[mfactor]

I have an RCA (Thomson inc) 52" rear projection model d52w14 HDTV. I want to hook it up to a PC so I can run it as an HTPC system. Has anyone been able to get this TV to work as a PC display? If so what PowerStrip or other software settings did you use? IE: Input timings, refresh rate, scan rate, etc. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I need to tweak this to make it work or is there another software out there that would work better for this TV? Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[hammerdwn]

Have you read the sticky's over in the htpc forum? http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forum...?s=&forumid=26


Need to know:

1. Operating System, Video card brand, & driver version

2. What kind of connection- vga, dvi, hdmi ?

3. What resolutions will the Tv accept on that kind of input?

 

[mfactor]

1. MCE 2005, ATI Radeon 7500 Video card, & Software - Catalist ATI Theater 8.11 Drivers for Windows XP - v8.231.0.0

2. PC DVI to HDTV Component cable

3. 1080i 16.9

 

[hammerdwn]

2. PC DVI to HDTV Component cable


^ Provide more info on this, please. Usually these cables don't work on Tv (unless the Tv has RGBHV input). You most likely need a transcoder box to get YPbPr component.

 

[mfactor]

I thought that might be the case. I bought a DVI to component cable. Can't I just buy a video card that has component out vs. hacing to buy a transcoder? If so, what would be the best card? And if I did this will I need to use PowerStip? I would need a AGP card and would like it to have at least 256Megs of RAM. If it was a TV tuner also that would be great! Any thoughts?

 

[hammerdwn]

Yes, a more recent card does come with component out adapter that can go directly to the Tv, and setup is easily done within the latest drivers (don't need pstrip). If you are planning on bluray and HD tuners, I would suggest getting up to date proc/mobo/gfx. It can be done with AGP and a very fast processor, but unfortunately since AGP is dissapearing, supply is low so price is actually higher than a more powerful PCIe card. You won't find any that have tv tuners/capture built-in much anymore. If your processor is fast, you could try something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102814

 

[mfactor]

You are being a HUGE help here! THANK YOU! I am running a P4 2.53GHz CPU with 1 Gig of SDRAM but plan to upgrade to 2Gig's down the road. I also plan to upgrade the PSU and replace the 2 basic DVD drives with BD ones. But the video cards are the first step. $83 for that card is great! Do you know if it will work with both WMC2005 & Vista MC? I want to be able to move it to a new Vista box down the road if I decide to build a newer HTPC. I plan to buy it if it does.


Now about a TV Tuner card & an RF remote control. Do you know of a good setup? It would need to be PCI & also work with WMC2005 & Vista MC.


Is PCIe backwards compatiable with regular PCI slots? If so would a PCIe video card in a standard PCI slot work just as fast or faster than an AGP video card?


Thanks again for the help.

 

[hammerdwn]

Everything you need, and more is here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forum...?s=&forumid=26 with research you can build yourself a nice rig