What hardware is recommended for Scala Designer or Player?

Build VS Buy (updated 1/22/2009)

Does it make sense to build a custom hardware solution or to buy a pre-packaged commercial system from a reputable vendor?

Please contact your Scala reseller about our ready-made hardware configurations from Equus, and NEC

When making this choice the guiding considerations are:

• What does this solution have to do? Is this solution a simple info display kiosk, a corporate desktop, a cable television barker channel at a head-end, or a geographically distributed digital satellite downlink station?

• Can a given commercial machine actually be made to do this role?

• Does the machine have enough expansion slots of the correct types?

•  Does the machine have enough free system resources? [Interrupts, Memory Address Ranges, I/O Ports, DMA Channels]

•  Are there any special purpose expansion cards that this solution requires that will simply not work with a given machine?

Download Scala's Recommendations

BASE Player-G45M-S:

[NOTE: Intel Integrated Graphics,HD4500/"Motherboard Video"
configuration is NOT permitted for Scala5/InfoChannel5 Players.  Currently we
_REQUIRE_ that either an nVidia or ATi PCIeX16 Graphics card be installed!!!]

SFF or uATX Tower, P4E-ATX12V Cert. PSU [Minimum 270W]

Very-Low, Low-Range VIDEO CARD as per above.

F.H.
EVGA 512-P3-N944-LR GeForce 9400 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
PNY VCG94512GXEB GeForce 9400 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
SAPPHIRE 100255L Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP

Low-Profile Video cards: as above.

G45M-S Motherboard: http://www.foxconnchannel.com/product/Motherboards/detail_spec.aspx?ID=en-us0000414

Intel LGA775, (Socket-T), Core2Duo-derviative CPU as per: http://www.foxconnchannel.com/product/Motherboards/compatibility.aspx?model_id=en-us0000414&model_name=G45M-S

Celeron Dual Core E1200,
Pentium Dual Core E2140,
Pentium Dual Core E2180.

2x512MB PC2-5300 DDR2-667 SDRAM, 40GB+ 5400/7200 RPM SATA HDD.  [MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE HDD IS 500GB!!!], 5.25" SATA DVD-ROM, Microsoft SystemBuilder OEM WinXP Pro SP3.

WORKHORSE Player-P45A-S:

Min-/Mid-/Full- Tower, 24-pin ATX, with 8-pin CPU, PSU [Minimum 350W], Low-End, Mid-Range, High-End, Very High-End VIDEO CARD as per above.

G45M-S Motherboard: http://www.foxconnchannel.com/product/Motherboards/detail_overview.aspx?ID=en-us0000394

Intel LGA775, (Socket-T), Core2Duo-derviative CPU as per: http://www.foxconnchannel.com/product/Motherboards/compatibility.aspx?model_id=en-us0000414&model_name=P45A-S

Mid-Range configuration:

Core2Duo E6320, (1.86 GHz, 4 MB-L2, 1066 MHz FSB),
Core2Duo E6750, (2.66 GHz, 4 MB-L2, 1333 MHz FSB),
Core2Duo E6820, (3.00 GHz, 4 MB-L2, 1333 MHz FSB).
 

High-End configuration:

Core2Duo E8200, (2.66 GHz, 2x3 MB-L2, 1333 MHz FSB)
Core2Quad E9450, (2.66 GHz, 12 MB-L2, 1333 MHz FSB)
Core2Quad E9650, (3.00 GHz, 12 MB-L2, 1333 MHz FSB)

2x1024MB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 SDRAM, 80GB+ 7200 RPM SATA HDD.  [MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE HDD IS 500GB!!!], 5.25" SATA DVD-ROM, Microsoft SystemBuilder OEM WinXP Pro SP3.

INDUSTRIAL Player-P45A-S:

ATX Mid-/Full Tower or 19" Rack-Mount Chassis, 24-pin ATX, with 8-pin CPU, PSU [Minimum 500W]
A 550+W Redundant PSU _STRONGLY_ encouraged!  The case  must have at minimum of
TWO cooling/exhaust fans independent of the PSU.   The Chassis must support a minimum of
three 5.25" half-height bays–compatible with the RAID-Enclosure & in order to support the
DVD-ROM drive. [four HH Bays for the 4-drive enclosures + DVD-ROM]

Mid-, High-End  VIDEO CARD as per above.

RAID-Configuration:

TWO DRIVES: Configure as a single RAID-1 volume.

THREE DRIVES: Configure as either a single RAID-1 volume with online HotSwap Spare OR
as a single RAID-5 volume.

FOUR DRIVES: Configure as either a single RAID-1+0 volume, (mirrored stripe set–PREF!)
OR as a single RAID-5 volume OR as a single RAID-6 volume.

EIGHT DRIVES: Configure as either a single RAID-1+0 volume, (mirrored stripe set–PREF!)
 OR as a two RAID-6 volumes which are then Striped together as a RAID-6+0 volume.

TWELVE DRIVES or complex HDD combinations: 

Special Consideration, please contact John Schilling, Scala, Inc.

A three bay or four bay Serial-ATA Hot-Swap drive enclosure. [examples:  SUPERMICRO
CSE-M35T-1B Black 5 Bay Hot-Swapable SATA HDD Enclosure;  iStarUSA BPU-340SATA
Aluminum Black 3 to 4 Bay HDD Hot-Swappable SATA Enclosure; Adaptec 2200200 Storage
Enclosure 335SAS black; or the iStarUSA BPU-230SATA Hot-Swappable SATA HDD
Enclosure]

It is important that the RAID volume be completely initialized _PRIOR_ to Hard Disk Imaging! 

This process can be totally completed in the "CTRL-A" ROM based Adaptec RAID Manager configuration utility. 

Units must be staged appropriately as a "Build+Verify" of a 3x250GB RAID-5 volume, or a 4x250GB RAID-6 volume, can require approximately FOUR HOURS!!!

High-End, Very High-End VIDEO CARD as per above.

G45M-S Motherboard: http://www.foxconnchannel.com/product/Motherboards/detail_overview.aspx?ID=en-us0000394

Intel LGA775, (Socket-T), Core2Duo-derviative CPU as per: http://www.foxconnchannel.com/product/Motherboards/compatibility.aspx?model_id=en-us0000414&model_name=P45A-S

High-End configuration:

Core2Duo E8200, (2.66 GHz, 2x3 MB-L2, 1333 MHz FSB)
Core2Quad E9450, (2.66 GHz, 12 MB-L2, 1333 MHz FSB)
Core2Quad E9650, (3.00 GHz, 12 MB-L2, 1333 MHz FSB)

2x2048MB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 or DDR2-1066 SDRAM, 2x80GB+ 7200, 10,000, 15,000 RPM SATA or SAS HDD.  [MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE HDD unit IS 500GB!!!]

5.25" SATA DVD-ROM

Microsoft SystemBuilder OEM WinXP Pro SP3.

Low-end Scala 5 & InfoChannel 3 Designers or Players

For traditional computer 4:3 ratio type displays in landscape mode with InfoChannel scripts that are no more complex than a single NTSC/PAL MPEG-2,(6 to 8 Mbps CBR), being displayed with up to two 72 pt. full screen width Text Crawls at resolutions up to 1024x768.

CPU: "Intel Celeron-L 4##", CoreSolo T1300+, or better. AMD Sempron 3200+
RAM: 512MB of DDR2-533 or better. (Dual-Bank == 2x256MB, preferable over "Single-Bank", 1x512MB)

See Mid-range below for Audio/LAN/HDD suggestions

Mid-range Scala 5 & InfoChannel 3 Designers or Players

Such systems should be ale to handle any practical InfoChannel 3 or 5 Scala Script,
(incorporating static images, full screen wipes, MPEG-1/-2, WAV/WMA,
MP3's), at the "Traditional" TV-ish resolutions: 640x480x32bpp,
720x480/576x32bpp, 800x600x32bpp, 1024x768x32bpp AND "16:9" landscape content up to 1280x768x32bpp.

CPU: Intel Pentium Dual Core E2### or CoreDuo T23##+ or Core2Duo E43##+. AMD "Athlon64-X2 3600+ " or Athlon BE-2### or better. Do not use Intel IOP chipsets for mid-range InfoChannel 5.

RAM: 1024MB of DDR2-667, (Dual-Bank == 2x512MB), or better.

Video card: See recommended Mid-Range video cards on the Recommended Video Cards page

Audio: Good/Stable audio solutions would be based on ADI "SoundMAX" and Realtek"ALC" series codecs implemented on many motherboards. "CMI, (C-Media), and Sigmatel CODEC's have been used successfully--but these products are not as well supported by the vendors. Yamaha and Creative Labs products should be avoided.

LAN: Intel and Realtek 10/100/1000 NIC solutions are nice and simple and stable. 3COM, Broadcom, and MARVELL are stable but secondary selections.

HDD's: 40GB/2MB-Cache, 5400RPM ATA-100 or SATA-150 or better.

High End Scala 5 & InfoChannel 3 Designers or Players

For handling displays in the 1360/1368x768x32bpp, 1920x1080x32bpp OR for "Portrait Mode" displays where the content is being "real time" 90-deg rotated OR when HD-WMV or HD-MPEG-2 content is to be displayed-- the following is important:

CPU: Intel Core2Duo E6450+ or XEON 5120+. [FSB 1066 MHz or better] AMD "Athlon64-X2 4200+", Athlon-X2 BE-2### or Opteron 22## or better.

RAM: RAM 2048MB of DDR2-800, (Dual-Bank == 2x1024MB REQUIRED), or better.

Video card: See recommended High-End video cards on the Recommended Video Cards page

RAID: If a "High Capability" Player is to be receiving extensive high bandwidth content updates WHILE playing high-capacity content--then a RAID controller/RAID-Disk-Array is highly encouraged! Tested and approved low-end/mid-range RAID controllers include:

Adaptec AHA2410S
Adaptec AHA2810S
3ware/AMCC Escalade 9###XX-series.

The recommended RAID configurations for a HIGH-END Player with be either "RAID-10", (a.k.a. RAID-1 + RAID-0 == a minimum of 4 HDD's), and RAID-50, (a.k.a. RAID-5 + RAID-0 == a minimum of 6 HDD's). Basic RAID-1, (2 HDD's), should be considered for any Player where up time/reliability is important. The RAID as implemented in some Intel ICH-5/6/7, VIA, and nVidia "Southbridge" parts is NOT considered appropriate. For extreme applications the only adapters we have current experience with are Compaq SmartArray6i UltraSCSI320 controllers. [and with these types of devices, 7,200, 10,000, 15,000 RPM 8/16 MB cache drives are the obvious choice!]

Products to be avoided or used in only very special cases:
Motherboard chipsets and graphics chips from SiS
Motherboard chipsets and graphics chips from VIA
Graphics chips from XGI

Examples of current mainstream/Corporate systems that have been deployed that would be appropriate for InfoChannel 3 and 5:
DELL Optiplex 740, 745
HP dc5750

Recommended Small Form Factor Barebones System:

ASUS Pundit, P2-M3A3200

Motherboards:

Mini-ITX:

iBASE

MI930 Socket AM2 w/AMD RS 690T Chipset

MI932 Socket AM2 w/AMD RS 690E Chipset

Regards,

Scala Technical Support