HTPC Critique & Question

[TastesLikeChicken]

Windows could fake the signal and could have overlap the audio signal. Windows has a lot of layers that the audio may not be intact when it first extract the audio the audio track of the movie or audio. A lot of sound cards are software dependent, so playing back multiple streams of audio will have to be mixed in software. If drivers and programs does not support the API that provides a direct link to the sound card, you are getting mangled audio. IMHO, Linux has more pure sound quality compared with Windows. However, SPDIF does not have any rules, so anything can happen and software for your surround sound processor or AV receiver may not distinguish stereo and True HD or DTS HD.

In Windows, you get want you get, so see any audiophiles to get good audio from a movie.

You seem to be making a lot of speculative statements with no backup that are primarily motivated by your distaste for Windows and you Linux fanboy-ism. Honestly, this forum isn't the place for that kind of thing.

btw, SPDIF doesn't support TrueHD or DTS HD MA on any platform.

I doubt anybodies Windows HTPC works with out any problems. There are problems even though you say you do not have any problems.

Yes, I do not have Blu-Ray, so why does it matter to you. I do not care for Blu-Ray since it is too costly.

I had issues when I first set the system up. After resolving those issues it does work without any problems. I did have a problem a couple of months ago playing Avatar on BD through TMT3. Updating TMT3 resolved that issue.

Why it matters to me that you don't have Blu-ray is that you are trying to sound like an authority about Blu-ray playback on an HTPC in Windows when, in fact, you don't even use it. If you don't actually use it you don't even have the first clue about how well it works.

What is the usual Mac experience?

To me the usual Mac experience is the software or Mac OS X. It does not nag and it does not scream like Windows. Sure it can just work or recognizes new devices, but this is not always true because it does not support a lot of hardware. If you want something to just work, Linux is a better example to that thinking.

If I want to read through endless manpages and spend hours scouring forums for some command line tweak that fixes a problem, I'll use Linux. Claiming that Linux just works is effin ridiculous. Your bias severely colors your judgement and statements here.

Suggesting an Intel Atom processor when it does not have a near performance rating as Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 is being stupid. Playing back a TV show at hulu.com in full screen sometimes stutters. An Intel Atom will play the TV with constant stuttering. Sure the Intel Atom processor will work OK for playing back H.264, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, WMV, but only if I am using a nVidia graphics card that is compatible with VDPAU.

An HTPC doesn't require that powerful of a processor. Mine runs on an E4300, a 1.8Ghz C2D and does it without breaking a sweat. And, yes, I wouldn't want to use an Atom without an ION GPU. Plenty of people report running Atom systems using Windows 7 and they have no issues with Hulu. You wouldn't know though because you won't touch Windows in the first place yet try to sound like an authority on what Windows can't do.

 

[GTaudiophile]

You seem to be making a lot of speculative statements with no backup that are primarily motivated by your distaste for Windows and you Linux fanboy-ism. Honestly, this forum isn't the place for that kind of thing.

btw, SPDIF doesn't support TrueHD or DTS HD MA on any platform.



I had issues when I first set the system up. After resolving those issues it does work without any problems. I did have a problem a couple of months ago playing Avatar on BD through TMT3. Updating TMT3 resolved that issue.

Why it matters to me that you don't have Blu-ray is that you are trying to sound like an authority about Blu-ray playback on an HTPC in Windows when, in fact, you don't even use it. If you don't actually use it you don't even have the first clue about how well it works.


If I want to read through endless manpages and spend hours scouring forums for some command line tweak that fixes a problem, I'll use Linux. Claiming that Linux just works is effin ridiculous. Your bias severely colors your judgement and statements here.


An HTPC doesn't require that powerful of a processor. Mine runs on an E4300, a 1.8Ghz C2D and does it without breaking a sweat. And, yes, I wouldn't want to use an Atom without an ION GPU. Plenty of people report running Atom systems using Windows 7 and they have no issues with Hulu. You wouldn't know though because you won't touch Windows in the first place yet try to sound like an authority on what Windows can't do.

I LOLed at the Linux comment. As someone has worked with Slackware, Gentoo, and Ubuntu, I have to say that Linux NEVER just works. When I want to setup a Linux-based system, the question is not whether I have enough hours to do so, it's whether I have ebough days to do so.

 

[BTA]

Like I always say...

Linux...it's just work.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Oh and here's the paragraph on the 5450:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3601/the-final-word-on-the-best-radeon-htpc-card

Got my 5450 this afternoon. It's only been installed for a couple of hours but the PQ looks very good and bitstreaming is working great. I'll have to go back and recalibrate the black/white levels but I expected that.

So far I have no complaints though I need to put it through its paces for a week or two though to see if any problems occur.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Like I always say...

Linux...it's just work.

haha, dammit is this true.

 

[Aikouka]

Got my 5450 this afternoon. It's only been installed for a couple of hours but the PQ looks very good and bitstreaming is working great. I'll have to go back and recalibrate the black/white levels but I expected that.

So far I have no complaints though I need to put it through its paces for a week or two though to see if any problems occur.

Sounds good. Ignoring the obvious price advantage over the 5570, the one advantage that I like about it is the fact that you can actually buy a fanless 5450 from a company that offers a lifetime warranty. The only fanless 5570 that I found on Newegg was from HIS, which has a 2 year warranty.

You may never need the warranty, but it's a nice peace of mind. I usually buy the XFX Radeon 5450 as it's worked pretty well for me so far.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Good point about the warranty. Didn't really consider that. Then again I haven't had much luck with lifetime warrantees on video cards since the last card that failed on me was a BFG just a few months ago. :\

Now that I have the picture dialed in it's really stellar. Seems better than the PQ of the NVIDIA 9300. People are right about CCC though. Whoever came up with the interface deserves top billing in the GUI designer hall of shame.

 

[BTA]

Finding the overscan/underscan settings is rediculous.

I'm also not sure why ATI puts all the video processing on by default, when it looks like crap.

Turn all that off and the PQ is much better.