Author Topic: Share your HTPC Setup  (Read 344714 times)

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Offline jpadua

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #690 on: Dec 05, 2005 at 12:20 AM »
mga sirs. may question ako. I'm planning to setup my HTPC. I just purchased a LCD/TV with only HDMI as tv out nya. Walang DVI na pwede ko connect sa PC ko. If ever, saan nakakabili ng connector para sa DVI? I already have an adaptor to convert DVI to HDMI. yung cable na lang ang kulang. Thanks!

Wala bang PC input yung LCD/TV mo? (VGA) To what I know, DVI to HDMI is still flaky, you can try it though, in a lot of forums, a lot of people have problems getting the correct resolution, or some dont even send out a signal.  Although there are some who report that it works fine with their displays.  You can order DVI-D cables in Greenhills (the parking lot in front of Virramall) the name of the store is smart systems corporation. Their store doesnt really look like a store, it looks more like a repair center, but they have DVI-D cables and VGA cables for sale.

If you can in the meantime try using VGA instead.  The difference is hardly discernable.

Offline rene_canlas

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #691 on: Dec 05, 2005 at 01:40 AM »
Just wanted to share the excellent wireless keyboard I bought at Columbia Computer Store MegaMall.

I'm an HTPC enthusiast using Media Center Edition 2005 and I've been looking for just the right wireless keyboard for my setup. 

I wanted one with the mouse built-in so that I could use the keyboard on my lap from my couch. IR keyboards were out of the question because they were too bothersome to use (you had to point the keyboard sensor at the IR receiver at all times and they didn't work very well in well-lit environments), so it had to use Radio Frequency (RF).  The popular Logitech wireless keyboards used RF, but the range was only 6 feet (There's 8 feet between my TV and couch). 

Needless to say, I had a hard time finding a keyboard which met all of my requirements.

I was casually browsing through the store, when I stumbled onto this:



BTC 9019URF Wireless Keyboard - Php 2,010.00
- Has built-in thumb-stick which functions as a mouse and as a joystick for games :)
- Lots of multimedia hotkeys, and scroll buttons
- Dual Channel (255 IDs)
- 27MHz Operational Frequency :)
- Range is 4.5 meters or 14.76 feet from the receiver :)
- 2 x AA Batteries (will last approximately 1.5 months at 4 hours per day usage)
- Comes with a USB receiver, 2 x AA batteries, Quick Install Guide, Manual and Driver CD

Here are some more pictures:


Back of the box


Close-up of the thumb-stick

Build quality is quite good.  The keyboard has a solid feel to it, being contructed of very dense plastic.  There are holes at each end that help the user grip the keyboard.  The keys on the keyboard have the normal width as those found on desktop keyboards, but are shallower (but not as shallow as those found on laptop keyboards).  The multimedia keys don't look that nice (looks like the buttons on the remote of a cheap DVD player), but they do the work.  Pairing the keyboard with the included USB receiver was painless and I had no problems using it with MCE 2005.  The manual indicates that the keyboard has several status LEDs on it but I have not found them yet. It says that you need to install the drivers on the CD to activate the status LEDs.

Will give you more feedback on ease of use and reliability as I use the keyboard.

Update:

There are no LEDs on the unit...The LEDs the manual were referring to were onscreen on the Windows system tray.  There are indicator icons for displaying the remaining battery life on the keyboard, and for the usual caps lock, num lock and scroll lock.  As the manual indicated, you will have to install the software from the CD to enable these features.

The USB receiver has a button on top that is used for pairing the receiver and the keyboard using one of the 255 IDs available.  Once paired, this button has a built in LED that acts as an activity indicator, flashing to indicate whenever it is receiving data from the keyboard.

I find the thumb-stick very easy to use.  Response time is very nice and tracking is very smooth.  The thumb-stick auto-centers when you let go, and does not cause mouse drift.  Like a PS2 controller, you can press down on the thumb-stick and it will do a left mouse-click (there is also a dedicated button that does that on the opposite end of the keyboard, along with one that does right-click).  To the immediate left of the thumb-stick is a pair of buttons that emulate a scrollwheel.  On the right is a button for that emulates a mouse's middle button.

Oh, did I mention that the thumb-stick can also be used as a joystick for games? :)  Pressing FN-F12 will enable the joystick functionality.  It will be detected as a "USB Human Interface Device" in Control Panel | Game Controllers.  The 4 mouse buttons and the 2 scroll buttons become 6 joystick buttons.  Pressing FN-F11 re-enables the mouse functionality.  Of course with the weird layout of the buttons, only buttons 1 and 2 (left and right mouse buttons) will actually be usable for gaming.

The range of the keyboard is also very good.  I can use it from the couch without any difficulty, which more than what I can say for my Logitech wireless keyboard.  Will try to test the maximum range of the keyboard and whether the signal will go through walls/doors.

Update:

Just tried the keyboard from the next room with the door closed.  It still works!


Rene
« Last Edit: Dec 05, 2005 at 03:28 PM by rene_canlas »

Offline jackryan

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #692 on: Dec 05, 2005 at 07:07 AM »
senor rene,

this is a very good keyboard... can you tell me via pm where you got this?

thanks!!!
-jackryan 8)

Offline voj

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #693 on: Dec 05, 2005 at 07:56 AM »
senor rene,

this is a very good keyboard... can you tell me via pm where you got this?

thanks!!!
-jackryan 8)

no need for pm, it's right there - Columbia Megamall

Offline jackryan

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #694 on: Dec 05, 2005 at 08:28 AM »
no need for pm, it's right there - Columbia Megamall

you're right... i think i need to upgrade my glasses pretty soon.... :-)  might be the effect of too much airsoft pellets coming may way every weekends hehehe...  ;D

btw, this is much cooler than the wireless acer keyboard i got from HK before... hope there is a unit being sold somewhere near makati though... have to check whether columbia has a branch within Makati area...

thanks...

-jackryan 8)

Offline audiofreak

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #695 on: Dec 05, 2005 at 08:51 AM »
Wala bang PC input yung LCD/TV mo? (VGA) To what I know, DVI to HDMI is still flaky, you can try it though, in a lot of forums, a lot of people have problems getting the correct resolution, or some dont even send out a signal.  Although there are some who report that it works fine with their displays.  You can order DVI-D cables in Greenhills (the parking lot in front of Virramall) the name of the store is smart systems corporation. Their store doesnt really look like a store, it looks more like a repair center, but they have DVI-D cables and VGA cables for sale.

If you can in the meantime try using VGA instead.  The difference is hardly discernable.

Sir, i don't think may vga cable yung lcd/tv ko. The model is Philips 32PF7320A. And ito lang yung available connections nya
  • Composite AV (RCA) In: 3 (1 side)
    S-Video In: 3 (1 side)
    Component Video In (Y PB PR): 2
    HDMI In: 2
    RF In: 1
    PC Audio In: 1
    PC Audio Out: 1
    Monitor Out: 1
    USB: 1
    Headphone: 1


« Last Edit: Dec 06, 2005 at 02:52 PM by audiofreak »

Offline rene_canlas

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #696 on: Dec 05, 2005 at 10:57 AM »
Just updated my "review" of the BTC Wireless Keyboard (see my previous post)

Offline rene_canlas

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #697 on: Dec 05, 2005 at 11:01 AM »
Anything new on the HTPC front? havent heard from this thread in a while, by the way I finally got my Silverstone LC16m! will take pictures and post later!

Nice! Congrats!

Quote
Other heads up,

the latest pure video decoders are out, use them with the latest nvidia drivers, they can now process 1080i material.  If you have a 6600GT and up, go grab the new drivers and codecs :)

May bayad itong drivers na ito diba? If not, where can I get them?  Thanks!

Rene

Offline rene_canlas

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #698 on: Dec 05, 2005 at 11:05 AM »
you're right... i think i need to upgrade my glasses pretty soon.... :-)  might be the effect of too much airsoft pellets coming may way every weekends hehehe...  ;D

btw, this is much cooler than the wireless acer keyboard i got from HK before... hope there is a unit being sold somewhere near makati though... have to check whether columbia has a branch within Makati area...

thanks...

-jackryan 8)

jackryan,

They have a branch in Park Square 1.

Offline jpadua

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #699 on: Dec 06, 2005 at 01:01 PM »
OK yan BTC wireless keyboard, it has very good reviews sa AVSforum and sa HTPC news.  Going to use those on my next builds... was supposed to bring them in... looks like its here already... cool.

Offline zerone_null

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #700 on: Dec 28, 2005 at 03:09 AM »
cool keyboard :) will get that as replacement for the MX DUO keyboard i literally threw out the window cos i got so pissed at the irregular response.  (It crashed on the street below and no i did not hit anyone thank God) hehe. 

~~~spfft.

Offline jambam

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #701 on: Jan 01, 2006 at 03:16 PM »
yup the keyboard is quite good , bought one myself yesterday...

Jay ... I saw your HTPC setup being sold at the Hi Fi Lounge in Festival Mall ...looks very classy

Offline jomargon

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #702 on: Jan 02, 2006 at 11:50 AM »
Here's mine:

HP Media Center m7160n Photosmart PC

Processor      Pentium D 820

RAM             1.5 GB PC2-3200 DDR2 SDRAM

Video card     NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT

Hard Drive      250GB 7200RPM Serial ATA

Speaker         Logitech Z-5500

Built-in tv-tuner, fm radio tuner, card reader, dual sound panel (front and back), dual av connector (front and back), media bay drive, media center remote control

Monitor             HP vs17 LCD

Optical Drive     HP Lightscribe Dual Layer DVD±RW External Drive
                         HP DVD-ROM
                           
UPS                  APC Back-UPS

Mouse              Logitech MX1000 Laser Cordless Mouse

Offline jpadua

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #703 on: Jan 03, 2006 at 01:55 AM »
Here's mine:

HP Media Center m7160n Photosmart PC

Processor      Pentium D 820

RAM             1.5 GB PC2-3200 DDR2 SDRAM

Video card     NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT

Hard Drive      250GB 7200RPM Serial ATA

Speaker         Logitech Z-5500

Built-in tv-tuner, fm radio tuner, card reader, dual sound panel (front and back), dual av connector (front and back), media bay drive, media center remote control

Monitor             HP vs17 LCD

Optical Drive     HP Lightscribe Dual Layer DVD±RW External Drive
                         HP DVD-ROM
                           
UPS                  APC Back-UPS

Mouse              Logitech MX1000 Laser Cordless Mouse

Cool, post a pic!!! :)

Offline jpadua

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #704 on: Jan 03, 2006 at 02:18 AM »
Purevideo registry hack,

this registry hack adds some hidden functions sa purevideo, Edge Enhancement and Noise Reduction.

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\NVIDIA Corporation\Filters\Video]
"EnablePropPage"=dword:00000001
"PureVideoPropPage"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\NVIDIA Corporation\Filters\Audio]
"EnablePropPage"=dword:00000001

Offline jomargon

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #705 on: Jan 04, 2006 at 08:19 PM »
how do I post a pic?

Offline number1

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #706 on: Jan 04, 2006 at 11:24 PM »
To post pics

1.  At the point, pls. be sure to make any necessary modifications to the photo (ie. resize, cropping, etc)

2. Proceed to a free pic upload server like www.imageshack.us and et al.

3. Follow on-screen instructions on the website. May differ depending on the company.

4. After uploading pic(s) in the server, be sure to copy the exact URL of the pic. Example: http://www.imageshack.us/image001.jpg

5. In the reply form of the forum, Affix the tags [img]http://www.imageshack.us/image001.jpg.[ /img] . Note there are no spaces in the command ie.[ /img], i just did that so that it would display here.

5. If done correcly, the pic will load properly in the forum.
« Last Edit: Jan 05, 2006 at 08:22 PM by number1 »

Offline jambam

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #707 on: Jan 10, 2006 at 01:42 PM »
Ok here's mine...

Sorry for the messy look but...



1st pc (on the Table)  Shuttle XPC SN45G w/ AMD 2400xp+ mobile @ 2.2 Ghz/512MB ram / 200GB HD/ ATI AIW 8500DV/Pioneer 107D dvdrw


2nd pc ( Bottom left not completely seen)  Lian Li PC60/ Epox 8NPAJ w/ A64 Sempron 2800+ @ 2.5Ghz/ 1 Gig Ram/ 250Gb + 400GB +300GB sata HD's/ XFX 6600GT video/ Chaintech AV710 audio/ NEC 3500 + Benq 1640b Dvdrw/Lifeview TV walker lite Tuner

Audio is connected via optical toslink is  Marantz SR 4500  reciever connected to Epos ES14's front , Wharfdale Diamonds 9.1 + Sw 150, center

Accs. Logitech Wireless Desktop + QuickCam 4000pro + Roland Sc88pro  and Yamaha MU80 sound modules + 200gb USB Drive

Displays are Dell 2405FPW , Panasonic AE900 and PWD7
« Last Edit: Jan 10, 2006 at 02:18 PM by jambam »

Offline MAtZTER

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #708 on: Jan 20, 2006 at 11:13 AM »
Hi there, HTPC newbie here  :).

I just got my LCD TV for my bedroom so I thought of exploring the HTPC path. I already have a separate setup in my HT room, and I have spare speakers and amplifiers. This will be a 2nd setup, so I wont be pouring too much budget on it.

What sound cards are available in the local market for this (for external amps) ?

Around how much are they and where can they be bought?

The only one I learned about was the Audigy 2.

Thanks  :)

Offline jpadua

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #709 on: Jan 21, 2006 at 05:02 AM »
Hi there, HTPC newbie here  :).

I just got my LCD TV for my bedroom so I thought of exploring the HTPC path. I already have a separate setup in my HT room, and I have spare speakers and amplifiers. This will be a 2nd setup, so I wont be pouring too much budget on it.

What sound cards are available in the local market for this (for external amps) ?

Around how much are they and where can they be bought?

The only one I learned about was the Audigy 2.

Thanks  :)

Read Reviews on the Xmystique 7.1 I have 4 more cards in case your interested.

Offline MAtZTER

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #710 on: Jan 21, 2006 at 01:32 PM »
Kindly PM me the price and which one (Xraider or Xplosion) can be connected to power amps without the need for pre-amps.

Thanks  :)

Offline jpadua

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #711 on: Jan 22, 2006 at 03:00 AM »
Kindly PM me the price and which one (Xraider or Xplosion) can be connected to power amps without the need for pre-amps.

Thanks  :)

Hi Matz wala akong xplosion or xraider only xmystique eh.  These can be connected to power amps without the need for a preamp.  Just make sure you turn on the PC first before the power amps.  When shutting down, turn off power amps before PC.  Just to avoid the pop sound when the power turns on and off.

Offline dokie

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #712 on: Jan 28, 2006 at 12:50 PM »
@jpadua

sir jpadua, meron pala kayong dvi to component adapter for ati cards.. pwede po ba yan sa sapphire radeon 9100? kasi nabasa ko sa net na ang core daw ng 9100 ay pareho ng 8500.... thanks!

Offline jpadua

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #713 on: Jan 30, 2006 at 02:51 AM »
@jpadua

sir jpadua, meron pala kayong dvi to component adapter for ati cards.. pwede po ba yan sa sapphire radeon 9100? kasi nabasa ko sa net na ang core daw ng 9100 ay pareho ng 8500.... thanks!

hmm im not sure lang, kung pareho lang yung core then it should work. The driver should support it, I'll search the net kung pwede.

Offline v0elker

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #714 on: Jan 30, 2006 at 09:18 AM »
meron ba sa pinas ng wireless keyboards with built in touchpads (ala laptops)? so far ive only seen two, both from amazon pa, an bland looking adesso brand and a sony vaio type which is kinda expensive for usd150. sana meron galing china na mura hehehe

Offline MAtZTER

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #715 on: Jan 30, 2006 at 05:50 PM »
another newbie question: will a pc dvd rom be able to read DVDa or SACD? or will the software do it?

TIA :)
« Last Edit: Feb 02, 2006 at 01:23 PM by MAtZTER »

Offline v0elker

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #716 on: Jan 30, 2006 at 07:02 PM »
MAt, later versions of WinDVD for Windows (and probably other dvd playback software) together with a dvd drive can playback DVD-Audio discs. Not sure about SACD

although with the advent of hd dvd and bluray, it looks like DVD-A and SACD will be relegated to the backburner. anyway, lets just wait and see

Offline jpadua

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #717 on: Jan 30, 2006 at 11:24 PM »
Currently The only known working way to play DVD-A is by using an Audigy and Creative DVD-A software player.  Win DVD has taken out this functionality since it has not been working properly eversince.

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #718 on: Feb 02, 2006 at 12:22 PM »
ic, once ko lang nagamit yun since i only had 1 dvda. so tinanggal na pala nila sa latter release. dvda and sacd never really took off no, naging niche lang

Offline nerveblocker

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Re: Share your HTPC Setup
« Reply #719 on: Feb 02, 2006 at 02:29 PM »
Hi!  Just wondering if upgrading my 32mb video card to a 128mb ATI Radeon would improve the video quality of my dvds on my computer monitor?  I am not a gamer just wanted to improve the quality of videos in my pc.   BTW, I am using a 21 inch HP flat screen monitor.   ???