Setting Up A Multimedia PC

[fu2m8]

hi,

ive been browsing these forums for a while now and theyve been a big help for backing up my dvd collection, and i was hoping that some1 would be able to give us a recommendation on setting up a comp to be used mainly for listening to music and watching videos through a tv ad surround sound system. I basically want to know what i would need to do this, and how i would go about connecting the comp to an external surround system (if this is even possible) and to a tv. The TV is a toshiba rear projection with rca and s-video inputs and i was wondering if the quality from a graphics card tv out would give good quality on this type of tv. Also the comp would be used for listening to a lot of music as it is being used in an entertainment room and i was hoping some1 could recommend the best way to set the sound up. The tv is currently hooked up to a mini stereo system that only has simulated surround sound which isnt as good as the real thing and i need to know wat i would need to do to connect the comp to a surround sound system that has yet to be brought, like would i need a decent sound card or something like that?

anyways its a long post full of dribble but if some1 can understand wat im trying to ask and offer any advice id appreciate it a lot

cheers

p.s the comp has yet to be purchased so if any1 would like to recommend a set up or particualr brands please feel free too

[Ramirez]

Hi,welcome to the forums.

Basically what you've described called HTPC (http://www.hometheaterdiscussion.com/forums/index.php) , there are dozens possible hardware/software combinations fits into that category and of course it's impossible to cover them all.

Anyway this is what I'm setting up for one of my friends (I think it's covers your requirements quite perfectly)

Shuttle XPC SN41G2 (NForce2 chipset) (http://www.shuttle.com/share/product_data/spec/SN41G2.pdf)
Athlon XP 2500 333FSB L2 512KB cache Barton Core (http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=688940/mode=looksmart2/ut=50e6b60a59084891)
2x Mushkin 256MB PC2700 CL2 Ram (http://www.mushkin.com/epages/Mushkin.storefront/3fdf9eb80c718554273fc0a8010206a9/Product/View/991002)
1 DiamondMax Plus 9 120GB8MB Cache HD (http://www.maxtor.com/en/products/ata/desktop/diamondmax_plus_9/index.htm)
REALmagic Xcard (http://www.sigmadesigns.com/products/xcard_features_specifications.htm)

It's gonna be a very nice system (the only part missing is the xcard, should arrive next week) with the xcard you'll be able to control this baby via bundled remote control (5.1 AC3 playback supported via SPDIF interface) expected picture quality should be exceptionally high since this card also supports Composite video output.

Off course to fully enjoy this system you'll need decent 5.1 home theater system, there is insanely rich variety of such systems available on the market I won't even try to recommend any particular brand.

HTH

[MBorg_PL]

Also You've to remamber about noise. Copmuter with its coolers gives a lot of noise, what could really destroy an atmosphere of some peacefull and silent scenes (in loud ones there is no problem).

What aobut hardware I would recomend:

motherboard with Nforce2 (some of Asus for example)
with On board sound (you 've there digital output or analog 5.1) - still as Ramirez said - you would have to connect it to good for you sound system - your choice - analog or digital
at least 256 mark DDR (completely enaugh 2x 256)
any radeon chipset card with TV out - great quality (I've radeon 8500 aiw so know what I'm saying:), although you should definitely look for s-video out, much better sharpness and colors, and the one with remote control, many has it
HDD - silent one, capacity is not important for this - 20 GB what I've is enaugh, even if you have 6 GB one would be OK, if only you do not want to store movies on it

You should also check the motherboard noise level, and look for a mini one (shuttle would be good)

These are my suggestions, hope usefull

respect

MBorg_PL

[fu2m8]

thanks for the suggestions, ill keep them in mind, i should be buying the system in a couple of days so ill post how it turns out and what i went with

cheers

[The Belgain]

I'm also interested in doing this, probably with old computer parts lying around. As far as I see it though, the main problem with using a computer is that it just isn't as user-friendly as a standalone player. So my question is what is the best remote-control solution to make the whole process as close as possible to just using a standalone player?

Another query is that the input on my surround setup is the optical digital connection (the one with the sticky-out bit). My sound card only has SPDIF as digital output. Is there any way to connect these, or do I need to get a soundcard with an optical out to get multichannel sound with this setup?

[MBorg_PL]

It is best to buy special remote control, not distributed with other hardware - the one I've with radeon works only with ATI aplications (in a simplest way). It is not so easy to make it working with other nonAti programs.

MB