Topic: Unofficial HTPC users thread: Tips, Tricks, and everything HTPC

[ninjababez®]

Regarding the CDRKing remote mouse.  I don't have any qualms about its speed anymore.  The speed and accuracy of the pointer is easier to manage specially on 1080p in my PJ.  Imagine how small the icons are. 

ill tweak mine .. i just hope cdrking restocks these ..
its not yet included in my budget for now.  too bad i think i need WAF now .. nahuli kasi ako ..

[nerveblocker]

doc tell Clondalkin what happened when we added the .mkv folder to the video folder of vista's media center 

Were you able to display the vista media center on start-up? Parang gusto ko tuloy bumalik sa vista.  Waaaah!

ill tweak mine .. i just hope cdrking restocks these ..
its not yet included in my budget for now.  too bad i think i need WAF now .. nahuli kasi ako ..

I think it is not one of its fast moving products.  With a lot of CDRKing branches, i think you won't run out of this.

[nerveblocker]

doc tell Clondalkin what happened when we added the .mkv folder to the video folder of vista's media center 

Better ikaw nalang coz you know the technicalities.  BTW, when are you going to the house so you can also tweak my rig.   

[docelmo]

I plan to buy a BD drive but I want to be sure if my HDMI can pass through HD audio to my receiver.  Powerdvd 8.0 Ultra can support HD-audio formats.  Is this enough?

Bro, will the BD drive play mkv format dvds?
thanks!

[ninjababez®]

Better ikaw nalang coz you know the technicalities.  BTW, when are you going to the house so you can also tweak my rig.   

prolly on monday .. my off was rescheduled again ..
unless you can pick me up tomorrow or later at 2pm after work (needs WAF) ..
btw what are we gonna tweak again?  if you want we can reinstall vista on your unit, too bad we are not using the same chipset .. we could easily copy my settings sana ..

Were you able to display the vista media center on start-up? Parang gusto ko tuloy bumalik sa vista.  Waaaah!
I think it is not one of its fast moving products.  With a lot of CDRKing branches, i think you won't run out of this.

i havent tried it yet, remember my explorer is bugging me the last time .. after i backup the movies .. reformat ko narin ..
and yeah i can still see one presenter here in market2x branch ..

Bro, will the BD drive play mkv format dvds?
thanks!

even your ordinary DVDrom can do that .. theres no need to get a BDrom for its playback ..

[docelmo]

even your ordinary DVDrom can do that .. theres no need to get a BDrom for its playback ..

Thanks bro! but is this also true w/ PS3 or Stand-alone BD player w/ regards to playing mkv format dvds?
If not, then a BDrom drive equipped HTPC would a cheaper alternative to playing all our hidef videos...
 

[ninjababez®]

Thanks bro! but is this also true w/ PS3 or Stand-alone BD player w/ regards to playing mkv format dvds?
If not, then a BDrom drive equipped HTPC would a cheaper alternative to playing all our hidef videos...
 

well mkv files are just "files".  stand alone bdplayer and ps3 cannot play mkvs because it is not a "file" they support.
same as with a BDrom and DVDrom ... if your media player does not have the right codecs, then it will not play. ..   

[docelmo]

well mkv files are just "files".  stand alone bdplayer and ps3 cannot play mkvs because it is not a "file" they support.
same as with a BDrom and DVDrom ... if your media player does not have the right codecs, then it will not play. ..   

i guess there won't be any firmware update anytime soon for ps3/stand-alone bd players to support mkvs...
thanks again sir!
 

[ninjababez®]

i guess there won't be any firmware update anytime soon for ps3/stand-alone bd players to support mkvs...
thanks again sir!
 

nakuh, i doubt it would happen anytime soon ..
barrister posted something about bluray losing money cause of mkv's and dvd upscalers .. 

[gunblade977]

unless you can pick me up tomorrow or later at 2pm after work (needs WAF) ..
btw what are we gonna tweak again?  if you want we can reinstall vista on your unit, too bad we are not using the same chipset .. we could easily copy my settings sana ..

uy anung settings yan? parehas tyo ng chipset diba? 
btw, nag upgrade ka ng BIOS mo for Emaxx? anu added benefits nun?

[Clondalkin]

doc tell Clondalkin what happened when we added the .mkv folder to the video folder of vista's media center 

Purge me of my ignorance as long as the PQ is guaranteed as beautiful as that of MPC with FFDshow or KMP.      If it's too complicated, then tsaka ko na try after I've caught up with my "viewing backlog"   

High def streaming - no thank you.   

Have you guys noticed how "tingkad" the MPC with FFDshow PQ looks compared to KMP, or is it just me?  Very busy with MPC lately dahil puro 1080p. 

[SiCkBoY]

Has anyone ever thought of using mini ITX motherboards for HTPCs?  I'm thinking of building an inexpensive HTPC based on this:



TECHNICAL  SPECIFICATIONS     
Processor (included)    Intel Atom 230 (1.6Ghz)
Memory    One 240-pin DDR2 SDRAM Dual Inline Memory Module (DIMM) socket
Support for DDR2 533 MHz and DDR2 400 MHz DIMMs (DDR2 800 MHz and DDR 667 MHz validated to run at 533 MHz only)
Support for up to 2 GB of system memory
Chipsets    Intel 945GC Chipset
Intel 82945GC Graphics Memory Controller Hub
Intel 82801GB I/O Controller Hub
Audio    4-channel (2+2) audio subsystem using the Realtek ALC662 high definition audio codec
Video    Intel GMA950 onboard graphics
Form Factor    Mini-ITX, compatible with microATX (6.75 inches by 6.75 inches)
Legacy I/O Control    SMSC LPC47M997 based Legacy I/O controller for hardware management, serial, parallel, and PS/2 ports
Peripheral Interfaces    6 x USB 2.0 ports
2 x Serial ATA (SATA) headers
1 x serial port
1 x parallel port
1 x Parallel ATA IDE interface with UDMA 33, ATA-66/100 support
PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports
LAN Support    10/100 Mbits/sec LAN subsystem using Realtek RTL8102EL LAN adapter
BIOS    Intel BIOS (resident in the SPI Flash device)
Support for Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI), Plug and Play, and SMBIOS


Problem is... VGA out lang sya.  Ok lang ba yun?  I've seen a Zotac mini-ITX motherboard with DVI out in Hardware Magazine but I haven't been able to find one in local computer stores.

[Alfie]

Ok naman ang VGA, madali pang i-configure, matibay pa ang cord mura at madaling bumili, wala ka nng problema sa front projector.

[SiCkBoY]

Problem is... sa LCD TV ko sya ikakabit.  So... VGA to DVI converter and then DVI to HDMI converter? 

[HD_MOVIES]

for that specs mukang kap0s sa pag play ng mga MKV's esp 1080p..

[Clondalkin]

for that specs mukang kap0s sa pag play ng mga MKV's esp 1080p..

Tested a machine running on Intel Atom on some 1080p files.  Di lang kapos.  Sumusuka ng dugo.   Needs Dr. House.  Seriously, please take note. 

[gunblade977]

I saw an 780G based ITX board last month in tpc. Since its based on the 780G chipset, I think it can handle hidef contents.

[ninjababez®]

Purge me of my ignorance as long as the PQ is guaranteed as beautiful as that of MPC with FFDshow or KMP.      If it's too complicated, then tsaka ko na try after I've caught up with my "viewing backlog"   
High def streaming - no thank you.   
Have you guys noticed how "tingkad" the MPC with FFDshow PQ looks compared to KMP, or is it just me?  Very busy with MPC lately dahil puro 1080p. 

buti ka pa bro .. may "viewing backlog" ..
btw we simply added media center in the startup (via task scheduler), plus adding the "HD folder" to its video folder (ala PS3 look, according to doc ).. PQ is ok i guess, good enough for me, (lets ask nerveblocker, im sure he's playing with it)  ..

uy anung settings yan? parehas tyo ng chipset diba? 
btw, nag upgrade ka ng BIOS mo for Emaxx? anu added benefits nun?

well its just the order of installing things and settings, plus the codecs and players .. if i were you id get an 80gb permanent system drive (or 160gb) .. if youre to install some programs in it .. then external na yung iba ..
btw i have no plans in upgrading my bios for it only fixes the temp reading which we htpc users dont really need ..
besides need not to worry about the temps cause i think it was ej who setup your rig in questlogic ..

Has anyone ever thought of using mini ITX motherboards for HTPCs?  I'm thinking of building an inexpensive HTPC based on this:


Problem is... VGA out lang sya.  Ok lang ba yun?  I've seen a Zotac mini-ITX motherboard with DVI out in Hardware Magazine but I haven't been able to find one in local computer stores.

it could prolly run it but not as smooth as our 780g matx motherboard ..
btw you will be surprised how much our htpc cost 
i might sell an asus with nvidia chipset for amd, i just need to confirm if its replacement is ok first before i sell it ..
my laptop is better in handling 1080p than that itx board ..

for that specs mukang kap0s sa pag play ng mga MKV's esp 1080p..

Tested a machine running on Intel Atom on some 1080p files.  Di lang kapos.  Sumusuka ng dugo.   Needs Dr. House.  Seriously, please take note. 

i dont know whats wrong with intel, but their gfx sucks bigtime ..
although my previous laptop can handle 1080p but there are instance wherein it stutters .. (gfx of my laptop is gma 950)
but the difference is my laptop is using a Dual core processor and not those power saver procs from itx motherboards ..

I saw an 780G based ITX board last month in tpc. Since its based on the 780G chipset, I think it can handle hidef contents.

ahh 100% bro .. it will

[jojitb]

Tip 1:  XBMC
anybody using XBMC for Windows/Linux?  www.xbmc.org

I've been able to configure my HTPC to work fully with my cdrking PC remote via eventghost.  I can launch/shutdown XBMC, browse my movie/TV/Music server and play almost everything.

PC shutdown is also just one one press of the remote button.

TIP 2:  cheap AC3/DTS SPDIF passthrough
You do not need those multi-thousand peso soundcards if you just want to passthrough your digital streams to your receiver.  If your mobo does not have a SPDIF header or you want a dedicated soundcard for passthrough, just get a cheap 300++ peso CMI 8738 soundcard with spdif (4 or 6 channel does not matter, you wont use the analog out anyway).

I'm using a 5 year old sound card for mine but I think this will work: 
http://www.cdrking.com/local/products/index.php?action=mnu&temp=2&typeno=6534229-360251-375447157-5025981&prod=PCI%20Cards&prodcode=4951023-275162-941683597-9370762

more info:
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?s=d861fb0785b25af606532fb359b39f18&showtopic=49350&st=0
http://code.google.com/p/cmediadrivers/wiki/FAQ

The drivers/software:
http://code.google.com/p/cmediadrivers/

[gunblade977]

@jojitb
thanks for the info regarding the XBMC for windows. Last time I checked ala pa sila release na windows version. Meron na pala ngayon, ma downlaod na nga  Yung Xbox 1 ko with XBMC ang unang file/movie server ko. ganda nga ng user interface nito, customizable skins pa. I assume same din sa windows version? Also, dami na ba available na codecs, kaya na x264?

[ninjababez®]

jojitb actually the only issues we had with the creative audigy value was the driver support ..
creative was so greedy they wanted us to switch to xfi onwards model for vista ..

[SiCkBoY]

btw you will be surprised how much our htpc cost 

Help naman.  What're the specs for the most inexpensive HTPC rig you can think of?

[Clondalkin]

Help naman.  What're the specs for the most inexpensive HTPC rig you can think of?

Yeah I'd like to know this too Ninjababez.  Specs and price.  Yung walang sinok sa 1080p ne. Thank you!

[ninjababez®]

Help naman.  What're the specs for the most inexpensive HTPC rig you can think of?

Yeah I'd like to know this too Ninjababez.  Specs and price.  Yung walang sinok sa 1080p ne. Thank you!

Clondalkin nilalagay mo naman ako sa hot seat eh ..

nerveblocker's setup is good if you want an nVidia chipset .. (pm him for details) 
im using the following (ATi based)
AMD 4600+ x2 (AMD 4200 x2 is the recommended)Emaxx 780g (any 780g chipset should do)
2gb ram (atleast)Sata 2 HDD
good codecs and players! 
wala ng sinok yan for good hd files! 110% 

[SiCkBoY]

Aww... eh ganun din.  It's like a regular PC. 

Ok sana kung inexpensive talaga and doesn't consume much electricity, para it can double as a torrent rig.  Clondalkin, that Intel Atom-based machine that you tested, ilan yun RAM?

Here's another option that I'm thinking about:

nForce 630i ITX

Chipset
- NVIDIA GeForce 7100
- NVIDIA® nForce 630i

Front Side Bus
- 800/1066/1333MHz FSB (HT Support)

BIOS
- Phoenix (Award) PnP Flash ROM BIOS

Memory
- Two DDRII Sockets Supports up to 4GB (DDRII 800)

I/O Onboard
- One Channel Parallel ATA133 Connector (Support up to 2 Devices)
- Four Serial ATAII Ports
- One HD Audio 5.1 Port (Line-in, Line-out, MIC-in)
- One PS/2 Mouse Port
- One PS/2 Keyboard Port
- One Serial Port (pin header)
- Four USB Ports on Back Panel, Four USB on Pin Header
- One RJ45 Port
- VGA port
- DVI port

LAN
- Onboard 10/100Mb/s

USB
- Integrated in chipset, USB 2.0 x 8

GeForce® 7 series DirectX® 9.0 core
- Integrated Programmable Shader Model 3.0 DirectX 9.0 graphics processor
- Shader Model 3.0 vertex processor
- Shader Model 3.0 pixel processor
- NVIDIA CineFX 3.0 architecture
- NVIDIA Intellisample AA technology
- Integrated DVI output with HDCP key support
- Integrated 24-bit 300MHz RAMDAC.

Hardware Monitoring
- CPU & System Overheat Protection

Board Size
- 170mm x 170mm
- Mini-ITX form factor

With:
Intel Dual Core E5200 2.5Ghz 2MB
2x2GB Kingston DDR2-800
500GB WD HDD SATA

Ok kaya sa HD yan?

[Clondalkin]

Ok sana kung inexpensive talaga and doesn't consume much electricity, para it can double as a torrent rig.  Clondalkin, that Intel Atom-based machine that you tested, ilan yun RAM?

2GB.  It's not the RAM.  Intel Atom is not optimized for high definition processing. 

Gaano ba kalakas sa koryente ang regular PC?   My wife is using the Dell Dimension 9100, Pentium D 3.0Ghz, full sized desktop, 375W PSU (kinakaya ang ATI HD 3870), eh mukha namang di malakas sa kuryente.  When downloading a torrent, yung hard drive lang naman pinaka-busy, the ATI graphics card is idle.  So kahit gamitin mo low power CPU, wala ring masyadong effect dahil most of the draw is coming from the hard drive access which is almost fixed. 

Gusto mo matipid na torrent downloader na PC, use WD green hard drive then.

[Clondalkin]

With:
Intel Dual Core E5200 2.5Ghz 2MB
2x2GB Kingston DDR2-800
500GB WD HDD SATA

Ok kaya sa HD yan?

Sa 720p sigurado (anything above P4 is OK).  Sa 1080p maganda chance Bro, but perhaps Ninjababez will say 110% 

[HD_MOVIES]

yung zotac na itx ba anong igp nyan? kaya ba ng HD yung igp? i suggest kung mag itx ka, get the one with 780g chipset.. baka kasi kahit powerful yung cpu mo kung bitin naman yung igp baka sinukin din..

[ninjababez®]

SiCkBoY  setup a new matx htpc instead ..
why bother "saving" money on an itx setup, it will just give you frustrations in running HD movies ..
heck my friend even had issues putting multiple HDD for his "torrent box" (intel based)..
stick with our advice bro .. youll never regret it .. besides, how much will you save in getting an itx setup, 2k -4k tops ..
im asking you not to get the itx because i dont want you regretting the purchase and selling it cheaper cause it cant meet your expectations (playing hd movies).  a decent dual core setup is the best option for your needs, get one. 

yung zotac na itx ba anong igp nyan? kaya ba ng HD yung igp? i suggest kung mag itx ka, get the one with 780g chipset.. baka kasi kahit powerful yung cpu mo kung bitin naman yung igp baka sinukin din..

- NVIDIA GeForce 7100 igp bro ... not meant for playing hd movies IMO .. unlike 780g you can tweak it to do the scaling ..

[SiCkBoY]

Ah thanks.  It's really more about the aesthetics than the savings for me.  Kung ilalagay ko kasi sa sala, I'd want it to be as small and as light as possible.