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Veki
Posts: 381
Location: Croatia
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 Posted: Thu, 23rd Sep 2010 13:29 Post subject: |
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You know that we'll probably have some upscaled shit, right?
"Quantum mechanics is actually, contrary to it's reputation, unbeliveably simple, once you take the physics out."
Scott Aaronson | chiv wrote: | | thats true you know. newton didnt discover gravity. the apple told him about it, and then he killed it. the core was never found. |
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LeoNatan
☢ NFOHump Despot ☢
Posts: 73256
Location: Ramat HaSharon, Israel 🇮🇱
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| Posted: Thu, 23rd Sep 2010 13:37 Post subject: |
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As for watching without the HTPC, there are several options, and without mode specific details, it would be difficult to answer. Depending on your service provider, you will probably need a set-top box that will connect to the antenna or cable socket and decode the signal into video for your TV. This way, you can watch without the PC being on, just turn TV on, turn set-top box on, and you're set.
On the other hand, you can use the PC as your decoder, in which case, in order to watch TV, you will have to have the PC running. You will need a decoder card (or USB/FW adapter, etc) in your PC, which has support for both MPEG2 and MPEG4. This is however the preferred method, because some decoders allow you to capture the unedited data stream to your HDD, which will give you exactly what you need, a perfect capture - what you see on your TV while watching will be what you watch from the capture.
As for HTPC, yes, it can be fanless, or with such a small fan, that you will not be able to hear it. Currently, my recommendation would be to go for a dual core Intel Atom CPU and nVidia ION 1/2, which provides perfect hardware acceleration for 1080p content (like HDTV, Bluray, rips, etc). Take a look at the AT3N7A-I kit, which is everything you need for an HTPC minus a case and memory and HDD - Intel Atom dual core and ION, and it's cheap too. Although, it doesn't have Firewire, so you will have to look bigger for that.
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Werelds
Special Little Man
Posts: 15098
Location: 0100111001001100
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| Posted: Thu, 23rd Sep 2010 14:09 Post subject: Re: Digital TV and HTPC |
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| Veki wrote: | watch TV without powering on HTPC (is this even possible?  ) |
Yes, if you either use a settop box (most likely provided by your TV provider), or if you get a TV with a built-in decoder and so-called CAM module; here in NL with my provider (Ziggo) there's a list of certified TV's, you should check with your provider which TV's they recommend.
| Veki wrote: | record (HD)TV signal without loss of quality
record one channel and watch another simultaneously |
This depends entirely on your setup. With most tuners, you can only record and/or watch one channel at a time.
The most ideal way here would be to get a TV with a built-in decoder, and stick one in your HTPC as well. Split the signal, use the TV to watch and the HTPC to record 
| Veki wrote: | | How powerful should CPU (2/4 cores?) and GPU (integrated/discrete?) be in HTPC? Can HTPC be fan less? Should I go with linux or windows? |
Yes it can be fanless, and you want to look for an ION kit like Leo says. That way you can accelerate HD playback using the GPU, and you'll never have any issues. I've got an HTPC with a GF9300 based motherboard, which essentially is ION, and I can play 1080p without problems.
As for Linux vs. Windows, opinions are mixed there and you'll just have to try for yourself. I will say this though: on Windows it's a lot easier to get most TV tuner cards working, and if you use Windows 7 you can basically get everything up and running within an hour.
Software-wise there's several apps: Mediaportal, Boxee and XBMC are all 3 very popular. I'm not sure whether Boxee and XBMC can deal with TV signals, I've been using MP for 4 or 5 years now and I still love it. Back then, XBMC was still very weak compared to MP, and I needed TV tuning capabilities which it didn't have. The beauty of MP is how flexible it is, and it's still my recommendation.
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LeoNatan
☢ NFOHump Despot ☢
Posts: 73256
Location: Ramat HaSharon, Israel 🇮🇱
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| Posted: Thu, 23rd Sep 2010 14:30 Post subject: |
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Yeah, good luck finding drivers for the more specialized hardware out there for Linux, as well as it can be quite the chore setting up hardware acceleration for video playback. As far as I know, there are no Linux CUDA accelerated H264 decoders out there, so you will have to rely on a DXVA-type of acceleration, which is very source dependent, on top of a spotty as it is acceleration with Linux. Not really recommended. 
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Veki
Posts: 381
Location: Croatia
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| Posted: Mon, 27th Sep 2010 14:57 Post subject: |
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Thanks Leo and pwerelds.
I'll buy a TV with built-in decoder and split the signal.
How should I connect HTPC and TV? HDMI? Do I need some special expensive version of HDMI cable?
Couldn't find AT3N7A but I can get Asrock A330ION and from reviews I think it's an ok replacement.
Any recommendations for a TV tuner card?
EDIT : I can get ASUS AT5IONT-I as well.
Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master.
Commisssioner Pravin Lal
"U.N. Declaration of Rights"
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Werelds
Special Little Man
Posts: 15098
Location: 0100111001001100
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| Posted: Mon, 27th Sep 2010 16:07 Post subject: |
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Nope, any HDMI cable will do
Hauppauge's tuners are very easy to set up and use, and well supported all around. But then again, most affordable ones are these days.
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Veki
Posts: 381
Location: Croatia
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| Posted: Mon, 27th Sep 2010 16:10 Post subject: |
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And what kind of PSU do I need? 250-300W? Any recommendations?
EDIT : Are Terratec TV tuner cards any good?
Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master.
Commisssioner Pravin Lal
"U.N. Declaration of Rights"
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Werelds
Special Little Man
Posts: 15098
Location: 0100111001001100
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| Posted: Mon, 27th Sep 2010 16:29 Post subject: |
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I'll check the exact specs of my HTPC when I get home, but 250 should be plenty.
Terratec should be fine, yeah. You may want to check the Mediaportal forum first though, to see which ones are recommended. Especially since you're planning to record, having a good tuner is very important. MP's forums and/or FAQ has a lot of info on what you should look for in a tuner for specific uses.
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Werelds
Special Little Man
Posts: 15098
Location: 0100111001001100
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| Posted: Mon, 27th Sep 2010 19:02 Post subject: |
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Right, so the barebone I used is ASUS' P4-P5N9300, which comes with a 200W PSU. Off that, I run an E7200, 2GB of DDR2-800 and a Spinpoint F1 500GB
If you're going with Mediaportal btw, I highly recommend using StreamedMP. It's a port of the Mediastream skin for XBMC, adapted to function with MP, and it is just fantastic
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