Kaliko Systems Limited

Make a Low-Power Media Server

Future Media Server

My current Atom media server works very well, even with high-definition video streaming, but my additional requirements for a future Media Server are:
  1. Very Low Power. Low enough such that I am willing to leave it constantly live.
  2. Passive Cooling.  As fans are noisy, and unreliable in the long-term.
  3. Gigabit Ethernet. To allow for HD streaming along with file copying.
  4. Catch-up TV Downloading. Centrally handling catch-up TV program downloading.
  5. Digital TV Twin Tuner. This new FreeView card is to replace my current single tuner card. 
  6. HD Satellite TV. A FreeSat card, to serve high-definition live TV and also capture recordings.
  7. Print Server. A central Print Server capability with automatic printer power control.
I think that my very low power and passive cooling requirements have been met by the recently introduced Intel D945GSEJT motherboard and processor. This motherboard uses a laptop chipset to achieve idle power of about 10 watts. A Web site (see http://www.homeserverhacks.com/2009/06/hands-on-whs-build-with-intel-d945gsejt.html) shows this motherboard with a 1 TeraByte "green" hard disk spun-down at an amazing 13 watts. This new motherboard also provides Gigabyte Ethernet, DVI/VGA, a low profile and has a partially built-in power supply (only needs an external 12V brick). The new board is not expensive (even though it is almost twice the cost of the original Atom board). I expected this new Intel board to have a dual-core atom, but it does not. However, a dual-core would increase the power requirements by a few watts, and is not essential for a server. As this new board does not need a ATX PSU, so my old case is not ideal. I have been impressed by what Lockheed has done fitting this board and a 3.5 inch drive into a M350 case (see http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=54161), so perhaps this is the way to go (although I think that I would try and add more support for the hard drive).

Although the power switching of USB drives works well, it is still an inconvenience. With the availability of low-power high-capacity disk drives, the power switching of drives may not now be the best solution. It is still a requirement for me to have the hard drive spun-down when not in use, so I would need to have the OS booting and running from a pen drive (like on my NSLU2). A large pen frive would allow for bit torrent downloads to it.

Catch-up TV is dominated in the UK by the BBC iPlayer. This is a DRM based system that has both streaming and downloading options. Streaming is supported to PCs and a few hardware devices (but not my KISS 1600 media player). For downloading, I need to check that if I download on my server, I can then play-back on my media player PCs (using the BBC iPlayer Desktop).

I am not sure if the Digital TV recorder function in the media server is sensible, as it is not so easy to use as the Digital TV recorder box attached to our main TV. This stand-alone Digital TV recorder box uses about 17 watts and is on 24x7, so costs about $20 a year and does not support networking. However, some makers of Digital TV recorder boxes have said that they will add Ethernet to their up-market models in future, and also the low-cost Hauppauge media players can control their TV cards, so I am unsure what to do for the future.

Media Players

I have been thinking about replacing my small PC media players with lower power dedicated players. I like the style and cost of the Western Digital HD media player, but it has no Ethernet port and rigging a USB to Ethernet adapter is possible, but it may not support HD. The alternative older Hauppauge MVP requires a PC to boot from and does not support HD. As a possible alternative, I recently purchased a KISS 1600 cheaply. Having played with this, it is good, but I am not convinced that it is my long-term solution.  The new Zotac Ion mini-ITX boards sound particularly good for building a media player, as they have good HD capabilities (but require at least a case fan).

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