Topic: Share your HTPC Setup

[Meridian-Audio]

it seems that most of you go for the Athlons.

Q.: Asus and DFI (the RS482), if I read the specs correctly can handle both the Athlon 64 or the Athlon 64X2, did I read the specs correctly?  That means I can use the Athlon 64 3200 now (which fits my needs) and later on upgrade to an Athlon 64X2 when the price drops considerably without changing mobo?

Q.: Do you know who sells these boards? If it is tipidpc, please supply username of seller.


Hard disc question:

Q.: Is it advisable to get a separate smaller HD for boot/programs? Or should I just partition the 250GB hD that I have with a small one for programs and the rest for storage.  Should I waste precious real estate on my case for this?  My PC case can handle 4 HDs aside from the usual optical drives.


Thanks.


voj

Voj,

Try to PM waycool of tpc I think he sell DFI board. Or try to ask jpadua if he has DFI board for sale.
And about HDD i think it is safe to put small HDD as boot drive & just reserve your 250g HDD as back up disk for your important file. Me I use 40gig IDE HDD for boot drive & 160g SATA HDD for file back up only. 

[jpadua]

it seems that most of you go for the Athlons.

Q.: Asus and DFI (the RS482), if I read the specs correctly can handle both the Athlon 64 or the Athlon 64X2, did I read the specs correctly?  That means I can use the Athlon 64 3200 now (which fits my needs) and later on upgrade to an Athlon 64X2 when the price drops considerably without changing mobo?

Q.: Do you know who sells these boards? If it is tipidpc, please supply username of seller.


Hard disc question:

Q.: Is it advisable to get a separate smaller HD for boot/programs? Or should I just partition the 250GB hD that I have with a small one for programs and the rest for storage.  Should I waste precious real estate on my case for this?  My PC case can handle 4 HDs aside from the usual optical drives.


Thanks.


voj

Hi Voj,

Sorry di pa tayo nagkikita! been very busy lately, had a ton of projects to finish.  Anyways yes the RS482 Infinity can handle an FX51-55 and X2, so you can definately upgrade when the time comes.  The RS482 can be had for 5,500 through waycool in Tipidpc although you have to order it, I think he's waiting until the pre orders reach a certain number before DFI will supply him.

yes a smaller drive like an 80GB would be great for the OS and applications and a storage drive 250GB.  Perfomance wise, windows always uses a swap file for memory, if you have 2 drives, the swap drive is free for windows to write on.  Place the swap drive on the bigger hard disk.
Seagates are good becuase of the 5yr warranty, but Samsung spinpoint drves run cooler and are much quieter, still the preffered drive of SilentPC review.

[voj]

Thanks meridian & jay.

It seems I have time after all.  I read that the dual core of Athlon will have a deep price cut by end of July.  So I will have to be more patient and just wait for it to happen, it's only a month away.

Anyway, RS482 seems to be cost effective.  If I add a little more and say go for an SLI board like Asus A8N-SLI or DFI nF4 SLI-DR, what are the things I will get and do I really need them.

One of the things I do now that is so painstakingly slow is recompressing some of my downloads through a small freeware AVI Recomp.  Why do I have to do this?  Usually a whole season of 1 hour episodes TV series can fit in 2 DVDrs, lately there are some TV series who squeezed in a one or more episodes in a season which will now exceed the 2 DVDRs!  And I hate wasting spaces on these blanks.  I end up recompressing a lot of episodes (effect of the decompression will be minimal if I spread the reduction on as many files instead of just recompressing one) so that it will fit all in 2 DVDrs.  Degradation is minimal even at 20% decompression, I even tried projecting it through my Infocus and it is hardly noticeable.  Do you think there will be a marked improvement on time.  It takes about 2 hours to recompress 1 hour episode.  Luckily, I don't have to be awake when my PC does this by batches.

TIA

voj

[stipen22]

Hello to you all guys here...!

I'm quite new in this forum and all I can say about all your set-up is that.............. "ANG WUFET!!" 

Im a certified HTPC fanatic but without the money to spend though hehehe!


BTW here’s my starter HTPC setup I know my setup is not much of a screamer but hey I still enjoy watching DVD movies with this rig:

AMD Athlon XP 2000+ (Thorton)
DFI NF2 Ultra-AL (nForce2)
512MB DDR400 PQI (Dual Channel config)
256MB FX5500 128bit Inno3D video card (VGA, DVI, Video Out)
80Gig PATA 7200rpm hard drive (40Gig x 2)
ASUS Combo Drive
Philips Sound Edge 24-bit 5.1 sound card
Logitech Z5300 THX certified 5.1 speaker (280watts RMS)
17” LG Flatscreen CRT monitor

Pic’s to follow once my friend lend me he’s digicam   

TPC member too....





 

[voj]

Guys, please help.

These three DFI boards are available through a tipidpc seller:

- DFI ATI RS482 Infinity                    - P  5500.00
- DFI LAN Party UT nF4 Ultra-D        - P  8200.00
- DFI LAN Party UT SLI-DR Expert    - P12500.00

Aside from the obvious price difference, what are some of the things I will miss or gain if I go for one board or the other.  I plan to get the dual core Athlon microprocessor next month when the price goes down.

To be used primarily for HTPC - downloading, burning, watching DVDs, reprocessing video downloads. Maybe later for adobe photoshop postproduction.

Thanks in advance.



voj

[stipen22]

IMHO i'd go for the DFI ATI RS482 Infinity with it's DV I-D, TV-out, HDTV (Y/Pb/Pr component) video output I say it's totally design for HTPC setup. Another thing I notice with this mobo is its form factor (microATX) you won't have much problem installing to a small HTPC casing. The downside I foresee its lack of expansion slot which is common for microATX board's. If your still waiting for the price to drop for the video card you yearn for or in a budget setting up a HTPC but wan't it working and running ASAP this board is a good choice.



Just my two cent. 

[jpadua]

The board works well I should say I have one and its perfect for a budget setup, you dont need to buy a video card and a soundcard.  It has firewire too, spdif digital output and all the connectivity you need DVI VGA and Component, even S-vid if you plan to use it on a TV.  I say budget  albeit the board being a bit on the pricy side (5,500) you save on a lot of other things.

[alexg]

Just got my DVI to HDMI cable, but I cannot go past 1280x720 on my 32" Samsung LCD using Power Strip. The native resolution of the LCD is 1366X768 (which I can get over the VGA connection). Any ideas?

Finally, my current HTPC

MSI P4N SLI-FI motherboard
Intel P4 3.0 GHz (the 3.2GHz have some issues with the MSI motherboard) cooled with ThermalTake Big Typhoon
MSI NX6600GT 256MB PCI-E graphics card
LG DVD combo drive
200 GB SATA drive
80 GB SATA drive
Samsung CD Drive
Logitech wireless mouse and keyboard
Twin Han DVB-S PCI card (for my DreamTV)...
Lian Li PC case

[voj]

IMHO i'd go for the DFI ATI RS482 Infinity with it's DV I-D, TV-out, HDTV (Y/Pb/Pr component) video output I say it's totally design for HTPC setup. Another thing I notice with this mobo is its form factor (microATX) you won't have much problem installing to a small HTPC casing. The downside I foresee its lack of expansion slot which is common for microATX board's. If your still waiting for the price to drop for the video card you yearn for or in a budget setting up a HTPC but wan't it working and running ASAP this board is a good choice.



Just my two cent. 

RS482 question

- i already have a sound card (xmystique), TV tuner card (hauppauge 250) and plan to install wifi and a PCI-e graphics card (maybe ATI X1300 with HDMI support), hindi ba maubusan ng slot dito sa RS482.

Thanks

[jpadua]

Di Naman siguro, you can save PCI slots by using USB like a USB wifi adaptor.  You have a PCI express slot for the video card. I dont really know what else you might need more PCI slots for.

You have 4 PCI slots and 1 PCIe slot

1. PCI - Xmystique
2. PCI - PVR500 dual Tuner
3. PCIe 16x - Future video card upgrade
4. PCIe 1x - no peripherals for this yet

I have a full ATX board and im only using 1 slot for the Xmystique, 1 slot for my Tuner and one for a Video card.  I only use USB wifi adaptors.  Never had the need for more PCI slots.

[espi]

sir jay,

what is the best resolution setting for a 32" philips pixel plus widescreen lcd tv? kailangan pa ba ng power strip? or kaya naman i setup using the native resolutions lang?

btw, i have a 128mb geforce fx 5200 card.

what is your suggested video card for dvd playback? medyo more on dvd viewing ako e.

salamat po!

[alexg]

I believe the native resolution of your LCD is 1366 x 768, if  your video card supports it then set it at 1366 x 768 or 1360 x 768.

If your card does not support these resolutions, then download the latest drivers from nvidia or use powerstrip.

I set mine at 1366x768 using an nvidia 6600GT  thru the vga cable from  my PC to my Samsung 32" LCD.

[espi]

sir alex,

have you tried comparing dvd playbacks between a dvd player and an htpc setup with this setting? how was it? big improvement ba?

my card can support the settings you've mentioned, will there be a difference if i upgraded my card or my current rig can do the job na?

can we achieve 1080p setting? what is the resolution setting?

if i'm not mistaken 1,366x768 setting is equivalent na to 768p, ryt?

[espi]

sirs,

ask ko lang, what is the best software / program for dvd playback / viewing sa htpc?

thanks!

[jpadua]

sirs,

ask ko lang, what is the best software / program for dvd playback / viewing sa htpc?

thanks!

I personally use Zoomplayer and WinDVD.  With Zoom player you can use any DVD codec.  So I use Nvidia Purevideo Decoder for Zoomplayer.

[espi]

I personally use Zoomplayer and WinDVD.  With Zoom player you can use any DVD codec.  So I use Nvidia Purevideo Decoder for Zoomplayer.

sir, where can i get these files?

also what are the resolution settings to achieve 720p, 1080i and 1080p?

[jpadua]

sir, where can i get these files?

also what are the resolution settings to achieve 720p, 1080i and 1080p?

You can get zoomplayer at inmatrix.com and winDVD at intervideo.com

720p - 1280x720
1080i - 1920x1080 (set to interlace on the advanced setup)
1080p - 1920x1080 (current displays that can do 1080p are still too expensive so were stuck with either 720p or 1080i for now)

Make sure you know what your Display/TV supports.  If it can only do 1080i dont try to feed 720p you might damage your monitor

My LCD HDTV panel supports both 720p and 1080i but I prefer 720p because its progressive.  Interlaced makes standard windows desktop shake and makes text unreadable.. only good for displaying video.  at 720p windows desktop and text are sharp. 

If you really want 1080i some people use 3rd party apps that auto change resolution.  You can do this with powerstrip.  There is a setting somewhere in there that will change your res to whatever you want when you launch ZP.  You can have your normal res at 720p then have powerstrip switch to 1080i when Zoomplayer loads. 

No need for an upscaling DVD player

[nerveblocker]

Would having an HTPC improve the quality of my DVD viewing in an 800x600 projector as compared to just having a DVD player in component video output?  Presently I am watching in 525p using my DVD player in prog scan but can still notice the screendoor effect.  Would it diminish the screen door effect of my LCD projector if I upgrade the resolution to 720p using powerstrip? In the manual of the projector it says it can accept both 720p and 1080i signals.

Any response would be appreciated.  Thanks!

[jpadua]

Would having an HTPC improve the quality of my DVD viewing in an 800x600 projector as compared to just having a DVD player in component video output?  Presently I am watching in 525p using my DVD player in prog scan but can still notice the screendoor effect.  Would it diminish the screen door effect of my LCD projector if I upgrade the resolution to 720p using powerstrip? In the manual of the projector it says it can accept both 720p and 1080i signals.

Any response would be appreciated.  Thanks!

Hi Nerveblocker,

Yes with a capital Y heheh.  Building an HTPC from scratch will cost you money.  If you have a spare PC that can play DVDs then that might be a good option for you.  PC are inherently progressive already, now if you can connect a PC to your projector then you already have progressive output, Play a DVD then depending on the resolution you are running that will be the video output.

A good setup would be a PC running at 1280x720 resolution for 720p.  Then run a software DVD player.  There are so many ways to improve picture quality as well.  FFdshow is a filter that can run with your software DVD player (like zoomplayer) to do further postprocessing like, video resize, sharpening, denoise and such, but you will need a hefty processor for FFDshow.  With a good sound card you can even output full surround sound.

Other advantages of an HTPC:

Upscale DVDs
Hook up a TV tuner and you can watch and record TV shows (Personal Video Recorder)
Play videos other than DVDs
Play HD videos
Play your music collection
View photos and slideshows
surf the web
Make your own sling box (watch videos on your computer from any internet connected PC)

There are so many possibilities

[nerveblocker]

Thanks jay for the quick response.  I am still looking at my options as of the moment and of course how far my wallet will go.....upgrade...upgrade....upgrade

[jpadua]

Thanks jay for the quick response.  I am still looking at my options as of the moment and of course how far my wallet will go.....upgrade...upgrade....upgrade

Honestly HTPCs are for geeks like me...heheh HTPC has a long way to go in terms of being an appliance, you have to know how to deal with software and have the patience to tweak.   Anyways it should be a fulfilling experience.  Especially when you get the perfect video output.

[RU9]

 FFdshow is a filter that can run with your software DVD player (like zoomplayer) to do further postprocessing like, video resize, sharpening, denoise and such, but you will need a hefty processor for FFDshow. 

May I ask if you are using a dvd drive for postprocessing. or you have ripped the dvd to the hard disk.

Is this similar to extacting and saving wav files to the hard disk then play the files from the hard disk. I would prefer this setup although this need a lot of disk space. I am avoiding disk being read by the laser.

thanx.

louie

[alexg]

May I ask if you are using a dvd drive for postprocessing. or you have ripped the dvd to the hard disk.

Is this similar to extacting and saving wav files to the hard disk then play the files from the hard disk. I would prefer this setup although this need a lot of disk space. I am avoiding disk being read by the laser.

thanx.

louie

You can do postprocessing from a DVD drive or from the hard disk (after ripping the DVD to the hard disk).

Why are you avoiding the disk being read by the laser?

[scoob]

Hi htpc experts,

I want to connect by PC (desktop) to my AVR (Audio/Video Receiver) thru digital connection.  My sound card(built in) currently does not support SPDIF, what are my other options (besides buying a sound card with SPDIF)?  Are there dauther boards that I can coonect to my sound card that have SPDIF?  Are there softwares needed to be able to pass DTS/Dolby Digital from my sound card to my AVR?

TIA

[alexg]

Hi htpc experts,

I want to connect by PC (desktop) to my AVR (Audio/Video Receiver) thru digital connection.  My sound card(built in) currently does not support SPDIF, what are my other options (besides buying a sound card with SPDIF)?  Are there dauther boards that I can coonect to my sound card that have SPDIF?  Are there softwares needed to be able to pass DTS/Dolby Digital from my sound card to my AVR?

TIA

Most motherboards with built-in sound card have an SPDIF header, where you can plug either an optical or coaxial digital port (you need to get in touch with your motherboard manufacturer to get the connector), if not, you need to get a sound card with spdif connection.

[jpadua]

Hi htpc experts,

I want to connect by PC (desktop) to my AVR (Audio/Video Receiver) thru digital connection.  My sound card(built in) currently does not support SPDIF, what are my other options (besides buying a sound card with SPDIF)?  Are there dauther boards that I can coonect to my sound card that have SPDIF?  Are there softwares needed to be able to pass DTS/Dolby Digital from my sound card to my AVR?

TIA

Hi Scoob,

check your motherboard, if it has headers for spdif.  If it does you can make your own digital output, by simply using an RCA connector and connecting it to the header.  I've done this before with one of my older motherboards, I simply got a connector (the spdif connector that usually comes free with DVD/CD drives) and connected it to a female RCA plug.  Connected an RCA cable to my new digital out, and straight into the coaxial input of my AVR and voila!

If your motherboard does not have spdif headers, then you might have to add a soundcard that supports spdif.  If you are interested I have a sealed HDA Xmystique 7.1 with dolby digital live.  Let me know if your interested.

The software DVD player should be able to send the digital AC-3 or DTS to your receiver by simply selecting spdif on the software DVD player's setup configuration.

[jpadua]

May I ask if you are using a dvd drive for postprocessing. or you have ripped the dvd to the hard disk.

Is this similar to extacting and saving wav files to the hard disk then play the files from the hard disk. I would prefer this setup although this need a lot of disk space. I am avoiding disk being read by the laser.

thanx.

louie

you can do post processing both for DVD in the drive and on the hard disk.  I also prefer DVDs on the hard disk but that requires a lot of space.  Why are you avoiding the disk being read by the laser?  If you want minimal DVD reading, you can try DVDidle.  This caches your DVD for minimal DVD laser reading.  Instead of your DVD being read by the drive for the whole duration of the movie, the DVD will be read only for about 20min.  The rest of the time the DVD will be playing off the cache.

[RU9]

Why are you avoiding the disk being read by the laser?

I have tried Audio CD ripped to a hard disk, I prefer the result. The sound is comparable to a dedicated CD player.

Louie

[alexg]

I have tried Audio CD ripped to a hard disk, I prefer the result. The sound is comparable to a dedicated CD player.

Louie

I prefer ripping audio cd's to my hard disks too, i can equalize the volume and have my libraries organized as well and I can create playlists! 

[jpadua]

When ripping DVDs to your hard drive, it would be best if you rip at full quality, so you get the exact digital version of the DVD on your HDD.  That will take up a lot of space.  If you rip with compression naman, playing a DVD on the DVD drive would produce better results.