HTPC Build / Audio Questions

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wicked_chicken

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 30, 2009
Messages
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Hello, [H],

I'm toying with the idea of building a HTPC. I've been using my old Gateway P6831-FX for a while, but it's beginning to show it's age. A fan has failed, and it won't put out anything higher than 2.0 audio though HDMI.

I only have three real big requirements for my HTPC: Small, HD 5.1 compatible, and 1080p (Streaming) compatible.

Here's what I'm looking at:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133187
$119
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157228
$109
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152028
$40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134718
$43

Total: $312+S/H

I've got a spare hard drive on hand. I also realize the PCU is overkill. I wanted something modular, and that looks like the best bet.

My Concerns:

I would really, really like a clean setup with respect to how this will be wired. Clearly, HDMI will be carrying video. Unfortunately, Audio has been the part giving me headaches. I'm planning on running audio through a Denon AVR-3311CI.

I would really, really like to be able to utilize Dolby TrueHD / DTS HD Master formats. The receiver is fully 1.4a capable, and I'd like my HTPC to match. I've been trying for the last few days to track down what the E350M1 is capable of, but no one seems to be sure.

Little help, gentlemen?
 
Update:

It would appear, as per the owners manual, that the E350M1 is capable of Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master encoding.
 
Looks like you found the answer yourself, but yes, that Realtek chipset will do what you need - optical out from the board to the receiver and you're set. I've noticed that I specifically have to select it as the audio output device in some programs (like TMT 5), just going with "default" sound device doesn't give me HD audio out - but that's a one-time easy fix to do.
 
Cax6ton said:
Looks like you found the answer yourself, but yes, that Realtek chipset will do what you need - optical out from the board to the receiver and you're set. I've noticed that I specifically have to select it as the audio output device in some programs (like TMT 5), just going with "default" sound device doesn't give me HD audio out - but that's a one-time easy fix to do.
Click to expand...


HD needs HDMI, not optical.
 
I was under the impression that SPDIF optical didn't have the pipe for Dolby TrueHD / DTS Master and that HDMI 1.3+ was the only way to get it. I think the streams for the lossless (TrueHD and Master) are 6Mbs+.
 
 
I looked into most of the slim cases you linked, and my primary concern is expandability in the future. If (For whatever reason) I ever needed to add a card to this, I don't want to have to go replacing the case to do it.

I'm still looking...
 
I'm very happy with the pair of Wesena ITX7-2's (no logo re-release) I picked up recently. Can fit a half-height PCIe expansion card (ceton / other tv tuner / discrete vid / whatever) and has room for 1x 3.5", 1x 2.5", and an optical drive concurrently. The internal IR receiver w/ the RC260 remote is a nice plus too. You'd have to use a picopsu (which would be fine w/ that system), costs a bit more than your current psu, but is much smaller ;)
 
wicked_chicken said:
Update:

It would appear, as per the owners manual, that the E350M1 is capable of Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master encoding.
Click to expand...

It's not encoding anything. It'd be bitstreaming the audio, meaning it's simply outputting the format exactly as-is.

wicked_chicken said:
I was under the impression that SPDIF optical didn't have the pipe for Dolby TrueHD / DTS Master and that HDMI 1.3+ was the only way to get it. I think the streams for the lossless (TrueHD and Master) are 6Mbs+.
Click to expand...

Correct. S/PDIF can't handle those formats. Heck, most devices are limited to PCM (up to 2.0 channels, 16-bit, 48KHz [1536kbps]), AC3 (up to 5.1 channels @ 640kbps), E-AC3 (up to 5.1 channels @ 1536kbps) and DTS (up to 5.1 channels @ 1536kbps). A few more can do AAC and WMA, but they're few and far between. To bitstream TrueHD and DTS-HD variants, you need at least HDMI 1.3.
 
YGPM Wicked, as I happen to be selling an E-350 setup you maaay be interested in. It even has a case that supports a full height card. ^_^

I can tell you from my last week of experience that the E-350 runs Windows 7 great and with XBMC on top of it to boot. You should know up front that if you are interested in running XBMC on an E-350, it'll pretty much need to be on Windows 7. I tried running the live installed version and it was crap. I've also read other impressions with it running on linux with similar issues. FYI.

Although I like XBMC..it can sometimes be a pain. I guess I prefer to just load up Media Player Classic. Anyway, just thought I'd share my E-350 experience. Watched the new Tron movie in 720p the other night and it ran perfectly. Unfortunately everything but my primary rig is only 720p, but from what I've heard that little HD6310 can push 1080p without breaking too much of a sweat. I'm going to be looking into a netbook with similar hardware.

Also, if you need HDMI for true HD Audio, and you want video over HDMI, aren't you going to need 2 HDMI out? I'm pretty sure the E-350's only have one.
 
Last edited:
Quincunx said:
YGPM Wicked, as I happen to be selling an E-350 setup you maaay be interested in. It even has a case that supports a full height card. ^_^

I can tell you from my last week of experience that the E-350 runs Windows 7 great and with XBMC on top of it to boot. You should know up front that if you are interested in running XBMC on an E-350, it'll pretty much need to be on Windows 7. I tried running the live installed version and it was crap. I've also read other impressions with it running on linux with similar issues. FYI.

Although I like XBMC..it can sometimes be a pain. I guess I prefer to just load up Media Player Classic. Anyway, just thought I'd share my E-350 experience. Watched the new Tron movie in 720p the other night and it ran perfectly. Unfortunately everything but my primary rig is only 720p, but from what I've heard that little HD6310 can push 1080p without breaking too much of a sweat. I'm going to be looking into a netbook with similar hardware.

Also, if you need HDMI for true HD Audio, and you want video over HDMI, aren't you going to need 2 HDMI out? I'm pretty sure the E-350's only have one.
Click to expand...

That's a valid question, but I don't think so. HDMI 1.3 is 10.2 Gbit/s. "It also optionally supports output of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio streams for external decoding by AV receivers" (Wiki). I've been on the fence about operating systems. I can do W7 without much hassle, but I might explore Boxee on Linux as well.
 
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