19 responses to “More On Hank’s HTPC-based System (Last One I Promise!)”

1. 

   Casey Zeller March 10th, 2009 at 07:30

   Awesome, that is all I have to say. I have always wanted a tv that came out of a cabinet or shelf. That is really sleak. I like how you have hidden all of the components of the system in the cabinet. The clip from Hulu looked very good. I know that you have spent come time putting it all together, but the end result looks really good. I am impressed on how well it all turned out.

2. 

   benkapps March 10th, 2009 at 08:05

   all i have to say is where do you get a Hooker cabinet??

3. 

   George Takahashi March 10th, 2009 at 09:28

   Amazing work and craftsmanship. I am assuming the hooker cabinet is completely custom made, although am curious, what brings up the monitor… servo motors? And it looks like there is a little arm at the back of the monitor to prevent scratching by the cabinet door. I would be more happy keeping the monitor out constantly, yet wife mandate takes precedence.

   Also curious, it mentions that you used HDMI input for the connection, yet for data from the computer, you don’t use DVI?

4. 

   Shaun Greene March 10th, 2009 at 10:12

   That looks very clean. I know you were originally targeting the $400 dell HTPC. Did you end up getting close to that price for your custom built one?

5. 

   Felipe Burneo March 10th, 2009 at 10:21

   I love the way the Vizio comes out and can be kept “out of sight”. I need to get one of those for my house back in Ecuador because my mom would be also happy. Is that piece of furniture custom-made or can it be bought somewhere online for regular customers?
   I’d buy one also for my desk so the desktop or my laptop could also be stored out of sight when I need it and give much more space to work with something else.

6. 

   Hank Feeser March 10th, 2009 at 10:23

   In response to questions thus far:
   1. The Hooker Cabinet is from Kiddle’s in Indy and made by Hooker, a little over $3grand on sale.
   2. The drive for the Hooker is a small dc motor via a chain-type drive, with stops at top and bottom. The arm George mentioned does just that; it has felt covering on the top radius.
   3. The advantage of HDMI over DVI is equal video performance plus audio over one cable.
   4. Cost-wise I actually came out just about equal. The Dell would have been $499 + tax + shipping; the custom-built was about $518, is faster, has more video memory, is running Windows 7, has the uber diNovo bluetooth keyboard, and is mine.

7. 

   Andrew Sadler March 10th, 2009 at 11:06

   I just watched Hank’s video in class and it looks very sleek. What a classy way to free up extra space within a home! It seemed like it only took about 25 seconds for the T.V. to pop up and get set. It’s great to see that the T.V. can also move up and down without the interference or blocking of the cables in back! Does the back of the cabinet open up if you need to do any tweaking?

8. 

   Vincent Witzel March 10th, 2009 at 11:51

   While the following may persuade you to break your promise for this to be your last HTPC post, just in case you do want to make another investment into a slick technology, take a look at this …

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkRnBB05ISU

9. 

   Kavika Daga March 10th, 2009 at 11:56

   I was truly amazed when I saw the video of the Hooker cabinet in class. It was amazing to see a TV just pop out of what looks like a regular TV cabinet. Its truly worth every penny of its price.

10. 

    Emily Hirsch March 10th, 2009 at 13:20

    I am very impressed! I can tell a lot of hard work went into that.

11. 

    Spencer McKee March 10th, 2009 at 13:27

    That’s pretty sweet. I have a friend who has some furniture similar to that with the TV inside and I always thought that was the coolest thing. I’m pretty excited about windows 7, vista is so slow.

12. 

    Katie Robinson March 10th, 2009 at 15:25

    That is really cool, I have always wanted a cabinet to hide my TV. The only thing I don’t like is it is nosiy from the way it sounds. But other that that I’m pretty impressed about how it all turned out in the end.

13. 

    Jongho James Lee March 10th, 2009 at 16:16

    I think the Hooker Cabinet is really cool. It was my first time seeing this kind of cabinet. I think the good thing about this cabinet is that it saves space in the room. I like how it can be used as a cabinet and tv storage.

14. 

    Tim Sutton March 10th, 2009 at 17:53

    Hank, you never seem to amaze me. When the monitor first started coming out of the dresser I didn’t know what to think. I thought that it was some kind of new technology that you were showing the class, but I had no idea that it was in your house.lol This monitor is huge and I need one next. I also like the fact that it conserves space.

15. 

    Margaret Kendrick March 10th, 2009 at 18:13

    The hooker cabinet is really cool! I haven’t ever seen one that works like that. I think it’s great because it saves so much room, but I’m curious if I would use it to store stuff on top of the cabinet when the TV isn’t out or if I would just like the clean space.

16. 

    Breanna Ware March 10th, 2009 at 19:20

    Hank, that is the coolest thing. I’d get myself one if only I wasn’t a broke college student.

17. 

    David Bryant March 10th, 2009 at 19:21

    Outstanding, I want a tv like that except for it comes out of my base board of my bed. That is an awesome set up Hank! nice work!

18. 

    Nigel Wylie March 10th, 2009 at 22:25

    Wow that is cool. Antique, Classic furniture with all the modern technology. Great combination.

19. 

    Sergio Flores March 12th, 2009 at 10:02

    I have to say, that thing is pretty cool. Nice work on that for sure, I definitely have to get one of those cabinets.

    And how do you like Windows 7? Since Vista came out….I lost my trust in Microsoft so what’s your verdict on the new software system?