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frugal HTPC & HDTV recommendations
Goal: most economical hardware / software to
[] Capture Analog and Digital OTA TV [] Convert VCR tapes to DVDs [] Play video files and DVDs on analog TV / front projector [] Output 5.1 digital audio stream to sound system [] View HDTV on digital monitor [] Second monitor option [] Output digital video (DVI, etc) All-in-one mainboards are very economical, but since they don't offer TV-out, one might as well buy a AGP card with TV-out. Some of these mainboards don't have the I/O to tap into the 5.1 audio stream, either. Analog Tuner cards are economical, but will soon be superceded by Digital TV. However, they may be useful for converting VCR libraries to DVDs. There are only a few manufacturers of HDTV tuner cards. Is there some reason why they aren't proliferating? 19" LCD monitors are about $299 US 19" CRT monitors are about $169 US What hardware / software would meet requirements? [] HTPC __ Minimum processor power and memory __ Mainboard __ AGP graphics accelerator w/ TV out __ Tuner / Capture card __ Sound card (if needed) [] Display __ LCD ? __ CRT ? __ Projector ? TIA! |
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"jetgraphics" wrote in message ... Goal: most economical hardware / software to [] Capture Analog and Digital OTA TV [] Convert VCR tapes to DVDs [] Play video files and DVDs on analog TV / front projector [] Output 5.1 digital audio stream to sound system [] View HDTV on digital monitor [] Second monitor option [] Output digital video (DVI, etc) All-in-one mainboards are very economical, but since they don't offer TV-out, one might as well buy a AGP card with TV-out. Some of these mainboards don't have the I/O to tap into the 5.1 audio stream, either. Analog Tuner cards are economical, but will soon be superceded by Digital TV. However, they may be useful for converting VCR libraries to DVDs. There are only a few manufacturers of HDTV tuner cards. Is there some reason why they aren't proliferating? 19" LCD monitors are about $299 US 19" CRT monitors are about $169 US What hardware / software would meet requirements? [] HTPC __ Minimum processor power and memory Any P4 2ghz or Athlon 2000+ or better for best performance. You could get away with less power. Do not go uneder P4 1.5, or 1500+. 512mb of ram should be just fine. More the better though. __ Mainboard If your planning on using coaxil or optical out, then just about any sound card can do this. This is the most senceable solution for an HTPC. Nvidias Sound Storm is great on the Nforce3 motherboards. I am not aware of any Intel mainboards that have digital outs. __ AGP graphics accelerator w/ TV out AIW ATI 9700pro or 9800pro for optimum performance and image quality. __ Tuner / Capture card This ATI does this. There are a few cards out there that are more expandable and have more freatures. I am not familiar with any. __ Sound card (if needed) Just about anything that has coaxial or digital outputs. Some motherboard have that built in. Dont expect great sound quality. I think it will sound ok though. [] Display __ LCD ? Bad idea unless you have the big bux for a very fast one. 12ms responce or lower. 8ms is as fast as a 19" goes, but 12ms seems to have more quality. www.tomshardware.com has several reviews of LCD's as does www.anandtech.com .. As for LCD TV's, I dont know. __ CRT ? For best color and image quality... yes. You can find very nice 25" or better monitors. CRT TV's There are many great choises out there. __ Projector ? This would be the best over all performer but for a premium. Look for reviews. Do a home theatre search in google. You should find great sites that have all this discussed. I would recomend doing that first and get an idea of what your wanting. TIA! |
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