HD HTPC question

[Monkey_Boy1211]

Hi, I'm looking at build an HTPC from an old computer. It will have an athlon64 xp3000+ and an ATI x600. It can play HD trailers in 1080p off the apple website but I will probably want to upgrade it to BR and/or HD-DVD in the future and also add a Hauppauge WinTV HVR-4000. Has anybody used this card? Can it pick up and HD channels off sky? And is the cpu/gpu capable enough to run all these bits.

Thanks in advance.

 

[cuke2u]

Hi, I have a HVR-3000 and it uses freesat as that will not pickup any subscription channels, maybe there is a sky card reader that work. Not sure really as I can't see how Sky would let you as the card has to be paired. Aslo to run HD through your PC you will need a x2 core CPU and a HTPC compliant video card. According to Cyberlinks poweredvd ultra, the only software that will run blueray and HT at the moment, these are the minimum specs you need:

Processor
Intel (Minimum):

Pentium 4 541 3.2 GHz, Pentium D 840 3.2 GHz, Pentium D 930 3.0 GHz or 940 3.2 GHz, Core Duo T2400 1.83 GHz, Pentium M 755 2.0 GHz
Intel (Recommended):

Pentium EE 840 3.2 GHz or 955 3.4 GHz, Pentium D 945 3.4 GHz, 950 3.4 GHz or 960 3.6 GHz, Core Duo T2500 2.0 GHz, T2600 2.16 GHz or T2700 2.33 GHz, Core 2 Duo E6300 1.8 GHz, E6400 2.13 GHz, E6600 2.4 GHz, E6700 2.66 GHZ or X6800 2.93 GHz
AMD (Minimum):

Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 2.0 GHz or 4000+ 2.0 GHz, Turion 64 X2 TL-50 1.6 GHz, TL-52 1.6 GHz or TL-56 1.8 GHz
AMD (Recommended):

Athlon 64 FX FX-60 2.6 GHz or FX-62 2.8 GHz, Athlon 64 X2 4200+ 2.2 GHz, 4400+ 2.2 GHz, 4600+ 2.4 GHz, 4800+ 2.4 GHz or 5000+ 2.6 GHz, Turion 64 X2 TL-60 2.0 GHz
Memory
512 MB RAM or above, 1 GB recommended
Hard Disk Space
60 MB
Graphics Card
nVidia: GeForce 7600 GT, GeForce 7800 GTX 512, GeForce 7900 GX2, GeForce 7900 GTX, GeForce 7950 GX2
ATI (minumum requirements): ATI Radeon X1600 series, X1800 series, X1900 series
ATI (recommended requirements): ATI Radeon HD 2400, 2600, 2900 series
Video RAM: Graphics card memory requires 256 MB or above
We strongly recommend that you update your graphics card driver to the latest version.

Sound Card
PCI sound card or on-board audio
Display Devices
HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) compliant display for digital output
TV or computer monitor for analog output
Disc Drive
Blu-ray Disc drive or HD DVD drive (refer to list below)

ChrisC

 

[Monkey_Boy1211]

Thanks for that info, guess I'll be needing some new parts then

Just wondering if that setup will play sky HD cos thats only 720p?

 

[Energize]

Thanks for that info, guess I'll be needing some new parts then

Just wondering if that setup will play sky HD cos thats only 720p?

It can't play sky because you'd need a hd capture card which would cost hundreds.

You'd need a tv card with a cam slot, and then put your sky card in that.

 

[Monkey_Boy1211]

It can't play sky because you'd need a hd capture card which would cost hundreds.

You'd need a tv card with a cam slot, and then put your sky card in that.

Does that mean the Hauppauge WinTV HVR-4000 mentioned in the first post wont work, because the description implies that it can handle HD satellite sources. Does this not include unencrypted sky broadcasts then?

 

[Energize]

Does that mean the Hauppauge WinTV HVR-4000 mentioned in the first post wont work, because the description implies that it can handle HD satellite sources. Does this not include unencrypted sky broadcasts then?

Almost all sky broadcasts are encrypted, even free to air channels.

 

[Monkey_Boy1211]

Almost all sky broadcasts are encrypted, even free to air channels.

OK thanks, so guess I would have to get a cam card reader card to use something like this then.