HTPC aren't cheap, with HDMI & SPDIF capabilty. It's gonna cost you more.
Nope....use the DVI, there's a dvi to hdmi adaptor that costs 250 pesos at Electronics boutique.
Furthermore, why use HDMI, when you can upscale via VGA cable, and it's more durable and practical even with 25 meters, still adequate with front projectors.
BTW, the HDD DIVICO costs 20k sans the hard, so probably you'll get a 320Gig right? that's around 4-5K, so it's 24K.....do check out PC express(expensive) and check out the specs on what a 24K CPU can give you.
Also HTPC fans are noisy unless have a massive heatsink.
Which will still come Cheap, BTW...this is the main advantage of the HTPC since, the cooling system is good, thus, there is stability in video processing: Do try doing a marathon with your HDD, and you'lll notice video artifacts and lags after more than 120 hours of use.
Also HTPC takes several seconds to boot.
Depends on your start up settings.
And you also need to buy a separate remote control.
250 pesos at CDR-KING
As I have posted, it's because of the price of more than 20 thousand pesos ++ (in fact depending on the Hard Drive, it can go up to 40K) that it loses it's charm, and the practicality of building a good HTPC at 40K is more viable and extremely profitable in the long run.(Just think of the other things you can do with it, like editing your favorite movie etc...which you won't be able to do with your HDD)
I am one of those who immediately bought one of the mini HDD that reads Divx and Vob files,and since I was not satisfied with it, I bought myself a Mediagate (cheaper than 20K..he-he) which can utilize the NTFS format,and can read MKV and Ogg files, it also upscales via component cables at 1080i, however, nowadays it's just gathering dust since, I noticed that it heats up after 90 minutes (am using Seagate 320G IDE) thus, I have to cool it via an electric fan, so I can use it for more than 2-3 hours, which in turn defeats the purpose of a quiet environ, however, with a HTPC, all you have to do is just turn on your aircon, and the cooling system will do it's work, and you can enjoy your movies as long as you can tolerate eyestrain at 1080i.
Anyway, it's different strokes for different folks, I just want to share my experience with the HDD players and the HTPC, if you have 30K to spend then go ahead and get your DVICO M-7000A.
BTW...the impractical thing about HTPCs are:
1) Power consumption, of course the HDD players have lesser power consumption.
2) You'll need to buy an OS, where as the HDD players run on Linux(I think)
3) Once you've learned more about the capabilities of your HTPC, you'lll be using it for more wonderful things like video rendering, and movie editing,and in the end you'll end up watching little of your collection.
4) The slimmest Shuttle casing is still bulkier than the HDD players.
and lastly, you'll have to eventually be technically adept with your HTPC, since being doing so, will render it a more satisfying work and entertainment appliance,far better than most of the toys you've gathered in you time.
