El Bastardo
03-05-2005, 08:19 AM
G'day,
Magilla wrote:
> Would it be better to have a networked PC box with good audio and
> video cards connected to the amp ( OnkyoTX-DX77 ) so as to achieve a
> similar outcome?
I reckon so.
I'm currently looking at building a PC with the 2 x HD TV tuners, a
decent sound card that sends all audio via SPDIF, a decent graphics
card, and a good sized hard-drive. Maybe I'll use two PCs: one as a file
server, one for the cards and software. The video and audio outputs will
connect to my AV pre-processor, then to my amplifier.
This will provide a decent HD set-top box, a PVR, and a music/video
server, all for around $1500 or less (which is about the price point for
a Toshiba HD set-top box with a 160Gb hard drive).
The tricky bit is keeping everything cool and quiet (which is why a file
server seems like a good idea), and keeping the interface simple and
programmable via a remote. That means a decent front-end.
There are various front-ends you can try:
MythTV - http://www.mythtv.org,
MediaPortal - http://mediaportal.sourceforge.net/
DNTV Live! - http://www.digitalnow.com.au/dntvlive/index.html
Have fun playing around with all that.
-- Geoff
Magilla wrote:
> Would it be better to have a networked PC box with good audio and
> video cards connected to the amp ( OnkyoTX-DX77 ) so as to achieve a
> similar outcome?
I reckon so.
I'm currently looking at building a PC with the 2 x HD TV tuners, a
decent sound card that sends all audio via SPDIF, a decent graphics
card, and a good sized hard-drive. Maybe I'll use two PCs: one as a file
server, one for the cards and software. The video and audio outputs will
connect to my AV pre-processor, then to my amplifier.
This will provide a decent HD set-top box, a PVR, and a music/video
server, all for around $1500 or less (which is about the price point for
a Toshiba HD set-top box with a 160Gb hard drive).
The tricky bit is keeping everything cool and quiet (which is why a file
server seems like a good idea), and keeping the interface simple and
programmable via a remote. That means a decent front-end.
There are various front-ends you can try:
MythTV - http://www.mythtv.org,
MediaPortal - http://mediaportal.sourceforge.net/
DNTV Live! - http://www.digitalnow.com.au/dntvlive/index.html
Have fun playing around with all that.
-- Geoff