Home Theater PCs - HTPC

Apple TV Gets 3.0 Software Update With iTunes Extras/iTunes LP Support

News — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:41:22 GMT

The Apple TV. Remember that? Yeah, that's Apple's little hobby device,or so it said once upon a time. And it's treating it exactly like ahobby, not updating it but once every blue moon. Thankfully for thosewho actually own one, the company today released the first majorsoftware update for it in what feels like forever, but it's a bigupdate. In fact, it's taking things to 3.0, and whenever Apple jumpsall the way to a new digit on the left side of the decimal, it'sdefinitely worth paying attention to.

The new 3.0 software brings along a redesigned main menu, a largeselection of on-demand HD movie rentals/TV shows and newfound supportfor iTunes Extras and iTunes LP. There's also support for Genius Mixesand and Internet radio streaming. As usual, this update is free ofcharge for existing Apple TV owners, while those looking to buy in canpick up a box with a 160GB HDD for $229.

Apple also upgraded its iTunes software for Mac/PC to 9.0.2 in order toadd support for Apple TV 3.0, so now your computer and Apple TV willcontinue to work seamlessly together. Still, with services like Vuduand Netflix out there, we have to wonder if the demand for the Apple TVis on the decline. The device hasn't been in the spotlight for a long,long time, and we don't really see it jumping back in there withoutsome sort of killer app. Who knows--maybe this thing was just destinedto remain a hobby.

“The new software for Apple TV features a simpler and faster interfacethat gives you instant access to your favorite content,” said Eddy Cue,Apple’s vice president of Internet Services. “HD movies and HD TV showsfrom iTunes have been a huge hit with Apple TV customers, and withApple TV 3.0 they get great new features including iTunes Extras,Genius Mixes and Internet radio.”
The redesigned main menu on Apple TV gives you instant access toyour favorite content. Recently rented or purchased movies, as well asother content including TV shows, music, podcasts, photos and YouTube,are accessible directly from the new main menu. The new software alsoallows Apple TV users to enjoy stunning fullscreen iTunes Extras andiTunes LP, including great new movie titles such as “Star Trek” orclassics like “The Wizard of Oz” and albums such as Taylor Swift’s“Fearless (Platinum Edition)” and Jack Johnson’s “En Concert.” iTunesExtras gives movie fans great additional content such as deletedscenes, interviews and interactive galleries. iTunes LP is the nextevolution of the music album, delivering a rich, immersive experiencefor select albums on the iTunes Store by combining beautiful designwith expanded visual features like live performance videos, lyrics,artwork, liner notes, interviews, photos, album credits and more.
Now Apple TV users can enjoy Genius Mixes through their home theatersystem and listen to up to 12 endless mixes of songs that go greattogether, automatically generated from their iTunes library. Customerscan also enjoy Internet radio, allowing them to browse and listen tothousands of Internet radio stations, as well as tag favorite stationsto listen to later. Apple TV’s support of HD photos is enhanced withiPhoto Events, which simplifies finding your favorite photos on AppleTV, as well as iPhoto® Faces, which gives access to photos organized bypeople identified in iPhoto.
Apple TV users have direct access to a catalog of over 8,000Hollywood films on iTunes including over 2,000 in stunning HD videoavailable for rent or purchase. Users can also choose from a selectionof 11 million songs, 10,000 music videos and over 50,000 TV episodes topurchase directly from their Apple TV or browse and enjoy the iTunesStore podcast directory of over 175,000 free video and audio podcasts.Purchases downloaded to Apple TV are automatically synced back toiTunes on the user’s computer for enjoyment on their Mac® or PC or allcurrent generation iPods or iPhones.* iPod touch® or iPhone® users candownload the free Remote app from the App Store to control their AppleTV with a simple tap or flick of the finger.

WD TV Live HD Streams HD Video to Your Widescreen TV

News — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:23:08 GMT

With the near ubiquity of widescreen high-definition TVs (HDTVs) in so many homes, the desire to consume media on them that was traditionally relegated to computer displays is starting to gain popularity--especially since a growing proportion of this media is HD video. To meet this growing desire, Western Digital has just released the WD TV Live HD media player.

The WD TV Live HD media player is a device that sits between your HDTV and your home network, allowing you to stream media from networked drives (such as a NAS device) and "Internet content from popular Web sites"--the device also includes two USB 2.0 ports for streaming from USB-connected hard drives or flash drives. The WD TV Live HD media player supplants the WD TV HD media player, which itself has only be out since last November. As to what the new model brings to the table, Western Digital states: "Building on the success of the WD TV HD media player, the WD TV Live HD media player offers a new, more responsive interface to help consumers enjoy a world of digital content in their living room, without a computer."

While a computer is technically not necessary for the WD TV Live HD media player to work, it is unlikely that any user will have built a large-enough media collection that would warrant streaming it to an HD TV, without having initially collected much of it on a computer. In fact, Western Digital drives home this point by stating: "According to research firm Parks Associates, the average consumer had 123 GB of videos, photos, and music in 2009 which will grow to 1.3 TB by 2013."

In addition to the updated software interface, the new version of the media player also includes support for YouTube, Flickr, Live365 Internet Radio, and Pandora. While not mentioned in Western Digital's press release, the Best Buy page for the WD TV Live HD media player (Best Buy appears to have listed the WD TV Live HD media player on its site before the product was officially announced) also mentions "DNLA and Bonjour" support. Another difference between to the two versions is that the WD TV Live HD media player has a matte gray exterior, while the WD TV HD media player has a glossy black finish.

The WD TV Live HD media player supports 1080p HD video via its HDMI 1.3 port. The device also has composite and component video outputs, a SPDIF digital audio-out port, two USB 2.0 ports, and an Ethernet port (an optional WiFi adapter is also available). The press release doesn't go into specifics as to exactly which file formats the WD TV Live HD media player supports, other than to say that it can "play a wide variety of file formats including support for a wide variety of the most popular file formats with no need to spend time transcoding." The Best Buy site mentions support for "AAC, MP3 and JPEG. H.264/AVCHD," as well as "Dolby Digital and DTS decoders." A more comprehensive list of the WD TV Live HD media player's supported file formats should be available when the official product page becomes available on Western Digital's site (similar to the specs for the WD TV HD media player).

The WD TV Live HD media player comes with a remote, and the Best Buy site also reports that the device comes bundled with composite and component A/V cables. The device has an MSRP of $149.99, but Best Buy has it listed for $119.99 (Best Buy is currently selling the WD TV HD media player for $99.99). Other products that perform similar functionality as the WD TV Live HD media player are the Seagate FreeAgent Theater HD Media Player ($99.99) and the Asus O!Play HDP-R1 ($99.99).

USB to HDMI Converter

mkhain — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:45:59 GMT

Has anyone heared of the USB to HDMI Converter which Atlona has just released? It seems like a cool idea as you can have up to 6 monitors powered and send a very high quality video and audio to each one of the displays.

Atlona AT-HDPiX

http://atlona.com/Atlona-USB-to-HDMI-Converter-Pre-Order-p-17691.html

Hauppauge 1800 card doesn't look right in new P6T PCI express x16 slot - please help

cappaj1 — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:50:20 GMT

I'm installing a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 1800 card which says it'll work in either PCI Express x1 or x16, into a Asus P6T motherboard.

The video card is blocking the single PCI Express x1 slot, so I installed the tv card in the second x16 slot.

It didn't look right putting this short card into a long x16 slot as it was sort of curved over the unused pins.
When I booted my pc, my bios was changed to boot from floppy and dates on my system changed. I immediately shut down and pulled the card out after seeing the bios screen.

My question is, should I try and install the tv card in the PCI Express x1 slot and move my video card to a different x16 slot as I have two others? If so, would this require alot of change or would Windows 7 immediately recognize the move and automatically reconfigure?

OR, should I try in the same x16 slot again, and not worry if I'm prompted to setup bios again?

Thanks.

CableCARD Now Open To All, No Need For OEM Installations

News — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 17:22:56 GMT

For HTPC owners, most thought this day would never come. It's a liberation celebration, and frankly, it's coming way too late. Still, we'll take late over never almost all of the time, so we can't help but thank those involved for finally freeing CableCARDs of the OEM chains. This past week at CEDIA, Microsoft announced that anyone could now purchase an off-the-shelf CableCARD and install it into their system. This has absolutely not been the case in years past.

Up until now, users have had to purchase an entirely new system from a certified OEM (think Dell, HP, etc.) with a CableCARD installed at the factory. If you even attempted to install a loose CableCARD into your own machine, you'd never get anything to work. Without that OEM touch, CableCARDs were worthless. Obviously, this ensured that only the affluent ponied up for a CableCARD-equipped HTPC. After all, who wants to buy an entirely new rig just to use one $100 part?

As Windows 7 enters the fray, users will be able to add CableCARDs to their own systems with little to no hassle. These cards will allow users to access all of their carrier's cable channels right on their HTPC, eliminating the need for a cable box and a media center PC. Switched Digital Video support was also added into Windows Media Center for Windows 7, which definitely comes in handy for those looking to tune into SDV channels.

Switched Digital Video (SDV) Support Added for Windows Media Center
In response to customer requests and cable providers' deployment of SDV, Microsoft now supports SDV in Windows Media Center for Windows 7. In conjunction with a device known as a tuning adapter, supplied by a customer's cable provider, Windows Media Center and a digital cable tuner with CableCARD will be able to tune to SDV channels. Customers can enjoy SDV broadcasts on PCs running Windows Media Center in Windows 7 and a digital cable tuner with CableCARD.
End Customers Can Now Add Digital Cable Tuners With CableCARD to Their PCs
Microsoft and CableLabs announced that customers will now be able to add digital cable tuners with CableCARD to a Windows 7-based PC with Windows Media Center. A new tool will be provided by Microsoft that assesses the PC's ability to support the solution. This tool will analyze the customer's PC and enable digital cable support if the PC meets requirements, opening digital cable options to Windows Media Center customers across the country. Microsoft also announced that, with Windows 7, it has increased the number of TV tuners that can be connected to the PC from two to four per tuner type, thereby allowing customers to simultaneously record or watch as many as four digital cable TV channels.
"We are excited that digital cable customers will now be able to take advantage of this new opportunity to bring great cable TV programming to the PC," said So Vang, vice president of OpenCable at CableLabs. "We are dedicated to helping customers get the most from their cable service, and this will be a great win for both the customer and the cable operators."
Digital Cable Customers Can Now Enjoy More TV Portability in Windows Media Center
Microsoft and CableLabs also announced that they worked together to enable digital cable tuner with CableCARD customers to enjoy more portability for digital cable TV that is marked as "copy freely" (CF). Customers will be able to play CF-marked digital cable recordings, such as those from local channels, on other PCs, devices and portable media.
Windows Media Center Features in Windows 7 Highlighted
Using new Windows 7 features such as Windows Touch, HomeGroup, Remote Media Streaming and PlayTo, sharing recorded TV, videos, music and pictures throughout the home, while on the road and to remote locations has never been easier. There is also support for the AVCHD format. This allows customers to view HD video from many popular HD video cameras.
In addition, support for the international broadcast TV standards that was released with the Windows Media Center TV Pack 2008 will also be included in Windows Media Center in Windows 7. This includes native support for both ATSC and QAM, the ability to remap channels, and support for subchannels.
New Firmware for ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuners
In conjunction with the Microsoft and CableLabs announcements, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) will be providing a new firmware update that is available to all ATI TV Wonder digital cable tuners being used with Windows 7 and Windows Vista. This firmware update will allow existing digital cable tuner with CableCARD customers to enjoy more portability for digital cable TV marked as CF. Customers will be able to play CF-marked digital cable recordings, such as those from local channels, on other PCs, devices, and portable media. In addition, the firmware will contain support for SDV. When installed on a Windows 7-based PC with a digital cable tuner with CableCARD and a tuning adapter from a cable provider, it enables access to switched digital channels in locations where SDV has been deployed.

LaCie Introduces LaCinema Rugged HD

News — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:06:07 GMT

LaCie Introduces the First Mobile High-Definition Multimedia Player: LaCinema Rugged HD

Enjoy HD movies on any HDTV
One cable connection to HDTV via HDMI
User-friendly graphical interface
Shock-resistant and designed for mobility

LaCie announced today its LaCinema Rugged multimedia hard drive is now available in High Definition – LaCinema Rugged HD. The LaCinema Rugged product range has the most compact, reliable, and mobile multimedia players on the market. Now, with enhanced HD capability, the LaCinema Rugged HD is the first multimedia player in its class, to allow users to store and play High Definition content – on any HDTV in Full-HD 1080p resolution.

The LaCinema Rugged HD comes with 500GB* of built-in storage capacity, allowing users to store and instantly watch their favorite television shows and movies, listen to music, and display photo slideshows with their family and friends. Compatible with any HDMI supported display, the LaCinema Rugged HD brings multimedia functionality to users while in the home or on-the-go.

Compatible with both Windows and Mac environments, the LaCinema Rugged HD requires a single USB 2.0 cable, connected to the computer for easy, bus-powered multimedia loading. Once the media content is transferred to the LaCinema Rugged HD, it is ready to be viewed on any display with an HDMI connection. The HDMI cable is included for user convenience. For optimized viewing, the LaCinema Rugged HD supports most of standard and high-definition video codecs (H.264, MKV, WMV9, MPEG-4) to ensure easy High Definition playback.

"When it comes to viewing High Definition content, it is hard to find a mobile form factor that that doesn't compromise important features and functionality, like built-in storage, format versatility, and integrated HDMI connectivity," said Christelle Dexet, LaCie Multimedia Product Manager. "The LaCinema Rugged HD not only provides the ultimate mobile design, but it allows users to store large amounts of HD content and play it wherever they desire."

Modeled after the award-winning LaCie Rugged Hard Disk, design by Neil Poulton, the LaCinema Rugged HD features a unique scratch-resistant aluminum shell, internal anti-shock absorbers, and a shock-resistant rubber bumper to better protect media files against everyday blunders. The LaCinema Rugged HD provides the convenience of a centralized media library with enhanced graphic menus, setting features and an easy-to-use remote control for navigation.

LaCinema Rugged HD is compatible with all common digital formats and can store up to 700 movies, 165,000 songs, or 165,000 photos.

Availability
The LaCinema Rugged HD is available through the LaCie Online Store at the suggested retail price starting at $349.99USD.

Recommendations for Home Theatre Systems?

Iain — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:34:12 GMT

Well I just accidentally deleted everything I had posted so I'ma redo it a little les indepth... I"ve got a 500W Insignia System that needs replacing. I'm not using the stock speakers tho.

Subs = Two 12" Sony Xplodes

Left & Right = Two broken Infinity's that somehow still manage to sound AMAZNING

Rear/Center = Not used, sounds terrible...

I'm lookin' for something that (Even if I have to split some wires manually) will power my two subs and the two left and right, but I'm really lookin' for bass. I've found things like these (http://www.contractorsav.com/pyle-P1001AT-product?ref=3), but my friend said I'd need an amp or something I only need like 100 Watts for the left and right and then at least 200 for the two woofers. The woofers are actually car speakers, but they're running pretty well with 3oHms and 50 watts a piece when they're meant for 4 oHms and 300 Watts so yea... Any ideas?

Asus Intros New Dual-Tuner My Cinema PCI-e Card

News — Tue, 12 May 2009 15:45:07 GMT

Taking a break for dishing out new notebooks and netbooks, Asus is today unveiling its newest device for tuning into OTA broadcasts via an HTPC. The newest product in the My Cinema line packs an absurdly long name: My Cinema-EHD3-100/NQA/FM/AV/MCE RC Dual Hybrid TV Card. What that tries to explain in so many words is that it can record and tune into both both digital (ATSC/QAM) and analog (NTSC) TV channels simultaneously without taking a CPU hit, which is definitely music to the media enthusiast's ear.

The card, which fits into a PCI-Express slot, possesses an MPEG2 hardware encoder that takes most of the stress off of the CPU, and while it's obviously aimed at HTPC and Media Center PC builders, it can turn any tower with a free PCI-e slot into a TV tuning machine. Thanks to the twin onboard tuners, users can view one digital or one analog TV channel, watch an analog or digital TV channel while recording another channel, or record two different channels at the same time. It also enables viewers to schedule recordings (like a traditional DVR), edit and burn recorded clips, tune into FM radio and even control the action with a bundled Microsoft certified Media Center remote control.

As with most My Cinema products, this one also comes with Asus GadgeTV, a widget that adds a small window to the Windows Vista sidebar and gives Vista users the ability to watch TV on the side while "working" on the main screen. There's no price or availability listed just yet, but the full specifications are below.

Key Features at a Glance

Utilizes the PCI-Express port for faster data transmission
Enhances multitasking through an in-built hardware MPEG2 encoder that significantly reduces CPU load
Delivers the best video quality through hardware noise reduction technology
Enables users to watch analog or digital TV (or digital TV through
a standard coaxial cable) and record another channel, or record two
different channels at the same time
Adds a convenient TV widget on the Windows Vista sidebar upon startup, powered by ASUS GadgeTV Technology
Comes with a remote control kit for easy channel surfing
Equipped with FM radio capabilities
Sports dual AV inputs for capturing external sources
Turns the PC into a private security system with ASUS VideoSecurity Online Technology

Specifications

Specifications	TV system	Digital (ATSC/QAM) and Analog(NTSC)
	Interface standard	PCI-Express
	Flash drive	ATX
	Supported operating systems	Microsoft Windows Vista® (Home Premium , Home Basic, Business and Ultimate) or Windows XP™ SP2
Connectors	Digital TV/Analog TV input FM input Dual AV inputs IR sensor input Video-in & Audio-in

Accessories

Remote control kits	MCE-certified remote control
Remote control kits	Two IR blasters
Software bundled	Digital and Analog TV watching
	Video recording, editing, burning onto DVDs/VCDs
	FM listening

Acer Aspire Revo NVIDIA Ion SFF PC

News — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:20:07 GMT

We have been talking about NVIDIA's Ion since late last year when news first broke of the ultra small form factor platform. At the time, NVIDIA's tiny Atom-powered prototype system wasn't even called Ion yet, but images of the miniscule motherboard that would eventually be used in the reference platform had already surfaced and the community was buzzing with interest. One of the major concerns with most netbooks and nettops was their relatively weak integrated graphics solutions, and Ion would potentially address that concern.

Around the time when Ion was first announced, there was some scuttlebutt that Intel "disapproved" of the platform and that the company wouldn't sell OEMs Atom processors separately, without pairing them to an accompanying Intel chipset. Those rumors were soon squashed, however, because Intel does in fact sell Atom processors independent of a chipset. Although, we think it's still pretty safe to say Intel isn't exactly thrilled with Ion's existence.

Regardless of what anyone thinks of Ion though, the platform is moving closer to public availability. We took a look at NVIDIA's Ion reference system a couple of months back and in our conclusion stated that "we want one - preferably sooner than later". Well, the wait is almost over as the first publicly announced Ion design win has landed in the HotHardware labs, Acer's slick Aspire Revo...

Acer Aspire Revo NVIDIA Ion SFF PC

Habey Delivers New Mini HTPC With 1080p Support

News — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:05:13 GMT

As you can tell from the model name (BIS-6550HD from earlier this month; BIS-6540HD from present), there aren't a whole lot of differentiating factors in Habey's newest HTPC. And hey, that's the good news! Just like the machine we saw emerge about a week ago, this new system includes an Intel 1.6GHz N270 Atom processor, a built-in ultra low-power HD AVC/VC-1/MPEG-2 hardware decoder (which is capable of decoding of H.264 / VC-1 media contents at up to 40Mbps and MPEG-2 at up to 125Mbps) and support for Blu-ray Disc playback.

As with its sibling, this machine is quite energy conscience as well, consuming just 20 watts (maximum) when taxed and playing back a BD film. As for inputs, you'll find connectors for DVI, VGA, CompactFlash, SATA II, USB 2.0 (x8), Gigabit Ethernet, S-Video, composite, Wi-Fi module and an HDTV tuner. Pretty stout for a rig this small, eh? Within, you'll also get a solid state drive, a fanless design and an SO-DIMM slot for up to 2GB of RAM. The whole rig measures just 9.85" x 7.68" x 1.97", but sadly, we've no pricing or availability information to pass along.

Features
¦ Small form factor fanless enclosure
¦ Intel® Atom™ N270 1.6GHz processor
¦ Low power consumption for HD playback
¦ DDR2 SODIMM slot support up to 2GB RAM
¦ Wireless and HD TV tuner options
¦ Ten COM ports, eight USB ports
¦ Built-in CF socket, two SATA II ports

Applications
¦ Digital signage HD media player
¦ Consumer Set-Top-Box/network media player
¦ Kiosk, interactive signage
¦ High-definition media center PC
¦ Multimedia presentation

Specifications
Processor: Intel® Atom™ N270 1.6GHz processor
Chipset: Intel 945GSE+ICH7M
RAM: One DDR2 SO-DIMM Socket, up to 2GB
SATA: Two SATA II ports, SSD Support
IDE: One IDE CF socket, one IDE
USB: Eight USB 2.0 ports
Video: One VGA, one DVI, one LVDS, optional Composite Video, one S-Video
Ethernet: One Gigabit Ethernet port
Hardware decoder video format support:

H.264/AVC SP, MP and HP at Level 4.1 up to 40 Mbps
SMPTE VC-1 SP, MP and AP at Level 3 up to 40 Mbps
MPEG-2 MP at ML and MPEG-2 MP at HL, up to 125Mbps
Uncompressed video output
YUV 4:2:0, YUV 4:2:2
NV12 planar YCbCr format
YUY2, UYVY packed YCbCr format
480i, 480p, 576i, 576p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p support

Power: 12V DC
Operating Temperature: 0°C - 60 °C
Dimensions: 250 x 195 x 50mm, 9.85" x 7.68" x 1.97" (W x D x H)

Nice HD server deal

recoveringknowitall — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 12:11:31 GMT

Found THIS deal @ Tiger and thought it would make a nice HD server. Slap a Blu Ray drive in and rip movies to the 4x1TB drives and you've got a nice HD content server.

Habey's Mini HTPC Can Handle 1080p and Blu-ray

News — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:39:55 GMT

During our recent time with Asus' Eee PC 1000HE, we tried playing back a 1080p movie trailer just for kicks. To our surprise, it did manage to stutter along and get through it, but it was far from "watchable." And that was with an Atom N280 within. Now, we're seeing a diminutive new media PC with Intel's aging 1.6GHz Atom N270 that can reportedly handle 1,920 x 1,080 high definition material -- which just has to be a joke, right?

Not quite. Habey's unique BIS-6550HD, which has undoubtedly put the company on the consumer electronics map, possesses something than most netbooks and nettops simply do not: a hardware-based HD decoder. The ultra low power HD AVC/VC-1/MPEG-2 hardware decoder is supposedly capable of handling full HD real-time decoding of H.264 / VC-1 at up to 40Mbps and MPEG-2 at up to 125Mbps. And since we know you're wondering, yes, it can also manage Blu-ray Disc playback, believe it or not.

Habey asserts that playing back 1080p H.264 content with its machine utilizes under 15 percent of the N270 CPU, while 1080p WMV material uses even less. We guess that hardware decoder is sweating bullets all the while, but hey, at least your CPU is still free to handle things like e-mail and IM in the background, right? Also of note is the power consumption here; the fully loaded system (with HDD, not SSD) consumes under 13 watts, and we're guessing that's while in use and not idle.

Other specifications include a single DDR2 SO-DIMM memory slot for up to 2GB of RAM, two SATA II ports, a flash card reader, four USB 2.0 ports, VGA / HDMI 1.3 / Composite / S-Video outputs, a single gigabit Ethernet jack and Intel's 945GSE chipset. We're trying to locate a price and release date as we speak; needless to say, we're anxious to get one of these on the test bench and figure out just how close to advertised this thing works.

Hooking up PC to TV using S-Video

Thedude2741 — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 10:49:47 GMT

Hey,

I tried hooking up my computer

to my fat Sony CRT using an S-video cable yesterday. It seemed to work fine except for the fact that it was black and white. When it tried get past the windows screen white lines flickered all over and never stopped. Any other people have the same issues?

Need help and advice on media setup for my house

digitalayon — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 08:16:36 GMT

OK...My kids are KILLING my DVD's I'd like to setup a home server with either Windows Home Server Edition or a Linux Server to store and stream movies and shows from in a remote location in the house. I have wired the house with CAT5e and have them hooked up to a 1GHZ switch.

Here is what I have to work with and tell me what you would do. Because I am just lost.

I have.....

One server with 2 terebytes of space

-It has 2 terabytes of HD space, 4 Gigs of RAM, and a Haupauge HD HVR-1600 Card

Direct TV HD(no DVR).....has both USB and an ethernet port

One 50 inch plasma display

Here is what I want...I want to watch and record shows for the Plasma. The other locations don't need direct connections to the Direct TV....kinda impossible anyway. But I would like them to access recorded shows. I also want the server to house recorded DVD's.

Is mythTV my best choice? Can I use it as a media file server? Can I use it with my Direct TV? What shoud I do?

I Need Help Picking a PCTV Card

akpululu — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:17:23 GMT

Hello,
I have an an ASUS Model: CS5111-AP007 (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9075715&st=Asus&type=product&id=1218016140886) and i'm looking for a PCTV Card that will fit and be compatible and hopefully pick up digital and HD channels for computer. I was wondering if you could suggest the proper card for me.

Finally upgraded my HTPC setup

Endersothergame — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 20:58:34 GMT

Finally ditched the old Kenwood Prologic receiver, here's what I'm running now.

A Sony STR DA3100ES.

Underneith it you can see the edge of my Silverstone Lascalla LC11 case.

Are Those Speakers Worth to Buy?

Bodego Jackson — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:56:10 GMT

Any one have it or have tried the Bose Companion 5 Multimedia Speaker System? becuase I saw them in Best Buy during a demostration and the sound of these speakers are amazing, I wanted to buy them but the high price makes me wonder if they are worthy or choose a different Speaker System for my gaming rig.

What do you suggest me?

New Mac mini coming?

xaraz — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:22:56 GMT

There hasn't been a new mac mini for quite a while now, so the rumours could be true that there's a new version coming soon. If this is true I'm checking it out as a possible htpc replacement. While my current Silverstone alu box works fine, it does take up a lot of space and still makes too much noise for the living room (even after putting in new fans and dampening materials).

Let's hope Steve has something nice to offer us in Januari at the Macworld Expo.

Here's a link to the article about it at Wired.

Philips amBX - a fully immersive experience

Sean0 — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:56:30 GMT

Just wondering if anyone has tried this or experienced the technology? I managed to have a go on one of the Philips amBX demonstration booths at a gaming event and was blown away. Although I only played on it for around 20 minutes (as other people were patiently waiting behind me to have their turn) I was completely fully immersed into a game I had already completed; I actually only intended to give it a quick 5 minute whirl as some friends were with me and ended up playing for so long that time just flew by. The demonstration booth I played on was setup with Call of Duty 4 and the Premium Kit which had a 2.1 speaker setup with lights on top of the speakers, as well as a wall washer with ambient lighting, a wrist rumbler and 2 fans, whereas the booth beside me had Guitar Hero. I quickly jumped into the game and one of my favourite levels and the lights immediately lit up beside me; when I rotated my mouse the ambient lights changed to the environment on screen, it was visually stunning. I ran along the map with my A.I teammate and the fans started whirling, and we were thrown into action straight away. Shooting away at enemies made the wrist rumbler rumble during every bullet and the sound was very impressive for a 2.1 speaker set. I'm definitely looking to upgrade my system now to a amBX Premium Kit after having a go at it.

I've heard the amBX technology also allows the lights to change colour according to music you are listening to, as well as being customisable for any application you decide to open/close. I've done a little more research on the product and found a decent blog with videos of the amBX product in action over at www.iloveambx.com and I'd love to hear more feedback before I click on the buy button :)

PS They're selling at a very reasonable price at www.play.com for around £180 for the full kit which includes all that they had setup at the demonstration booth.

HDTV/HDCP/bluray help

recoveringknowitall — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:32:50 GMT

Hey gang!

I'm currently using a 32" 1080p LCD TV as a monitor. It's a Samsung 5 series and is connected VGA. IMHO the picture quality is excellent and on par with most 1080p tvs/monitors I've seen despite the analog connection. Being able to watch HD movies on my PC would be great, but I realize that a digital HDCP compliant connection(gfx card and display)must be in place. So I bought a cable that has DVI on 1 side and HDMI on the other and figured it would just be plug & play... boy was I wrong! Before I get into the details let me preface by saying: I hate jumping through hoops and having to do lotsa tweakin to get things to work properly. With that in mind I'll be honest and mention that I really didn't try to make any adjustments to the display via it's own gui or the card via nvid control panel. I plugged the digital cable in with my machine off of course. Once I fired my PC up and saw the desktop I knew something wasn't right. The colors were way too saturated/dark, the text was blurry and the screen wasn't properly centered. It's no mystery to me that these settings can all be adressed, like for example enabling clear type to remedy blurry text. The thing is that VGA already looks so good, I'm not sure I can tweak the settings properly to get the digital connection looking @ least equally good.

As much as I hate work arounds, I saw a product called HD Fury that claims it will allow HDCP content to pass through a VGA connection without any loss of quality or signal integrity. I'd like to get it and don't mind spending the money on it, but would like some advice/oppinions 1st.

What do you guys think I should do?

Thx in advance for any help and suggestions!

ATI All-In-Wonder HD, A Legend Returns

News — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:28:15 GMT

When ATI was acquired by AMD a few years ago, one product that seemed to fall off of the new corporate radar was ATI's All-In-Wonder line of Graphics/TV-Tuner hybrid cards. This was an area of the market where ATI had exclusivity, yet we haven't seen a new All-In-Wonder offering since May 2006. Rest assured however, ATI has not abandoned the All-In-Wonder, they've simply been working on the next iteration of the Graphic/TV-Tuner stalwart, with their latest offering coming in the form of the ATI All-In-Wonder HD.

Back on 2004, ATI released its first HDTV Wonder TV card and now, four years later, they've merged HDTV capabilities with a graphics card, which is the culmination of the new All-In-Wonder HD we'll be looking at here today. In the four years since the HDTV Wonder was released, a lot has changed. While its HDTV Tuner for the PC was one of the first of its kind, the market may not have been ripe for such a product, with limitations of OTA digital signal, and a bulky antenna, being a major detractor. Today however, with the change over to DTV broadcasting immanent, this could be a prime time to offer a hybrid class card that can grow with the new transmission medium of Digital broadcasting.

The All-In-Wonder HD continues on the All-In-Wonder path of melding a graphics card with the latest TV-Tuner technologies into a single package. With this version, the All-In-Wonder HD breaks new ground, being the first All-In-Wonder to bring ClearQAM support to the mix. Click the link below and check it out...

ATI All-In-Wonder HD, A Legend Returns

LinuxMCE

giantjoebot — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 11:31:38 GMT

http://video.google.com/videop...272477313460&hl=en
http://www.linuxmce.com/

some plans and some questions...

cwg_at_opc — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 22:50:00 GMT

so i'm planning(plotting is more like it ;-) to build an HTPC/media-server and i've come

up with two possible paths:

1) a Shuttle based system(looking at the x48 with a 9300 or 9450, an hd4870 and a

couple TB of disks)

and

2) a more expandable system(quad 9300 or 9450, an hd4870 or a 9800gtx+ and a

couple TB of disks)

I'd probably do some casual gaming(NFS, unreal and whatever the kids want like

harry potter, etc.) in addition to the HTPC functions. The Shuttle is appealing because

I wouldn't do much to it once it's completed, except for maybe e-sata expansion after

I use up all the HD mounts. The more expandable system would be a bit more

expensive, but allow for upgrades as things got obsoleted or expire.

So my questions for all you experts are:

1) if you were designing a Shuttle based media center, would you go for the

latest(x48) for longevity(upgrade-wise) or tried-and-true chipset(p35) for stability?

2) any thoughts on 790i ultra SLI vs. an Xfire mobo now that they're pretty

closely matched? i'd be starting out single-GPU but would prefer the option of

SLI/Xfire in the future.

3) media-center folks: do you watch TV/cable/satellite on the PC, or do you pipe

the video from the PC to your tv/hdtv? do you use an HDMI switch?

4) W.A.F. - Wife Acceptance Factor: for those of you with htpc/media centers,

was looks an important factor in choosing a case, or was it all ok as long as it

worked and wasn't hideous?

Help and advice needed

nECrO1967 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:25:35 GMT

And if so could you post your specs and how happy you are with it? I have a sister thinking of having me build one but she is on the fence about things like usefullness, how well it looks in the livingroom and so on. I can help with the looks part by researching cases and showing her the options, but I have never built one or used one so I don't relly know how handy they come in. Also, if you do post specs, could you tell me what input devices you are using? A mouse in the entertainment center would be a deal breaker and I have no clue what media center keyboards with touchpads/pointing devices are good and which are not. Thanks in advance for any help you fine folks can provide.

Monitor vs TV for pc

Lanceuser — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:00:08 GMT

Recently my X2Gen monitor died without any hope of getting a rebate or repair from the company (they have gone bankrupt), so now I'm using a $20 CRT 17" from a pawn shop and, naturally, thinking of buying a monitor.

But a couple of days ago I was talking to a friend of mine (he is the IT director in the company I work at) and he told me to buy an HDTV instead and use it as a monitor.

So here's my dilemma: buy a monitor (probably around 27") or a larger HDTV. What do you think I should do? I use my PC mostly for watching video and gaming.