[wlo]

Hi all,


I am in the budget planning stage for a HTPC. I want to know what is the minimum requirement to have one set up that will improve the PQ. I have an older PC which is a intel cereon 300a with 128MB RAM OC to 450Mhz, 8 GB HD... Will I be able to use it as HTPC (performance issue)? I know I need to get a ATI Redion video card with DVI output and a 16x DVD ROM. What other hardware do I need other than these ?


Which Redion card should I get ? By reading from AVSFORUM, someone use Redion 7500. Is there any benefit by going to 8500, 9000 or 9700 pro ?


With HTPC and Powerstrip S/W, will I be able to get 720P or 1080i from my PJ when watching regular satellite channels


Many thanks in advance...

 

[Gary Lightfoot]

Any Radeon should be fine, but I think you'll need something like an 800 Duron or Intel equivalent for DVDs. I'm using an ECS K7S5A mobo and Duron 950 with no problems, but look around for good cpu/mobo deals if you're on a budget.


128meg of Ram will be fine, but you'll need something like a Soundblaster 4.1 for DD/DTS output via spdif (adapter needed, but only costs around $2) if you want full surround.


HTH


Gary.

 

[wlo]

What is the benefit of using HTPC anyway ? Will I get better and clear picture for both DVDs and Satellite pictures compare to my PDVD player and directly connected Dishnetwork receiver with component video ?

Thanks.

 

[Gary Lightfoot]

The benefits of an HTPC are most noticable when used with a projector.


Most pjs have poor internal scalers/deinterlacers, so an HTPC will turn provide (in most cases) a far better image source than a standalone DVD player.


In my case (Davis DLS8) the improvement was huge, and the control I have over the image placement is far greater which for me is extremely useful.


You do other stuff like play trailers prior to watching the DVD and the PC will be upgradeable too.


Gary.

 

[wlo]

So, the HTPC is the scaler/deinterlacer and bypassing the scaler that comes with the PJ. Do I need to get the Holo3D card to get good result ?

Will I get DVD quality from watching satellite (non HD) channels if I use HTPC without Holo3D card ?

I assume I need to use the DVI out to connect the PJ for getting the best result ?

Many thanks Gary..

 

[Gary Lightfoot]

I've not used the Holo3d card, so I don't know what it's like, but try the search for others who have.


You can just use a vga connection on many pjs' (like mine), the dvi is a newer connect that more pjs are becoming available with.


For sattelite you might need something like dscaler with an appropriated capture card (PCTV Rave for instance), though there may be better options out there for you.


Gary.

 

[DblHelix]

Well you will not get a great image from sattelite with the Holo3D. It will be better but not great. To get a great image you would need something like the Miranda Processor that can remove mpeg artifacts and edge enhancement but it goes for $7500. The Holo3d works in conjunction with Dscaler. It has DCDi processing and allows you to use the Dscaler processing as well. It has an SDI input as well as component, s-video, and composite. If you do not use the Component input you can configure it as 3 additional composites.

 

[Mark Rejhon]

Check out
Advantages of a HTPC - The Uses of a HTPC


It's a bit old (lack of info on HDTV and hard disk DVD jukeboxes) but it has a lot of useful info about why a HTPC is useful too!