[Itlnstln]

I have been searching in the forums for about 2 hours, and cannot quite seem to find the answer I am looking for to my question. I am planning to buy a HiPix card according to my research in this forum and other websites, and I am planning to build a HTPC. In building this, however, I do not want to spend any unecessary money (who does?). I have downloaded the manual for the HiPix to learn about its connections, etc. In some of the forums, users mentioned not being able to see the desktop when connecting their TV directly to the HiPix. Obviously, this would not allow the user to play DVD's from the respective drive on the computer since there is no way to see the desktop. If I were to connect the monitor to my video card and the TV to the HiPix, would I be able to use the desktop (via the monitor) to setup dvd movies and have them appear on the TV (via HiPix)? If not, would I have to use the loopback connector and a transcoder (and loose the monitor) so I could also use my computer to play DVD's? The other issue here is ease of use. If the first method works (and PLEASE correct me if my theory is wrong), I would not need Powerstrip as the HiPix would be controlling the TV's timings, resolution, etc. Otherwise, with method two, I would have to use Powerstrip. Or maybe, HiPix would still control all of this if I select RGB in the settings and use a transcoder. To boil all of this down (after this lengthy post), what is the easiest and least expensive way to connect my HTPC to my TV using HiPix and still use my PC to play DVD's? Thank you very much (even if it was just reading for this long!).


-P.S.: this assumes my TV only has Component inputs and no form of RGBHV

 

[Itlnstln]

One other question: we have Time Warner Digital Cable in our area; how would I connect that to the HiPix as well? Thanks.

 

[PVR]

The HiPix is not a VGA card replacement.


Rather it is an "overlay" device that can

let the VGA cards desktop (and DVD playback)

show through until such time as you start

playing (or viewing) an HDTV source.


You _can_ connect two displays to your system

(one to the VGA card and one to the HiPix)

but in that case the HiPix display will be

blank until you try to view an HDTV source.


So - you will need some kind of VGA card for

your windows desktop and DVD playback.

I would suggest an ATI Radeon series card

unless you want to play 3D games on your

system in which case a GeForce series card

might be a better choice.


The HiPix card has two antenna inputs.

One if for Analog NTSC broadcasts and the

other supports ATSC HDTV broadcasts. If your

cable service doesn't have any 8VSB HDTV digital

channels then you would just run your cable

into the NTSC antenna input on the HiPix.


(Note: Currently you can only use the HiPix

to record HDTV signals, not the analog NTSC).


If you wanted to watch premium cable channels

through your HiPix then you would probably

need to have a cable set top box feed the

HiPix (through S-Video, RCA or F-connector

inputs). S-Video would likely provide the

best picture. RCA connector would work OK.

F-connector (antenna) input would be the last

resort if that was the only output on your

set top box. If you used the antenna

connector then you would need to tune the HiPix

to analog channel 3 or 4 (depending on the

set top box) and just leave it there.


I hope this info helps you.

 

[Itlnstln]

Thanks. I guess what I'm trying to ask is can I use the "dual display" with my monitor on the vga card and the TV on the HiPix, so all I have to buy is the vga to bnc connector, or do I have to run the pass through cable and use the tv as a monitor (having to buy more cables and a transcoder) to play dvd's. Or, do both methods work. I'd rather use a monitor to start dvd's and such so I can watch on a big screen, so I only have to buy a vga to bnc cable.

 

[Tom Fries]

Quote:

Originally posted by Itlnstln Thanks. I guess what I'm trying to ask is can I use the "dual display" with my monitor on the vga card and the TV on the HiPix, so all I have to buy is the vga to bnc connector, or do I have to run the pass through cable and use the tv as a monitor (having to buy more cables and a transcoder) to play dvd's. Or, do both methods work. I'd rather use a monitor to start dvd's and such so I can watch on a big screen, so I only have to buy a vga to bnc cable.

You will have to use the pass through cable to view the DVD played on your computer, when your TV is connected to the HiPix.

 

[DAP]

There are hints in the exe and DLL for the hipix card that it MAY in the future handle direct display of DVDs, but just because the hardware is capable of this, don't count on this becoming avalable until it is actually available. IF DVD play back is eventually included in the capabilities of the hipix card then you might be able to use two monitors the way you want to.

 

[sdsalsero]

It sounds like you want to have a computer monitor setup to always display the Windows desktop, while your HDTV displays HD channels (tuned-in by the HiPix) and DVDs.

-------------------------

Sorry, but you can't do this (as the other people explained ... I think). The problem is that there isn't any DVD decoder that outputs anywhere except the Windows desktop. The best idea -- supposedly (I haven't succeeded at it) -- is to use the VGA pass-through on the HiPix (in RGB mode) in conjunction with Powerstrip and a RGB-to-YPbPr converter.


From my personal experience, however, getting Powerstrip and the converter to work with your HDTV is extremely difficult. I haven't been able to get anything to display correctly except 480p.


Instead, I am using a VGA card with an S-Video output (480i) which I connect to one TV input, while the HiPix is connected directly to the component inputs using YPbPr mode. This is the only way I've been able to get 720p and 1080i to display on my HDTV. It also means that DVD playback is limited to 480i, so I purchased a stand-alone progressive-scan DVD player and connected it to my 2nd set of component inputs (me lucky!). When/If I need to see the Windows desktop, I switch the TV back to that S-Video input.


Hope this clarifies things!

- Tony