Newbie HTPC advice

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  • rcchap
    Member
    • Jan 2004
    • 49

    Newbie HTPC advice

    I want to build a HTPC and the problem is that I have only basic computer knowledge and am completely illiterate when it comes to HTPC software. I'm hoping to build something for ~$1500. Can I build a decent system within this budget? After looking at previous posts and reviewing posted systems I have to admit that I am at a loss. I know what I want but not quite sure what hardware/software will be appropriate. I am looking for advice on every aspect of a HTPC. Also if there is anyone out there that has experience building HTPC systems and would be interested in building one for me I would greatly appeciate it.

    Thank you,

    Chris
  • JonMarsh
    Mad Max Moderator
    • Aug 2000
    • 15261

    #2
    One could write books on this topic.

    Some days, in the past, it seemed like I did write books on this topic! I built my first HTPC's in 1998.

    First, let me ask you, what kind of display do you have, and what do you want to do on your HTPC? That has a big impact on your choices and direction.

    BTW, there's usually more discssion on this topic in the "Tower of Power" section on computing- you may get more answers over there. Also, you should search that forum section and read the existing threads covering HTPC topics.


    Regards,

    Jon
    the AudioWorx
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    Comment

    • rcchap
      Member
      • Jan 2004
      • 49

      #3
      Jon, I think knowing what I want to do with it is part of the problem. I don't even know everything that is possible. Originally I was looking for a place to store all of my cd's and Jason mentioned HTPC. I started looking into it yesterday and it seems like just what I've been looking for.
      Some of the things that I know I would like it to do are:
      Store all of my cd's (lossless compression).
      Good quality DVD playback.
      Dts, DD, Dolby, etc.
      Tivo like recording (Don't know the tech. term.).
      I will have digital cable.
      Menu type display on tv for selecting music etc.
      Other things that I do not even know of at this point.

      As far as display goes I have nothing at the moment. I am planning on a fp with a pull down screen and a TV of some sort for broadcast?
      I am pretty much starting from scratch. Currently remodeling the basement.
      I'm planning on Rotel 1068/1075. Do I need a pre with the HTPC or just the amp. I would think that I would need one.
      B&W speakers.

      There is not one thing in particular that I will be doing with it. I want it to do everything. Games, DVD, Music, etc.

      As far as searching the forums I apoligize for not taking the time to do that. It seems the older I get the less time I have. With something as complicated as this it would take me forever (maybe I'm just lazy).

      Thanks.
      Chris

      Comment

      • aud19
        Twin Moderator Emeritus
        • Aug 2003
        • 16706

        #4
        Well for $1500 you won't be able to get the Lynx Two card or the DAC1 I was telling you about as they're about a grand each on there own but you can still make a pretty nice HTPC and another of the nicest things about them is that if you ever feel the need to upgrade the hardware, it's only a card (and some $$) away

        Jon, have a look at this thread, it may give you a better idea of what he's looking for.

        You can use a HTPC as a pre/pro (my brother's doing it) but that's a tough call that really need to be up to the individual. The main limitation would be inputs IMO for connecting nunerous sources. That and I don't believe I've seen any support for DPLIIx yet plus of course the SACD/DVD-A limitations. Other than that a HTPC is the most upgradeable, future proof pre/pro you'll ever own, completely hardware and software upgadeable, it's just a matter of the hardware and software being released and available. Of course to get performance on par with a Rotel pre/pro you'd have to look at more expensive audio cards like the M-audio Revolution (relatively affordable) or Lynx-Two (relatively expensive). I might be tempted to go with the Rotel so you can still connect your Denon 2200 for DVD-A/SACD playback (plus other sources) and connect your HTPC via a digital output to the 1068 and simply use it as a transport for movies, games, computing and your CD music library. The upsampling DAC1 or Lynx cards could be added later for increased performance when the budget allows. (Jon how would the DAC1 work with passing along a DD/DTS via digital connection while upsampling the stereo sources? Does it have a passthrough?)

        Seen as how you just have digital cable (I assume s-video output) I would probably stick with an ATI All-in-Wonder card for now (9700pro/9800pro) for your PVR and display duty. Make sure it's a model with DVI output and that the projector you buy (most new displays do) has DVI input. You can always add a HD capable card or firewire card later if you get into HD.

        Other than that I'll give my opinions on what else I'd get if it was my machine.

        -Ahanix case
        -AMD 64 bit processor
        -Asus motherboard (Asus K8V?) You may want to wait for a PCI-X and PCI express especially in conjunction with your video (all-in-wonder) card.
        -Kingston Dual channel memory
        -Two (atleast) Seagate Barracuda 120GB SATA hard drives
        -Liteon 16X DVD-ROM (for playback)
        -Liteon DVD burner (too many, fast changing options to pick one but I'd probably go with a dual layer one or one that can be flashed to dual layer when the DL media becomes more prevalent and affordable.
        -Gyration KB and mouse
        -Wireless gamepads

        Also check out www.silentpcreview.com (Thanks Gordon) on what to do to keep the machine quite

        Jason
        Jason

        Comment

        • JonMarsh
          Mad Max Moderator
          • Aug 2000
          • 15261

          #5
          Hi Chris,

          I understand the time issues- same problem here. But getting/building an HTPC is something of a "hobbyist" undertaking, anyway- just to know what you can do, can't do, and what the trade-offs are takes a bit of research. In most cases this will guide what components you choose as well as influence your form factor, etc.


          If you can define what you want from an HTPC, then it may be possible to specify a complete solution which is more compact or more cost effective.

          If you're not sure what you want, then matters get more complex- you may want to chose a larger or different chasis, so that you have more expandability options.

          Note that in my opinion an HTPC is primarily worthwhile for video if you have an HD ready RPTV or FPTV.

          I'm considering adding music player/server capabilities to one of my HTPC's soon. This particular unit is gaming capable, but at this time I don't use it for that- I prefer doing the kind of gaming I do on my desktop system. In general, a top flight gaming system will require a steeper investment in graphics card and CPU than selecting the best choice for DVD and possible HD playback. So, a midrange card like a 5700 ultra works quite well for HTPC applications and mid range gaming, for example, and is a lot less expensive than the current top of the line cards.

          I've been partial to AMD over the last 5 years, since the Athlon systems were introduced, and have had good results with the nVidia nForce chipset MB, especially in the micro ATX format. They have the ability to encode ALL PC audio into DD 5.1, which other built in MB sound solutions don't have, and many sound cards don't have. So, this coudl be a consideration.

          Another point is whether you watch a lot of film based DVD or video based DVD- the interlacing performance for video source material is more of a problem- HTPC's don't do as well in this, except with the most recent solutions, in some cases, nearly unreleased solutions. (like NVDVD 3, which I have, and in VMR mode works pretty well).

          Are you planning on HD playback? There are cards for HDTV tuning and playback; I have the MyHD, and it works pretty well, including 1080i scaled playback of non-copy protected DVDs, or using certain software, you can bypass copy protection in one way or another. This card has a dedicated output port for video of it's own, configurable to HD component or RGBHV, so it's quite flexible, and works well with CRT projectors as well as the more comon consumer projectors. So, in one of my HTPC's, this is the "video" output for all material (it also has an NTSC tuner), and the normal video output just goes to small LCD display for operation and control. This is the sysetm which will be setup for music playback, since it can be started up and run with just a smaller LCD. (Well, OK, it's a 17" on this one, but those are pretty cheap).

          Last, some thoughts on music- if you want to do the decoding in the PC, you're going to be looking at a pretty high end card to get ultimate quality- somethign like a LynxOne or LynxTwo. I think it may be better to go outboard on the DAC, and use a less expensive card with ASIO suport (44.1 kHz, not using the PC's 48 kHz re-mixer), and a decent SPDIF output. This combo into a Benchmark DAC1 records near state of the art jitter of 128 picoseconds P-P, according to John Atkinson of Stereophile. I'm just debating whether to try to feed two SPDIF outputs into my DAC1 and switch between them (which is on the rear panel- not convenent) or just get a second DAC1. It's not cheap, at $975, but it punches well above it's weight, as John Atkinson noted in comparing it to his $17,000 Mark Levinson.

          If this all seems a bit complicated, it is- for now, if you're looking for an easy solution to playing DVD with upscaling, you might want to look at the Zenith DVB318- it upscales to 1080i on component, has a great picture on my NEC-9PG+ projector, and can be had for about $200. It's how I do most of my casual DVD watching these days.

          I'd offer more comments and ideas, but I'm short on time today, as I'm packing for a two week business trip.

          I'm sure you'll get feedback from lots of other folks.


          ~Jon
          the AudioWorx
          Natalie P
          M8ta
          Modula Neo DCC
          Modula MT XE
          Modula Xtreme
          Isiris
          Wavecor Ardent

          SMJ
          Minerva Monitor
          Calliope
          Ardent D

          In Development...
          Isiris Mk II updates- in final test stage!
          Obi-Wan
          Saint-Saëns Symphonique/AKA SMJ-40
          Modula PWB
          Calliope CC Supreme
          Natalie P Ultra
          Natalie P Supreme
          Janus BP1 Sub


          Resistance is not futile, it is Volts divided by Amperes...
          Just ask Mr. Ohm....

          Comment

          • aud19
            Twin Moderator Emeritus
            • Aug 2003
            • 16706

            #6
            Jon brings up a good point with the onboard audio of the nVidia motherboards. You could use it's digital output (with DD encoding! :P ) for movies, games etc and a seperate "affordable" soundcard to output audio through the DAC1. Though you'd have to do some figuring to see if the Lynx Two might end up being the more affordable and usefull of the two options, both of which offer similar and high quality output.

            Jon I think his primary goal is a music server for his and his wifes' 5000 CD's. The upscaling DVD, game system, PVR capabilities are more just gravy. With that criteria Chris, I'd probably concentrate most of the budget on the audio (Lynx or DAC1) for the best audio quality for your collection and then worry about the video etc after. You can always upgrade the video cards etc down the line anyways. Besides todays killer video technology is tomorrows bargain in computer land. :B

            Jason
            Jason

            Comment

            • JonMarsh
              Mad Max Moderator
              • Aug 2000
              • 15261

              #7
              Good advice from Jason.


              I'm looking at taking my living room HTPC and making it primarily into a music server myself.

              I forgot to mention the specific sound card for the audio side of the SPDIF output- look at the RME Digital, perhaps a Hammerfall light. Great digital I/O capabilities.

              Personally, I'd probably be more inclined to use a conventional Pre-pro for your HT interface; while you can get cards and some DVD software that do all the decoding, you can get a lot more ones that will pass through DD and DTS without problems.

              I'm researching sound cards and software approaches for an audio media PC; the DAC1 will definitely be my converter. I haven't heard the Lynx series, only read about them; I had to weight my options carefully and then placed my bet on the DAC1 sight unseen and unheard. I've been very pleased, but that's not to say one might not be equally pleased with a Lynx card as DAC also!

              See you guys in a couple of weeks.

              ~Jon
              the AudioWorx
              Natalie P
              M8ta
              Modula Neo DCC
              Modula MT XE
              Modula Xtreme
              Isiris
              Wavecor Ardent

              SMJ
              Minerva Monitor
              Calliope
              Ardent D

              In Development...
              Isiris Mk II updates- in final test stage!
              Obi-Wan
              Saint-Saëns Symphonique/AKA SMJ-40
              Modula PWB
              Calliope CC Supreme
              Natalie P Ultra
              Natalie P Supreme
              Janus BP1 Sub


              Resistance is not futile, it is Volts divided by Amperes...
              Just ask Mr. Ohm....

              Comment

              • H.T.C
                Senior Member
                • Nov 2003
                • 368

                #8
                If you dont want to build your own or just want to buy parts cyberpowerpc.com may a unit in your price range that is what you want.

                They have a htc pc thats looks its meant to be placed on a av rack and also upgradable.

                I have not used any of their produts though they have ads in computer gaming world.
                Robert

                Comment

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