New Budget HTPC Build

[midrigs]

The current peices of the HTPC that I own are the following.
Case: Thermaltake Lanbox http://www.thermaltake.com/product_...00000215&id=C_00000216&name=LANBOX+Lite+&ovid
Motherboard: DG33TL Intel 775 Socket Type http://reviews.cnet.com/motherboards/intel-desktop-board-dg33tl/4505-3049_7-32469454.html
Processor: Intel Q6600 http://www.amazon.com/Intel-BX80562Q6600-Q6600-Processor-Retail/dp/B000MM37JW
RAM: A-Data 4x1GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211066
PSU: ABS Tagan BZ Series BZ800 800W ATX12V http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817814014

I want this HTPC to run perfect blue ray quality to the HDTV through an HDMI cable and also I want it to be able to stream video/music/pictures to everything device in the house.

I need a TV Tuner for my Cable input.
here is what I was looking at but it is very expensive for my budget: http://www.amazon.com/Asus-Express-T...2395281&sr=8-1

And I was thinking about this video card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-313-_-Product

I would like to utilize everything I have but if the cost is cheap I wouldn't mind upgrading a few parts... I don't wanna spend over 200$ for the new parts though. I also need a nice wireless mouse/keyboard but this is not manditory as long as I can remote control the pc with my laptop(need good remote control software - Remote Desktop locks the PC screen on my TV). Although I do still need a blue ray player. I do have a blu ray dvd player in a stand alone unit that I was thinking about stripping the drive from if that is at all possible.

I would also like some suggestions on what type of software i should use to stream/dvr. And what type of software to remote control the pc from my laptop accross the room to play movies and stuff...

Currently I am running Windows 7 64-bit professional and I heard that would be the best OS to run to get the job done.

Let me know what you guys think.... Thanks!




PS. I also have 2x 8800GT Video cards with custom heat sinks and a ATX - NVIDIA 680i Motherboard that I can utilize but the MB won't fit in that particular case and the video cards don't have HDMI output and run pretty hot.

 

[midrigs]

No one have any comments?
I don't know much about low end Video cards(which would be good for HTPC)
and i don't know much about TV tuners, or if i should just upgrade the mobo and skip the video card... but the processor is pretty outdated and finding a good mobo that is compatable with my RAM and processor would be unlikely i think.
could i please get some feedback?

Thanks.

 

[ViRGE]

Hi midrigs;

It's still the middle of the night in North America (where the vast majority of our posters are based out of), so you won't get a response in mere minutes. Give it a day.

Anyhow, your links are all screwed up. It looks like you copied and/or pasted them wrong, so I can't see anything you're linking to and can only respond in general.

For a video card, a Radeon 5570 or better would be fine. Or if you want to stick with NVIDIA, a GT 240 or better.

As for your tuner, you need to tell us a bit more about what kind of cable TV service you have and what you wish to receive. A lot of providers encrypt everything but the basic tier, so if you want to receive everything your cable system offers, you would need a different (and more expensive) tuner than what would be required for the basic channels.

As for software, Win7 comes with Windows Media Center. It's plenty capable of media playback and DVR functionality, so it should be able to cover your needs. Plus remotes that work with it are very easy to find. You would need a separate piece of software for Blu-Ray playback, such as the latest version of PowerDVD.

Also, is there any specific reason you wish to remote control your HTPC from a laptop?

 

[midrigs]

Hi midrigs;

It's still the middle of the night in North America (where the vast majority of our posters are based out of), so you won't get a response in mere minutes. Give it a day.

Anyhow, your links are all screwed up. It looks like you copied and/or pasted them wrong, so I can't see anything you're linking to and can only respond in general.

For a video card, a Radeon 5570 or better would be fine. Or if you want to stick with NVIDIA, a GT 240 or better.

As for your tuner, you need to tell us a bit more about what kind of cable TV service you have and what you wish to receive. A lot of providers encrypt everything but the basic tier, so if you want to receive everything your cable system offers, you would need a different (and more expensive) tuner than what would be required for the basic channels.

As for software, Win7 comes with Windows Media Center. It's plenty capable of media playback and DVR functionality, so it should be able to cover your needs. Plus remotes that work with it are very easy to find. You would need a separate piece of software for Blu-Ray playback, such as the latest version of PowerDVD.

Also, is there any specific reason you wish to remote control your HTPC from a laptop?

I will fix the links, give me a few....
as far as my cable, here is their website....all i know is it is a digital cable service.... normal channels and then some extra stars channels.
http://mediacomcable.com/index.php

 

[midrigs]

Only reason I would like to remote control the htpc from my laptop accross the room is because it would be easier to read things on the screen....transfering files, configuring things on the htpc and just ease of use. I suppose once i get everything set up in WMC a remote control would be all i need. I found a fix for that anyway, UltraVNC.

 

[ViRGE]

I will fix the links, give me a few....
as far as my cable, here is their website....all i know is it is a digital cable service.... normal channels and then some extra stars channels.
http://mediacomcable.com/index.php

Premium channels are always encrypted. The only way to receive encrypted channels is with a CableCARD tuner, and this Ceton model is the only one at $400 for a 4-tuner card.

If you don't want to pickup Starz, then you need to find out whether your cable company encrypts its more normal channels (expanded basic). If they do then the Ceton card is the only way, otherwise it sounds like the Asus card can pickup unencrypted digital cable chanels (so-called ClearQAM) but don't hold me to that.

 

[mfenn]

ViRGE is right on about the HTPC part.

Regarding the other components: Your Q6600 is more than powerful enough to do any sort of Blu-ray decoding and other HTPC tasks. Any of the lower-end Radeon 5000 series parts will work, though the 5450 doesn't support all of the fancy post-processing effects.

If you strip your external Blu-Ray drive, you will very likely find out that it is a normal SATA drive inside of an enclosure.

 

[midrigs]

I was just informed that 1 tv tuner card will not support watching/streaming 2 channels on 2 devices at the same time.... Is there another card that will support this? I am willing to spend the extra money if i can get this to send to my xbox 360 and my normal HDTV at the same time on 2 different channels, or if i can record 1 channel and watch another at the same time.

 

[midrigs]

I purchased these from newegg. So I got a video card and a blu-ray player drive, all thats left is a tv tuner card

PNY VCGGT2405G5XEB GeForce GT 240 512MB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
SAMSUNG Black Blu-ray Combo Drive - Bulk SATA Model SH-B083L/BSBP LightScribe Support - OEM
GIFT StarCraft2 - FREE Trial Version Game coupon

 

[midrigs]

I picked up this card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815116036
The reason i picked this one up is because of the dual tuner in it. I am not positive if it will be compatable with my cable service... but I am taking a risk because i want it asap, I will call my cable tech to ask him if what the card supports is what they offer, if it won't be compatable I guess i will be sending it back and picking up the compatable one(if there is one under 150$).

 

[ViRGE]

I picked up this card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815116036
The reason i picked this one up is because of the dual tuner in it. I am not positive if it will be compatable with my cable service... but I am taking a risk because i want it asap, I will call my cable tech to ask him if what the card supports is what they offer, if it won't be compatable I guess i will be sending it back and picking up the compatable one(if there is one under 150$).

It looks like that card is capable of tuning 2 ClearQAM (unencrypted cable channels) at once.

 

[midrigs]

Yes thats why I got it, BUT I was informed on a different forum that the card i picked up is not capable of picking up HD Channels(720p/1080i/p) because it does not say so in the documentation like this card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815135001

 

[ViRGE]

That Hauppauge card does HD (ATSC requires it).

 

[midrigs]

ahhhha! thank you, you seem more knowledgeable when it comes to TV tuners than tomshardware.com forums do.. haha. Thanks a lot for your help. Now, when it comes to how I will control this HTPC reguarding software, should i make a new thread or do you know much about that also?

 

[Davidh373]

That card works great on Comcast here in the states. It will only get HD however if you have internet access, which my grandmother does not have yet, but it seems that is on the side of Windows Media Center and not the tuner card itself.

 

[ViRGE]

ahhhha! thank you, you seem more knowledgeable when it comes to TV tuners than tomshardware.com forums do.. haha. Thanks a lot for your help. Now, when it comes to how I will control this HTPC reguarding software, should i make a new thread or do you know much about that also?

I can tell you a bit. It wouldn't hurt to make a new thread in Software For Windows though where you can find more people that can give you advice.

 

[midrigs]

alright i will do that. thanks for all your help reguarding TV tuners, my HTPC will be a sweet machine once i get it going. consider my questions answered for this thread. if you want to close this thread you can.

 

[piasabird]

You might try asking these questions in another subform under anandtech called
Audio/Video and Home Theater

 

[midrigs]

I am looking to get a smaller PSU for this machine now as my current one's cords are way overboard and is very loud + creates extra heat I don't need... I want something <$50. or around $50... Then I will use my current 800W on my next Gaming rig.

 

[mfenn]

I am looking to get a smaller PSU for this machine now as my current one's cords are way overboard and is very loud + creates extra heat I don't need... I want something <$50. or around $50... Then I will use my current 800W on my next Gaming rig.

When you don't have to worry about a powering a hungry GPU, a quality 350W or 400W is all that you need.

Seasonic 350W $40
Corsair 430W $50

 

[coolVariable]

I picked up this card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815116036
The reason i picked this one up is because of the dual tuner in it. I am not positive if it will be compatable with my cable service... but I am taking a risk because i want it asap, I will call my cable tech to ask him if what the card supports is what they offer, if it won't be compatable I guess i will be sending it back and picking up the compatable one(if there is one under 150$).

You do realize that you will only get about ~30+ channels out of your whole line up with this card?
If you ask me, you should have gotten an HD Homerun for $90 (with recent deals) if you were only interested in unencrypted TV.