Home Theater PC (HTPC)

Building a HTPC. What do you think

Rondell — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:55:29 GMT

I am interested in building a HTPC. I will use it to watch movies and surf the web only. It needs to be capable of playing 1080i and dolby 5.0 surround. here is what I am thinking let me know your thoughts.

Low Cost HTPC

Chasiepoo — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:24:28 GMT

Hey guys,

I just saw one of the new combos that looked like the specs needed to run what I need. I need a PC that can run 1080p content to my tv via DVI to HDMI. I am guessing I would need to add a video card, but that is no problem (suggestions welcome :) ).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.293807

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks in advance!

LAN Controlled Media Player?

Scooder — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:20:18 GMT

Hey all,

I'm doing work in an office, trying to make their new system user friendly. Basically, they have a bunch of LCD TV's, all with Coax runs to a utility room in the back of the building. I hooked up a ZV Pro 250 in the utility room, so now all the TVs can tune into channel 131 to receive hi-def over Coax to whatever is streaming from it.

What I'm looking for is a media player that can be controlled via network. That way I could have the receptionist (or whoever else) tell the media player to change movies from where ever she works. Does anyone know of a media player that can do this? I guess I could make my own mini-PC to do the same, but hopefully something already exists. The options otherwise are to have a TV in the utlity room so they can fiddle with it from there to change media (not great), or start fishing a whole lot of component cable (not fun).

Any other ideas would be good too.

Thx.

HTPC : I want to eliminate my cable

mikebenko — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:25:53 GMT

I am upgrading my pc to an internet pc configuration. I have already upgraded to a Linksys "N" wireless network and am planning on building an AMD Phenom based pc for my base. I am using Roadrunner Turbo at 12 mbps so the connection should not be an issue and I have found loads of network and cable programming, old westerns to the Military Channel.

My question is, what will I need to stream to 2 tvs? I do have an older pc that I have formatted with XP. I'm also open to any suggestions.

Thanks in advance for any responses,

Mike Benko

Audio Problem with Media Player Classic HCE

endoftheline — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:03:25 GMT

I just reformated from win7RC to win7Ultimate 64bit
I used Media Player Classic Home Cinema to play .mkv files before, and now I installed the 64bit version of it, and the audio does not play in basically all .mkv files that I have. This is what my filters look like I'm not sure what other info I should post.

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/6944/audiofiltersinmphce.jpg

All of my .mkv files play fine in VLC media player, so I'm wondering if I need some codecs or something to make them play in Home Cinema. Again, the video plays fine in Home Cinema, just the audio does not play at all, or something makes some weird sounds.

I have not manually installed any codecs at all, I only have whatever was included with VLC media player being installed, and Media Player Classic Home Cinema being installed.

DVD player

JimA — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:55:29 GMT

ok here is my problem my HP laptop is about 5 years old and the disc player doesnt seem to work anymore thru Windows Media Player, so I am trying to use a regular home DVD player thru my computer with an S- video cord I was hoping it would just detect it was there but of course thats not happening, I have looked at the control panel for someway to make it work but it does not, if anyone can help I would appreciate it.

Can XBOX 360 optical plug into computer

wood0315 — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:16:51 GMT

I am looking for a way to connect my 360 to my computer so I can use my computers surround sound. I get a feedback loop when I plug my tv audio out into my comp. speaker aux. The tv is connected to computer via HDMI.

lookin for some free dvd ripping/burning software

nello — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:16:59 GMT

i have a xp operated comp. im lookin to see if any one knows of some good dvd ripping and burning software. any help would be appreciated. thanks.

Cable Card tuners on the market by Q1 2010

sjr — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:51:03 GMT

Finally!! It seems one may finally be able to get rid of the cable box and use a cablecard with a tv tuner.

Already there are 2 new tuners in the works that you can plug a cablecard into. One from Hauppauge and one from Ceton Corp. As well as what ATI already has, though those tuners only existed in spendy oem systems with the first link is eliminating so I assume they will make a stand alone consumer cablecard tuner as well. Personally I am most interested at present in the Ceton Corp card with the 4 simultaneous streams though I suspect a decent 4-core cpu will be needed to run all at once. Plus Windows 7 will be needed for the 4 streams, though I had already decided I will upgrade to 7 on my htpc and my main pc.

No MCE

IggyMax — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:31:44 GMT

New to this business - just want a PC tuner card (PCI-E) to watch TV on computer (recording not necessary). I have cable TV coaxial from the wall (no cable box). Just bought an

ACER Combo ATSC/CLearQAM/NTSC Hardware MPEG-2 encoder PCIe card with 3D Comb Filter,

Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 (this is where I made my mistake - I don't have MEC, only XP Home)

USA Model # MTVCOMG2W

Is there any FREE software that I can use to make this card work with XP Home ?

If not, any suggestions for a basic tuner card ?

Thanks for any help.

Extra money worth it for QAM TV tuner?

tdude51 — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:43:13 GMT

I'm planning on buying a USB TV Tuner soon. I currently have Cablevision's IO TV service. I'm wondering if paying extra for a tuner with Clear QAM tuning is worth it or not.

Without QAM, the tuner is $60 shipped.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116031

With QAM, the tuner is $78 shipped.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116034

So basically, is the QAM worth it? I have Cablevision's io TV service and my Desktop computer in my room at home. Soon I'll be going away to college and I'll be getting a new laptop and have cable there. Are there several QAM channels available? Is the HD significantly better than the analog NTSC? (I haven't upgraded to HD anything before...)

Thanks.

need help with connections on a LG LHP977

jlsmemphis — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:55:34 GMT

Just purchased a LG LBH977 home theater. So far a great system for the $$$. ******EXCEPT**** I am having troubles viewing the video from my cable box. I have a Comcast cable box with a HDMI cable hooked to the 977 HDMI input (the 977 has 2 HDMI inputs & 1 HDMI output). My TV does not have HDMI connections so I have hooked it to the 977 using the component video out connections. All the menu's display on my TV and the audio (NASCAR on ESPNHD) from the cable box is awesome. The BlueRay works perfect too - both audio and video. My problem is when I select the HDMI from the function menu to watch the cable channels I get the great audio mentioned above but on my TV screen is a window that tells me I need to set my TV to HDMI input???? Since my TV is not HDMI compatible I'm at a loss on what to do next? There are no other options or selections on the screen to choose from??? My main purpose in buying the 977 was to watch HD TV off cable and enjoy the audio. Just to see if it made a difference I bypassed the 977 and hooked my TV directly to my cable box using the component video connections while still running a HDMI from the cable box to the 977 for sound only. I still had the exact same issues ... all other functions worked great ... BlueRay, DVD ..... and I was able to see all menu functions on my TV but when I select HDMI on the function I then get the screen that tells me to set my TV input to HDMI???????

Any help would greatly be appreciated................

Manually controlling the display on screen

thatsedrich — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 02:56:37 GMT

Hey guys! here again for another question waiting to be answered!

I just recently finish building my HTPC, and I'm very happy with the performance. However, there's this slight problem about it. When using it on a 50"
HDTV, the display doesn't cover the entire screen. There are a few display settings for the tv itself (such as Expand, Standard, etc. all on 1080i), but all it does is either stretches is to the point you where you can't see the lower right shortcuts and the start menu, or it becomes even more narrow.

I know for a fact that if I use the Nvidia controller, I can manually control the display on the screen. It gives me the option to "fix" how far vertically or horizontally I want the display to be. Unfortunately for me, I am unable to use the Nvidia controller since I am not using an Nvidia graphics card.

Is there another program I can use aside from the Intel tv? All solutions are welcome!

just built pc to act as PVR

patrick82 — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:07:47 GMT

1) looking for an operating system:
-windows media player?
-Windows XP pro
- windows Vista Home Premium (this is what i am leaning towards) - am running vista on my gaming rig now and haven't had a issue with it yet.

2) what software - will i need to record

Quesion-Discusssion Cable Card vs Hauppauge HD-PVR

products — Sat, 30 May 2009 04:29:38 GMT

My question is..... which option is better IF the only HD recording you do is from a cable STB?

I have yet to buy a Hauppauge HD-PVR primarily because I have no interest in recording from any component sources other than a STB and my cable provider did not used to give us premium HD channels that I was interested in saving. But now that my cable provider has begun to broadcast some premium channels I like in HD, I am considering to get either a Haupauge HD-PVR or cable card tuner on my Win 7 PC.

I have been interested in HD-PVR all along but with Win 7 RC Media Center having the ability to work with a cable card, would it be a better option?

The resulting recording will be in .WTV which is kinda pain, but Win 7 allows a right-click and convert to DVR-MS for mpeg2 stream WTV recordings (which is the case in the US). I'm not sure if that is applicable to encrypted TV channels though as I 'suspect' that one of the purposes of developing the WTV format was perhaps to protect broadcaster's copyright? If that is not the case though,,, companies that make popular video editting soft (e.g. Adobe, Pinnacle) may start making softs that take WTV for input in the future.

One downside of this is that for those who already own regular QAM tuners at this point, this method requires another tuner that takes cable cards. But you could argue that getting a tuner like that eliminates the need for a cable box and separate DVR. And in my particular case, I have to buy either HD-PVR or a cable card tuner anyway...

What are thoughts on a cable card tuner vs Hauppauge HD-PVR specifically for premium HD channel recording, editting and storing away permanently?

Anyone familiar with the LG BD370 Blu-Ray Player?

hychka — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:38:41 GMT

Ordered one of these from newegg yesterday and today I'm worried that i have the wrong impression of its capabilities. I read "Integrated Wi-Fi connectivity with NetCast Entertainment Access technology lets you enjoy entertainment from CinemaNow, Netflix and YouTube right on your big screen." to mean that the player uses wireless signals from my internet router, but the amazon coverage of the same LG DB370 says that it does not have Wi-Fi and I'll need to run a wire to it.

I trust Newegg completely, but would like to know for sure before accepting the delivery. Not accepting delivery would be the easiest way out if this needs a wire.

Anyone know?

Anyone know how I might contact the peoople who offered reviews of the product?

Thanks! And, sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this question.

1st HTPC, only 3rd pc build

pricew02 — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:15:46 GMT

O.K. I'm still learning here. I want to build a quite and cappable pc. One that can rip & burn dvd, blue ray, cd, capture tv from the ether, and play common internet media. I plan on adding great audio, not the best but something I can live with. Also, would like a LED tv but probably will go with a LCD under 40" over 32". Pc will not be used for games and I don't have a server.

Low noise = low watts? Could I go with a 35 or 45 watt cpu? Or will I need more muscle? I don't know much about the Atom and that little-bitty board.

Blue Ray HTPC Build

thatsedrich — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 12:05:20 GMT

I'm currently on the planning stages of a budget build htpc, that can play blue-ray dvds. First question is: Is there anything wrong with using these parts for my build to use the blue ray player?

CASE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121027

MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135066

CPU : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072

MEM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146526

HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136075

DVD DRIVE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106325

OS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116480

My other question is: I would like to also watch tv on my htpc. I currently have Dishnetwork and am wondering if you guys can give any recommended tv tuners that fully works with Dishnetwork. Also, I have a Dishnetwork receiver that lets me use two different channels for two different tvs. If i were to plug the coax into the tv tuner, will that hinder its use?

If I didn't make myself clear enough, please let me know and I'll try to reword my question. Thank you!

TV Tuner that displays Digital and Analog???

cburris52001 — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:35:24 GMT

Just for reference I'm not completely stupid. This is more of an annoyance than anything...

I want a tv tuner that will show both digital and analog channels, without having to switch back and forth from a Digital tuner to an Analog, I just want to flip thru the channels and have both display one after another.

For instance, I have channels 1-10 that are analog, then channel 11 that is digital, then back to channel 12 as analog. I want to be able to channel up on my remote and never have to push any other buttons to change from the analog to the digital. My TV I have to push DTV/TV on my remote to get it to change to the all digital channels. However my friends TV can display them all at once. Is there a tuner that will do this???

Thanks!

Chris

another pvr question... almost done

patrick82 — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 00:15:37 GMT

i am in the process of revamping an old AMD system i have and turning it into a test PVR/HTPc - if i can get this to work i am going to plan on upgrading the motherboard and processor of this computer and give it more power...

but i am here to ask this following question:
1) i am looking for a video card? i think i need to have "composite" out? i was looking at like the HD 4670 series?? but i was wondering what you guys and gals think for a video card?

the video card needs to fit into a x16 slot??

Thank you....

tv tuner????

nello — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:00:06 GMT

looking for a tv tuner. it will be run on a system with win7 ultimate. i have basic cable. no set top box. the provider is cablevision in the lower connectiut area. any suggestions??

Connecting computer to HDTV

pdunn13445 — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:14:31 GMT

Am in process of considering an HDTV, probabably a 120 Hz, 1089P (and I note than many will run 1089i, too). The computer will handle the load as I just did a serious upgrade on it. We want to download movies and then run them from computer to HDTV, a distance of about 25' through a concrete floor. We don't need to stream it, just store it for playback. Wires or wireless can work here to there, but what confuses me is what the inferface should be. The HDTV can have an RJ25 if it needs to as we have not purchased one yet. All HDTVs seem to come with USB2 although with seemingly different capabilities, along with RGB and composite. Money is a factor here and I am not a purist. The back of the new inexpensive Gigabyte HD4350 video card has an HDMI connector, which seems to support 1089p but only at 60 Hz.

So the question is what goes on the computer to run a signal to the HDTV? I see everything from Popcorn Hour to the video card mentioned above and really have not a clue what will work in the technical sense. What are your ideas about the possibilities of doing this. Simple and inexpensive, yet with a certain amount of quality output would be nice. I seriously consider the expertise and experience of all! Mark

tv i just bought

emperorx10 — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 03:38:28 GMT

im not that good with tvs. i just bought this tv off of newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001278

my question is, do i need to buy anything in order to watch tv? do i need a analog cord? like i said before, im not really good with tvs. any help would be greatly appreciated.

Trying to connect an Acer H233h to a HD Cable Box

sbaleno — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:16:59 GMT

I just bought an Acer H233h 23" LCD monitor and it runs beautifully, except when I try to connect it to my Comcast Cable box. The monitor keeps telling me that the HDMI cable is not connected when it is. Is there something I'm doing wrong? The cable box is a Scientific Atlantica Explorere 4250HDC. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

tv tuner for laptop

davs — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 03:33:37 GMT

Hello anyone I'm new to this forum and i'm seeking some help. newegg customer service reffered me here to get some advice. I recently purchased a sony laptop and looking for a tv tuner. i noticed that i can get tv in my media center when i was playing with my laptop. can anyone out there help me out. is there any specs that my computer needs.