Author Topic: Share your HTPC Setup  (Read 344564 times)

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Offline GM

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #600 on: Apr 05, 2005 at 04:57 AM »
an A/V receiver that supports WMA9 Pro :)  seems like a good companion for HTPCs

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/press/release/detail/0,,2076_4313_191756416,00.html

Offline andaleon

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #601 on: Apr 05, 2005 at 12:31 PM »
Need some help here.  What else do I need to have the ultimate HTPC??

Here's my current setup
Foxxconn Motherboard (661FX4MR-ES)
Intel Pentium 4 Processor 3E Ghz (imb L2-Cache, 800 Mhz FS8, PGA-478 Pkg)
512 RAM
Aoc monitor 5nE (15")

What the best sound card,Video card.or what the best hardwares to have the best HTPC??? ;D

What is your budget?

Offline number1

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #602 on: Apr 05, 2005 at 11:15 PM »
Need some help here.  What else do I need to have the ultimate HTPC??

Here's my current setup
Foxxconn Motherboard (661FX4MR-ES)
Intel Pentium 4 Processor 3E Ghz (imb L2-Cache, 800 Mhz FS8, PGA-478 Pkg)
512 RAM
Aoc monitor 5nE (15")

What the best sound card,Video card.or what the best hardwares to have the best HTPC??? ;D


Read this guide for more info.

*You might consider adding a good TV tuner, which the guide discusses thoroughly.
*Assuming you are in the market for a video card, get one based on the Nvidia 6600GT chip with the DDR3 memory
*Get a sound card like M-Audio or use you may use your motherboard's sound port to save on some cash.



Offline baby

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #603 on: Apr 05, 2005 at 11:58 PM »

Read this guide for more info.

*You might consider adding a good TV tuner, which the guide discusses thoroughly.
*Assuming you are in the market for a video card, get one based on the Nvidia 6600GT chip with the DDR3 memory
*Get a sound card like M-Audio or use you may use your motherboard's sound port to save on some cash.



Thanks for your reply. I will browse through the site.

What is your budget?
As long as I can afford it.

Guys thank you very much for your replies. Any more suggestions?  ;D

Offline agmjr

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #604 on: Apr 06, 2005 at 12:30 PM »
sir i just recently upgraded my computer to come up with some sort of an htpc.  the components are:
athlon 64 sitting on k8n neo platinum mobo
1 Gb ram (512x2)
160Gb SATA HDD
20Gb IDE HDD (boot)
lg dvd/cr-r/w combo drive
zip cdr/w drive
winfast tv 2000 expert
ati radeon 9600 video card
sound blaster live video card with digital i/o daughter board

i am running on windows mce as os.

1.  what are your comments on my rig? are there other improvements necessary?
 
2.  i cant get to use my tv / fm tuner with mce front end which i guess is because it is not yet supported so i decided to try meedio in its trial version, i cant get to use it either but according to the forum, puede naman daw...any advice on this one?

3.  what is the girder software? can i use it using my winfast remote?

ty po to any of your comments an inputs.

Offline johndoe

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #605 on: Apr 06, 2005 at 05:19 PM »
hi guys meron ba kayong alam na ngbebenta ng touchscreen lcd monitors?..i need it my project.

Offline pchin

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #606 on: Apr 07, 2005 at 09:52 AM »
Got my new HTPC na: Pentium 4 at 3.0 GHz with 80Gb hard disk, 128MB video card, 512MB RAM, etc.

Just a question.  After checking the site http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/content_provider/film/AboutHDVideo.aspx to evaluate if my computer can play Windows Media High Definition Video, my computer specs pass all tests but failed the following:

The AGP Fast Write is disabled. Each time I enable it & later restart the computer, the AGP will be automatically disable! That's strange. Do I need to install any special driver to enable my AGP?

Offline jambam

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #607 on: Apr 07, 2005 at 10:33 AM »
Updated my setup w/ this monitor

Dell 2405fpw lcd 24" wide 1920 x 1200 , with dvi/vga/component/s-video/composite inputs


« Last Edit: Apr 07, 2005 at 10:40 AM by jambam »

Offline Qman

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #608 on: Apr 07, 2005 at 10:54 AM »
wow  :o

jambam,
san mo na iskor yan and pede malaman ang price

thanks

Offline jambam

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #609 on: Apr 07, 2005 at 11:03 AM »
sa us ko pinabili  USD 1199 list price ...a bargain considering the other alternatives.

ito manual

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/monitors/2405fpw/English/index.htm

Offline agmjr

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #610 on: Apr 08, 2005 at 02:36 PM »
sir i have 43in samsung hdtv rptv...meron sya dvi / vga in...sinubukan ko i-hook sa computer ko pero parang nag double sya ng lumabas...tipong parang naduling ako...any tips on how to correctly set this thing up. ty po

Offline Qman

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #611 on: Apr 08, 2005 at 04:04 PM »
sa us ko pinabili  USD 1199 list price ...a bargain considering the other alternatives.

ito manual

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/monitors/2405fpw/English/index.htm

Galing dami ng built in sya card reader etc... wish i have a relative sa us din hehehe

Offline GM

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #612 on: Apr 10, 2005 at 01:18 PM »
1.great rig! i think that's fine for now.

2.you can still use your MCE even without EPG to watch TV and manually record shows(its not a requirement)

3. not sure if you can use girder for winfast remote



1.  what are your comments on my rig? are there other improvements necessary?
 
2.  i cant get to use my tv / fm tuner with mce front end which i guess is because it is not yet supported so i decided to try meedio in its trial version, i cant get to use it either but according to the forum, puede naman daw...any advice on this one?

3.  what is the girder software? can i use it using my winfast remote?

ty po to any of your comments an inputs.

Offline GM

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #613 on: Apr 10, 2005 at 01:24 PM »
The AGP Fast Write is disabled. Each time I enable it & later restart the computer, the AGP will be automatically disable! That's strange. Do I need to install any special driver to enable my AGP?

nawawala yung settings nya sa BIOS? you might need to upgrade your AGP driver though I'm not sure if it matters for WMV HD playback

Offline GM

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #614 on: Apr 10, 2005 at 01:26 PM »
sir i have 43in samsung hdtv rptv...meron sya dvi / vga in...sinubukan ko i-hook sa computer ko pero parang nag double sya ng lumabas...tipong parang naduling ako...any tips on how to correctly set this thing up. ty po

are you using DVI or VGA? you need powerstrip. try searching avsforum.com for the powerstrip settings for your TV model

Offline pchin

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #615 on: Apr 10, 2005 at 07:15 PM »
nawawala yung settings nya sa BIOS? you might need to upgrade your AGP driver though I'm not sure if it matters for WMV HD playback

Tried the BIOS but futile. Yes now I'm searching for a AGP driver update.....so confusing & complicated!!  :'(

Speaking of DVI...geez.... I didn't realize this cable isn't available in the local market....after searching everywhere... Then I tried to purchase online & to my surprise...there r many different types od DVI?? About 10 different types of DVI? Whoa.... I'm still confused if mine is either DVI-D Dual Link or DVI-D Single Link? Anyone can shed some light?  ;D

Offline GM

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #616 on: Apr 11, 2005 at 03:09 AM »
All About DVI

kung may kamaganak or kakilala ka sa US, pwede ka magpabili sa pccables.com (that's were I buy my cables, component, DVI, etc). cheap and reliable.



Speaking of DVI...geez.... I didn't realize this cable isn't available in the local market....after searching everywhere... Then I tried to purchase online & to my surprise...there r many different types od DVI?? About 10 different types of DVI? Whoa.... I'm still confused if mine is either DVI-D Dual Link or DVI-D Single Link? Anyone can shed some light?  ;D
« Last Edit: Apr 11, 2005 at 03:12 AM by GM »

Offline agmjr

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #617 on: Apr 11, 2005 at 06:47 AM »
GM,
sir thanks for head-up..tried searching pero unfortunately wala ata dun eh...according to the manual my tv can accept xga..whatever that is...i am using a vga-to-dvi (tv to pc) connection since ala akong mahaba na dvi cable (for a dvi-to-dvi connection). any general guides to follow on powerstrip thing? ty po
« Last Edit: Apr 11, 2005 at 08:12 AM by agmjr »

Offline GM

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #618 on: Apr 11, 2005 at 11:36 AM »
GM,
sir thanks for head-up..tried searching pero unfortunately wala ata dun eh...according to the manual my tv can accept xga..whatever that is...i am using a vga-to-dvi (tv to pc) connection since ala akong mahaba na dvi cable (for a dvi-to-dvi connection). any general guides to follow on powerstrip thing? ty po

alam mo ba kung ano yung native resolution ng TV mo? start with a setting lower than your native resolution.
and ano nga pala yung video card mo? nVidia cards with latest  drivers now support custom resolution that most of the time, you wont need powerstrip to output your pc into your hd rptv

Offline agmjr

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #619 on: Apr 11, 2005 at 12:44 PM »
i have an ati radeon 9600 video card.

the tv manual says it can support the following:

vga
640 x 480 60hz
640 x 480 75hz
svga
900 x 600 60hz
900 x 600 75hz
xga
1024 x 768 60hz
1024 x 768 75hz
it further says that it cannot support interlace mode (whatever that is)

Offline GM

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #620 on: Apr 13, 2005 at 08:58 AM »
pag DVI or VGA siguro(not supporting interlaced mode)
try setting your machine resolution first to 640x480@60hz using DVI or VGA(in your PCs Video Settings not in powerstrip). then kung medyo matino na yung displayed picture, slide it to 900x600 or 1024x768. pag medyo matindi ang overscan, thats the time you need powerstrip. trial and error lang naman yun e.

i have an ati radeon 9600 video card.
the tv manual says it can support the following:
vga
640 x 480 60hz
640 x 480 75hz
svga
900 x 600 60hz
900 x 600 75hz
xga
1024 x 768 60hz
1024 x 768 75hz
it further says that it cannot support interlace mode (whatever that is)

Offline v0elker

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #621 on: Apr 13, 2005 at 09:53 AM »
sa us ko pinabili  USD 1199 list price ...a bargain considering the other alternatives.

ito manual

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/monitors/2405fpw/English/index.htm

nice monitor n very nice price! do you find the 1920x1200 resolution too big for the 26" screen or just right? have you tried 1080p on 'em? how is it for watching dvd's? thanks!

Offline jpadua

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #622 on: Apr 13, 2005 at 10:04 PM »
Try the new Catalyst driver 5.4 I think is the latest is has better support for HDTV resolutions over DVI and the Dongle (VGA no still need powerstrip).  If you are using DVI you might not need powersrtrip when using the new drivers.

Offline agmjr

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #623 on: Apr 15, 2005 at 04:05 PM »
sir thanks po sa reply...one question though (medyo newbie talaga eh) when you say overscan, ano po ba ito? i mean, ano ang makikita ko sa screen? i experienced na parang blurred or parang may shadows yung mga computer icons. is that overscan? sensya na po

Offline jambam

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #624 on: Apr 15, 2005 at 11:09 PM »
Quote
nice monitor n very nice price! do you find the 1920x1200 resolution too big for the 26" screen or just right? have you tried 1080p on 'em? how is it for watching dvd's? thanks!

It's just fine as my number one use is a pc monitor secondary for watching movies.. I have a few downloaded 1080 movies and they really look nice... "nakaka addict mag download ng hdtv content tuloy" actually it has component input  but have not tried dvd's yet..

you can check the avsforum too for their opinions ?

Offline v0elker

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #625 on: Apr 16, 2005 at 02:54 AM »
thanks jam. ill check 'em out sa avs

Offline number1

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #626 on: Apr 16, 2005 at 06:44 AM »
What programs to use, inorder to play/decode .ts (transport stream) files?

Offline jambam

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #627 on: Apr 19, 2005 at 09:45 AM »
number1 , use vlc player for playing .ts files

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Offline GM

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #628 on: May 03, 2005 at 06:17 AM »
interesting new HTPC case..

http://www.htpcnews.com/main.php?id=x15

:)




Offline jpadua

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #629 on: May 04, 2005 at 01:59 AM »
interesting new HTPC case..

http://www.htpcnews.com/main.php?id=x15

:)





Ganda neto, saw this last yr in silver black, looks sexy. This is made by Ahanix I think... it comes with a LCD Touchscreen from xenarc.