since It had fallen a few places in the forum.