Help with building a HTPC

[j@cko]

I am not too familiar with hardware that go into a HTPC and so I need some advice and help.
I have a 32" HDTV with HDMI inputs and I also have a whole bunch of HD DVD/Blu Ray movies on my HDD and so I am looking for a machine that is capable of playing back these movies on the TV through the HDMI connection. I am not looking to spend too much $$ on this machine and so I am only looking for a basic setup.

I've been hearing a lot about AMD's 780G and nVidia's GF8200. Should I be looking at these options? Would a discrete ATi 2400/2600 card better than those two integrated solutions? I assume that I don't need a powerful CPU since the GPU (capable of hardware acceleration) can share loads with CPU.

A question regarding to the sound. Does the onboard optical audio output differ much from a discrete sound solution while running the signal to a logitech Z-5500?

I am essentially looking for a system that is low power consumption, capable of playing HD movies off HDDs and has a HDMI connection as well as optical/digital audio output connection.

BTW, any chance if I can turn on/off the HTPC by using a remote??

Thanks a bunch,

Jack

 

[sportage]

HTPC's sound good but its not worth the trouble and un reliability.
Most of the issues and problems with htpc's is in it depends on ms windows os.
There you have a headache already.

Better to just go with some media player thingy, like d-links or the like.

 

[j@cko]

Originally posted by: sportage
HTPC's sound good but its not worth the trouble and un reliability.
Most of the issues and problems with htpc's is in it depends on ms windows os.
There you have a headache already.

Better to just go with some media player thingy, like d-links or the like.

can you please elaborate on the media player a little more? thanks.

 

[BigJ]

Absolutely check out here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb...b822f9ad8c2b4b400&f=26

If it's going to be dedicated solely to HTPC use and on a budget, less is more. Of course dedicated cards are going to be better, but do you really need them? If you use the 2600 or 2400, the decoding will be handled by the GPU itself so you can absolutely use an aging system for it (nothing too old though )

That said, there are quite a few IGP Motherboards that will allow you to pair them with newer low-end processors that will still be able to play 1080p content without a hitch.

Most of the Realtek onboard solutions are good enough for most users, especially if it's "just" the Z-5500. While they're great speakers, I honestly don't think it'd be worth the extra money.

As for using a remote, absolutely. You can pair up the computer with an IR sensor and IR remote. Logitechs are commonly used with HTPC and are programmable.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: j@cko

Originally posted by: sportage
HTPC's sound good but its not worth the trouble and un reliability.
Most of the issues and problems with htpc's is in it depends on ms windows os.
There you have a headache already.

Better to just go with some media player thingy, like d-links or the like.

can you please elaborate on the media player a little more? thanks.

The guy really doesn't know what he's talking about, so ignore him.

There are very nice solutions if you do not want to use a Microsoft Operating System.

 

[j@cko]

Originally posted by: BigJ
Absolutely check out here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb...b822f9ad8c2b4b400&f=26

If it's going to be dedicated solely to HTPC use and on a budget, less is more. Of course dedicated cards are going to be better, but do you really need them? If you use the 2600 or 2400, the decoding will be handled by the GPU itself so you can absolutely use an aging system for it (nothing too old though )

That said, there are quite a few IGP Motherboards that will allow you to pair them with newer low-end processors that will still be able to play 1080p content without a hitch.

Most of the Realtek onboard solutions are good enough for most users, especially if it's "just" the Z-5500. While they're great speakers, I honestly don't think it'd be worth the extra money.

As for using a remote, absolutely. You can pair up the computer with an IR sensor and IR remote. Logitechs are commonly used with HTPC and are programmable.

Thank you for the informative reply =)

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: j@cko
I am not too familiar with hardware that go into a HTPC and so I need some advice and help.
I have a 32" HDTV with HDMI inputs and I also have a whole bunch of HD DVD/Blu Ray movies on my HDD and so I am looking for a machine that is capable of playing back these movies on the TV through the HDMI connection. I am not looking to spend too much $$ on this machine and so I am only looking for a basic setup.

I've been hearing a lot about AMD's 780G and nVidia's GF8200. Should I be looking at these options? Would a discrete ATi 2400/2600 card better than those two integrated solutions? I assume that I don't need a powerful CPU since the GPU (capable of hardware acceleration) can share loads with CPU.

A question regarding to the sound. Does the onboard optical audio output differ much from a discrete sound solution while running the signal to a logitech Z-5500?

I am essentially looking for a system that is low power consumption, capable of playing HD movies off HDDs and has a HDMI connection as well as optical/digital audio output connection.

BTW, any chance if I can turn on/off the HTPC by using a remote??

Thanks a bunch,

Jack

If you're just concerned about movies, the digital out on your motherboard will probably be sufficient for most people. If you hook it up and decide it is not quite up to par, then move to a discrete sound solution and use the analog connections. However, I doubt you will find the motherboard sound objectionable.

 

[j@cko]

I thought S/PDIF is better than analog? Please advice.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

if you're interested in playing video games, a discrete vid card will be needed. otherwise, the new AMD and Nvidia chipsets will do nicely. they will have HDMI/HDCP and digital audio output built in. to take advantage of the new power-saving features (shutting off the discrete vid card when not needed, imo the best thing going for them) windows vista is required. digital output to a stand-alone amp or receiver will produce the best sound, but a discrete sound card wouldn't provide a night-and-day difference, likely no effective difference at all.

 

[Quasmo]

Originally posted by: sportage
HTPC's sound good but its not worth the trouble and un reliability.
Most of the issues and problems with htpc's is in it depends on ms windows os.
There you have a headache already.

Better to just go with some media player thingy, like d-links or the like.

You sir are an idiot, and apparently biased. One of the most solid products to come out of Microsoft is Media Center.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Originally posted by: sportage
HTPC's sound good but its not worth the trouble and un reliability.
Most of the issues and problems with htpc's is in it depends on ms windows os.
There you have a headache already.

Better to just go with some media player thingy, like d-links or the like.

what?

 

[Soundmanred]

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler

Originally posted by: sportage
HTPC's sound good but its not worth the trouble and un reliability.
Most of the issues and problems with htpc's is in it depends on ms windows os.
There you have a headache already.

Better to just go with some media player thingy, like d-links or the like.

what?

Hahaha. My thoughts exactly.
Not worth the trouble to have 750+ DVDs, thousands of TV shows and 50,000 albums at your fingertips?
My HTPC is my "media player thingy".

 

[The Boston Dangler]

just so we're all clear on this, an HTPC is a computer laying on it's side, instead of standing on end. for better or worse, that's the only difference.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

OP: imon is pretty good for adding remote control functionality to a pc. the imon software is ok, but the imedian media cener thing is crap, and can be ignored. for me, the power off works fine, but power on doesn't cooperate.

 

[MaxDepth]

I am *still* in the process of building an HTPC from last November.

My current issues with it are...
1. Linux, any distro, is not up to my standards for video out to TV with my motherboard (Gigabyte with ATI/AMD 690G). They are just now getting around to writing drivers for it, both from AMD and open source.

2. No, an HTPC does not have to be a computer turned on its side. My configuration will actually be a server closet with a few components built into my house - DVD, IMON IR plate, and a blue tooth dongle for using a remote, mouse, and keyboard. I agree the Imedian center is not what I want or need.

So currently my HTPC is still on a Windows XP 64 platform with partitions for my Linux testing OSes - Ubuntu, fedora, and SUSE.


I wish you luck with yours.My advice is to use components that have been in distribution since 2003. The latest and greatest stuff may not be totally bug free or supported like the older hardware.

PS -For Windows, I have been testing other home theatre applications instead of going using the Media Center.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler
just so we're all clear on this, an HTPC is a computer laying on it's side, instead of standing on end. for better or worse, that's the only difference.

That sir is a lie, mine is a full atx tower. Fire Engine Red Plus an army of ESata/USB 2.0 external enclosures.


to the OP, you don't need a dedicated sound card if you are just listening to CD or watching dvds and outputting the digital stream to your receiver. Unless you want your computer games to output DDLive.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: Quasmo

Originally posted by: sportage
HTPC's sound good but its not worth the trouble and un reliability.
Most of the issues and problems with htpc's is in it depends on ms windows os.
There you have a headache already.

Better to just go with some media player thingy, like d-links or the like.

You sir are an idiot, and apparently biased. One of the most solid products to come out of Microsoft is Media Center.

I agree

But a few working hotfixes for QAM on Vista MCE would make my life alot easier - lol

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo

Originally posted by: Quasmo

Originally posted by: sportage
HTPC's sound good but its not worth the trouble and un reliability.
Most of the issues and problems with htpc's is in it depends on ms windows os.
There you have a headache already.

Better to just go with some media player thingy, like d-links or the like.

You sir are an idiot, and apparently biased. One of the most solid products to come out of Microsoft is Media Center.

I agree

But a few working hotfixes for QAM on Vista MCE would make my life alot easier - lol

You think his brain will explode if we told him a BRD player (or HDDVD for that matter) is a computer?

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Originally posted by: MaxDepth
I am *still* in the process of building an HTPC from last November.

My current issues with it are...
1. Linux, any distro, is not up to my standards for video out to TV with my motherboard (Gigabyte with ATI/AMD 690G). They are just now getting around to writing drivers for it, both from AMD and open source.

2. No, an HTPC does not have to be a computer turned on its side. My configuration will actually be a server closet with a few components built into my house - DVD, IMON IR plate, and a blue tooth dongle for using a remote, mouse, and keyboard. I agree the Imedian center is not what I want or need.

So currently my HTPC is still on a Windows XP 64 platform with partitions for my Linux testing OSes - Ubuntu, fedora, and SUSE.


I wish you luck with yours.My advice is to use components that have been in distribution since 2003. The latest and greatest stuff may not be totally bug free or supported like the older hardware.

PS -For Windows, I have been testing other home theatre applications instead of going using the Media Center.

that is seriously kickass. more info plz!

 

[TVNoob]

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler
just so we're all clear on this, an HTPC is a computer laying on it's side, instead of standing on end. for better or worse, that's the only difference.

Not so... mine doesn't lay on it's side and it doesn't spoil the clean layout for an uninterupted viewing experience.

http://i146.photobucket.com/al...gphoare/room/front.jpg

I've tidied those loose wires away now, I love my new HPTC driven theatre!