HTPC hardware questions

[I 8 Piglet]

After considering a progressive player I read the other HTPC thread, and began considering going that route. I would basicly upgrade the PC I have now, I know this stuff has been asked and discussed already, I read through some of the old threads, but this technology changes so quickly Im looking for more current information.

My main question is for those of you who keep current with HTPC hardware, what are the top video cards I should look at? Also what about HD tunner cards, the older threads mentioned a few, are they any more/ better/ cheaper? Also releated...has anyone used win vcr or a similar program, would that be able to handel HD content? What about audio, what is a decent/ cheap audio card that will output digital audio either via optical or coax?

Also, a dumb question, how do these cards physically out put a progressive signal? I doubt they have three rca plugs on the back of them, do they? I know most of them have DVI outs but Im not sure if any of the TV's in my price range have DVI ins.

[brian]

I'm going to be using my Radeon All-In-wonder 8500 as my HTPC card. The card comes with a remote, which is nice. Anyways -- it can't handle HD content or anything -- but being able to capture videos is a nice feature. There's an adapter you can buy directly from ati's site that allways you to output at 480p for dvds, and 720p/1080i for general computer stuff via component. According to their site, you can't output higher than 480p with their adapter when used with DVD's, is because of macrovision issues. I haven't got my adapter yet, but when i do, I'll let you know what i think of it.

And currently, I'm using the turtle beach santa cruz for my digital sound -- it features a coax out. Supposadly, it's a more stable card than Creative Lab's offerings, and I've been pleased with it, over all. The Radeon 8500 features a digital coax out for DVD's, but I've never been able to get it work.

[1138]

For output, you either have a set that inputs VGA or you convert VGA to an input you have (RGB or component). you can get converter boxes like this one:



Then you have to use a program like PowerStrip to set your computer display to one that your TV will handle (including resolution and timing).

[I 8 Piglet]

Since technically my geforce outputs progresive to my monitor, would a device such as that allow me to get progressive video to my TV with the card I have? I notice though the price is pretty steep, north of $100, so would it be more practicle to just buy a card that is more suited to HTPC?

[1138]

You can output 480P to your TV or set the computer to 540P and the TV will see it as 1080i.

One thing about getting this is that it'll work with any computer whereas a specific card would only be in the one computer.

I'm not sure about how much a more friendly HTPC card would be but if anything, you've got choices.

[chlngr1970]

I am looking at upgrading my Radion 7500 ( which can be had for about $75us, for the Radion 9500 Pro ( for about $200us )

If you are going to be using the pc mostly for HT, then the Radion card is the way to go. What kind of display are you using? Does it have an SVGA input? RGB-H/V? If it has the latter, use a VGA breakout cable directly from your PC.

As for sound cards, there was one I used for a while ( can't remember off the top of my head, sorry ) that was only $40us that had an optical output. It worked well, but had one quirk...

You had to switch between the DVD player, and other sound source in the computer...

If you wanted to hear any sounds from the PC, it had to be set that way. You had to "turn on" the DVD player support each time ( which required a restart BTW ) so I broke down and bought the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 and haven't looked back


j