Topic: Share your HTPC Setup

[jambam]

Got this Case from gilmore late november . Price was last than 5K for the antec Nsk2400 . ideal for a quite htpc setup . microatx nga lang.... Comes with a highly regarded PSU




Actual setup .... Medyo malabo but the htpc case is on the right side of the marantz reciever..


Ito picture ng old case medyo maingay at di masyado bagay kaya ko pinalitan

[rmpmla]

i'm gonna share mine...

my simple HTPC











best keyboard and mouse combo (remote works like the wii-mote)


next up would be decent speakers..

thanks!

nice HTPC! sir, ano po brand nung PC casing with built-in LCD? TIA

[glacierfrost]

I'm planning to buy the ati 2400 pro for my htpc, which I will mainly use to playback h.264 and x.264 files. I know that the 2400 can transmit video and audio through hdmi. What is confusing though me is, does the 2400 pass through the sound from my sound card ? or does it have its own onboard audio chip?  Would buying auzentech xplosion be worth it? Would it give me noticeable improvement in movie sound quality? I'm kinda finding it hard to rationalize spending 5k for a sound card where most of the fancy features I probably won't be using anyway.

[Jett]

audiofreak ... where did you buy the keyboard and mouse and remote combo?

I've been looking for a small wireless keyboard for my pc.

i'm gonna share mine...

my simple HTPC

best keyboard and mouse combo (remote works like the wii-mote)

next up would be decent speakers..

thanks!

[nerveblocker]

Hi! I've been having problems with my HTPC lately. I've been using it solely as a DVD player connected to my pj without any connection to the net. I didn't have any problems whatsoever before watching my DVDs. Lately, I noticed that everytime I load a DVD, it doesn't continue loading and it hangs.  If ever I get to watch the movie, it just hangs around 4-5x per movie and the PC resets again. 

Should I replace the RAM, HDD or reformat windows? Any help would be appreciated. TIA

[HouseBum]

Hi! I've been having problems with my HTPC lately. I've been using it solely as a DVD player connected to my pj without any connection to the net. I didn't have any problems whatsoever before watching my DVDs. Lately, I noticed that everytime I load a DVD, it doesn't continue loading and it hangs.  If ever I get to watch the movie, it just hangs around 4-5x per movie and the PC resets again. 

Should I replace the RAM, HDD or reformat windows? Any help would be appreciated. TIA

Does your HTPC case support a front temp monitor? The usual cause for hang-ups and resets for PC is high temperature, specifically processor temperature. The second usual suspect is the power supply starting to fail because of capacitor aging.

You may want to inspect the processor fan if its working correctly. You can do this by either installing a monitoring software like PC Wizard or Speedfan, or by physically checking the inside of the HTPC if dust has infiltrated the inside and has cause bad airflow within the case.

[demented_]

I have a PC that I plan to connect to my Panasonic 32LE7 LCD TV. I'm doing this so that I can maximize the video potential of the TV.

My questions are:

1. What software do I need to enjoy upscaling of normal SD content (e.g. DVDs) and DTS capabilities?

2. Where can I buy a DVI-HDMI cable? I need about 3 meters. DVI lang kasi yung port nung video card ko (Palit 7300GT)

3. How can I connect my PC to my amplifier to enjoy Dolby Digital/DTS? What cables do I need? Pwede ba yung ordinary RCA jacks na lang? Sakura 387a ang gamit kong amplifier. Built-in kasi yung sound card na ginagamit ko.

[dyzophoria]

@demented_

normally the built-in media player of windows has already good upscaling capabilties for dvd and for other formats, you just need to install the right codecs, which can be downloaded sa net, for outputing DTS and AC3 codecs, you also need some audio codecs naman to do that

for the DVI-HDMI cable, meron nyan nagbebenta dati dito sa buy and sell section, kaso its currently down, you can also try tipidpc.com, cdr-king meron din ata, and i think meron din sa mga audio/video shops

you connect your PC through its spdif out (coax/optical) to your reciever, or if your board supports it (and your reciever), you can connect it through hdmi also, you wont have Dolby/DTS with just RCA jacks )unless your pc is the one that will decode the audio, which I wouldnt recommend

post ko na rin dito,hehe, my still in progress htpc setup

[coolkiks]

sir dyzophoria nice case.Is this silverstone? where did you acquire this one? tnx

[dyzophoria]

@coolkiks

 yup, its a silverstone grandia case, I got it from tipidpc member kaizen, He can help you get some silverstone cases, luckily hindi naman nag object yung distributor, I was eyeing on another htpc casing kaso ayaw daw ata ng distro..

[demented_]

@demented_

normally the built-in media player of windows has already good upscaling capabilties for dvd and for other formats, you just need to install the right codecs, which can be downloaded sa net, for outputing DTS and AC3 codecs, you also need some audio codecs naman to do that

for the DVI-HDMI cable, meron nyan nagbebenta dati dito sa buy and sell section, kaso its currently down, you can also try tipidpc.com, cdr-king meron din ata, and i think meron din sa mga audio/video shops

you connect your PC through its spdif out (coax/optical) to your reciever, or if your board supports it (and your reciever), you can connect it through hdmi also, you wont have Dolby/DTS with just RCA jacks )unless your pc is the one that will decode the audio, which I wouldnt recommend

post ko na rin dito,hehe, my still in progress htpc setup

Diba yung software DVD player like PowerDVD eh kayang mag-decode ng DTS/DD so pwede siya kahit RCA lang right? El-cheapo lang kasi ang amp ko so RCA lang talaga ang pwede.

[nerveblocker]

Does your HTPC case support a front temp monitor? The usual cause for hang-ups and resets for PC is high temperature, specifically processor temperature. The second usual suspect is the power supply starting to fail because of capacitor aging.

You may want to inspect the processor fan if its working correctly. You can do this by either installing a monitoring software like PC Wizard or Speedfan, or by physically checking the inside of the HTPC if dust has infiltrated the inside and has cause bad airflow within the case.

Thanks sir for your response.  I replaced the RAM of my HTPC and everything worked well now.  All of the DVDs that hanged when I loaded them,  now is loading flawlessly.  Hope this is the only problem. 

[doughn]

Just came fresh from greenhills & got a horizontal case for 1600. But I changed the power supply to HEC, as recommended by PC enthusiast friends.

 

thanks sir matz

[Marl☆1]

audiofreak ... where did you buy the keyboard and mouse and remote combo?

I just came across this cool IR remote being sold at Tipidpc > http://www.tipidpc.com/viewitem.php?iid=1441610
Looks interesting, you may want to check it out...

[av_phile1]

Hi! I've been having problems with my HTPC lately. I've been using it solely as a DVD player connected to my pj without any connection to the net. I didn't have any problems whatsoever before watching my DVDs. Lately, I noticed that everytime I load a DVD, it doesn't continue loading and it hangs.  If ever I get to watch the movie, it just hangs around 4-5x per movie and the PC resets again. 

Should I replace the RAM, HDD or reformat windows? Any help would be appreciated. TIA

My understanding is that playing movies are I/O and memory-intensive applications on the PC.  Same with playing audio WAV files.  They are loaded and buffered into RAM before playing. You may have a video card memory problem.  Over time, PC components can fail.  Memory shortage will often hang a PC.  It also stutters WAV files and MPEG files when playing.   

There may be background applications running that can hinder smooth movie playing.  Some anti-virus tools can interpret a multimedia file as a virus and can disrupt the play as new data streams are loaded into memory.  Or the PC might be using virtual RAM on your hard drive and there's not enough hard disk space for this. 

Or your DVD ROM might be the culprit.  You may have to clean the lens.  If as you say, it can't continue with the loading, the drive lens might not be able to read the inner tracks containing the header files on your DVD.  Try borrowing and hooking via USB2.0 a working external DVD ROM and see if the problem persists.

[sanmig_ph]

sa htpc pag walang AVR na hdmi, panu connections sa avr to enjoy dolby true-hd & dts-hd
sa hddvd player kasi multichannel connections pag walang hdmi yung AVR to enjoy dolby true-hd & dts-hd

[av_phile1]

In the first place, your HTPC audio card should be able to decode DolbyTrueHD and DTS-HD/MA, assuming you have an HD DVD or Blu-Ray ROM on your HTPC.  Then same thing, you connect via 5.1 analog outs to your receiver.

[ericag_ph]

Without more info, I would probably say it's your RAM (PC hangs, resets)
But before buying, would suggest trying the RAM somewhere else or use a memory tester (software)

Another likely possibility:

You can try removing existing codec and software player.
Install new codec (like K-Lite), then your software player (ie. PowerDVD).

I used to have DVD playback problems (hangs a lot, but doesn't reset), it was because of the codec.

If both of the above doesn't isolate the problem,
try reinstalling the OS from scratch.

Hi! I've been having problems with my HTPC lately. I've been using it solely as a DVD player connected to my pj without any connection to the net. I didn't have any problems whatsoever before watching my DVDs. Lately, I noticed that everytime I load a DVD, it doesn't continue loading and it hangs.  If ever I get to watch the movie, it just hangs around 4-5x per movie and the PC resets again. 

Should I replace the RAM, HDD or reformat windows? Any help would be appreciated. TIA

[nerveblocker]

Thanks guys for the response. Really learned a lot.  So far everything is OK with the newly installed RAM. Will try the other alternatives if my PC hiccups again.

[doughn]

any mac user na htpc set-up here?

[Clondalkin]

Anyone here uses GOM Player?  720p high def movies look ridiculously gorgeous on this media player but playback is rather stuttery and audio tends to get out-of-synch.  Any recommended settings within GOM Player itself or should I simply upgrade my 7600GT graphics card?

Thanks for any info.

[glacierfrost]

Anyone here uses GOM Player?  720p high def movies look ridiculously gorgeous on this media player but playback is rather stuttery and audio tends to get out-of-synch.  Any recommended settings within GOM Player itself or should I simply upgrade my 7600GT graphics card?

Thanks for any info.

Can you post your specs? I suspect that your computer might not be fast enough to play the 720p movies. Haven't tried using GOM player but if it really makes movies look extra gorgeous then I'm pretty sure there is some extra processing going on in the background. Have you tried coreavc? Coreavc uses the least cpu power in playing hd movies but also slightly tradeoff some quality. As for upgrading graphics card, only upgrade to the newer gen cards if you're playing hd movies in h.264 format or bluray/hddvd disk. If you're watching movies through x.264 format then there will be no hardware acceleration.

[Clondalkin]

Can you post your specs? I suspect that your computer might not be fast enough to play the 720p movies. Haven't tried using GOM player but if it really makes movies look extra gorgeous then I'm pretty sure there is some extra processing going on in the background. Have you tried coreavc? Coreavc uses the least cpu power in playing hd movies but also slightly tradeoff some quality. As for upgrading graphics card, only upgrade to the newer gen cards if you're playing hd movies in h.264 format or bluray/hddvd disk. If you're watching movies through x.264 format then there will be no hardware acceleration.

Core 2 Duo Intel 2.4GHz
2GB DDR2 5300 (667) RAM
500 GB HD
Nvidia 7600 GT 512MB, HDCP compliant
On-Board 7.1 Channel Audio with S/PDIF and Optical Out
Logitech Z-4 2.1 Ch. Speakers
22-inch Dell P1230 CRT set at 1600x1200, 100Hz
Vista Home Premium

Before I tried GOM player, I've been regularly using VLC player which handles those large hi-def files in mkv containers  distinctively smoother with no audio synch problems.  However, GOM player does produce better picture quality because of the high level of customizations available.   Parang may kabigatan nga lang.  Kapag 1080p rip na, lalong mabigat ang mundo nya.   

For those using both VLC and Windows Media Player, notice how much more vibrant the color saturation of WMP is compared to that of VLC when playing standard avi stuff and DVD.   Unfortunately, WMP cannot play hi-def files in mkv containers while VLC is rather almighty, albeit the color reproduction may seem to be rather dull.  Since the contents are eye-popping hi-def in the first place, I didn't really mind the color saturation until I tried GOM player.   And like I previously posted, it's ridiculously gorgeous (comparatively speaking).  But because of the stutter and out-of synch audio issues, I just stuck with VLC.

Yeah my PC is likewise connected to the Xbox360 HD DVD add-on drive and it handles playback well enough using PowerDVD Ultra at its present configuration.

[momay]

sino na dito nakapag try ng bluray drive ng LG.model is GBW-H10 and is being sold at 7500pesos sa pcx.anyone?

[glacierfrost]

Core 2 Duo Intel 2.4GHz
2GB DDR2 5300 (667) RAM
500 GB HD
Nvidia 7600 GT 512MB, HDCP compliant
On-Board 7.1 Channel Audio with S/PDIF and Optical Out
Logitech Z-4 2.1 Ch. Speakers
22-inch Dell P1230 CRT set at 1600x1200, 100Hz
Vista Home Premium

Before I tried GOM player, I've been regularly using VLC player which handles those large hi-def files in mkv containers  distinctively smoother with no audio synch problems.  However, GOM player does produce better picture quality because of the high level of customizations available.   Parang may kabigatan nga lang.  Kapag 1080p rip na, lalong mabigat ang mundo nya.   

For those using both VLC and Windows Media Player, notice how much more vibrant the color saturation of WMP is compared to that of VLC when playing standard avi stuff and DVD.   Unfortunately, WMP cannot play hi-def files in mkv containers while VLC is rather almighty, albeit the color reproduction may seem to be rather dull.  Since the contents are eye-popping hi-def in the first place, I didn't really mind the color saturation until I tried GOM player.   And like I previously posted, it's ridiculously gorgeous (comparatively speaking).  But because of the stutter and out-of synch audio issues, I just stuck with VLC.

Yeah my PC is likewise connected to the Xbox360 HD DVD add-on drive and it handles playback well enough using PowerDVD Ultra at its present configuration.

Your specs are already quite good. Have you tried using media classic using ffdshow as the decoder? I believe ffdshow has the best image quality and has loads of options too. Try the Combined Community Codec Pack or K-lite pack. VLC player is not really recommended to play hd videos as the quality is not so good.

[Clondalkin]

Your specs are already quite good. Have you tried using media classic using ffdshow as the decoder? I believe ffdshow has the best image quality and has loads of options too. Try the Combined Community Codec Pack or K-lite pack. VLC player is not really recommended to play hd videos as the quality is not so good.

Media Player Classic is somewhat outdated in my opinion and is not as reliable as VLC when it comes to playing newer mkv files.  May issues pa sya with rendering subtitles which are vital for the wife.    I still find VLC as the most stable, most reliable, most flexible and lightest media play for high-def video playback.   Hindi naman talaga malaking malaking issue ang color rendering ng VLC when playing those 5-15GB high def rips, but I just happened to try GOM (and some of its tweaks), however, my present system seems unable to play smoothly on it.  I guess I got to try upgrading to at least an 8600 card.

Pero sa avi, I use WMP with ffdshow.  Yun nga lang after watching hi-def movies in fullscreen, can't tolerate watching avi in fullscreen anymore.  Well ok rin naman minimized screen 

[jambam]

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[jambam]

nice! could you please share specs and also where to buy the case. thanks!

inside is more than a year old

MSI K8NGM2 FID motherboard w/ s939 athlon 64 x3800 overclocked to 2.4Ghz
2MB RAM , ATi hd2600 Pro video card , Pioneer dvd writer, 400 + 320 Gig HD

The nsk2400 (without volume control and VFD) case was from pc options in gilmore , the new case was special ordered.

I also have external storage a Nexstar DAS and a HP media vault NAS @2.32 terabytes 

     

[glacierfrost]

Pero sa avi, I use WMP with ffdshow.  Yun nga lang after watching hi-def movies in fullscreen, can't tolerate watching avi in fullscreen anymore.  Well ok rin naman minimized screen 

Amen to that. At first I tried watching HD because I wanted to see what the hoopla was all about. After watching HD, I couldn't watch another 700mb avi files anymore. Avi files now seems too pixelated and the color looks like crap.

[sanmig_ph]

hd 3450 Video card htpc review

http://www.i4u.com/full-review-368.html