FFdshow processing can be a great way to get a $300 DVD player performance on your HTPC. However, the quality of FFdshow processing depends heavily on a HTPC’s processor speed, amount of RAM, motherboard, and video card. Here are the parts in my first HTPC, which was built in early 2005.

• AMD’s Athlon 64 3500+ CPU
• ATI’s Radeon X800 Pro video card
• Asus A8V Deluxe motherboard
• 512MB DDR400 RAM (x2)

Here are the FFdshow setting I use: Continue Reading »

My first HTPC started out as a plain old office PC. I was still in the TV on the box days so I didn’t have a home theater. Hence, the “HT” from HTPC had to be dropped. However, I did build the PC with the intensions of connecting it to a HDTV one day. I also built my HTPC-to-be with the intension of placing it in my home theater room so I made sure the case was worthy of displaying. I settled on Cooler Master’s TAC-T01-E1C “Wave Master” which is pictured to the right. HTPC style cases were tempting, but slightly out of my price range. The Wave Master was cheaper, and didn’t look like a standard PC case with its hidden blue LEDs and its curvy shape.

After I picked my case, I started looking for video cards. I didn’t know if my HDTV would have DVI inputs so I made sure I picked a video card with a component output. I picked ATI’s Radeon X800 Pro, which was a pretty fast card three years ago. In fact, it’s still pretty fast today as it plays Half Life 2, F.E.A.R. and Command and Conquer 3 at high graphic levels.

Half Life 2 was also why I went with AMD’s Athlon 64 3500+ processor. All the tests back then showed Half Life 2 performed the best with AMD processors and ATI cards. Can you tell I’m a diehard Half Life fan?

It’s been three years so I don’t remember why I picked Asus A8V Deluxe motherboard, but it does have built-in 5.1 surround sound. Too bad I never got to put them to good use.

I decided to buy a HDTV capture card so I wouldn’t have to look for a HDTV with a built-in tuner. I picked Macro Image Technology’s MyHD MDP-130 capture card because it had built-in hardware encoding. Therefore, I wouldn’t have to slow down my processor speed whenever I was recording a TV show. This is important if you’re recording a HD show and upscaling a DVD at the same time.

I knew DVD viewing would be a primary function of my HTPC so I looked for a quiet DVD-ROM drive. Sony’s 16x DDU1613 did the trick as I have never noticed any sound coming from the DVD drive. To burn DVDs, I bought Sony’s DVD+/-RW 16x DRU710A dual burner.

To speed things up, I went with a RAID 0 configuration. RAID 0 will almost double your hard drives read/write speeds, but the chance of hard drive failure is increased two-fold. I didn’t see this as a problem since I back up my data all the time. To get the RAID 0 configuration, I purchased two of Maxtor’s 200GB SATA hard drives.

For keyboard and mouse, I used Logitech’s Cordless Elite Duo. It’s Bluetooth so I knew I could easily get the 15 feet range I would need.

In summary, here are the computer parts for my first HTPC:

• Cooler Master’s TAC-T01-E1C Wave Master case
• ATI’s Radeon X800 Pro video card
• Macro Image Technology’s MyHD MDP-130 capture card
• AMD’s Athlon 64 3500+ CPU
• Asus A8V Deluxe motherboard
• Sony’s 16x DDU1613 DVD-ROM
• Sony’s DVD+/-RW 16x DRU710A dual burner
• Maxtor’s 200GB SATA hard drive (x2)
• Logitech’s Corless Elite Duo
• Window’s XP
• APEVIA Chameleon ATX-AS550W power supply
• 512MB DDR400 RAM (x2)

A picture of my HTPC with the HDTV I eventually purchased is shown in my Home Theater Room Connections post.

HomeTheaterBlog’s Tips on Building a HTPC
Includes 5 tips on how to build a Media Center PC, a.k.a HTPC. The tips are centered for non-techies, and more how to build a PC orientated than HTPC orientated. 

PS3 to Launch with TV tuner in Europe
PS3s will be able to record live HDTV with its dual tuners. However, it looks like its going to be broadcast signals only as Cable Cards inputs weren’t mentioned. The new PS3s will be released in 2008. 

Microsoft’s Media Center Interview
It’s fun to go retro sometimes and read interviews from the past. This one interviews a few Microsoft guys on the future of Media Center PCs. The interview took place in early 2005.

Hi, everyone just registered thought i’d say hello im currently moving into a new house and will soon have pic’s of my setup.  But for now i’ll list the equipment i have

1.Optoma DX-608 DLP 3000 Lumen projector/2000:1 contrast ratio

2.Onkyo TXSR705 Home theater Receiver

3.Samsung DvD Player with HD upconversion Im saving for a PS3 so I can play games and watch Blu-ray Movies

4.Sony 55ES 2 channel powered amplifier

5.Xbox 360

Speakers

1.Cerwin Vega Classic W/15″sub and dome tweeters tower speaker (pair).  there a couple years old but these things are tanks they crank it out!!

2.Cerwin Vega Center speaker,Front left and right surround speakers

3.Polk Audio FXi5  bipole/dipole switch suround speakers

4.15″ infinity 400w powered subwoofer

So thats my equip I’ll take pictures and post them when I move in and set-up so about 3-4 weeks.

This pic is from the Pimp My Home Theater guys.

Sprint’s WiMAX called Xohm
Could download speeds of 1.5 to 3.0 Mb/s cause users to drop their DSL and cables modems? Sprint’s Xohm will launch in Chicago and Baltimore by the end of the year and nationwide in 2008.

 HDTV Technology Predictions
Reports are saying LCD will dominate HDTV technology for the next 5 years. Overall projections show HDTVs shipments to grow globally from 68 million units in 2006 to over 144 million by 2011. 

WiMax vs. 802.11n
Story comparing the benefits of WiMax and how they compare to 802.11n.

Time Warner to Record Shows For Users with No Cost
Of course there is a catch. Users won’t be able to fast forward through the commercials. However, it is free and users won’t have to remember to record shows anymore. Sound like a good backup system if you missed a show. Also, this will be competition to the video streaming websites that television networks plan on releasing. The service is called Look Back and Time Warner plans on testing it in South Carolina this October. 

Dish Network Launches 6 new HD channels
Discovery HD, TLC HD, Animal Planet HD and The Science Channel HD, MHD, and GolfHD were launched by Dish Network. 

Is it an HTPC or is it an Aquarium?
Steps on how to build a HTPC into an aquarium. High WAF!

D-Link DI-655 Xtreme N Gigabit Router

Price Comparison Amazon’s Price

Draft 802.11n compliant device that delivers up to 14x faster speeds and 6x farther range than 802.11g while staying backward compatible with 802.11g and 802.11b devices Switch, and router capabilities Gigabit Ethernet - 1000 Mbps (1000BaseTX) Wireless Ethernet - 300 Mbps IEEE802.11 Draft N Wireless Ethernet - 54 Mbps IEEE802.11g Wireless Security Features: 128-bit WEP, 64-bit WEP, WPA, WPA2 Interfaces: Gigabit Ethernet (x4) USB 2.0

Linksys WRT150N Wireless Router

Price Comparison Amazon’s Price

Draft 802.11n compliant Access point, switch, and router capabilities Ethernet - 100 Mbps (100BaseTX) Wireless Ethernet - 300 Mbps IEEE802.11 Draft N Wireless Ethernet - 54 Mbps IEEE802.11g Wireless Security Features: PSK, 128-bit WEP, 256-bit WEP, WPA, WPA2 Interfaces: Ethernet (x4)

Linksys WRT350N Wireless Router

Price Comparison Amazon’s Price

Draft 802.11n compliant Access Point, Range Extender, Switch, and Router capabilities Gigabit Ethernet - 1000 Mbps (1000BaseTX) Wireless Ethernet - 300 Mbps IEEE802.11 Draft N Wireless Ethernet - 54 Mbps IEEE802.11g Wireless Security Features: PSK, 256-bit WEP, 128-bit WEP, 64-bit WEP, WPA, WPA2 Interfaces: Gigabit Ethernet (x4) USB 2.0

Belkin N1 Wireless Router

Price Comparison Amazon’s Price

Draft 802.11n compliant lets you distribute large video and music files throughout your network within a greater range and at faster speeds Router capabilities Gigabit Ethernet - 1000 Mbps (1000BaseTX) Wireless Ethernet - 300 Mbps IEEE802.11 Draft N Wireless Ethernet - 54 Mbps IEEE802.11g Wireless Security Features: 128-bit WEP, 64-bit WEP, WPA, WPA2 Interfaces: Gigabit Ethernet (x1)

Netgear RangeMax NEXT Wireless Router

Price Comparison Amazon’s Price

Draft 802.11n compliant Access Point, Switch, and Router capabilities Ethernet - 100 Mbps (100BaseTX) Wireless Ethernet - 300 Mbps IEEE802.11 Draft N Wireless Ethernet - 54 Mbps IEEE802.11g Wireless Security Features: PSK, 128-bit WEP, 64-bit WEP, WPA, WPA2 Interfaces: Gigabit Ethernet (x4)

Find more 802.11n wireless routers