Topic: Share your HTPC Setup

[nerveblocker]

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.

I am presently using the onboard video of my HTPC using the VGA output. I'm planning to buy a video card with higher memory and will be using a DVI-HDMI adapter and will be using an HDMI cable to my PJ. Would the video quality improve greatly with my planned set-up? TIA

 

[Alfie]

Hi Mel(Nerveblocker),
    I think the only advantage of a DVI over a VGA is the Autoadjust capabilty of the DVI,other  than than you can always adjust your VGA to the maximum capability of your projector and Video card.

Alfie

[Clondalkin]

I am presently using the onboard video of my HTPC using the VGA output. I'm planning to buy a video card with higher memory and will be using a DVI-HDMI adapter and will be using an HDMI cable to my PJ. Would the video quality improve greatly with my planned set-up? TIA

You mentioned previously that you are using your offline PC for DVD playback which is not that intensive, and that you've fixed the hanging issues when you changed the RAM.  Don't expect dramatic difference in video quality for DVD playback, although a dedicated graphics card would lessen the load of your CPU allowing for "smoother" multi-tasking.  But if you are planning to connect an add-on BD or HD DVD player, or even watch downloadable high-def contents in X.264 or H.264 format, a powerful graphics or video card is a must.

That dedicated video card posted by Sanmig_Ph sounds interesting and it's only like $50?  Didn't know there is such a big discrepancy in price between a graphics card and a video card.

[nerveblocker]

Alfie- Nice to hear from you. I was just contemplating that a dedicated video card would be better than onboard video. I am satisfied with the video output though as I have posted in the AX100 thread. I also remember you posting that you find the video better with component upscaling than thru HDMI. Presently still using DVDs and not yet dipping into HD. Maybe if I jump into HD then the HDMI route would be of better use.  Thanks for the input.

  

[keema]

question po..pag yung video graphics card nyo pa ba may HDMI na..hindi na kailangan ng soundcard na external para sa audio? makakabit ko na ba yung reciever ko via sa HDMI ng video graphics card?

[MAtZTER]

Alfie- Nice to hear from you. I was just contemplating that a dedicated video card would be better than onboard video. I am satisfied with the video output though as I have posted in the AX100 thread. I also remember you posting that you find the video better with component upscaling than thru HDMI. Presently still using DVDs and not yet dipping into HD. Maybe if I jump into HD then the HDMI route would be of better use.  Thanks for the input.

  

Yes, its a big difference for me from using my mother board's graphics when I changed to my separate video card w/ its own power supply. On a 22" LCD monitor everything looks smooth, even with onboard video, but on a 90" PJ, its unbearable.

My HTPC:
Emaxx 7050 motherboard w/ HDMI & coax
Athlon X2- 5000
Lian Li PC-07 case
Power color HD3850 video card
HEC 550w power supply
320g WD hdd
AOC 22" LCD monitor
etc.

http://www.powercolor.com/Global/bigpic.asp?p=http://www.powercolor.com/global/images/assets/PCIE_HD3800_3850%20256MB%20GDDR3/PSD/image_a_xs.jpg

after I got this video card, my SD DVD's looked semi HD.

HT:
Panasonic AE900 projector
Onkyo 705 THX
Rotel 5 channel THX amp
Atlantic Tech System 270 THX system

[glacierfrost]

question po..pag yung video graphics card nyo pa ba may HDMI na..hindi na kailangan ng soundcard na external para sa audio? makakabit ko na ba yung reciever ko via sa HDMI ng video graphics card?

I believe yung mga ati cards like hd2600xt meron silang special dvi-hdmi adapter na kaya magoutput nung sound and video sa iisang hdmi cable pero they only use software decoding for the audio. Parang may nabasa ako na if you have a seperate sound card hindi mo madidivert yung sound output sa video card, pero not confirmed po. You can still use optical out ng sound card mo para sa reciever mo.

[HouseBum]

question po..pag yung video graphics card nyo pa ba may HDMI na..hindi na kailangan ng soundcard na external para sa audio? makakabit ko na ba yung reciever ko via sa HDMI ng video graphics card?

HDMI video cards can pass S/PDIF signals from a sound card or onboard audio codec over the HDMI connector, so it will only be stereo PCM and 5.1 Dolby Digital/DTS.
The  ATI HD 2000&3000 series GPU has a built-in audio controller for 5.1 digital surround sound.

If you want 7.1 PCM audio, you have to wait for the Auzentech HDMI sound card.


Here's an article regarding HTPC playback with standard DVD's. It's quite old though, the video cards used were 2 generations ago (Nvidia G70 & ATI X1000).
Link: ATI and nVidia crush high-end DVD players

Also, there seems to be a notion that you will need a very expensive Video card for video playback, ever since the introduction of ATI's Avivo and nVidia's PureVideo, any card from the same chipset family will perform the same with regards to video playback.
For gaming however, the higher end video cards will be able to handle higher resolutions and till be able to support full anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering. Though, more powerful video cards often run hotter and will need bigger & noisier fans as opposed to the entry level cards which feature passive cooling via just a heatsink.

So for HD movie video playback, the Php1,900 ATI HD3450 will offer the same video quality as say the Php20,000 HD3870X2. (both generation 3 ATI Avivo cards)
For games like Call of Duty 4, the HD3450 will get you around 800x600 resolution no AA or AF and around 30 frames per second while the HD3870X2 might give you 1920x1200 res AA&AF 40-60fps.

[glacierfrost]

HDMI video cards can pass S/PDIF signals from a sound card or onboard audio codec over the HDMI connector, so it will only be stereo PCM and 5.1 Dolby Digital/DTS.
The  ATI HD 2000&3000 series GPU has a built-in audio controller for 5.1 digital surround sound.

If you want 7.1 PCM audio, you have to wait for the Auzentech HDMI sound card.


Here's an article regarding HTPC playback with standard DVD's. It's quite old though, the video cards used were 2 generations ago (Nvidia G70 & ATI X1000).
Link: ATI and nVidia crush high-end DVD players

Also, there seems to be a notion that you will need a very expensive Video card for video playback, ever since the introduction of ATI's Avivo and nVidia's PureVideo, any card from the same chipset family will perform the same with regards to video playback.
For gaming however, the higher end video cards will be able to handle higher resolutions and till be able to support full anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering. Though, more powerful video cards often run hotter and will need bigger & noisier fans as opposed to the entry level cards which feature passive cooling via just a heatsink.

So for HD movie video playback, the Php1,900 ATI HD3450 will offer the same video quality as say the Php20,000 HD3870X2. (both generation 3 ATI Avivo cards)
For games like Call of Duty 4, the HD3450 will get you around 800x600 resolution no AA or AF and around 30 frames per second while the HD3870X2 might give you 1920x1200 res AA&AF 40-60fps.

If only these new cards can decode the .mkv videos then it would be really sweet. But at 1,900 it is hard to find a better bang for the buck card for htpc.

[et414]

huh? you just need to download the matroska pack to play mkv videos. media player classic & vlc can also play mkv files the need for codecs

[glacierfrost]

huh? you just need to download the matroska pack to play mkv videos. media player classic & vlc can also play mkv files the need for codecs

Yup I know. Sorry I wasn't clear, I was referring to the hardware acceleration support. As far as I know, even though the video cards can support h.264 videos it still can't properly support the .mkv files (x.264). I've read that there are some driver hacks out there that try but none works perfectly.

[Clondalkin]

Yup I know. Sorry I wasn't clear, I was referring to the hardware acceleration support. As far as I know, even though the video cards can support h.264 videos it still can't properly support the .mkv files (x.264). I've read that there are some driver hacks out there that try but none works perfectly.

That is an issue with 1080p mkv, but not with 720p files.  The most effective tweak within VLC to minimize stuttery playback of 1080p rips is to set "Skip The Loop Filter For H.264 Decoding" to "All" inside FFMpeg Settings.  Just make sure to set it back to "None" for 720p playback for better image quality.

[glacierfrost]

Thanks I will try that. As of now whenever I fire up those 720p movies my P4 3.0 goes to 50% load and CPU fan goes full blast. Really would be nice if I can dump all the work to the video card and let it do its magic.

[HouseBum]

Have you tried using Core AVC codecs? they require less CPU usage when decoding x264 compared to ffdshow

[glacierfrost]

Have you tried using Core AVC codecs? they require less CPU usage when decoding x264 compared to ffdshow

Yup I also tried it. It lowered the cpu usage to around 40% but still full blast cpu fan, which is annoying me cause mukhang lilipad na anytime cpu ko sa lakas ng fan.

[Clondalkin]

What media player do you use with CoreAVC codecs for X264 playback?  Does it handle substitles as easily as VLC (must for the wife)?

[glacierfrost]

Core AVC is a decoder much like ffdshow. You can use it with media player classic or windows media player. I also use subtitles. I use english and chinese subs. Works like a charm.

[sanmig_ph]

http://www.behardware.com/articles/690-1/report-which-graphic-cards-are-best-suited-for-hd-video.html

sir HouseBum,hd2600 well recommend nga for htpc

[et414]

i upgraded yesterday from HD2600XT to this:

[sanmig_ph]

i upgraded yesterday from HD2600XT to this:

congrats nice one bro ganda nyan sa big screen,comparable na siguro yung sddvd sa bluray.semi hd na ang resolution.

[et414]

thanks bro biggest improvement is actually in gaming. i get more than 2x the frame rate compared w/ the 2600xt

btw share ko din settings that i found for playing back Xvid files using ffdshow. this was made by RealTelStar from Avsforum:


Hi folks,

There are good guides for DVD playback, but nothing for lower-quality video files.

I've been playing with FFDshow post-processing for the best quality playback without killing my cpu. Any C2D should be able to use these settings very smootly.

First of all, get the latest ffdshow-tryout, because it has better deblocking post-processing features which are not needed for DVDs but essential for divx. i use the v. 1523 dated 5 oct.
Enable the raw video processing, with wmp11 support:


Suggestion: activate the OSD, it will help fine-tuning. The cpu% detection is not accurate (for an euophemism), so open task manager, minimize it and look there instead.

Order of filters:
-postprocessing
-resize & aspect
-blur
-sharpen

For better quality, the blur and sharpen must be done AFTER the resize. I wouldnt do the postprocessing after the resize because is a gratious burden to the cpu. Ideally, the noise reduction should have been done before the resize, but its in the same page. I didnt try to use the blur in the resize page, maybe it's a better option. Anyway, with my settings the PQ of a GOOD dvd (especially if using h.264) rip is indistinguishable from a real DVD. A decent rip has a quality close to a DVD.

1) Postprocessing: This is essential, because it does the deblocking of the compressed file. The best option (SPP deblocking) unfortunately is too much stressing for the cpu. I can speculate that only a QX6800 is able to use is and have a smooth playback. Anyway, the settings on this page provide an excellent result with low cpu use.
The settings:
Enable presets, slider at max, tick automatic quality control (this doesn't make a difference if not easying the cpu a 2-3%)
Processing method: mplayer with accurate deblocking


2) Resize: Considering that avi files comes to many different non-standard resolutions, i preferred a fixed size instead of the classic 2x that works wonder on dvd or HDTV rips. Here you can choose between DVD size (720x480) and HD size (1080x720). It depends on the resolution of the source, for very small videos, 720 is more than enough, and you may try SPP deblocking instead if you want 1080 (and have a fast quad core), which is the only thing that can improve the PQ of something as low as 350x240-ish.
The settings:
Specify horizontal size: 1080 (or 720)
tick keep original aspect ratio
Resize if x < 1080 (or 720) and y < 720 (or 480 or put 576 for pal and 3:2 letterbox rips)
tick process pixel aspect ratio internally


2b) Resize settings page: The Spline does a much better work than Lanczos on compressed movies. Click on lock to enable it also for chroma. Some of you may want to experiment with the blur and sharpen here so the noise reduction can be done before.
The settings:
Luma method: Spline
Click on Lock and enable chroma method, select Spline
Tick accurate rounding


3) Blur & NR: Too much blur causes bad results on dirty compressed sources as xvid. Also the gradual denoise causes ghosts and must be avoided.
The settings:
Soften: 10 -is more than enough
tick only denoise 3d and HQ. leave the sliders at defaults


4) Sharpen: Xsharpen is my favourite. Unsharp mask have similar results but it makes the video less natural IMO.
The settings:
Select Xsharpen, strenght 20, treshold 150 (default).


FFDShow Settings

[danrd]

i upgraded yesterday from HD2600XT to this:

WOW!  Sarap mag-upgrade! Congrats bro.

[devin]

guys,
paano yung spdif to AVR? in detail please.. i'm currently using Audigy value & planning to buy a HT this weekend.
para sana hindi na ako bumili ng auzen x-plosion(optical/digital Coax).
help naman please.

[keema]

ako din tanong ko din yan..papano ba makakabit sa receiver yung soundcard na may spdif???

[nerveblocker]

Buy a 3.5mm (M) to RCA (F) adapter like this (usually can be bought at Ace Hardware or Handyman):



then insert the 3.5mm (M) end to the SPDIF port of your soundcard.  Then get a 75ohm cable with both (M) RCA ends and insert one end of the cable to the (F)RCA end of the adapter connected to your soundcard and the other end of the RCA cable to the coaxial input of your receiver. 

Activate the SPDIF out option of your soundcard.  When using a DVD program like PowerDVD in the audio configuration, just select SPDIF or digital out.

Hope this helps! 

[keema]

thank you sir sa reply...

[devin]

maraming maraming salamat pare!

[indie boi]

Just saw this multimedia PC available in HK



7" 16:9 Touch Screen on the chassis
‧Intel Pentium Processor 830D
‧Genuine Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
‧2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SD Ram at 533MHz
‧300GB Serial ATA Hard Drive
‧nVidia GeForce 6600GT, 256MB DDR3 with TV out, DVI
‧Digital 7.1 Support
‧16x DVD±R Writer, DVD-RAM support (read/write)
‧Integrated Gigabit Ethernet
‧802.11g/b, support 125* High Speed Mode
‧Digital TV Tuner input or External FM input, Analog TV Tuner input
‧Microsoft Remote Control + Remote Keyboard
‧425mm (W) x 170mm (H) x 425mm (D)
‧Black in Color
‧12-in-1 Card Reader

Not sure though if the video card is upgradable.

[dyerds]

Mga sir I'm planning to replace my old-reliable pc with an HTPC. I need your help on what specs and brands I need for my setup. Can you give me a qoute of how much they cost? My budget is around P35k-P40k pero mas masaya kung pwede pa ibaba.

Thank you! 

[glacierfrost]

Mga sir I'm planning to replace my old-reliable pc with an HTPC. I need your help on what specs and brands I need for my setup. Can you give me a qoute of how much they cost? My budget is around P35k-P40k pero mas masaya kung pwede pa ibaba.

Thank you! 

Will the htpc be used solely for ht? I the specs of the htpc would vary greatly on what your planning to do with it. I use my old p4 3ghz pc for my dedicated htpc. Works great, i use it for playing music and 720p movies. You could buy a setup like mine for less than 20k. You really have to decide whether you will play games on it or not because that would be the biggest factor in determining what kind of setup you will do.