Setting a old PC for HTPC duties.

[Fuzzy]

The ATI 4200 graphics built onto the 785G motherboards are more than capable of playing back any HD video you throw at it (up to and exceeding Full Blu-Ray spec). I have the same chipset on my desktop, and it plays back full quality blu-ray video no problem in (and outside) of sage, using the Win7 built-in decoders.

[brainbone]

As Fuzzy stated, the 785G/HD 4200 is perfectly able to decode 1080p/1080i mpeg2/h264 -- just about anything your can throw at it.

My problem seems to stem from SageTV with 1080i mpeg2 video. While I (and some others here) have had issues getting smooth playback of 1080i mpeg2 in SageTV with ATI graphics cards in SageTV, others have it working perfectly -- so the exact cause of the problem is not known.

If you are using an HDPVR for capture, you'll have h264 encodings, not mpeg2, and probably wont be affected by the issue.

[Merc1032]

However If I opt for a tv tuner card as opposed to the hdpvr the recordings with be in a mpeg2 format? I thought earlier it was said that a tv tuner card wont output true 1080/HD?

I dont mind going either route, im just a bit confused on that part of the hardware. I understand that the typical cards that install in the tv record from a coax cable and that the hdpvr does it via component cables, but if your having trouble playing back recordings that are 1080 mpeg2s, that means your able to record and playback in full hd, without a hdpvr...right?

At least everything else is figured out now, I just need to see if I should be ordering a bundle with a tuner card or a hdpvr!

[null_pointer_us]

MPEG-2 HD that you can get from a QAM tuner is the information as it is being sent out by the cable company. Whereas the h.264 from the HD-PVR is that MPEG-2 HD decrypted, decoded, and output by the STB into the HD-PVR's analog component inputs, which is then re-encoded on the fly to h.264.

QAM tuners will have better quality simply because it is essentially the direct feed. However, they suffer from: manually mapping most channels to guide channels (which takes a long time!), channel availability/mapping changing at the cable company's discretion, and lower availability of channels.

STB + HD-PVR will have the advantage of automatic channel mapping (performed by the cable company's STB) and full availability of encrypted digital channels -- usually, most HD channels are encrypted -- at the cost of lower quality and the additional complexity of wiring and programming the IR blaster. But this setup need only be done once.

ATSC + digital antenna gets you any free-to-air content that may be available in your area. Much of this stuff is HD, and the quality is great once you get it set up properly. But you are limited in channel selection. Low cost, though. Very low cost.

Adding both QAM and HD-PVR sources to the PC would be the best of both worlds, but I found it to be very cost prohibitive. HD-PVR + ATSC would be much more cost effective, if you can do it. If you google for it, there is a website somewhere that lists ATSC station distance for a given address.

[Fuzzy]

www.antennaweb.org

[Merc1032]

Hey Guys,

Just wanted to say thanks for all the help in setting up my system.
Its all rigged up and running great in my new place.

I went all new..so much for setting the old pc up. ;p

I ended up using the parts suggested in that previous post..
The 785G MB..4 gigs of ballistix RAM, AMD proc, A 1tb storage drive, 500gig recording drive a I used a older WD raptor I had for the OS. I went with windows 7 64bit home edition. I also added a DVD/BD combo drive which has been great. Its connected to my LCD via HDMI.


Since it is in the living room its all bundled nicely in a antec sonota III case which looks awesome.

Like you guys said it plays and beautifully displays everything I throw at it. This included WoW which looks way better then it did on the old comp.

Last night I got the final touch, the HDPVR installed and running. With the native patch installed and settings adjusted I got it to display live tv pretty well. Its even using the built in blaster just fine using the instructions for installing it properly on this site. Everyone, your help has been greatly appreciated!

Only issue I do notice which may make sense to some of you..

At higher volume levels I hear a drone/buzz noise over the tv speakers. This ONLY happens when selecting live tv. Music/ripped movies/ other programs do not share this buzz no matter how high i set the volume. It all goes over the same tv speakers tho. Any ideas? My setup is Cablevision Coax>SA4200HD STB> Component Cables> > USB to PC> HDMI to Tv.

Also the STB has settings for Picture format and has options for pass through, fixed, upconvert-1, and upconverting-2. How should I set this?

It also has a audio setting of Digital, Analog, and to Its currently set to Auto but the buzz seems the same either way. Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Joe