PC Peripherals Anyone using their PC to watch videos on TV?

M

MacFanBoy

Disciple
I`d love to know if the quality of TV out is good enough for a 54 inch projection TV or not.

BTW I went to my local PC vendor today and this is what he suggested me for my media center--

AMD Sempron 2800+ with MSI/eSys mobo - Rs 3700
Fx 5200 ,128 MB Ram, TV out,AGP8x - Rs 1825
512 MB RAM DDR400 - Rs 1800
Pinnacle TV tuner with FM - Rs 2450
80GB HDD - Rs 2000
600VA UPS - Rs 1625
Cabinet+ power supply - Rs 1100
Total- Rs14500

I intend to use this system as a DVR and playing mp3, photos, downloaded videos on my TV. Will this be good enough? Has anyone used fx5200 for viewing on TV?

One problem with this system is that pinnacle tuner doesnt come with IR blaster so it wont actually be a real DVR. Is there any TV tuner available(for Rs 4500 max) with IR blaster to work with tata sky? Hauppauge WinTV 150 looks good but I couldnt find it in the local computer market.Is it available in Nehru Place?
 
The quality depends on the connector you use. If your projection tv supports DVI/VGA (I'm not sure if projection TVs support these interfaces) use them to get crisp pictures or else use component input (aka DVD input) if possible. The next option would be S-Video and composite would be the last.

I use a s-video to composite cable to connect my laptop to TV. Its okay for movies but never expect to read text when you use composite inputs.

For using your pc as a DVR try using Mediportal. Its a good open source HTPC interface which is being actively developed
 
mod-the-pc said:
The quality depends on the connector you use. If your projection tv supports DVI/VGA (I'm not sure if projection TVs support these interfaces) use them to get crisp pictures or else use component input (aka DVD input) if possible. The next option would be S-Video and composite would be the last.
Click to expand...

No it does not have dvi/vga inputs. But it does have component inputs. Now what should I get to have component output on my PC. Do I need a gfx card or some vga to component converter?

Thanx for the mediaportal idea. I was hoping to get a copy of XP MCE. But in case I dont find it then I`ll definitely give media portal a try.
 
If you are in delhi/noida, check with the local hcl stores. It was heard that they were having in stock the MS MCE upgrade kit. That is an pvr-150 card that comes with the kit.

If you are not able toget hold of that, for ir-blaster, try buying out a MCE remote kit which comes with 2 ir blasters. Don't know if this is available locally, have seen this going for around $50 (inclusive of shipping to india) on ebay.com.

You may also consider buying out a serial ir-blaster from MythTV LIRC RS232 IR Blaster or a usb-uirt from USB-UIRT Home.

cheers
 
Oooh. I just checked the net and the cheapest AGP card with component out is 190$ ie 5 times the cost of fx5200 making them completely out of my budget. I think I`ll do with S video out for now and change the card in future if I m not satisfied with the quality.
 
MacFanBoy said:
Oooh. I just checked the net and the cheapest AGP card with component out is 190$ ie 5 times the cost of fx5200 making them completely out of my budget. I think I`ll do with S video out for now and change the card in future if I m not satisfied with the quality.
Click to expand...
The ASUS M2NPV-VM motherboard comes with component out. At approximately Rs 4000 its a steal :hap2:
 
lucky_chouhan said:
80 GB Segate 2000 INR

160 GB Segate 2600 INR

My suggestion is 160 GB with your video work requirements.
Click to expand...

I already have bout 500 GB HDD space in my mac which I`ll be connecting to this PC using either wifi or LAN. But if the price diff is this little then I`d definitely the 160 GB one. Thanx for the tip

mod-the-pc said:
The ASUS M2NPV-VM motherboard comes with component out. At approximately Rs 4000 its a steal :hap2:
Click to expand...

WOW. Thanx for that advice. That`d be fantastic. But I couldnt find this mobo in the market. But I did find the MSI K8NGM2-FDI which is basically the same mobo with the only difference that it uses socket 939 instead of AM2. It`s selling for Rs 4000. Now which processor should I go for with this mobo? The Athlon 3000 costs Rs 3500. Or should I go with a cheaper sempron. Will that be good enough? Every penny counts man.
 
MacFanBoy said:
WOW. Thanx for that advice. That`d be fantastic. But I couldnt find this mobo in the market. But I did find the MSI K8NGM2-FDI which is basically the same mobo with the only difference that it uses socket 939 instead of AM2. It`s selling for Rs 4000.
Click to expand...
Yes, that's a good option too
MacFanBoy said:
Now which processor should I go for with this mobo? The Athlon 3000 costs Rs 3500. Or should I go with a cheaper sempron. Will that be good enough? Every penny counts man.
Click to expand...

Your TV tuner does not have a hardware mpeg encoder and encoding video is going to be a CPU intensive task. I strongly suggest you get a good processor as the primary application is going to be DVR. I would prefer to stay away from the Sempron.
 
mod-the-pc said:
Your TV tuner does not have a hardware mpeg encoder and encoding video is going to be a CPU intensive task. I strongly suggest you get a good processor as the primary application is going to be DVR. I would prefer to stay away from the Sempron.
Click to expand...

In that case I`ll change the tuner to a better one with hardware encoder. I`d really like to get one with ir blaster to control dth box but cant seem to find one. The hauppauge wintv pvr 150 is available with the local hcl store (for Rs 5000) but it too does not include any ir transmitter. Getting a seperate ir blaster and getting it to work with your TV tuner might turnout to be difficult to setup.

Is there any other card available with ir blaster and hardware encoding?

Also should I go for a regular case or a compact (micro atx one) case. Are they too costly or heat up too much? Does anyone use a small cabinet for his PC?
 
MacFanBoy said:
In that case I`ll change the tuner to a better one with hardware encoder. I`d really like to get one with ir blaster to control dth box but cant seem to find one. The hauppauge wintv pvr 150 is available with the local hcl store (for Rs 5000) but it too does not include any ir transmitter. Getting a seperate ir blaster and getting it to work with your TV tuner might turnout to be difficult to setup.

Is there any other card available with ir blaster and hardware encoding?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure of the choices in India. Have a look at this page for a review of hardware encoding tuner cards.

You can search for a MCE kit that comes with a Hauppauge PVR 150, MCE remote with receiver and IR blaster. An alternative would be to make yourself a IR Receiver/transimtter based on WinLIRC. I've made a receiver myself and it works like a charm. See this thread

MacFanBoy said:
Also should I go for a regular case or a compact (micro atx one) case. Are they too costly or heat up too much? Does anyone use a small cabinet for his PC?
Click to expand...
A Micro ATX desktop case will blend into your AV equipments. Have a look at these cases They are not costly and don't heat much if you ensure proper airflow
 
mod-the-pc said:
You can search for a MCE kit that comes with a Hauppauge PVR 150, MCE remote with receiver and IR blaster.
Click to expand...

Are you sure bout that ir blaster? I asked the hcl dealer and he told me that the kit does not have IR blaster. But since the MCE Kit package was sealed he couldnt actually confirm it.

And BTW Thanx a lot for all the help.
 
I'm almost sure that the kit that comes from HCL dealer doesn't have the blaster. It only have the MCE remote along with it. The price given to you seems to be a bit high. When I enquired it in NOIDA, I was told that it comes for 3k without remote and 3.5K without remote. However I didn't proceed any further since I managed to get the card from a TE member without any hassles sitting at home. (thanks Techcheat :hap2: )

MacFanBoy said:
Are you sure bout that ir blaster? I asked the hcl dealer and he told me that the kit does not have IR blaster. But since the MCE Kit package was sealed he couldnt actually confirm it.
Click to expand...
 
ms_mahu said:
I'm almost sure that the kit that comes from HCL dealer doesn't have the blaster. It only have the MCE remote along with it. The price given to you seems to be a bit high. When I enquired it in NOIDA, I was told that it comes for 3k without remote and 3.5K without remote. However I didn't proceed any further since I managed to get the card from a TE member without any hassles sitting at home. (thanks Techcheat :hap2: )
Click to expand...

3500 sounds like a really good price. Please PM me the phone no of this dealer if possible. I might consider a visit to noida if it`s true.
 
MacFanBoy said:
Are you sure bout that ir blaster? I asked the hcl dealer and he told me that the kit does not have IR blaster. But since the MCE Kit package was sealed he couldnt actually confirm it.

And BTW Thanx a lot for all the help.
Click to expand...
The ones sold in India seem to lack the blaster. The one I got from US had blasters in it. See if this is of any use to you
 
Alright. I`ve bought the system. Well, almost. Thanx alot everyone for your help. You guys really rock. I`ve bought these from SMC Intl in Nehru Place

-ASUS M2NPV-VM Mobo with Athlon 64 3000+ for Rs 7600 (MSI K8NGM2 might have saved me bout 700bucks but decided against it coz of socket 939)

-512 MB Kingston 667mhz RAM(3 year warranty) for Rs 1975

-Zebronics Geforce4 Slim Case for Rs 1650 (First choice was Las Vegas but it wasnt avavilable)

-160 GB Seagate SATA HDD Rs 2500 (thanx Lucky Chauhan)

-Netgear USB Wifi adapter Rs 1250

Total - Rs 16225 (inclusive of Taxes)

But I m having a lot of problem in installing XP on this machine. The system does not accept XP installation discs:huh: . Can anyone help:S :huh:

I`ll have to take it to the local PC engineer to get XP installed on this machine.:(

Wait.

I think I know why this system is not accepting XP installation disc. I m not really sure if I m correct or not. But I think it`ll always be difficult to use any CD on a PC which has no Optical Drive.:tongue: :rofl: :bleh:

OK. Bad Joke. :ashamed:

Whatever. I`ll be taking this system to the computer engineer so that he can install XP using his DVD drive.

Now my HTPC is bout 40% ready. But what is still missing is the TV tuner card. Couldnt find Hauppauge Win Tv anywhere in Nehru Place. My local HCL vendor is asking Rs 5000 for it but some posters here say that it`s available for Rs 3500 in Noida. I called the noida office but no body knew bout MCE upgrade kit or Hauppauge et al. Evreybody gave me a different number to make an enquiry and after 6-7 calls I realized that this time the lady gave me the number which I`d already called and was diverted. Funny huh.

Can someone please confirm how much this tuner costs in Delhi(or Noida). My HTPC will be incomplete without this.
 
OK. I have XP up and running now. But for some reason I am not getting any video on my TV. I tried the S video and Composite cables but didnt get anything on my TV. What`s wrong here?
 
Back
Top