[agressiv]

Kind of newbish questions for someone new to the forums, but here is what I would like my future HTPC to do:


1) Output Windows XP at 1920x1080 clearly over component. I don't have DVI right now. Do any graphics cards support this resolution or will I have to use something like a powerstrip? I dont care about a tuner, I just want to treat my 65" Mitsubishi like a monitor. Do I just need a specific video card like an All-In-Wonder? How much better would DVI look than standard component?


2) With #1, will a DVD played back on the HTPC look as good if not better than a stand-alone $100 DVD player? The last time I did a HTPC it was over S-Video and the quality was simply atrocious. I would like this HTPC to replace my DVD player, not to augment it. Will it be progressive if the output is 1080i? How does all of that work? Can the card switch to 480p mode and output that, or does it upconvert everything to 1080i? Is it seamless, or do you have to manually do this etc.


3) Unrelated question - what's the longest DVI cable you've seen? While my 65" Mitsubishi doesnt have DVI, my 20" planar does, and it would be at least 15 feet away. I would imagine I'd be out of luck. This is also a work computer, so when I'm not using the HDTV I'm doing work


Thanks in advance! -


agressiv

 

[RScottyL]

agressiv,



(1)What you can do, is get an ATI Radeon video card and it should have a DVI out on it. On their website, you can order a DVI --> Component converter that will allow you to hook up your HTPC to your Mitsubishi:

http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=2537967

http://shop.ati.com/buyatistore_asse...es/2537967.jpg


(2) IT will look better because you will be using processing software. Most people use Zoom Player or Theater Tek and FFDSHOW filter to process the dvd. Just do a search for information on using any of those. Here is a brief guide:

http://htpcnews.com/main.php?id=ffdshowdvd_1


(3) Do a search and look around for companies that sell DVI cable. I came up with one that sells 30FT cable, so it is not out of the question:

http://www.pccables.com/images/00696.jpg

 

[agressiv]

Thanks for the quick response!


I have a Radeon 9800 Pro so for $30, its worth a try. With the DVD player, I've used PowerDVD in the past, will these other 2 choices be better? Better picture I assume? The Zoom Player is cheap, but that Theater Tek looks a bit more expensive. I'm wondering how much better it is - It would be nice if they had something like a crippled demo of Theater Tek that only played for 15 minutes just to see if its worth the $70...


The ATI AIW remote integration seems nice - but I already have one of those Harmony remotes, I wonder if it would work with that...


agressiv

 

[mpgxsvcd]

Yes Zoom Player is excellent! You won’t be disappointed with it for $30. You must use ffdshow and a 3.0 Ghz or above computer to get the results that you are looking for. However, you can easily hook-up the 9800pro to any HDTV with the component adapter. However, you will get overscan issues with most resolutions. I use 1776x1000 which simply looks great and it offers the least overscan.

 

[sotti]

zoom player needs a codec to work.


The two most popular codecs right now are the sonic codec and the winDVD codec


Nvidia released a new codec with Theater Tek 2.0, but that's the only way you can get it right now.


1920x1080 will be interlaced on your TV.

 

[globalroute]

Is it not impossible to send a 720p or 1080i signal over the pci bus due to the rate limitations of the pci buss? If so, aren't you limited to file playback and screen capture at full HD res using this method? I'm still learning this, so let me know if I'm wrong (as I know you will )

 

[globalroute]

Never mind, I obviously misunderstood the poster's question. I promise to read more carefully next time!

 

[minime9us]

I just built a HTPC and hooked it up to the tv last night thru dvi for the first time. My parts are as follows:


AMD64 3500+

1 gig ram

2x200 GB sata drives in Raid 0 configuration

ATI Radeon 9800Pro/256MB DDR video card

16x dual layer dvd burner by NEC


My tv is a 61inch Samsung DLP HLN617W.

I hooked it up and turned it on and wow. It was automatically at 1280x720 resolution when i checked. I didnt know that would happen. I installed powerstrip before hooking up the tv and expected to have to fix the settings once i got the tv to work. The funny thing is that before i hooked up the tv to the computer that resolution didnt exist in the computer settings. It was like it realized and created the 720p resolution upon boot up. Maybe everyone knows this already but i was pleasantly amazed. I think it was 1x1 pixel mapping because when i got close to the screen letters were made perfectly by the pixels of the tv. I guess thats how to tell. Well anyway it looked amazing. Then i tried to play a dvd using the dvd player and was less than impressed. I blame the dvd software that came with the video card which was made by disney i think. It also did not fill the screen like the rest of the computer stuff did. Can someone tell me why?