Struggling with HTPC for video streaming

Long time home theater guy, but this is the first time to throw a PC into the mix. I want the internet so I can stream the subscription services from the Met and the Berlin Philharmonic with reasonable quality for both video and audio.

For that purpose I have purchased an old Dell Optiplex 745 which has a 3ghz dual-core processor and 3 gigs of RAM. I've added a HD graphics card and a modest sound card (not enough slots for a top audio card).

I should say that my computer skills are limited to plugging in the cables and little more. My LAN connection is wireless, and reports a connection about 50mb/s. However the Speakeasy download test barely lifts the needle off the stop, and actually trying to watch YouTube as an example is impossible.

Where is the bottleneck? The wireless card says it's good for 300mbs.

Another glitch is that I can't get the display above the lowest resolution. The HD graphic card is a Radeon 4500.

Hope one of you can point out some obvious error on my part...I'm thoroughly discouraged just now. I have all the movie streaming I want via an Oppo 95, also on the LAN wirelessly

The router is on the first floor while the HT is not. I may yet have to run cat 5 to the HT. Because the wireless works beautifully with the media player (an Oppo 95 that streams Netflix and VuDu movies with ease), I wonder if a different flavor of wireless PC card would effect a cure?

I have a receiver, and usually have kept video and audio switching separate. The PC searched for and installed drivers for the Radeon card. What is the AMD CCC to which you refer? The Radeon card I have does not have an HDMI port, but does have DVI. I choose the card because it got a favorable mention in a review of HD cards I found online (an old review, now very out-of-date)...it has support for 1080p and a DVI connector and low power consumption plus it runs quietly with no fan.

It was my hope that I would get the best possible audio, so I found a Xonar Essence STX card recommended by John Atkinson. The card wouldn't install properly, so it's going back. Chances are it will be the streaming bandwidth from the arts organizations that limits sound quality. I did install an old sound card from M-audio which will suffice for now. Thus far the streaming that interests me is from the Berlin Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera...both are subscription services. There is a test video from each to see if the PC and internet connection are up to it.

This morning I lifted the PC off the floor to put the wireless card antennae in a different spot, and low and behold, it worked. Now I have placed the PC on a shelf that's six feet above the floor where it will likely remain. I am encouraged!

Will I install a switch to run CAT 5 to the HT? Maybe...it's a pain that would involve getting into the crawl space to do it right, and I'm too old and creaky to do that myself.

Thanks to all for the comments and suggestions...this forum is such a wonderful resource.

Thanks, I'll look into your suggestions (if I can decode the meaning). Not at home this weekend, but I will get on it Sunday evening.

I hope you two helpful folks are still tuned in, because I have not been able to get the graphics card to operate at an HD resolution.

The card is an HD 4550 with an HDMI connector, so I was completely wrong about that. I ran the driver-checker from AMD which says I have the best drivers installed. However when I try to run the CCC program I can't get past the welcome window which asks what language I wish to contend with...the bottom of that window is off the bottom of the screen and none of the usual maneuvers to push it up will budge it, it simply bumps into the top of the main window and goes no farther. The Next button at the bottom of the window cannot be accessed. Somehow I believe that if I could run this, all will be well.

Also I did install the MPC-HD player and looked at the settings window...the directshow EVR choice is grayed-out. I haven't tried the other method...do I need to have Doom9 to do so?

I'm obviously in over my head.

If I go to Display)settings)advanced)adapter)list all modes, I see a list of nine choices, all of them 480 X something. The highest is 848 X480, and I was using that while trying to run the Catalyst installation.

My display is a Panasonic PJ AE-4000 which does the 1080 X1920 resolution with no problem.

The picture isn't bad at 480 X848, but surely better is possible.

XP, of course. Sorry I didn't say so earliier. I'll reinstall the drivers.

Blessings on you! Unticking that box allowed me to select 1080 x 1920 and at long last install the Catalast software. As I write this I am watching Dr. atomic from a 2008 performance at the Met. It's not as sharp as a standard DVD on the 9:16 ten ft screen, but I don't know what resolution is being streamed. The picture is better than ok, and not so long ago I would have thought it terrific.

My grateful thanks for all the help...I needed every bit of it.

I unticked the box and then was able to select 1080 x 1920, and also install the AMD Catalyst software. Remembering why I had undertaken this project in the first place, I spent the evening watching the 2008 Met performance ov Dr. Atomic. Life is good.

A thousand thanks to those who guided me patiently to a successful end!

My intention was to keep the cost down and still have decent picture and sound for streaming from the internet. I have an Oppo 95 for various other media. I considered building what I wanted from scratch, but chickened out and purchased a refurbished Dell Optiplex 745 instead...it met the specs suggested by the two arts organizations whose streamed performances were my goal. After some research on video cards, I choose the Radeon 4550 because it did not require much power compared to bigger better noisier cards (many seem to need a fan). The streams I will view are 2-channel only, for now anyway.

I do notice that the video is delayed enough to be out of synch wth the audio. I added 250 ms delay via my AVP, but it's not quite enough. Would the right video card be faster than the 4550?

I'll check out XBMC... Maybe I will do more with the PC than streaming.

New question:

Just installed a matrix switch so all sources can connect to the projector via the single 40ft HDMI cable. This is a great improvement when programing Roomie, but I have noticed that switching away from the HTPC and returning to it loses the signal. Only rebooting will restore contact.

I will work around this by selecting the HTPC before powering it up, but I am curious about the cause. The same problem existed before the switch was installed, but I thought then that actually unplugging the hardware was somehow responsible. This handshake technology doesn't seem ready for prime time.

[quote="Sodbuster"]

I do notice that the video is delayed enough to be out of synch wth the audio. I added 250 ms delay via my AVP, but it's not quite enough. Would the right video card be faster than the 4550? Quote

Further investigation leads me to reduce the audio delay to around 50ms. Trying to watch the mouths of singers is very confusing...easy to say the timing is off, but not which way. Experimenting is tedious because of the need to reboot after switching the PJ to component so the AVP menu is available (see last post). I found several videos on YouTube for achieving synch, but getting those right on did not properly correct streaming from the Met's opera on demand service.

It's cable from Comcast. Whatever was happening before has gone away, and I'm now streaming HD video using the PC connected to the LAN using wifi. I don't plan running cable to the HT unless absolutely required, and that seems unlikely now. I do take your point about the speed of the LAN vs. the internet connection itself.