Topic: Unofficial HTPC users thread: Tips, Tricks, and everything HTPC

[rhodem24]

Oh! Naku naman. I'm 2 generations behind. Lol. But their prices are virtually equal. Thanks sir!

[≧◉◡◉≦xrampage≧◉◡◉≦]

Thank you for your quick replies mga sir.

I'm not into 3D kasi... And medyo limited budget that's why yung 5750 lang yung na pili ko.
Ano po ba mas better when it comes to video AND audio na? ATI or nVidia? 5K at most po budget ko.. Yung 5750 is around 3.5k-4K

Alam ko yung 5750 can play also 3D kung encode din lang naman ang play puwede na din yan. 

[Stagea]

Alam ko yung 5750 can play also 3D kung encode din lang naman ang play puwede na din yan.  

It lacks HDMI 1.4a support, however. HD 6000 added HDMI 1.4a 3D, while HD 7000 added 4K resolution support on top of HD 6000's feature set.

The HD 7750 is fast enough to perform full post processing on 120fps 1080p.

[rhodem24]

Thanks bro!

I tried connecting a laptop to my receiver and set the resolution to 1920x1080. The problem is, hindi po ma kasya ang buong resolution sa TV. Mas malaki pa yung desktop (hindi makita yung taskbar). And the video quality isn't that nice. Any workaround po?

[nerveblocker]

Thanks bro!

I tried connecting a laptop to my receiver and set the resolution to 1920x1080. The problem is, hindi po ma kasya ang buong resolution sa TV. Mas malaki pa yung desktop (hindi makita yung taskbar). And the video quality isn't that nice. Any workaround po?

Try mo muna a lower resolution like 480p or 720p then work from there by using the Video driver software.

[≧◉◡◉≦xrampage≧◉◡◉≦]

It lacks HDMI 1.4a support, however. HD 6000 added HDMI 1.4a 3D, while HD 7000 added 4K resolution support on top of HD 6000's feature set.

The HD 7750 is fast enough to perform full post processing on 120fps 1080p.

Why you need a HDMI 1.4 support? In my experience even hindi 1.4 version can do 3D and pass through hd audio.  HDMI 1.3 has been tested in my setup and it can pass through HD audio and 3D. Yung 4k na support hindi mo din mamaximize malamng max of 1080p pa din ang resolution na gagamitan. It's useless to get a 4k support IMHO yung 1080p nga di rin minsan namaximize ng ilang member ng PDVD. 

There is a scaling option with ATI Catalyst center
see image below.

[Stagea]

Why you need a HDMI 1.4 support? In my experience even hindi 1.4 version can do 3D and pass through hd audio.  HDMI 1.3 has been tested in my setup and it can pass through HD audio and 3D. Yung 4k na support hindi mo din mamaximize malamng max of 1080p pa din ang resolution na gagamitan. It's useless to get a 4k support IMHO yung 1080p nga di rin minsan namaximize ng ilang member ng PDVD. 

Why does it make sense? Because there is very little price difference between them, and the newer board offers better features and energy efficiency.

HDMI 1.3 3D implementations vary, though most are derived from the HDMI 1.4a 3D spec.
4k support is useful if you want to continue using the item a couple of years from now (or at least get a decent scrap value on the device). 4K panels and projectors are expected to hit the mainstream by 2015 (entry point starts 500k at the moment). If you've been in this hobby long enough, you would've encountered people saying that there's little use for 1080p.

[bartender]

Hello po mga sir, okay lang ba if im going to upgrade just my video card lang and make my 4-year old PC to HTPC?

Here's the specs:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz
MSI P45-NEO2
2x2GB DDR2 800 Kingston
ATI Radeon HD4850 512MB -----> Planning to upgrade into PowerColor HD5750
Gigabyte Superb 720W


Plan ko is to use ONLY an HDMI cable from the HD5750 to my AV Receiver (Pioneer VSX-1021-K) to have BOTH audio and video na. The CPU is also more than enough for smooth XBMC scrolling.

Thanks in advance po.

If it's a dedicated HTPC, the video upgrade should be sufficient for non-3D application.  You can already use madvr with that GPU.  Your CPU is also more than enough to have smooth scrolling of XBMC menus if you use it.

[bartender]

Why does it make sense? Because there is very little price difference between them, and the newer board offers better features and energy efficiency.

HDMI 1.3 3D implementations vary, though most are derived from the HDMI 1.4a 3D spec.
4k support is useful if you want to continue using the item a couple of years from now (or at least get a decent scrap value on the device). 4K panels and projectors are expected to hit the mainstream by 2015 (entry point starts 500k at the moment). If you've been in this hobby long enough, you would've encountered people saying that there's little use for 1080p.

True 4K is the direction in the future.  But my personal principle with PCs is to build only what's needed considering the very short lifespan of technology here.  There's always something new every 6 months to a year which means that the previous generation will take a price cut.  Just my $0.02.

[≧◉◡◉≦xrampage≧◉◡◉≦]

Why does it make sense? Because there is very little price difference between them, and the newer board offers better features and energy efficiency.

HDMI 1.3 3D implementations vary, though most are derived from the HDMI 1.4a 3D spec.
4k support is useful if you want to continue using the item a couple of years from now (or at least get a decent scrap value on the device). 4K panels and projectors are expected to hit the mainstream by 2015 (entry point starts 500k at the moment). If you've been in this hobby long enough, you would've encountered people saying that there's little use for 1080p.

Yah i know but still there are a lot playing 720p on a 1080p panel. Ilang years ba bago nagmura ang 1080p? 2012 now and you say by 2015 mainstream na siya? How much naman kaya? Kailan ba unang lumabas ang 4K sa market last year lang ata or this year. May source na bang 4K na naintroduce? IMHO di lang 3 or 4 years inabot ng 1080p bago maging mainstream at mag mura. Sa 3 years pa lang may mga lalabas na new tech na mas maganda kesa ngayon. Ang sa akin lang is aanhin mo ang feature na di mo naman gagamitin pa and even 1k lang ang agwat nila.

True 4K is the direction in the future.  But my personal principle with PCs is to build only what's needed considering the very short lifespan of technology here.  There's always something new every 6 months to a year which means that the previous generation will take a price cut.  Just my $0.02.

May tama ka brader. 

[raider125jeigh]

anung meron dito
kauuwi ko lang ...paspasan na pick up ng HTPC casing haha....

[≧◉◡◉≦xrampage≧◉◡◉≦]

anung meron dito
kauuwi ko lang ...paspasan na pick up ng HTPC casing haha....

Nice ano brader buo ka HTPC? Help kita baka mag i3 ako then pasa ko sa iyo G620 proc ko.  

Meron dito 4K video support na. 

[Stagea]

Yah i know but still there are a lot playing 720p on a 1080p panel. Ilang years ba bago nagmura ang 1080p? 2012 now and you say by 2015 mainstream na siya? How much naman kaya? Kailan ba unang lumabas ang 4K sa market last year lang ata or this year. May source na bang 4K na naintroduce? IMHO di lang 3 or 4 years inabot ng 1080p bago maging mainstream at mag mura. Sa 3 years pa lang may mga lalabas na new tech na mas maganda kesa ngayon. Ang sa akin lang is aanhin mo ang feature na di mo naman gagamitin pa and even 1k lang ang agwat nila.

4k hardware was available since 2007 for the pro market (with a big price tag). It trickled down to the consumer market with HDMI 1.4. It's really up to the person if this matters to him/her. The biggest downside I see is lack of HEVC hardware decode support, which may be useful once 4K material is finally available to the consumer. I'm sure people will race to build GPU-accelerated software solutions once this comes out, however.

There are now large 4k flat panels at 11k USD.  There would still be many people buying 1080p units in 2015, but I'd assume that the higher end consumer models would be mostly 4k by then. 4K handheld camcorders are starting to roll out in the prosumer sphere (technology trickling down from large pro cameras).

[≧◉◡◉≦xrampage≧◉◡◉≦]

4k hardware was available since 2007 for the pro market (with a big price tag). It trickled down to the consumer market with HDMI 1.4. It's really up to the person if this matters to him/her. The biggest downside I see is lack of HEVC hardware decode support, which may be useful once 4K material is finally available to the consumer. I'm sure people will race to build GPU-accelerated software solutions once this comes out, however.

There are now large 4k flat panels at 11k USD.  There would still be many people buying 1080p units in 2015, but I'd assume that the higher end consumer models would be mostly 4k by then. 4K handheld camcorders are starting to roll out in the prosumer sphere (technology trickling down from large pro cameras).

Nice info but how many years we will wait before 4K source to be mainstream like bluray matagal din bago naging mainstream. It depends talaga sa need ng tao yan like now dami pa din gumagamit ng 720p in a 1080p panel. Kaya maganda pa din iadvice sa nag tatanung na puwede pa din gamitin ang mga gamit nila pero kulang ng ganitong feature.

[rhodem24]

There is a scaling option with ATI Catalyst center
see image below.

Thank you so much for this sir! It worked... Chunky po ba talaga yung visuals if i-connect ko sa TV? It's kinda dark po at hindi masyadong smooth yung graphics and text. I already enabled the clear type text...

Here's a photo:



Also, I was able to play my movies thru my receiver and set the audio settings on XMBC to HDMI. DTS and Dolby pass through is okay.

[bartender]

Thank you so much for this sir! It worked... Chunky po ba talaga yung visuals if i-connect ko sa TV? It's kinda dark po at hindi masyadong smooth yung graphics and text. I already enabled the clear type text...

Here's a photo:



Also, I was able to play my movies thru my receiver and set the audio settings on XMBC to HDMI. DTS and Dolby pass through is okay.

Maybe you can try changing desktop resolutions until you find one that's suitable for you.

[rhodem24]

I already set it to the native resolution of my tv (1920x1080@60Hz)... Pero hindi po sya as sharp compared sa 22" monitor ko.. Ganito ba talaga pag i-connect sa TV?

[Stagea]

I already set it to the native resolution of my tv (1920x1080@60Hz)... Pero hindi po sya as sharp compared sa 22" monitor ko.. Ganito ba talaga pag i-connect sa TV?

Disable overscan on your TV before you play with scaling. This can get you very close to (if not exactly) 1:1 pixel mapping.

[Wildfire™]

I already set it to the native resolution of my tv (1920x1080@60Hz)... Pero hindi po sya as sharp compared sa 22" monitor ko.. Ganito ba talaga pag i-connect sa TV?

ano distance mo sa tv? sa 32" na full hd kailangan at least 4 feet away

[rhodem24]

ano distance mo sa tv? sa 32" na full hd kailangan at least 4 feet away

Mga 3 feet lang po. Lol. Ganyan po ba talaga? Akala ko as sharp as a 22" monitor lang pag i-set to full res.

[Wildfire™]

Mga 3 feet lang po. Lol. Ganyan po ba talaga? Akala ko as sharp as a 22" monitor lang pag i-set to full res.

layo ka pa ng konti hindi kasi talaga optimize ang text sa tv pero sa games and movies ok yan try mo din baguhin ung dpi

[≧◉◡◉≦xrampage≧◉◡◉≦]

Thank you so much for this sir! It worked... Chunky po ba talaga yung visuals if i-connect ko sa TV? It's kinda dark po at hindi masyadong smooth yung graphics and text. I already enabled the clear type text...

Here's a photo:



Also, I was able to play my movies thru my receiver and set the audio settings on XMBC to HDMI. DTS and Dolby pass through is okay.

Iset mo yung pixel format sa 4:4:4:4 kung naalala ko pa sa PJ ko okay naman ang letters. 

[jaime4i]

There is a scaling option with ATI Catalyst center
see image below.

salamat sa screen shot sir, nawala na yung parang border sa TV na almost half inch...

one thing lang na observed ko, di crisp yung letters sa TV(42inch) compare to 24inch LCD Monitor... same sa na observed ni Sir Rhodem24...

try ko mamaya ang  pixel format to set the 4:4:4:4 TIA

[≧◉◡◉≦xrampage≧◉◡◉≦]

salamat sa screen shot sir, nawala na yung parang border sa TV kahit naka full 1080p lang...

one thing lang na observed ko, di crisp yung letters sa TV(42inch) compare to 24inch LCD Monitor... same sa na observed ni Sir Rhodem24...

try ko mamaya ang  pixel format to set the 4:4:4:4 TIA

Ayun nasan baba ng screenshot Pixel Format. 

[jaime4i]

Ayun nasan baba ng screenshot Pixel Format. 

oo nga, try ko mamaya pag uwi ko hehehe

[≧◉◡◉≦xrampage≧◉◡◉≦]

Eto screenshot ulet... 

[rhodem24]

Hehehe. Pareha pala tayo problema sir jaime4i...

Sir xrampage, hidi po ba sa component etong YCbCr? Try ko po ito later.. I think naka RGB yun.

[Stagea]

I may be wrong, but I think they're referring to overscan issues instead of pixel format.

@rhodem24

Set your scaling to 0% in the PC, then try hitting p. size in your remote until the picture fits properly.

[≧◉◡◉≦xrampage≧◉◡◉≦]

Hehehe. Pareha pala tayo problema sir jaime4i...

Sir xrampage, hidi po ba sa component etong YCbCr? Try ko po ito later.. I think naka RGB yun.

No its not. You can check more on the link below for the info of the Pixel Format.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1344913/rgb-vs-ycbcr-where-is-the-best-place-to-do-the-color-conversion-player-or-display

You may find my questions totally noob, but i would like to make clear theory about color conversions.
i didnt found a sub-forum for general theory about displays or bluray players so i post it here. Moderators can always move it anywhere.


All the people in HTPC`s area talk about the new madVR - video renderer and the noticable improve of Picture Quality.
According to the developer there is no way to upsample the color on a pc without converting this to RGB first. Its impossible the card to output untouched YCbCr data,
so he suggests to set our htpc cards' pixel format to rgb and our display`s input source also to rgb.
With this project we skip one color conversion setting it up fullRGB 4:4:4 all the way. The only conversion that happens this way is the 4:2:0 to RGB.

But what happens with our standalone bluray players? Does anybody know if consumer electronics when uplsampling 4:2:0 to 4:2:2 or YCbCr 4:4:4 also convert the color first to rgb and then to YCbCr?
If we assume that we have a perfect bluray player like oppo93 and a display capable to handle both RGB/YCbCr which color format we would choose?
YCbCr 4:4:4 or RGB?


Where is the best place to do the color conversion?
option 1:
4:2:0 to 4:4:4 in the player ---> 4:4:4 to RGB on the display (two color conversions)
or option 2:
4:2:0 to rgb in the player ---> no color conversion on the display (one color conversion)Reply

I may be wrong, but I think they're referring to overscan issues instead of pixel format.

@rhodem24

Set your scaling to 0% in the PC, then try hitting p. size in your remote until the picture fits properly.

I believe the ovescan is the the filling up the display on my first screenshot.

[Stagea]

I believe the ovescan is the the filling up the display on my first screenshot.

He's probably not getting a sharp picture because the TV is cropping the input, and he underscanned to compensate for this (to fill his screen). This causes image distortion and lost screen information. A properly configured HD screen should not need the video adapter to underscan (unless the screen's overscan could not be switched off).

As for selecting between YCbCr 4:4:4 and RGB, there are advantages and disadvantages. If the display supports YCbCr 4:4:4, then it's a good choice as current Nvidia and AMD consumer graphics adapters can output processed video in deep color through this pixel format (you  need their pro models if you want to do this using RGB). If the screen does not support 4:4:4, then some color information will be lost and the picture will look a lot "rougher" to the naked eye -- in such cases, RGB is the preferable format.

Current Samsungs and Sonys almost always support 4:4:4. LGs and Sharps are a mixed bag, while Panasonics generally do not.

The thing is that many TVs may need a trick or two to enable 4:4:4.  For Samsungs, it may require the renaming of the input for example.