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Advice / Suggestions on Building My own entertainment system

H

Harish

Member
Hey.

For the longest time I have been trying to merge my entertainment system and PC together. I wanted to play PC games with surround sound but I also wanted the surround sound for my DVD's and mp3s. So originally, I had a 19" monitor on my system to be able to work and play on my PC. I feel the need to move to a more portable system, so that I can work on the go but laptops don't come with big enough screens to play games well enough and plugging the system in to a 5.1 speaker system everytime you get home is just a pain. Also, I had my 32" Sony Television which was only used for movies (Hooked up my system to the TV) and for watching shows on cable. I was lost when it came to actually recording stuff that I had missed, i didnt want to use VHS or the products like TiVo just because I didn't want to bulk up on soo many gadgets at home.

An article at Tom's Hardware inspired me to build a computer solely to hookup to my TV for DVD's, Games, Recoding, Playing DIVX's and music using a good 5.1 sound system. I have the klipsch promedia 4.1 which is very powerful and can do a pretty good job in my living room aswell. So here's the system I built.

Shuttle Sk41G
AMD Athlon XP 2000+
512MB PC2100
120GB IBM
All in Wonder Radeon 8500DV
Hercules Fortissimo III 7.1
Windows XP Professional

I was very skeptical about the system at first just because I haven't played around much with Video capturing and using the TV-out alot. To my surprise though the quality of my DVD, DIVX and games was absolutely amazing. Cable was as good as me getting it straight through my decoder to my TV. DivX quality was superb, You can't really appreciate how good the quality is till you see it on a bigger screen. The sound was amazing aswell , I was using my TV speakers as the center and the regular 4.1 to produce 5.1 sound and it seemed to handle this configuration very well with the output correctly positioned for a 5.1 system. So overall this idea has been a great hit as I connect this system on my home LAN and everyone has access to the files on the BOX and the BOX has access to my main server which holds all the movies / Shows / Music I download or record. Browsing the internet is pretty neat on this and watching movie previews and trailers online is an entirely new experience using fullscreen quicktime. The ATI remote also provides some easy access to mostly all the programs I need to use and I have a wireless keyboard and mouse for access to anything which requires a little more work with the operating system. Overall I am very pleased and suggest such a configuration for people with similar kinds of needs as mine as far as entertainment goes.

However, I could really use a more intiutive OS, something like XP Media Center Edition but unfortunately microsoft is only bundling it in with certain systems. Also, I was hoping to extend this system a little further and get a PS2 emulator to see if I can play PS2 games.

In any case, Anybody with any ideas / suggestions / comments please reply to this post I want to get other people's feedback regarding their own experience with a system like this and what kind of thoughts or suggestions they have to improve or add more functionality to it.

Thanks.
Harish.
 
Hi Harish,

I have a couple of questions about your setup:

1. You use the AIW to output to a TV, correct? How is that for reading text? All of the video I've seen that went out to a TV has always had blurry text. Games look ok though.

2. The video components--DVD and Cable--are hooked up directly to your TV? Or do they passthrough your computer/AIW first? I currently have a DVD player inputting to my Leadtek Winfast TV 2000XP and a monitor, and the picture is not nearly as sharp as a straight DVD-to-TV picture. It could be because I route it through a VCR first, and then the VCR connects to the TV Card (I think I own more sets of RCA cables than pairs of socks.)

I'm looking to do something very similar to what you did, except that since I also wanted to surf on that computer the display has to be readable. So I was using a 17" monitor for now (too small for movies!!) and HOPING I could get the text sharp enough to use a 25" TV.

Thanks!
 
Hey,

Sorry, I wasnt clear earlier about my DVD setup. I have a DVD drive, and I use the player provided by ATI. The quality is amazing with that so i suggest you don't settle for anything but the best in that department. Tell me if you want me to further explain. With you setup your probably right about having a problem due to the fact that you run your signal through the VCR first, logically I don't think the VCR is built for handling such a higher quality signal so that could be your problem.

As for the text, I use the large fonts option in the display settings. This makes the fonts large enough to view pretty clearly. Obviously this isnt as sharp as text on the monitor but its pretty clear and I can browse the net pretty well without any major hassles unless the fonts are really small.

Also, I'm using the S-video wire to connect my TV to the AIW. As for my cable, I used my regular video cable to run from my cable box ( I get HBO 🙂) to the video-in on my AIW and I sincerely cant tell the difference.

Hope this helps!!
 
"The sound was amazing aswell , I was using my TV speakers as the center and the regular 4.1 to produce 5.1 sound and it seemed to handle this configuration very well with the output correctly positioned for a 5.1 system. "

Hmm that's very interesting that you think it reproduced 5.1 properly since in 5.1 the Center Speaker (channel) is only onscreen voice (no music no background only onscreen conversation). Did you somehow get your TV to do Keriokee (sp?).

Thorin
 
Yeah lemme explain,

First of all I am no expert... thats why I am asking for suggestions and ideas. But to the extend of my knowledge I am getting 5.1.

In the fortissimo... they have one output for center one for front spk and the other for rear. Now, I have two inputs in my 4.1's one for front and the other for rear. So front from the soundcard goes to the front speakers, rear from the Soundcard goes to the surround speakers and the other one I am using a 1 into 2 cable which goes from the center to the left and right speakers of my TV. Sound alright?

Tell me if you have a better way to do it, would appreciate your feedback.

Thanks.
 
from what I've heard you need a plasma screen to view text well. it can support high resolution/ As I understand it a standard TV wasn't designed to show modern computer resolutions. (after all they were designed in the 40's!!)

maybe others have more hands on experience???
 
"To my surprise though the quality of my DVD, DIVX and games was absolutely amazing."

It's been my experience that TV-OUT DVD is very poor quality. I have firsthand experience with numerous nVidia products, ATi 8500, ATi 9700 Pro, Matrox G400 Max, and 3dfx products among others, and the Matrox was the best of the lot, followed by the 8500, 9700 then 3dfx, with nVidia's all terrible. By far the best DVD TV-out I've seen was from an old DXR3 (rebadged Hollywood+) I had. It was quite comparable to your run of the mill standalone, but even it couldn't compete with the quality of a progressive scan DVD player.

"Hmm that's very interesting that you think it reproduced 5.1 properly since in 5.1 the Center Speaker (channel) is only onscreen voice (no music no background only onscreen conversation). Did you somehow get your TV to do Keriokee (sp?)."

He has it set up correctly. If you run the center channel speaker out to the TV in audio, all you get is what the center channel is supposed to play, which isn't only voice, but predominantly voice.

"from what I've heard you need a plasma screen to view text well. it can support high resolution/ As I understand it a standard TV wasn't designed to show modern computer resolutions. (after all they were designed in the 40's!!)

maybe others have more hands on experience???"

With a Radeon 8500 I find 800x600 very useable. I have a HDTV capable TV with a built in line doubler which makes the picture brighter, and very stable as there is no interlacing flicker. 1024 is good for multimedia purposes but is unusable for text. All the other cards I have are a bit harder on the eyes at 800x600 (I no longer have the Matrox which would probably be better than the 8500), including the 9700 Pro which for some reason has better 2D monitor performance than the 8500 but noticably poorer TV out.
 
it looks like I might build a ht pc for someone w/ a 32 in plasma screen w/ dvi input. I'll try to remember to post back here.


I'm looking at the ATI 9500 right now, 9500pro If I can find one.
 
"To my surprise though the quality of my DVD, DIVX and games was absolutely amazing."

"It's been my experience that TV-OUT DVD is very poor quality. I have firsthand experience with numerous nVidia products, ATi 8500, ATi 9700 Pro, Matrox G400 Max, and 3dfx products among others, and the Matrox was the best of the lot, followed by the 8500, 9700 then 3dfx, with nVidia's all terrible. By far the best DVD TV-out I've seen was from an old DXR3 (rebadged Hollywood+) I had. It was quite comparable to your run of the mill standalone, but even it couldn't compete with the quality of a progressive scan DVD player."


Don't know maybe I don't have enough experience with Video, but the display was sharp, clear and smooth. It was far better than my VCD or VHS player so thats enough for me.

 
Originally posted by: Harish
"To my surprise though the quality of my DVD, DIVX and games was absolutely amazing."

"It's been my experience that TV-OUT DVD is very poor quality. I have firsthand experience with numerous nVidia products, ATi 8500, ATi 9700 Pro, Matrox G400 Max, and 3dfx products among others, and the Matrox was the best of the lot, followed by the 8500, 9700 then 3dfx, with nVidia's all terrible. By far the best DVD TV-out I've seen was from an old DXR3 (rebadged Hollywood+) I had. It was quite comparable to your run of the mill standalone, but even it couldn't compete with the quality of a progressive scan DVD player."


Don't know maybe I don't have enough experience with Video, but the display was sharp, clear and smooth. It was far better than my VCD or VHS player so thats enough for me.
Click to expand...
I'm with Harish on this one in most cases DiVX and DVD output from a PC to a TV is far superior to VCD or VHS playback on a TV. It likely can't compare to component out from a home theatre DVD player on a kickass TV or Plasma screen but it's still way better then VHS.

Thorin
 
That looks like a pretty nice entertainment system. If you plan on playing some emulators, then a Sidewinder, or some other console like control would probably be a good idea. Certain games are just more "natural" with that type of control device.
 
Well, I took your advice and unhooked my standalone DVD player from the VHS and connected it directly to the Leadtek TV card. Still lousy picture (about so-so VHS quality) with lots of interference (not sure where that comes from...my Wi-Fi maybe?), so I'm guessing the poor quality is either the Leadtek hardware or the software that came with it. I don't suppose there are any demo versions of something like PowerVCR?

So I borrowed a computer DVD drive and the difference is AMAZING. No more hooking up that external DVD player, though I will miss the remote control. Now, if I could just get rid of that interference on the VHS video...

Looks like a TV is a no-go for now. I'd have to get an AIW (even the 7500's are $230 CDN incl taxes) for only so-so text, plus buy a TV ($300 or so). For $500+ CDN I can get a nice, off-lease 21" monitor with cash to spare. Can't wait for more affordable, large LCDs!

Thanks for the help!
 
"I'm with Harish on this one in most cases DiVX and DVD output from a PC to a TV is far superior to VCD or VHS playback on a TV. It likely can't compare to component out from a home theatre DVD player on a kickass TV or Plasma screen but it's still way better then VHS."

I'm actually looking forward to soem feedback from people who have this setup hooked up to a plasma screen. My thinking is that the quality should improve dramatically on this kind of setup since the TV maybe the limiting factor interms of quality. Plasma screens are high resolution so maybe even text will be more readible on these. Gateway who recently have released an entertainment system like this with a plasma screen sure seem to think as though the screen would help improve quality. Anybody tried it out yet!?
 
Originally posted by: Bovinicus
That looks like a pretty nice entertainment system. If you plan on playing some emulators, then a Sidewinder, or some other console like control would probably be a good idea. Certain games are just more "natural" with that type of control device.
Click to expand...

Yeah thats certainly a good idea, Having trouble getting the emulators working correctly though.. any clues on some good ones or even working ones available for the PS2.

Thanks!
 
Originally posted by: ptw
Well, I took your advice and unhooked my standalone DVD player from the VHS and connected it directly to the Leadtek TV card. Still lousy picture (about so-so VHS quality) with lots of interference (not sure where that comes from...my Wi-Fi maybe?), so I'm guessing the poor quality is either the Leadtek hardware or the software that came with it. I don't suppose there are any demo versions of something like PowerVCR?

So I borrowed a computer DVD drive and the difference is AMAZING. No more hooking up that external DVD player, though I will miss the remote control. Now, if I could just get rid of that interference on the VHS video...

Looks like a TV is a no-go for now. I'd have to get an AIW (even the 7500's are $230 CDN incl taxes) for only so-so text, plus buy a TV ($300 or so). For $500+ CDN I can get a nice, off-lease 21" monitor with cash to spare. Can't wait for more affordable, large LCDs!

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...


Hey how bout if I told you that I have a solution to all your problems!! Okay here goes.

1. You can get the AIW 8500DV for $160-170 from www.newegg.com. And guess what the AIW comes with a remote for yr cable/DVD/music player when you use the ATI software which is really good in the first place.

2. You can get a Sharp 27" with S-video in (Which is the connector you want to use for better quality) for $219 from bestbuy.com

That's $390 for you entertainment system. Pretty resonable I think. Hope this helps!
 
Hi Harish. Thanks for the additional feedback.

A 27" is too big for that room. 25" is the max (and 20" is not out of the question) so the options become a bit cheaper for me =)

I'm in Canada, so things are more expensive up here. I'm leery about buying stuff from the US. The last item I bought in the US (my D-Link Wireless AP and Wireless PCMCIA Card) wasn't even available in Canada yet, and they nailed me for **$85** at Customs on a $200 Cdn purchase. Can you say ouch? I tried to appeal it, but they still thought it was "fair" and gave me a lecture about protecting Canadian businesses!

The AIW 8500DV is about $350 Cdn including taxes, and even places like Best Buy sell those Sharp 27" TVs for around $450 (incl taxes) and 25's for about $375. So suddenly I'm looking at another $725 Cdn for essentially going with a larger screen, poorer text quality, and a remote control =(

About that remote--will it operate media players other than an ATI player? Like Winamp or RealPlayer? I'm still thinking of going the route you suggest, but it's a bit of sticker shock so close to Christmas! No one's going to buy me a TV for Christmas =(

Thanks again.
 
As for your question about the remote. Nope it works only with the ATi stuff.

Personally, I think in your case scenario you should just buy a nice 21 or 22 inch monitor. The size will be what you want and the clarity will be great. A nice speaker system would complement this and you should be happy for the next year or so.

By next christmas I forsee more people tending to this kind of solution. I have a laptop and this entertainment system was purely that. Just an entertainment system. Its more like a consumer electronic item for me which functions as an entertainment system and file server on my network. Besides in one year we will have Windows Media Center out for everyone and hopefully they will sell the remote with it. Possibly a better chance to get a higher resolution TV and maybe even better Tv-Out cards. So the future is headed in this direction all we have to do is wait and jump in when the time is right. This is more of an experiment for me to live out things to come. I think this solution will probably become a comman day electrical gadget that everyone will have attached to their big screen plasma TV.

In anycase, I will keep updating my config here at the anandtech forums so drop in once in a while and take a glimpse at what I'm upto.

Later,
Harish.
 
"Don't know maybe I don't have enough experience with Video, but the display was sharp, clear and smooth. It was far better than my VCD or VHS player so thats enough for me."

Well, yea, that's pretty much a given. I wasn't comparing it to VCD or VHS which are inferior formats, but to other forms of DVD playback. You don't have to spend huge money either. A midlevel $200 standalone will give a better picture with more accurate color representation and better geometry than any video card using TV-out. The higher you go the wider the gap becomes. Using a good progressive scan player with a progressive scan TV will give a large boost in image quality.

Personally, I would not recommend building a computer for DVD watching on a TV, because it will cost far more and look worse than an average standalone player which is far easier to setup, takes up less space, doesn't make any noise and doesn't need to be booted. If you already have parts lying around for such a project it can be nice for watching DIVX movies or other computer based files or listening to MP3's and using to TV for winamp plugins. The nonenthusiasts are always mesmerized by winamp plugins on a TV, I don't know why.

"I'm actually looking forward to soem feedback from people who have this setup hooked up to a plasma screen."

None of the plasma screens I have seen looked all that great, they all have a very "digital" look to them. The form factor looks very impressive, but the picture leaves something to be desired, especially when you consider what you have to pay. For less money a projection system is better. If space doesn't allow for that, I'd much rather have a 40" Sony Wega or even a highend rear projection HDTV.
 
Yeah this may be the case but we are all experimenting here, no one is saying that tomorrow you should go and buy this entertainment system and forget about yr DVD player. Its all about innovation, new ideas and the versatality of these new devices. So by no means is this technology ready to enter the consumer market arena for obvious reasons, but we can always dream and see whats in store for us next.

 
Originally posted by: Harish
Originally posted by: Bovinicus
That looks like a pretty nice entertainment system. If you plan on playing some emulators, then a Sidewinder, or some other console like control would probably be a good idea. Certain games are just more "natural" with that type of control device.
Click to expand...

Yeah thats certainly a good idea, Having trouble getting the emulators working correctly though.. any clues on some good ones or even working ones available for the PS2.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Or if you like the PS2 or PSX controller you can pick up a device on ebay that lets you plug two playstation controllers into one usb port.
 
Originally posted by: rpbri2886
Originally posted by: Harish
Originally posted by: Bovinicus
That looks like a pretty nice entertainment system. If you plan on playing some emulators, then a Sidewinder, or some other console like control would probably be a good idea. Certain games are just more "natural" with that type of control device.
Click to expand...

Yeah thats certainly a good idea, Having trouble getting the emulators working correctly though.. any clues on some good ones or even working ones available for the PS2.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Or if you like the PS2 or PSX controller you can pick up a device on ebay that lets you plug two playstation controllers into one usb port.
Click to expand...

Yeah but I still can't get the emulators to do exactly what I want them too!!

 
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