HTPC General questions

S

Sparked

n00b
Joined
Jan 25, 2010
Messages
13
Well i finally got everything set and ready for my HTPC i went with a C2D E8400, ATI 4650 and 4 gigs of ram 1066.

I am debating getting rid of cable and picking up Sat TV, is it easier to set up a HTPC as DVR when your have sat? Trying to avoid getting a cable card tuner... what would i need? only going to a 37in LCD

Struggling to find a good low profile quiet HSF any recommendations?

and last,

Speakers, i am really picky about sound, build my own 5.1 channel with good receiver and spend the extra or buy a Home Theater in a box? I use my Blu Ray burner for movies so i dont need another one...? Logitech?

Thanks for any help in these areas
 
Sat TV is a bit more complicated to tune. You'll need one box for each independant stream you'll want to record similtaneously. If you want HD, you've pretty much got ot do the HD-PVR and deal with IR blasters. The multi-tuner cablecard solution from Ceton willb e far more elegant and cost less than paying out for multiple Sat boxes each month. Depends on how important HD is to you... I see the difference on my 720p 37" screen between HD and SD.

No heatsink reccomendatations.. haven't shopped for 'em in a while.

Your audio will only be as good as your source. If you're using the HDPVR to strip off stereo sound, then you'll need a heckuva good Prologic receiver to tryt o bring youb ack to the 5.1 world. I haven't shopped for kits/built my own in a while - but I'm the type thats more likelyt o assemble a best in breed/best bang for the buck collection rather than buy a speaker ina box kit.

What do you mean by Logitech? A remote? If so, I reccomend the Harmony 880.
 
Sorry i meant the logitech speakers z... something 5.1

ive looked at the Ceton card im just trying to be cheap :p
 
Logitech (or other computer speaker sets) in general will work fine if you're watching the content at the PC. They're not designed to fill a room with sound like a traditional speaker set and receiver, just your personal space around your monitor.

A Ceton card would be cheaper than 2 HD-PVRs and boxes from the Satco.

What type of content do you want to record anyway? SD, HD cable, OTAHD, etc? What MCE software are you going to be using? Could you paint a bigger picture for us?
 
Ill be recording mainly HD with a bit of SD, some premium chan if possible.

software was my next question... no idea what to use
 
you mention being picky about sound then mention the z5500 and htib sets. If you are picky, these wont do. Any box set that is decent will cost more than building your own. the logitechs lack a tweeter and only have like 3" woofers. the sub is good, but it isnt a theater room type of setup. office or small bedroom maybe.

for tuner info, start with reading this thread then come back if y ou still have questions...

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1502445

for Heatsink, how low pro do you need? check your case size and see if it will fit a ninja mini. for other heatsink recs go to silentpcreview.com
 
AM2: http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...oduct_info&cPath=46_321_553&products_id=23447

775: http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...oduct_info&cPath=46_185_530&products_id=25719

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...oduct_info&cPath=46_157_571&products_id=24251

Uni: http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...oduct_info&cPath=46_450_503&products_id=25506

I've used the Silverstone ones before and liked them but they really can't handle a lot but it all depends on your case. If it's a decent size case then they'll do fine (decent size like supporting at least half height expansion cards. If the case is low profile, about 2 inches high, then they might ramp up some (the fan is noisy at a full load).
 
HD-PVR can do DD5.1 over optical.

HD-PVR are good if your local cable co are nazis about flagging content with restriction flags and you want to archive content you record (recordings will be portable to different computers) However, HD-PVR's are flaky and can be difficult to get running well.

There are pros and cons to every setup.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top