Which is better...HTPC or Upscaling DVD player?

ferret face · 26 Dec 2007 at 10:38

Hi guys,

I am thinking about buying a HD plasma screen in the sales but am confused as to what to buy\build to go with it to view my video files/movies.

I want to be able to view DVDs, divx files on it as well as HD material, now is it better to build a HTPC or buy a dedicated DVD/HD player for each type of file/format?

Is the video quality of a pc the same as a dedicated player, and does it upscale video sources to the plasma screen correctly?

I am tempted to build a pc but would like opinions on its HD playback and also is the windows desktop clearly displayed on a plasma screen?

Thanks Ferret

craptakular · 26 Dec 2007 at 10:58

Well I have built a couple of HTPc's now and love them. You can watch, pause,rewind and fastforward telly (with a TV card) the same as Sky plus does.

You can view your entire network of divx files on the HTPC. In my case I can play 100's of files with one click of my remote.

It has digital radio.

Plays DVD's with a superb picture.

Plays Hd-DVD's via my xbox 360 HD-DVD drive that I have plugged into my PC superbly.

Basically there much better than a DVD player.

PS: Just remember to get a 8600GT (with HDCP) or a 2600XT (with HDCP) & a dual core 3800 AMD or 2180/e6300 intel.

Also remember you want super quite fans - the sharkoon range is good.

Glass · 26 Dec 2007 at 11:07

really depends if you want the hassle of a PC under your TV. A dvd player you press the eject button and then play. A HTPC you have to wait to boot up, might have fan/HD noise.

I built two HTPC's they sat under my TV collecting dust. I went down the xbox 360 route with my 1080p LCD, using TVeristy media server so I can pick up all the HD contnet from my PC. It also now supports divx/xvid with the latest MS updates so you can plug a USB drive in with a divx and bob's your uncle.

Plus the extra of playing games

They are not the quietset things but there is a drive hack so you can reduce the noise/play backups.

craptakular · 26 Dec 2007 at 13:23

y did u not use ** HTPC?

I leave my HTPC on 24/7 as it records TV shows around the clock so it rarely starts from boot and when it does it takes a few seconds to be on media centre. If you had noise from your HTPC you should have selected quiter fans, cpu cooler, quite & efficient psu & a passive Graphics card.

Dont go the xbox 360 route as an media extender as it is louder than a nuematic drill.

I feel that a HTPC will work if you select the right components to meet your media requirments, always select parts that dont give out much heat (pentium 4's are a no go

) then get silent fans.

These sites are good sites to read up more on HTPC hardware and software.

http://www.missingremote.com

http://www.thegreenbutton.com

ferret face · 26 Dec 2007 at 14:34

cheers guys...

Oxy, it looks like you have talked me into building a HTPC.

Thanks!

badbob · 26 Dec 2007 at 14:36

You've got to trick windows in thinking your 1024x768 screen is actually widescreen. A HTPC takes a while to setup

ferret face · 26 Dec 2007 at 15:14

oh no....badbob, is this hard to do? Do i need any special software for this?

Are there any foolproof guides i could read up on this sort of stuff.

Cheers Ferret

divine` · 26 Dec 2007 at 15:21

badbob said:
You've got to trick windows in thinking your 1024x768 screen is actually widescreen.

...what? :/

badbob · 26 Dec 2007 at 15:28

...what? :/

1024x768 is a 4:3 resolution, so when you playback DVD's it'll be displayed as 4:3 with the larger borders (for a 4:3 display), so you need to configure it so when it displays in DVD playback the aspect is correct. At least I think it does, luckily my screen is 1920x1080 which is a wide screen resolution.

As for setting up, MCE works but is a bit basic. Media Portal will allow you to use external software players but I found Theatretek works, but not Power DVD. I've set the ffdshow raw video + scaling instead. Also need IR remote/receiver, and to do the debounce registry hack (if using a universal remote) Also need discrete DVD functions, as the MCE remote lacks audio/angle/subs etc.

divine` · 26 Dec 2007 at 15:34

badbob said:
1024x768 is a 4:3 resolution, so when you playback DVD's it'll be displayed as 4:3 with the larger borders (for a 4:3 display), so you need to configure it so when it displays in DVD playback the aspect is correct. At least I think it does, luckily my screen is 1920x1080 which is a wide screen resolution.

What the hell would you be trying to use 1024x768 for?

Just set it to a more appropriate resolution, like 1360x768, which is pretty much the native resolution of every non-1080p HDTV available.

I don't get why you'd be messing around with 1024x768 in the first place :/

badbob · 26 Dec 2007 at 15:38

Because that's the rez of the plasma?

1360x768

'

Which is LCD.

divine` · 26 Dec 2007 at 15:41

I see.

In that case, he should buy an LCD HDTV, instead of a plasma.

craptakular · 26 Dec 2007 at 19:04

ferret face said:
cheers guys...

Oxy, it looks like you have talked me into building a HTPC.

Thanks!

Im glad I have honestly the HTPC is the best thing I have ever done with a PC.

If you want some pointers I would suggest the following:

Get two TV cards that are MCE 2005/ VISTA MCE/ media portal compatible.

Personally I would go intel cpu:

This is what I would biuld:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-171-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=793

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-102-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=326

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-058-GL

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-027-GI&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=912

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-142-SE&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=940

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-000-TS

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=57&sortby=nameAsc&subid=&mfrid=401

http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=sg02&area=

Thats just quickly done but is very similar to my HTPC. Plays HD-DVD's fine.

I hooked mine up to my LCD telly via a DVI > HDMI lead. Then used the nvidia control panel to sort out under/overscan.

Just remember you want products that give the least amount of heat, Intel's Core 2 Duo cpu is ideal for this. Get a cpu cooler where u can turn the fan down real low & get quite case fans.

I strongly recommend posting/reading on those sites I posted above.

Also check out http://team-mediaportal.com its a freeware media centre program which, some say is better than windows MCE. I quite like it myself but am using Vista MCE atm.

PS: Should point out that HD disk (blu-ray and HD-DVD) playback cannot be done easily (if at all) inside MCE 2005/ Vista MCE currently. There is a post somewhere on media portals forum where some guys have got playback working through media portal but I have not tried it yet. So, to playback HD-DVD's I use Power DVD ultra.

Hope you found this useful.

ferret face · 30 Dec 2007 at 00:12

very useful Oxy cheers!

ferret

hiroofheroes · 30 Dec 2007 at 00:17

powerstrip lets you play around with all display timings for perfect 1:1 mapping.

V4NT0M · 30 Dec 2007 at 10:02

Oxy said:
This is what I would biuld:

Why an 8600? Radeon HD's are a much better choice for HTPCs and very cheap.

No one really answered his original question about uscaling though

PCs upscale with programs like VLC just as well as any player IMO.

Slam62 · 30 Dec 2007 at 10:27

Its hard to see how upscaling can be that good as it relies on interpolation algorithms which tend to do more harm than good, I have the lg blue ray hd combo and it really is the way forward (with hd discs) they will plummet in price soon too.

Nvidia cards and drivers seem slightly more robust in the hdcp handshake, but ATI are better speed per buck and better at hardware acceleration.

ferret face · 30 Dec 2007 at 10:29

thanks skyfall.

so its probably better and cheaper to build a HTPC than buy dedicated players for Blue ray and HD disks..no?

I just wondered if the image would be as crisp using a pc and software to TV as it would be using a dedicated player to view HD material. Also the pc can be used for other things..

Ferret

V4NT0M · 30 Dec 2007 at 10:38

Slam62 said:
Its hard to see how upscaling can be that good as it relies on interpolation algorithms which tend to do more harm than good, I have the lg blue ray hd combo and it really is the way forward (with hd discs) they will plummet in price soon too.

I was of the same opinion until I tried it out, but upscaling does make a lot of difference, I have an upscaling DVB tuner, comparing the SCART SD with the HDMI 720P is a ridiculous difference.

ferret face said:
I just wondered if the image would be as crisp using a pc and software to TV as it would be using a dedicated player to view HD material. Also the pc can be used for other things..Ferret

There should be no difference in picture quality as long as you get the resolution and refresh correct. There are also more overlay/adjustments you can make to PC video to give better quality.

Slam62 · 30 Dec 2007 at 10:42

ferret face said:
thanks skyfall.

so its probably better and cheaper to build a HTPC than buy dedicated players for Blue ray and HD disks..no?

I just wondered if the image would be as crisp using a pc and software to TV as it would be using a dedicated player to view HD material. Also the pc can be used for other things..

Ferret

The pc is cheaper if you already have it, otherwise wait for the combo standalone players circa £600.

My opinion is that a lot of image quality (with in reason) is in the eye of the beholder.