Episode 30: Super Bowl HDTV Sales: Watch out! iPad Home Theater, 3D vs. 21:9 HDTV, Robert's Home Theater PC Parts

[ridejmtz]

I've been using an HP slim line s3220n for the last few years as a HTPC. It sits right between the 360 and ps3, where it may be a little wider it is actually shorter than the two. I'm thinking of adding a BD/DVD combo drive and upgrading the graphics card. Right now it only has VGA out wich works ok with my 47'' Samsung however I would prefer to be using HDMI out of the pc for both video and sound. I don't know what graphics card would be the best fit. Any suggestions would be greatly apreciated. I only concerned about the quality of movies and tv I use my laptop for gamming so this PC doesn't need to meet gamming standards. It currently specs out with:

OS: Win7 (32bit) thinking of going to 64
RAM:2GB
HDD: 1TB
Processor:AMD64 Live (dual core)
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430

[autoboy]

@ridejmtz

Any slim form factor Direct X 10 video card will do well for TV and movies these days.

You should find one that is passively cooled and comes with HDMI.

An ATI 4350, 4550 are good bets.

An ATI 9400Gt, 9500GT, 210, etc are also good.

But you really can't go wrong as long as it is DX10 capable since those all have hardware decoding for TV and movies. You can spend anywhere from $30 - $50 for a card. Make sure it will fit in your case.

Want a free computer to use as a dvr, check out your local computer user group. There is always someone leaving their old equipment for the taking. Freecycle is another good place.

Want an almost free computer, then check out http://freelinuxbox.org/

[dalesd]

HD Netflix streaming works great for me on my TiVoHD. I'm also on Verizon FiOS, 20/5, and I've got the TiVo on Ethernet, not WiFi.

Could Robert's cable ISP be throttling his TiVo? If it works on the PS3, we know he has the bandwidth.

I've tried Netflix on my PS3, but I had some problems with the video 'bouncing' while watching Star Trek (TOS) Season 1 in HD. I like the PS3's Netflix interface better, and maybe I'll give it another go when it's a built-in app and not a disc. For now, the TiVo is just more convenient.

[ridejmtz]

Thanks best advise I've gotten so far.

Originally Posted by autoboy

@ridejmtz

Any slim form factor Direct X 10 video card will do well for TV and movies these days.

You should find one that is passively cooled and comes with HDMI.

An ATI 4350, 4550 are good bets.

An ATI 9400Gt, 9500GT, 210, etc are also good.

But you really can't go wrong as long as it is DX10 capable since those all have hardware decoding for TV and movies. You can spend anywhere from $30 - $50 for a card. Make sure it will fit in your case.

[gordintoronto]

Thanks for the segment on the Atom/Ion! I've been pricing systems, and I thought I was missing something, because they are so expensive. I built a "high performance" PC last summer, and even without a blu-ray drive, an Atom/Ion system is almost as expensive.

Mind you, my high-performance system costs a lot more for electricity, but even so....

BTW, I'm delighted with my machine, a Phenom II X2 with WD "Black" 640 GB drive, 4 GB, 9400GT video and Linux Mint.

Originally Posted by wv1973

I just wanted to say great episode guys, I'm in the process of deciding on parts for my HTPC and I really enjoyed your perspective. In terms of storage, much of my media will be housed on my windows home server. One item you didn't really cover though is controllers, yes you can use a universal remote, but what do you plan on using when you want to surf the net, write e-mails etc.... I'm wondering what a good quality low cost solution is for a keyboard/mouse compact unit that will also act as a remote control.... Oh and did I mention it had to be wife proof.

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...SID=FW8nac eg

[autoboy]

Originally Posted by ridejmtz

Thanks best advise I've gotten so far.

The ATI 5450 just came out today. It has HD audio bitstreaming and is very low power so it should be the perfect HTPC card for you. The other ones still work fine though if you are not interested in HD audio.

[erikdravn]

Hey guys,

They DO make cases the size you are looking for.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147134
and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147139

Enjoy!

[erikdravn]

Originally Posted by davemclain

Great show this week. Robert Heron brings up a very good point. How come there are no HTPC cases that are designed to fit into the typical stack of home audio components? I do know that there are PC cases that are designed to be rack mounted. In Sweetwater Sound's catalog they show some of their audio PC's that are built into this sort of case. The problem is that they are much larger than what Robert needs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147134
and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147139