Hello,
I'm looking to build a PC to be used as the core or my entertainment system. Similar to the way we use a standard Stereo receiver today. I'm trying to find the right combination of hardware. I'm trying to get out of paying extra for DVR's and crappy quality cable boxes etc.
I need it to be able to change the channels when its time to record, be dual tuner and I need to be able to plug in aux equipment (wii, Xbox, etc) so it can all be stereo etc.
I'm trying to figure out the right combination of hardware. ATI All In Wonder for the TV Tuner, but will that have enough inputs for Wii and Xbox? Then there is the whole digital cable thing. I know that ATI has a HD digital tuner out there.
It's been a while since I've upgraded my PC's and quite frankly I am out of touch. Any help someone could provide along this road would be great.
Thank you
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If you're replacing the receiver, you will need a good audio card - the MAudio Rev 7.1 is a good one - or a speaker setup with decoding built-in.
For encrypted cable channels (such as those requiring a cableCard), you cannot get rid of the set top box - you can only try to record downstream, and there are no HD capture cards that I know of (except perhaps the Black Magic Intensity http://www.blackmagic-desi
>>>I am looking to get rid of the receiver al together. I can get better sound out of a good set of computer speakers with a lot less space.
You may get sound that is acceptable to you, but you will not get "Better Sound".
The physics involved and the materials used to make real stereo speakers, means that if you are using a decent well made brand of stereo speakers they will produce better sound than any computer speakers selling for less than $100.
Most people do not have an ear for good sound, so for them it may sound as good, but someone with a good ear and knowledge of the subject will instantly pick out the distortion and other sound problems caused by cheap speakers.
The bad ear is the main reason why there are lots of $99 "Stereos" which sound like crap.
Good Luck!
HAs anyone seen the ATI external digital tuner that I believe will accept a cablecard? Surely they have a way to make that compatible with their video cards?
I didn't say I wanted cheap speakers, but the reality is I can get a nice set of Bose or JBL powered speakers that I can run off of good sound card and get great sound.
You mean this? http://ati.amd.com/product
It sounds like it's designed to work with Windows Media Center: http://www.microsoft.com/w
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by: CallandorPosted on 2009-07-28 at 05:45:39ID: 24960053
The ATI AIW is fairly expensive as a solution, unless you are severely limited in the number of slots available. There are any number of good tuner cards available, but if you use cable, you should get one that will handle Clear QAM, which is unencrypted cable broadcasting. I have personally used an Avermedia Hybrid Volar Max and VBox Cat's Eye, but there are others like Hauppauge that are good as well. The ones I have don't have a capture port for external analog devices like game consoles, but Hauppauge has a few that do.
The recording software you select will let you control the time of recording and other DVR functions. I have used BeyondTV and like it; there is also Windows Media Center, MythTV, and a few others. If you are playing H.264 encoded videos (that includes blu-ray), you will need a video card that offloads some of the work and a strong cpu. If you are using an AV receiver to decode Dolby Digital 5.1, you can get by with an onboard sound card that outputs S/PDIF to the receiver.