Nope......... there is none, unless the new DVD players with the built in HDD
are upgradeable. Then those will be expensive!
What you are going to wind up doing is like me; getting a video card that has a
TV output jack (normally a S-Video output jack or cable output, if you are a ATI
fan). Use that and your existing DVD player (along with a headphone to RCA jack
for sound) to get what you need to make DVD movies and shows from your computer.
That kinda sucks, while my PC can do TV output, it is a long way away from any
TVs. Thanks for the help though, I guess I'll stop wasting my time looking for
something that doesn't exist, at least for a while anyway.
Or you could build a cheap rig just for the purpose of playing videos. Just
enough processing power to do x264 shouldn't cost too much. The video card might
though.
You can get some CAT5 and make a long audio video cable to connect your computer
to the TV. I did that back in university; I had a 50-75 foot cable without
problems.
So in terms of making a multimedia PC, what are my best options in terms of OS
as a fast boot is a must (XP media center any good), and any other
recommendations for this type of machine.
Also I'm looking into mass storage of about 500gb-2000gb and I'm not sure what's
the best way to go about it. Any recommendations in regards to that would be
much appreciated.
merged: 04-17-2006 ~ 04:46pm
What just happened, I know I wrote GB in captials, but it came out in lowe case,
strange.
Well thnks in advance for anyone who decides to help me out.
Quote by TSPhoenixSo in terms of making
a multimedia PC, what are my best options in terms of OS as a fast boot is a
must (XP media center any good), and any other recommendations for this type of
machine.
Also I'm looking into mass storage of about 500gb-2000gb and I'm not sure what's
the best way to go about it. Any recommendations in regards to that would be
much appreciated.
merged: 04-17-2006 ~ 04:46pm
What just happened, I know I wrote GB in captials, but it came out in lowe case,
strange.
Well thnks in advance for anyone who decides to help me
out.
Then what you want is what I'll do later, build a HTPC. To build one yourself
will cost you around $800 to $900 USD, but to buy one may cost you a great deal
more. I seen the Sony Vaio Media Center at my local exchange and it sells for
$2450! You are going to need:
Motherboard: preferably one with
a built-in IR system or go with the wireless keyboard and mouse combo. I am
planning to use a firewire-equipped motherboard to transfer OAVs, movies and
series from the main computer to the HTPC. If I can do this wirelessly, I would,
but there aren't any equipment available at the moment.
DVD drive: I would recommend
getting a DVD-R/RW, in case you want to record TV shows.....
1 to 2 HDDs: try to get at least
500Gb worth of storage....if you want more get two
Video card: You'll need one with
either S-Video outputs (the best) or the cable out jack. ATI normally has the
cable jack and nVidia has the S-video outputs.
Power Supply: 430w minimum,
period. 'Nuff said.
Don't forget the Software:
Windows Media Center is right now the best choice so far as Multimedia OS are
concerned....
and finally.....
The Case: All this depends on
where you want your system. If you want your system as a integral part of your
Home Theater System, have it look the part! There are plenty of cases available,
however, if you want to add 1 terabyte (2x 500Gb) you'll need a case that will
support two HDDs. Those will look as big as a high-end home theater receiver. If
you want the "slender look" one 500Gb hdd will suffice.
If you are planning just to have it near a simple television (say around 27 to
29 inches), and you don't want a fancy case, just get a simple frag box and put
it all in there.
Well I don't exactly have that much cash lying around, but I reckon that I could
mod my current box, and install Media Center on on of the two HDDs I plan to add
into it (total 1250 GB storage) since my current PC has most of the things you
mentioned.
All I have to be careful of is power supply and the cooling. I guess I won't
upgrade the motherboard so I'll stick with a wirless USB-type remote.
Sounds good, but I'll have to admit, I've never hear of the acronym HTPC before,
what does it mean?
Quote by TSPhoenixThanks, I really
appreciate the help.
Well I don't exactly have that much cash lying around, but I reckon that I could
mod my current box, and install Media Center on on of the two HDDs I plan to add
into it (total 1250 GB storage) since my current PC has most of the things you
mentioned.
All I have to be careful of is power supply and the cooling. I guess I won't
upgrade the motherboard so I'll stick with a wirless USB-type remote.
Sounds good, but I'll have to admit, I've never hear of the acronym HTPC before,
what does it mean?
Home Theater Personal Computer
It can be used as a PC but, it will not be fast at all for gaming, but for
videos it will be great!
I'm looking for a DVD player, or a relatively easy firmware hack on one, that will support Matroska video.
I know that some people have hacked an LG player to play OGM, but I don't know of any MKV support.
Anybody abel to recommend a DVD player that can play a large number of codecs.
merged: 04-10-2006 ~ 06:00pm
Specifically: AVI (DivX, Xvid), RealMedia, MP4 and optionally Matroska and Ogg Media.
Nope......... there is none, unless the new DVD players with the built in HDD are upgradeable. Then those will be expensive!
What you are going to wind up doing is like me; getting a video card that has a TV output jack (normally a S-Video output jack or cable output, if you are a ATI fan). Use that and your existing DVD player (along with a headphone to RCA jack for sound) to get what you need to make DVD movies and shows from your computer.
That kinda sucks, while my PC can do TV output, it is a long way away from any TVs. Thanks for the help though, I guess I'll stop wasting my time looking for something that doesn't exist, at least for a while anyway.
Or you could build a cheap rig just for the purpose of playing videos. Just enough processing power to do x264 shouldn't cost too much. The video card might though.
You can get some CAT5 and make a long audio video cable to connect your computer to the TV. I did that back in university; I had a 50-75 foot cable without problems.
So in terms of making a multimedia PC, what are my best options in terms of OS as a fast boot is a must (XP media center any good), and any other recommendations for this type of machine.
Also I'm looking into mass storage of about 500gb-2000gb and I'm not sure what's the best way to go about it. Any recommendations in regards to that would be much appreciated.
merged: 04-17-2006 ~ 04:46pm
What just happened, I know I wrote GB in captials, but it came out in lowe case, strange.
Well thnks in advance for anyone who decides to help me out.
Then what you want is what I'll do later, build a HTPC. To build one yourself will cost you around $800 to $900 USD, but to buy one may cost you a great deal more. I seen the Sony Vaio Media Center at my local exchange and it sells for $2450! You are going to need:
Motherboard: preferably one with a built-in IR system or go with the wireless keyboard and mouse combo. I am planning to use a firewire-equipped motherboard to transfer OAVs, movies and series from the main computer to the HTPC. If I can do this wirelessly, I would, but there aren't any equipment available at the moment.
DVD drive: I would recommend getting a DVD-R/RW, in case you want to record TV shows.....
1 to 2 HDDs: try to get at least 500Gb worth of storage....if you want more get two
Video card: You'll need one with either S-Video outputs (the best) or the cable out jack. ATI normally has the cable jack and nVidia has the S-video outputs.
Power Supply: 430w minimum, period. 'Nuff said.
Don't forget the Software: Windows Media Center is right now the best choice so far as Multimedia OS are concerned....
and finally.....
The Case: All this depends on where you want your system. If you want your system as a integral part of your Home Theater System, have it look the part! There are plenty of cases available, however, if you want to add 1 terabyte (2x 500Gb) you'll need a case that will support two HDDs. Those will look as big as a high-end home theater receiver. If you want the "slender look" one 500Gb hdd will suffice.
If you are planning just to have it near a simple television (say around 27 to 29 inches), and you don't want a fancy case, just get a simple frag box and put it all in there.
Thanks, I really appreciate the help.
Well I don't exactly have that much cash lying around, but I reckon that I could mod my current box, and install Media Center on on of the two HDDs I plan to add into it (total 1250 GB storage) since my current PC has most of the things you mentioned.
All I have to be careful of is power supply and the cooling. I guess I won't upgrade the motherboard so I'll stick with a wirless USB-type remote.
Sounds good, but I'll have to admit, I've never hear of the acronym HTPC before, what does it mean?
Home
Theater
Personal
Computer
It can be used as a PC but, it will not be fast at all for gaming, but for videos it will be great!