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

GM · « **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

andaleon · « **Reply #601 on:** Apr 05, 2005 at 12:31 PM »

Quote from: baby on Apr 05, 2005 at 12:48 AM

Need some help here.Â 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???

What is your budget?

number1 · « **Reply #602 on:** Apr 05, 2005 at 11:15 PM »

Quote from: baby on Apr 05, 2005 at 12:48 AM

Need some help here.Â 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???

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.

baby · « **Reply #603 on:** Apr 05, 2005 at 11:58 PM »

Quote from: number1 on Apr 05, 2005 at 11:15 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.

Quote from: andaleon on Apr 05, 2005 at 12:31 PM

What is your budget?

As long as I can afford it.

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

agmjr · « **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.Â 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.Â what are your comments on my rig? are there other improvements necessary?

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

ty po to any of your comments an inputs.

johndoe · « **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.

pchin · « **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?

jambam · « **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

Qman · « **Reply #608 on:** Apr 07, 2005 at 10:54 AM »

wow

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

thanks

jambam · « **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

agmjr · « **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

Qman · « **Reply #611 on:** Apr 08, 2005 at 04:04 PM »

Quote from: jambam on Apr 07, 2005 at 11:03 AM

sa us ko pinabiliÂ 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

GM · « **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

Quote from: agmjr on Apr 06, 2005 at 12:30 PM

1.Â what are your comments on my rig? are there other improvements necessary?

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

ty po to any of your comments an inputs.

GM · « **Reply #613 on:** Apr 10, 2005 at 01:24 PM »

Quote from: pchin on Apr 07, 2005 at 09:52 AM

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

GM · « **Reply #614 on:** Apr 10, 2005 at 01:26 PM »

Quote from: agmjr 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

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

pchin · « **Reply #615 on:** Apr 10, 2005 at 07:15 PM »

Quote from: GM on Apr 10, 2005 at 01:24 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?

GM · « **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.

Quote from: pchin on Apr 10, 2005 at 07:15 PM

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?Â

agmjr · « **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

GM · « **Reply #618 on:** Apr 11, 2005 at 11:36 AM »

Quote from: agmjr 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

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

agmjr · « **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)

GM · « **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.

Quote from: agmjr 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)

v0elker · « **Reply #621 on:** Apr 13, 2005 at 09:53 AM »

Quote from: jambam on Apr 07, 2005 at 11:03 AM

sa us ko pinabiliÂ 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!

jpadua · « **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.

agmjr · « **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

jambam · « **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 ?

v0elker · « **Reply #625 on:** Apr 16, 2005 at 02:54 AM »

thanks jam. ill check 'em out sa avs

number1 · « **Reply #626 on:** Apr 16, 2005 at 06:44 AM »

What programs to use, inorder to play/decode .ts (transport stream) files?

jambam · « **Reply #627 on:** Apr 19, 2005 at 09:45 AM »

number1 , use vlc player for playing .ts files

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

GM · « **Reply #628 on:** May 03, 2005 at 06:17 AM »

interesting new HTPC case..

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

jpadua · « **Reply #629 on:** May 04, 2005 at 01:59 AM »

Quote from: GM on May 03, 2005 at 06:17 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.