Progress without pictures:

    I lost some of the pictures from the mid- to late- part of the mod process, due to various problems. The first thing that I lost pictures of was the installation of the products sponsored by ADPmods. ADPMods is one of the, if not the premier online retailer for Canada (they also ship to the U.S.). Anand at ADPmods sent me a pair of 4" red cold cathodes with dual inverter, and a 60mm aluminum fan. I 7-volt-modded the aluminum fan, and it pushes a good amount of air while staying below the hard drive's sound level. The dual cathodes work nicely with the clear bottom, and give the DVD Player Mod a cool glow when the switch is on. With the flick of the included switch, it is right back to stealthy.

(64) Switch installed	(65) Bottom lit up

     Dave Brown at EasyPCKits was kind enough to throw in a 256MB stick of DDR RAM for the DVD Player Mod. While EasyPCKits does not sell memory, they do sell custom lapping kits and other cooling accessories, with Priority Mail shipping and great customer service.

     The main sponsor for the DVD Player Mod was VIA Technologies. Pat Meier was able to supply me with a prototype EPIA MII-12000 motherboard straight from Taiwan. This particular board is not yet available to consumers stateside, but it should be sometime soon. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, VIA makes the mini-ITX form factor motherboard and embedded CPU solution that is the choice of many modders out there who need to fit a computer into small places. Our own Greg Sowell has a few articles here on ExtensionTech, with a slightly older version of the mini-ITX motherboard. Due to its size, extremely small power consumption, and consequently minimal heat output make it a much better source than microATX or flexATX motherboards.

     The EPIA MII-12000 uses VIA's embedded C3 processor running at 1.2Ghz. While the C3 won't outperform the latest processors from AMD or Intel, it is meant to serve a different market. The low power consumption by both the motherboard and processor means that you don't have to have a large, bulky, expensive power supply; many people use adapters that plug directly into the wall socket. The heatsink/fan unit on the MII-12000 processor is very small and very quiet. You would find a similar heatsink/fan on the northbridge chipset of ATX motherboards (forget an AMD or Intel processor having a similar sized heatsink). The newest motherboards from VIA have a plethora of ports built-in to the motherboard, including RCA composite video out, S-video, LAN, USB 2.0, and Firewire. With the included riser card, VIA has also added a PCMCIA slot and a Compact Flash slot. While the current hardware does not support booting from the CF slot, it is a possibility for the future incarnations of this board. 2GB and 4GB Compact Flash cards have been floating around recently, and booting your operating system from a Compact Flash card would be incredibly fast. The PCMCIA slot allowed me to use a laptop wireless card from D-Link. Without the PCMCIA capabilities of the riser, I would have had to use a USB PCI adapter (because a PCI card would not clear the top of the DVD case). The best feature of the MII-12000 motherboard is the PadLock ACE security feature that is basically an AES crypto algorithm. I will be authoring an article in the near future covering this technology and its implementation more in-depth, but in a nutshell, the PadLock algorithm coded into the C3 processor allows for AES encryption, often used for securing wireless protocols, that is unparalleled at this time (many times faster than current software based AES cryptography).


Internals:

     The next picture shows most of what is inside of the DVD Player Mod now, and how it is arranged.

(66) Internals

    I'll start with the hard drive. It is a Seagate 13GB drive I purchased on the [H]ard|Forum a while back. I always buy Seagate hard drives because of their reliability and quietness. The hard drive is mounted on the back of the DVD Player Mod with three screws, and just barely clears the top of the PCMCIA riser from the motherboard. As you can see in the picture, I had to do some cable folding for the hard drive.

     Next up is the front button panel, which you can see on the next corner clockwise from the hard drive. I used two plastic tabs bent down from the front of the case to hold the button backing snug against the front of the case. Each button gives a resounding click when pushed.

     The LCD is mounted flush to the front of the case, right under the DVD drive. It is plugged into the motherboard via the USB headers.

     The DVD drive sits directly on top of the LCD, and is held in place with a bracket I made that extends from the front of the case.

     All the way in the far corner, not visible in the above picture, is the power button. Yes, even the power button on the front of the case is functional. Because of the orientation of the power button, I had to come up with a small button to fit into the template. My solution? I stole a PCB button from the inside of a dead optical mouse, soldered some wires onto it, and plugged it into the motherboard. You press the button on the front of the case for power, and it acts like the normal power button on a computer.

(67) Extra PSU fan

     Picture 67 shows the extra fan I added to blow air over the power supply heatsinks, which is then drawn out of the case by the 60mm ADPmods fan. The fan is actually stolen from the default heatsink on a BFG Ti4200 I used to own. A little Dremel work, a little soldering, and it now performs an admirable job of keeping the PSU cool.

(68) A different angle

     Taking a look at the angle in picture 68, you can see the receiver for the remote just to the left of the rats nest of wires.

     The cathodes are below all of this, and can be seen by looking underneath the case.

(69) Underside

Comparison:

     After all the internals were pieced together, wires plugged in, and screws tightened, what I have left looks just like what I started with.

(70) First picture, revisited	(71) How it looks now

     I'd consider that to be a success! Here are a few more overall shots of the case:

(72) Logos	(73) Back side	(74) Power ports

So, can you tell it's a computer?:

     Below are two pictures of the entertainment center in my family's basement (my brother and I are usually the only people in our family that hang out down here). The first picture is with flash, the second is without.

(75) Flash	(76) No flash

     From the top, the components are: 20" TV, PS2, VCR, DVD Player Mod, N64, and Stereo Receiver. Not shown in the cabinet are the Atari 5200 and the SNES.

     The wiring for all of this isn't too complicated if you are used to messing around with the A/V components that revolve around your TV and stereo. I set up a 4-speaker surround sound system in my basement once I put the DVD Player Mod in that sounds like an expensive stereo setup. Everyone who has heard it so far says they can't believe how much I paid for it. Here's the breakdown:

     The DVD Player Mod has three wires in the back: power, audio, and video. The audio cable goes from the speaker port on the back of the motherboard to a splitter that converts it to a left/right (Red/White) A/V style jack. The red/white audio plugs connect to the back of the stereo receiver. I bought the receiver at Goodwill (a local thrift store) for $2.99. The receiver is probably from the late 70's, but it is in good condition, and very robust. From the receiver come wires for four different speakers; two in front of the person watching the TV (left / right) and two behind the person. The speakers I used are two different pairs; one pair of speakers came with my mini shelf system when I bought it years ago (Sharp, $100 for the mini system and speakers), and are nothing special or super-expensive. The other two speakers came from an Aiwa system that my friend and I snagged while dumpster diving, a time-honored [H] tradition. The Aiwa speakers are pretty nice, but not bank-breakers if you bought them in the store. I positioned the speakers so they all point towards the center (in front of the TV) and when the DVD Player Mod is playing music or a DVD, it sounds fantastic. Once again, how much did the whole stereo system cost? Yup, $2.99 for the receiver. I can almost guarantee you that there is not a system that sounds as good as this does for anywhere near the price. Below is a picture of one of the rear speakers, an Aiwa.

  Editors note: I had a good year with dumpster diving myself. Cough.

(77) Rear left speaker

     I use the RCA composite out video connector on the VIA motherboard to connect the DVD Player Mod to the TV. The video quality is impressive, especially when playing DVDs.


Software:

     The software that I used for the DVD Player Mod is generally free or inexpensive. I used Windows 2000 for the operating system (for stability). The remote control and buttons on the front panel are directed by Girder, which is a $20 program that has no free counterpart that I know about. While Girder can initially be complicated to set up, once you get the hang of it, it is easy to program buttons. The front panel buttons that required all that soldering are labeled; Eject, Play, Pause, Stop, Forward, Back. Guess what function they have for the DVD Mod? The controls work both in Winamp (for audio) and WinDVD (for DVDs).

     The LCD is controlled by Crystal Control, the program that comes free with the CrystalFontz display. As shown earlier, the LCD shows the time and date when not in use. When Winamp is open and playing music, a spectrum analyzer comes up on the LCD. It looks pretty cool. See below videos for the spectrum analyzer in action.

     How do I tie it all together so that I only have to use a remote to enjoy some music or a DVD? I use myHTPC, a free front-end program that is a fantastic resource. The DVD Player Mod boots directly into myHTPC. You can program and configure pretty much everything that shows up on the screen. Here is the menu, and a few screens.

(78) Main menu	(79) Van Halen music	(80) BTO music

     Last but not least, I have a few videos that show off the DVD Player Mod. The first video shows the front panel action, with Eject. The second video shows myHTPC being used with the remote, and the spectrum analyzer. The third video is just the spectrum analyzer.


     So, the DVD Player Mod is a success. It looks like a stock DVD player, but it has my entire music collection catalogued, it can be controlled with a remote, it has a sweet 4-speaker surround sound stereo system supporting it that cost $2.99. But how much did the computer cost? Let's go for a price breakdown.

    
• Case - $5 + $15 shipping = $20 (eBay)
   
• DVD Drive - $10 + $12 shipping = $22 (eBay)
   
• Wireless PCMCIA Card - $10 + $8 shipping = $18 (eBay)
   
• Fan and cathodes - Sponsored (ADPmods)
   
• Power Supply - Free (Already owned)
   
• RAM - SPonsored (EasyPCKits)
  
• Motherboard / CPU - Sponsored (VIA Technologies)
   
• Game Pad - $10 (Best Buy)
   
• Acrylic - $12 (Home Depot)
   
• Adhesive, Cut-Off Discs - $15 (ACE Hardware)
   
• RF Remote - $10 + $8 shipping = $18 (eBay)
   
• Hard Drive - $15 + $5 shipping = $20 ([H]ard|Forum)
   
• LCD - $21 (1/2 of price, $21, sponsored by CrystalFontz)
  

     Anand at ADPmods supplied the DVD Player Mod with dual 4" red cathodes and a sweet aluminum 60mm fan that kept the mod looking and feeling cool.

     Dave at EasyPCKits supplied the DVD Player Mod with 256MB of PC2100 DDR RAM, the perfect amount for watching full-screen DVDs or just playing music.

     CrystalFontz for covering half of the LCD cost, and for making the LCD that can run off USB motherboard headers.

     And finally, last but not least, a huge thank you to Pat Meier and VIA Technologies for supplying the DVD Player Mod with the VIA EPIA MII-12000 motherboard/CPU. The mini-ITX is really the only solution for small case mods like the DVD Player Mod, and there is a wide range of mini-ITX options from VIA to choose from. Keep your eyes peeled for more mods coming from me using this motherboard, and also an article or two on wireless security and the PadLock suite available on the MII-12000.

     If you liked this mod and want to send me comments, have a question, suggestion, anything, feel free to email me, or pop into the forums if you'd like. The link for that is in the navigation.

     Please note that like most student modders, I have no job and no money. That means I probably won't hesitate to sell a mod if the price is right (to fund my next mod, and so on). If someone were to buy the DVD Mod from me, I could not include any sponsored products, but arrangements could be made to purchase and install similar products. I also give in to 'modder-for-hire' if someone wants a computer in a VCR, DVD player, receiver, stereo, whatever.


Closed:

   I thought it would be slick to compile the above videos, and a little extra into a longer showcase video. You of course need Windows Media Player 9 codec. Anyway, click the link below. It is zipped up, run time of a minute and 15 seconds, and about 2.2 megs. Enjoy!

(The long movie. Hey, it's an excuse to jam a tune!)

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