I had thoughts for a PC system to go with the projector, one for DVD playback and HD tv reception.

Since I plan/intend/want/will hook it up to a 5.1 Channel sound system. I'm thinking all up


DVD-Burner (or just reader, but since burners are cheap, may aswell.
HDTV Capture Card. (not many available here in aus)
Shuttle PC with P4 or AMD athlon.
Sound Blaster with 5.1 Channel out (which soundcard is recommended?)
And need a remote control for the whole setup.

Thinking instead of getting a converter box, or getting another dvd player (we already have 4) better off eventually building a computer system with dvd, and HDTV reciever capability, be cheaper than going out and buying a HDTV box and progressive scan dvd player, then getting a scaler.

Lumens,

All sounds good, only piece of advice is stay away from shuttle PC's. Apart from the form factor they have nothing going for them.

Do some more searching on the web and get yourself over to the avsforum to learn everything there is to know about HTPC.

There are custom made HTPC cases now that take standard ATX boards, have dead quiet fans and look like any other piece of HT kit. (You can even buy a custom made HTPC fully built and tuned now).

The reason I say this is that you want it to be upgradable which is one of the larger benefits of using a PC. Need HDTV, buy a HDTV receivier, need more space to record, throw in another drive etc etc...

Remote control is relatively simple and there are a number of free programs around now that allow integrating of functions into a single "TV displayable" GUI.

Sound is easy, I'd recommend staying right away from anything made by creative, they're AC3 has been shown to be out of spec and can cause problems with external receivers. There are other, cheaper and better cards available, particularly is you only need SPDIF passthrough to a digital receiver. There are also 7.1 cards available if you have the audio setup to cater for it.

I'd look at the Hauppage (sp?) tv tuners for standard tv reception, most PVR software can use the hardware capabilities of those cards for pausing live tv, recording to watch later etc. Whatever you do try and go for the best you can get for the $$$ and leave as much room as possible for further improvement as technology progresses.

Cheers,
Arkay.

Shuttles are a little more expensive anyway. It was just an idea, the HTPC cases look interesting, although more pricy. Shuttle cases are nice and compact but lack upgradeability.

I'm interested in just building my own, custom stuff costs $$$ than necessary, considering i'm able to build my own.

I've heard that about the creatives. I just want a decent card that will give me either optical or coax digital out and interface with whatever reciever.

With the HDTV card there's a few available to aus, the VISIONDTV although it supplie high quality its riddled with software bugs.

There's another one beginning with N or something, that's supposed to be excellent.

I also want to make sure the card has Compositve and S / VIDEO input, so I can connect the Xbox up aswell.

I love the idea for around the price of an expensive HDTV you have a system which does it all plus records, plus plays DVD in progressive video.

Processor wise, really another about a 2Ghz P4 is more than enough. HDTV cards don't need all that much, DVD"s will play on Pentium 2's.

I like sound blaster audigy cards.... they have been working fine for me... here is the link to the site... this one is a decent one that isnt to expensive... around $85
http://us.creative.com/products/product.as...14&product=4915

it supports 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1 surround sound

as for hdtv since your using the computer i recommend getting the MyHD PCI HDTV Tuner/Decoder card ... it costs around $290 though... kinda expensive here is that link.. http://www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Video/mdp120.asp

come with remote as well.

if you want to just use the dvd players that you already have all you would have to get is a Viewsonic Nextvision N6.... even if your current dvd player isnt progressive scan this box does it for you so your dvd player becomes a progressive scan dvd player while hooked to this box. here is that link ....

http://www.viewsonic.com/products/tventert...s/nextvisionn6/

this also comes with remote although i hear it really sucks... great product with a sorry remote... hope this helps...

The converter-box would be ok and simple, but if I can have one unit which does it all, record tv, playback dvd progressive, that'd be better.

THe N6 isn't available in australia I think, I know the N5 is but it doesn't have component video.

The N5 also has component video


NextVision N5

Create your own desktop entertainment center.

Create your own desktop entertainment center with the ViewSonic N5 TV tuner/video processor. This compact box easily turns any LCD or CRT monitor into a TV multimedia center. With a BUILT-IN TV TUNER AND MULTIPLE VIDEO CONNECTIONS for extras like a DVD player, digital camera, VCR or game consoles, you can view multimedia presentations or catch the end of the game — all in FULL-SCREEN, HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGES. Content can even be filtered with the built-in V-chip. With the N5, it’s easy to plug and play TV, DVDs and more right at your desk and still have room to work. Add an UltraBrite™ or DigitalMedia ViewSonic display for the ultimate desktop entertainment experience.





Features

Experience high-resolution TV on any display.
Connect the N5 to your antenna, satellite or cable fee and enjoy up to 181 channels of high-resolution TV, up to 1280x1024.

Enjoy full-screen, high resolution video entertainment with or without your PC.
Connect your DVD player, VCR, digital camera, camcorder or gaming console to enjoy brilliant images on your high-resolution display.

Step into flexible connectivity.
Component video (YPbPr), S-video, composite (RCA) video connectors, audio pass-through and front-panel headphone connections increase your entertainment options.

Advanced scaling technology delivers sharp, clear images.
Our exclusive advanced scaling technology, 3:2 pull down correction, and motion and adaptive de-interlacing improve video clarity and sharpness.

Customized content control.
Parental control and closed caption options allow you to customize your viewing experience.

Lumens,

Everything you ever wanted know about HDTV in Australia:

http://robdvd.radfiles.net/

Can get a card for $200. Most seem to be going for the Fusion cards. Software is still progressing but most are reporting reasonable stabilty.

All HDTV cards DO use CPU. If you have a Radeon the load is lessened but it will still need some CPU. Check the site, they tell you how much. (although results seem to vary).

They also have a list of all cards currently available in Aus and specify whether they have analog inputs or not.

I'm heading this way myself. HDTV tuner card with analog in for hooking up the PS2, VCR etc etc. Direct HD recording, PVR functionality etc.

Prices are more than reasonable for what you get. I figure for about $300 I can get the HDTV card and a Radeon 9000+ for the best in PQ the PC can offer. Of course I also have to upgrade my HTPC to a P4 but that can come later. Just means I won't be doing much post processing for a while.

Cheers,
Arkay.

You the marketing head for Nextvision

Thanks for that, I thought the N5 lacked Component.

You know the differences between the N5 & N6 ?

lol... wish i had that job... I think the differences between the N5 and N6 are that the N6 has more features like multiple channel viewing. You can watch up to 9 different channels on one screen. im sure someone else around here has more info on the differences between the two... wonder why they have the N5 there and not the N6 as well... you cant order it from anywhere?

FYI, incase someone is looking at the N5. It doesn't have component connections, even if their site says differently. I know, I just received mine in the mail and it's going back tomorrow. Without that option I'd rather just use my computer. Hope this helps someone else out.

Max

Man sorry to hear that, yea a HTPC is the way to go for me.

Might I suggets moving this tread to HTPC section, Brain?

Also, my HTPC set up is as follows:

P4 3.0 Ghz HT
1 GB pc3200 RAM
Video card 1: ATI AIW 9600 PRO w/ Remote Wonder II
Video card 2: Access DTV (Don't have yet, might not get especially if ATI comes out with one!)
Sound card: Turtle Beach Santa Cruz 5.1
4 X 200 GB 7200 8 MB SATA set up in a RAID 5 (800 GB)
WiFi 802.11 G
Logitech Z-680 5.1 THX speakers
DVD R/RW

I built my own and I would recommend that you go this route as well. It allows the maximum amout of customization for your dollars. As it is I started with one 200 GB Hard drive and now that I am running out of room I have been able to upgrade. Had I bought a already set up system sticking 800 GB of storage space in the box would have been out of the question!!

My HTPC is more powerful that a lot of people need, however it houses my entire DVD collection (mostly encoded in XviD) and CD collection and since I have all the date backed up in a RAID 5 I have been able to sell all of said DVDs and CDs to help pay for my system. I can also record TV, watch live TV, record to DVD+R media, play computer games, PS2 (hooked up through my ATI AIW 9600 PRO) and pretty much anything else that is possible. And since I have an apartment, the Logietch speakers are more than enough to fill my rooms with surround sound, hooked straight to my comptuer. No need for receivers, DVD players, or CD players; these are all included in my setup.

I would encourage you to build your own HTPC and make it as flexible and powerful as you need it to be. The other good thing about that is that you can do it over time. Also for a sound card, Turtle Beach makes awesome soundcards for a lot cheaper than Sound Blaster. And most would say better quality. Check out the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz that I have, probably do everything you need.

Well good luck!!

Andy

Is this post in two different threads? Confused me... please disregard my first statement on the previous post!

Andy

I moved the post Andy.

I want to get some of my concepts straight. Pls tell me if my understanding is correct about HTPC:

My requirements:
Get a good projection and Dolby surround sound for DVD, and TV. I am not that interested in computer games, or recording of TV programs. Ability to store movies on the PC is not a priority, though I may like to have it.

My questions:
Should I go for a DVD player, and a N6? If so, what happens to the sound? For Dolby/DTS sound, do I need a separate harware decoder? If so, are they priced comparable to Creative/Turtle Beach cards?

The N6 is said to have component connections. Is this the same as the Composite connections that we have on VCR and Analog Camcorders?

I have a P4 2.4 GHz, 256 MB RAM, Onboard display and sound, DVD ROM. If I add a graphics card like AIW Radeon 7500 or 9600 series, will that give a better output, or the above DVD+N6?

Can anyone point me to links about why Creative Live! 5.1 is not preferred? I am not sure if Turtle Beach is available in India. What about speakers? Can I go for the Creative Inspire series, or are the Lensing better? Again, a lot depends upon the availability here.

Will I get similar progressive scan output using the ATI Radeon, as good as with the DVD+N6 combination?

See my above posting for my set-up.

If you want a all in one solution IMHO, you should go for the ATI AIW 9600 PRO (I am biased though because I have one and love it!). This card allows you to watch and record TV. Also it comes with a remote.

The Turtle Beach Cards can handle Dolby and DTS. Also you could do a pass-through to a hardware decoder for Dolby or DTS. My Logitech Z-680 speakers have a built in decoder also for Dolby, DTS, and even THX.

As far as DVD to N6 connectors: You would need a progressive scan DVD player and component inputs to the N6 in order to get the same quality that is possible through the video card.

Hope this helps!

Andy

Thanks Andy.

I had a question about your setup. Since the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz has S/PDIF output using the Versa Jack, was it yet necessary to have speakers with Dolby Decoder, or could you have used 5.1 speakers without the decoders? I suppose the Creative Inspire 5.1 series are without decoders. Would those produce the same quality of sound?

Also I have read somewhere to avoid speakers which have the word "Digital" in it. I did not quite figure out why. Can you explain?

Thanks,
Ninad

ninad,

There are couple of different ways that you can acheive surround using my set up.

1. I could pass the signal through using the S/PDIF directly to my speakers' control unit (or amp) using the decoder with the speakers. By the way you should be able to order these speakers in India also. http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products...,CONTENTID=5048

2. Or I could use a software AC3 decoder and hook up the 6 channel direct to my speakers, such as AC3 Filter or the one that comes with the sound card.

As far as staying away from speakers with "Digital" in the title, I have heard no such thing. I did find this for you though:

"Question
What is the difference between digital and analog signals for speakers? What is Dolby Digital?


Answer
An analog signal is recorded in its original form, such as recording to a tape. Analog signals can be read and amplified, but can also be damaged by the environment, reducing sound quality. Digital signals are recorded in binary (numbers that consist of only 0 and 1) and are then reproduced at the source, therefore the signal can not be damaged and degraded. The 2 advantages of digital: No sound degradation and signals can also be compressed, taking less space to store then an analog signal.

Dolby digital is a sound format that features six-channel sound with separate left and right sounds, and a low frequency effects channel. Dolby digital is a standard when it comes to sound formats for DVDs, set-top boxes, etc."


But it depends on the context in which they are using it: for example, maybe they were talking about "digital" signal in reference to an analog amplifier or something similar.

Andy

Here is a site that is marketing HDTV video cards. They have 3 different types ranging from $299 to 399. I didn't see this thread referenced earlier and thought some here might be interested.

http://www.hdtv-authority.com/index.htm