HTPC suggestions?

[Psyber]

Streamlined post
-Need new TV card for 900 Celeron (only use it for DVDs, mp3s, avis, game emulation, and as a TIVO so don't want to upgrade). Looking for suggestions.
-Wondering if anyone has tried using Linux for the OS (will I have problem finding Linux versions of my emulators?)

Original post in it's entirety
Looking for others that have built their own HTPC.

I had my HTPC running already before - it was a micro barebones system with 900 Mhz Pentium Celeron, 128 RAM, onboard sound and video(disabled), ATI All-In-Wonder card (I had to bend this and put paper over the metal contacts to have it fit). It was all running on Windows 98. I use it for DVDs, mp3s, avis, game emulation, and as a TIVO.

Recently I needed the All-In-Wonder for something else and now I need to replace it. So I'm rethinking the whole system. Here are the questions.

- I'm thinking for what I do with it, I can probably just go with the onboard video and get a TV card. Are there any pitfalls to this? Any suggestions on a good TV card that's relatively cheap?

- Should I change to Linux? I can't go ATI if I do go linux since there weren't linux drivers out there for it (at least for the All-In-Wonder there wasn't). I'm confident I can find replacements for all my software except for Emulators (are there emulators out there for Linux?)

- I used to use the the yellow cable (analog out?) to go out to the TV. Would using the following be better? Would the following work for any Video card or do I need a special one?
http://www.cablesforless.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=414

 

[pulse8]

PVR-350 for the card

You can output from the composite out on that card. It's probably the best quality for standard definition sets.

 

[jkoon]

I?m a big supporter of Beyond TV from SnapStream.com, you could get a hardware tuner card and use the pc as a tivo, but I don?t know if it is powerful enough to playback the recordings using btv. I have saw others use machines of similar specs to record and then they play back the files on another pc via their home network.

 

[Bootprint]

Originally posted by: jkoon
I?m a big supporter of Beyond TV from SnapStream.com, you could get a hardware tuner card and use the pc as a tivo, but I don?t know if it is powerful enough to playback the recordings using btv. I have saw others use machines of similar specs to record and then they play back the files on another pc via their home network.

Beyond TV is great, especially with multiple PVR-250s. But the new version of beyond TV needs a bit of more power because of stupid .NET.

 

[chuckywang]

What the hell is the point of a HTPC? Why don't you just get TiVo and a nice TV.

 

[nageov3t]

Software: BeyondTV
Tuner Cards: Hauppauge 150's

I'm currently running my HTPC with Win XP, BTV, and 2 Hauppauge 150's. probably going to be tossing in an all-in-wonder card when I get the money for better video-out and an additional recording source.

specs: athlon xp 3000+, 512MB ram, radeon 9000, and a 250GB hard drive.

 

[Bootprint]

Originally posted by: chuckywang
What the hell is the point of a HTPC? Why don't you just get TiVo and a nice TV.

Multiple recording devices, to prevent conflicts in scheduling.
Remote access, so you can add shows remotely.
No popup Ads during FF.
Burn off to DVD, I understand a hack Tivo can do this.


and because you can.

 

[Kelemvor]

Card and Software Bundle:
http://www.pcalchemy.com/product_info.p...sCsid=34529384d0dca3bf7e4675655f84feaf

 

[aplefka]

Originally posted by: chuckywang
What the hell is the point of a HTPC? Why don't you just get TiVo and a nice TV.

Because the cost-efficiency ratio is much better for a PC than an entire HT. You can get speakers, monitor, and system for under $750, whereas $750 would barely get you the television for a full home theater setup.

 

[Psyber]

Keep in mind I'm running a 900 mHz Celeron with 128 RAM. I don't really want to dump anymore money into this than I have to. I just need it to do what it did before (DVDs, mp3s, avis, game emulation, and as a TIVO).

Have people tried running Windows XP with these stats? I haven't tried, but I figure it'd be slow (that's why I originally used Windows 98).

Also, anyone try using Linux for something like this? Will I be able to find game emulators for linux?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

That VGA to component adapter will NOT work.

It's designed for specific HT products that output a component signal in a VGA type plug. You can't just hook it up to a computer.

 

[Psyber]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
That VGA to component adapter will NOT work.

It's designed for specific HT products that output a component signal in a VGA type plug. You can't just hook it up to a computer.

Kinda figured it wouldn't work, so I guess my TV card will need some sort of out. Anyone have any answers about the OS?

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: Psyber

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
That VGA to component adapter will NOT work.

It's designed for specific HT products that output a component signal in a VGA type plug. You can't just hook it up to a computer.

Kinda figured it wouldn't work, so I guess my TV card will need some sort of out. Anyone have any answers about the OS?

Get a radeon 9550 or better card and use ATI's vga->component or dvi->component adapters.

As for my system, here's my thread about my experience setting up my MCE2k5 system. I recommend MCE2k5 highly if you have the hardware to run it.

 

[kami333]

Originally posted by: Psyber
Keep in mind I'm running a 900 mHz Celeron with 128 RAM. I don't really want to dump anymore money into this than I have to. I just need it to do what it did before (DVDs, mp3s, avis, game emulation, and as a TIVO).

Have people tried running Windows XP with these stats? I haven't tried, but I figure it'd be slow (that's why I originally used Windows 98).

Also, anyone try using Linux for something like this? Will I be able to find game emulators for linux?

It depends on what you want out of it. I used to usea Epia M10000N (1Ghz Nehemiah) as one of my HTPCs with WinXP and myHTPC and it was fine for decoding and encoding to mpeg but it would have chocked trying to encode to divx.

 

[Psyber]

Originally posted by: werk
As for my system, here's my thread about my experience setting up my MCE2k5 system. I recommend MCE2k5 highly if you have the hardware to run it.

Well I'm running a 900 mHz Celeron with 128 RAM so I've got a fairly weak system. I'll try and streamline my original post

 

[Tifababy]

I run linux with mythtv on an athlonTB 1.4ghz. I tried using windows, but the sound and video were always out of sync. I'm using a cheap ATI TV Wonder VE (no hardware decoding/encoding) and haven't had a problem yet. If you are scared of linux, get something like knoppmyth which will basically install mythtv and all the required dependancies (I installed it manually, so I can't really vouch for this method).

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: pulse8
PVR-350 for the card

You can output from the composite out on that card. It's probably the best quality for standard definition sets.

If his TV has svideo..it would obvioiusly be better..

 

[shilala]

OS:MCE2005
VGA:9800 Pro
Tuner:Hauppauge PVR500

I'm currently struggling to figure out a wireless mouse/keyboard/remote combo that will work with MCE.

 

[rsd]

Originally posted by: shilala
OS:MCE2005
VGA:9800 Pro
Tuner:Hauppauge PVR500

I'm currently struggling to figure out a wireless mouse/keyboard/remote combo that will work with MCE.

Personally I have the logitech MX 500 (I think that is the number or close to it) keyboard/mouse combo that works great. Then for the remote I have the Logitech Harmony 680 remote that natively works with MCE. Excellent all around combination.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: werk

Originally posted by: Psyber

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
That VGA to component adapter will NOT work.

It's designed for specific HT products that output a component signal in a VGA type plug. You can't just hook it up to a computer.

Kinda figured it wouldn't work, so I guess my TV card will need some sort of out. Anyone have any answers about the OS?

Get a radeon 9550 or better card and use ATI's vga->component or dvi->component adapters.

As for my system, here's my thread about my experience setting up my MCE2k5 system. I recommend MCE2k5 highly if you have the hardware to run it.

:thumbsup: I'm using the DVI to component adapter and it's working great.

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: werk

Originally posted by: Psyber

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
That VGA to component adapter will NOT work.

It's designed for specific HT products that output a component signal in a VGA type plug. You can't just hook it up to a computer.

Kinda figured it wouldn't work, so I guess my TV card will need some sort of out. Anyone have any answers about the OS?

Get a radeon 9550 or better card and use ATI's vga->component or dvi->component adapters.

As for my system, here's my thread about my experience setting up my MCE2k5 system. I recommend MCE2k5 highly if you have the hardware to run it.

:thumbsup: I'm using the DVI to component adapter and it's working great.

Same here.

 

[Psyber]

Is there a particular TV card out there that has low cpu utilization? Should I get one that has hardware encoding?

 

[jkoon]

I would strongly suggest one with hardware encoding.

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: chuckywang
What the hell is the point of a HTPC? Why don't you just get TiVo and a nice TV.

Because dammit, it's fun. And we're geeks. Enough said.

 

[JonTom]

Hardware encoding is a must, esp if you want to use more than one or multitask.

Hardware decoding is sometimes more problematic than it should be.. Some cannot display the overlay on the TV, some can't do divx/mpg4, some can't do mpg2 (i think).