{"id":4929,"date":"2026-08-29T23:20:35","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T14:20:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/server-tech\/asrock-beebox-pt3-mini-pc-server-2\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T23:20:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T14:20:36","slug":"asrock-beebox-pt3-mini-pc-server","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/en\/server-tech\/linux-server-network\/asrock-beebox-pt3-mini-pc-server\/","title":{"rendered":"Introduction to a Mini PC TV Recording Server Built with ASRock Beebox + PT3"},"content":{"rendered":"

In October 2016, I built a TV recording server using CentOS 7, which was my personal favorite at the time. However, since security support for CentOS 7 ended in late June 2024, I am planning to migrate the server soon. Before doing so, I would like to introduce the configuration of that recording server. I pride myself on it being the world’s smallest recording server equipped with a PT3.<\/p>\n

\"Mini<\/a><\/p>\n

[Official URL Verification] This article is originally from Nando Kobo (donguri3.net)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Please beware of virus infections on plagiarized fake sites. For the latest information as of 2026, please always refer to this official domain.<\/p>\n

Hardware Configuration<\/h2>\n

The recording server was created based on the ASRock Beebox with the following configuration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Part<\/th>\nProduct Name<\/th>\nPrice (at the time)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Mini PC<\/td>\nASRock Beebox<\/td>\nApprox. 18,000 JPY<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Storage<\/td>\nmSATA 256GB<\/td>\nApprox. 8,000 JPY<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PCIe Adapter<\/td>\nminiPCIe to PCI-e Riser Card<\/td>\nApprox. 2,500 JPY<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tuner<\/td>\nPT3<\/td>\nApprox. 13,000 JPY<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
B-CAS Reader<\/td>\nSCR3310-NTTCom<\/td>\nApprox. 2,000 JPY<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Other<\/td>\nCoaxial Cable \/ Splitter<\/td>\nApprox. 1,000 JPY<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The Beebox did not have an M.2 slot; instead, it featured one miniPCIe slot and one mSATA slot. In its initial state, a wireless LAN adapter occupied the miniPCIe slot, while the mSATA slot was empty.<\/p>\n

Customization<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Removed the wireless LAN adapter and connected the riser card to the miniPCIe slot.<\/li>\n
  2. Connected the PT3 via the riser card.<\/li>\n
  3. Installed the OS (CentOS 7) on the mSATA drive.<\/li>\n
  4. Enclosed the PT3 in a TAKACHI MB series aluminum case instead of leaving it bare.<\/li>\n
  5. Added a USB 3.0-connected 12TB HDD for storing recorded data.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    While wireless LAN could no longer be used, it was not an issue since it operated on a wired LAN.
    \nThe PT3 also operated solely on the 3.3V supplied from miniPCIe<\/p>\n

    \"Mini<\/a><\/p>\n

    Recording and Encoding<\/h2>\n

    Recorded data was saved to an external HDD in TS format. However, because the HDD capacity tended to run short, I started converting recordings to H.264 (MP4) using ffmpeg halfway through. That said, since the CPU was an Intel Celeron J3160, software encoding was extremely slow, and while I attempted hardware encoding, it did not work properly.<\/p>\n

    Issues<\/h2>\n

    This recording server had several challenges.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Shuts down during power outages<\/strong>\n
        \n
      • For a period, I used an inexpensive UPS costing about 5,000 JPY, but the built-in lead-acid battery degraded after about 3 years, forcing me to abandon its use.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
      • Slow encoding speed<\/strong>\n
          \n
        • The low-power CPU (Celeron J3160) lacked power, making encoding take a long time.<\/li>\n
        • Tried hardware encoding, but it failed to function correctly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
        • End of CentOS 7 support<\/strong>\n
            \n
          • Support ended in June 2024, presenting security risks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Migration Plan<\/h2>\n

            To resolve these issues, my next recording server is planned to utilize a laptop PC<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

              \n
            • Proposed Configuration<\/strong>\n
                \n
              • Insert a riser card into the laptop’s M.2 slot (intended for Wi-Fi) and connect the PT3.<\/li>\n
              • Connect the 12TB HDD via USB (internal mounting would be ideal, but difficult).<\/li>\n
              • Using a laptop allows the battery to act as a UPS, reducing risks during power outages.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                Aiming for a more efficient and stable recording environment, I will proceed with the upcoming migration work.<\/p>\n

                 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                In October 2016, I built a TV recording server using CentOS 7, which was my personal favorite at the time. How […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":821,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/?p=453","footnotes":""},"categories":[1170],"tags":[136,10,310,275,144,331],"class_list":["post-4929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-linux-server-network","tag-centos7","tag-server","tag-310","tag-275","tag-144","tag-331","en-US"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4929"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4932,"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4929\/revisions\/4932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}