Making the switch to HD, need info on the basics

[yacht_boy]

Hi all-

We finally took the plunge today and bought a big ol' 46" LCD HDTV (Link if you're interested).

So now I have to upgrade my current Sage system to work with the new machine.

Right now, I'm running an older emachines desktop (2.167 GHz Athlon XP 3000+, 1.5 gigs RAM, total of about 600 GB Hard Drives, DVD+/-RW Drive) that I doctored up with a Hauppauge PVR 150, upgraded sound card, and NVidia Gforce 5200 with TV out. OS is Windows XP Media Center

In the current configuration, the computer sits next to the TV and handles everything. We bought a TV stand for the new TV that will hide the computer nicely, so I'm fine with keeping this box near the TV and just having it, instead of an extender/client situation.

I know I need a bunch of new gear and add a hard drive, but I want to keep it to the simplest and least expensive upgrade possible. I'm looking at the HD-PVR. This will be a set it and forget it system. I'm only planning on having one tuner, which will be whatever box Comcast gives me when I upgrade to the HD package.

Is there a ready-made guide out there that will walk me through all the steps?

If not, I need to know:

1--will the HD-PVR do all that I need--I'm a bit confused as to how the picture gets from the HD-PVR to the monitor, as there's no mention of any video outputs. Is the capture quality of HD via the component video inputs the best quality option?
2-if the HD-PVR doesn't work for me, what's the preferred capture card?
3-what's the best way to get HD-quality picture from my computer to the TV--a video out card or the HD extender? If a video card, which one?
4--what else will I need to change on my Sage setup?

Thanks in advance--

Jason

[autoboy]

You will need an HD-PVR and a new video card. I suggest something completely modern like the ATI 3650. It will be able to offload from your CPU the pretty heavy processing required of h.264 recordings. Don't go with a 2X00 series AGP card because they are broken. Stick with the 3XX0 series cards and you will be in good shape. Even the AGP 3450 would likely work but I tend to recommend a passive AGP 3650 like you see in this review.

[yacht_boy]

Thanks for the tip. I'll pick up an HD-PVR. It looks like the HD-PVR has a component video output--can I just use that for output, or will that place too much of a strain on my CPU?

Looking at video cards, I realized that I am severely limited because I can only use an AGP card. I was thinking that maybe I should just go ahead and build a new box from scratch, and saw this barebones deal at Tiger Direct for $297. Does anyone have anything to say about the XFX GeForce 8500 GT Ultra Silent Cooling Video Card?

Thanks-

Jason

[stanger89]

The component out on the HD PVR is a loop out, just passthrough of the input signal.

As for playback, I'd just get an HD100 and be done with it.

[Slipshod]

Originally Posted by stanger89

As for playback, I'd just get an HD100 and be done with it.

Second that, it makes HD pretty painless, plus you can through the server in a closet or on the other side of the wall and have blessed silence in the living room. You can definitely get away with buying the HD-100, and HD-PVR and not touch anything else in the server. If you're a packrat, add another big hard disk. Make sure all the video disks ar formatted w/ 64K blocks.

[autoboy]

Yeah, HD-100 is a pretty awesome setup and is easier than my previous advice. If you must have the client because there are some things you want to do like browse the internet on your Display (get a netbook for that instead, trust me) then you can go with what I said before but you can expect a bit more fiddling with setup.

[yacht_boy]

HD-100 sounds good, but I really want to be able to use Rhapsody on the new setup (the one big flaw of Sage is its music handling)--will the video card give me the same output video quality as the HD-100? If so, I'll go with the video card.

Thanks!

[Taddeusz]

I would highly suggest upgrading your system. Even if you get a video card that has H.264 offload capability the Athlon XP you have now is not nearly a suited for dealing with HD video as a newer processor would be.

The barebones you linked looks like an excellent deal. And will certainly provide enough processing power well into the future.

[yacht_boy]

Hi Taddeusz-

Thanks for the reply, sorry for the delay-I've been busy moving into my new place and plotting my new system. I think you're right that it's time to upgrade my new system, but I'm on a tight budget. I'm still toying with that barebones system at tiger direct, but I've also been eyeing a barebones case made by Hiper that might fit the bill. It got a pretty good review here and it's available at Newegg.com for only $299. From the reviews, it seems that the onboard video is good enough for h.264 handling, and it will do all I need it to. Anyone have any compelling reasons why I shouldn't do this (apart from my general lack of experience building systems at this level)?

Review: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article795-page1.html
PC at Newegg

Last note--I was all set to order the HD-100, but it's out of stock!