Need some help with a new HTPC

[Blinx123]

I'm moving into a new house in some months, which will give me 10 times the space of my old apartment.

That said, I plan to construct myself a nice home cinema. I already have some of the items I need and already decided on the screen size (11' DIY cinemascope screen).

Now there's still that lack of a proper HTPC, I will need to power my projector.

I want a HTPC that can do more than just scaling some DVDs, so I decided to take the largest HTPC case I could find.

What I'm still unsure: Will a ATI Radeon HD 5770 fit in there?

Those are the case's measurements:

Height: 170 mm
Width: 430 mm
Depth: 500 mm
Weight: 7,850 g

Is that large enough to fit in the above mentioned graphics card?


Another thing I'm looking for closer information would be a HD TV tuner card
.

What's the picture quality like? Is it better or worse than what most standalone receivers do? Will the PVR function need an active internet connection?

The tuner card I was looking at is this Technisat one:

http://www.technisat.com/indexd606.h...ts,en,76-15023

Will this one work with Windows 7?


Last but not least, those are the drives I'm going to use:

1TB HDD
HD-DVD drive (ripped from a MS HD-DVD unit)
Blu-Ray drive

[Blckman]

I'm moving into a new house in some months, which will give me 10 times the space of my old apartment.

That said, I plan to construct myself a nice home cinema. I already have some of the items I need and already decided on the screen size (11' DIY cinemascope screen).

Now there's still that lack of a proper HTPC, I will need to power my projector.

I want a HTPC that can do more than just scaling some DVDs, so I decided to take the largest HTPC case I could find.

What I'm still unsure: Will a ATI Radeon HD 5770 fit in there?

Those are the case's measurements:

Height: 170 mm
Width: 430 mm
Depth: 500 mm
Weight: 7,850 g

Is that large enough to fit in the above mentioned graphics card?


Another thing I'm looking for closer information would be a HD TV tuner card
.

What's the picture quality like? Is it better or worse than what most standalone receivers do? Will the PVR function need an active internet connection?

The tuner card I was looking at is this Technisat one:

http://www.technisat.com/indexd606.h...ts,en,76-15023

Will this one work with Windows 7?


Last but not least, those are the drives I'm going to use:

1TB HDD
HD-DVD drive (ripped from a MS HD-DVD unit)
Blu-Ray drive

Hello Blinx123. I'm building a another system as we speak and will be at Fry's tonight to get a Pentium Motherboard/CPU combo because my AMD board just won't POST. Anyway, good to know somebody is talking more about the PC stuff. You have the right equipment it seems. Just make sure that processor is a dual-core. Now, I love TV Tuner cards and I've had a few that are wonderful. The fusions are superb. Here is the link to help out:

http://www.fusionhdtv.co.kr/ENG/


Now, as far as that case. That height converted is 6 inches(170mm). With that depth of 19 inches(500mm) you should be good to go. The only thing I would warn about this is that I was on newegg.com and I saw all of the available 5750's. It's one of those nice cards that would take up a a regular PCI slot(including the PCI Express) slot because of the double form-factor. Nice card though and this would be a great set-up.

Lastly, I'm a huge subscriber of Maximum PC. Check this card out they just reviewed.

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/reviews/nero_liquidtv.

I love this card because you're going to get hundreds of hours with 1TB of HD space and then some. You can also use Titan TV if you choose not to use the scheduling software that comes with the particular card. And you can also try the Haupauge brand of tuners as well. They work great. Good luck okay. Hopefully, I was of some help.

One last question you had. That card you have chosen in the link doesn't say it has native Windows 7 drivers. Your taking a chance on that because maybe, and just maybe sometimes the Windows OS's will pick up the drivers already embedded for such a device in the OS. You know, like some of the other Creativelabs Soundblaster cards are automatically detected in Windows XP for instance. Just be careful and make sure all of these cards have Windows 7 native drivers. Let me know if you have any more questions about this matter. The picture quality is native 1080i usually and superb on the big screen. The only time you really need an internet connection is if you're like using Titan TV or updating the latest drivers for your tuner card. Remember, most of these cards are OTA(over the air). Therefore, you're grabbing the signal from the atmosphere. You might also want to go and grab a nice stand alone antenna for the best possible reception and best angle for the best signals in the air. Make sure you point the antenna in the direction of the best signal strength. Good luck.

[Favelle]

The 5770 will fit in there. If you're not gaming, wait for the 5550's or even 5350's...and if you don't care about bitstreaming, get a passive (no fan), low-profile 4550 or 4650. They are like $30 now! Unbelievable.

As for PQ....for HD it will be the exact same. For DVD upconversion, it can be the best out there.

[Blinx123]

Wow.

Thanks for all that information. My next money is spend on a Radeon HD 5770 then

Those Fusion cards look nice, but they won't do it for me.

There are only 4 DVB-T channels in my area.

What I'm looking for is a DVB-S2 card. Might go with Haupauge or Technisat then.

I saw a nice standalone HD receiver lately. That thing had a negative side though. While recording, the thing used up 1GB every 20 minutes. That seems quite much to me. I suppose Haupauge cards utilize a little less space?

And is it true that Windows Media Center (Vista and 7) won't let you use your own plugins/players while using the TV or DVD functions? That would be a major letdown, since I like to have my movies in full cinemascope whenever possible.


@Favelle

I'm going to game. That's why I chose the Radeon HD 5770. Assassin's Creed 2 and Dragon Age must be awesome on that card.

[Favelle]

Wow.

Thanks for all that information. My next money is spend on a Radeon HD 5770 then

Those Fusion cards look nice, but they won't do it for me.

There are only 4 DVB-T channels in my area.

What I'm looking for is a DVB-S2 card. Might go with Haupauge or Technisat then.

I saw a nice standalone HD receiver lately. That thing had a negative side though. While recording, the thing used up 1GB every 20 minutes. That seems quite much to me. I suppose Haupauge cards utilize a little less space?

And is it true that Windows Media Center (Vista and 7) won't let you use your own plugins/players while using the TV or DVD functions? That would be a major letdown, since I like to have my movies in full cinemascope whenever possible.


@Favelle

I'm going to game. That's why I chose the Radeon HD 5770. Assassin's Creed 2 and Dragon Age must be awesome on that card.

The 5770 will destroy any current game thrown at it! Enjoy!

[Blinx123]

Totally forgot about the software.

Will Windows Media Center (XP or Win 7) let me utilize the PowerDVD codec for HD-DVDs and Blu-Rays?

And is there a way to directly start games out of the Media Center, or will I have to switch over to the regular OS part for that?

[Actionable Mango]

Totally forgot about the software.

Will Windows Media Center (XP or Win 7) let me utilize the PowerDVD codec for HD-DVDs and Blu-Rays?

And is there a way to directly start games out of the Media Center, or will I have to switch over to the regular OS part for that?

PowerDVD no longer plays HD-DVDs at all.

The Windows 7 release candidate was able to use the PowerDVD codec for blu-rays. I cannot speak for the actual Win 7 yet. I purchased it, but haven't installed it yet. I'm pretty stoked about the built-in netflix streaming though.

[Blinx123]

PowerDVD no longer plays HD-DVDs at all.

The Windows 7 release candidate was able to use the PowerDVD codec for blu-rays. I cannot speak for the actual Win 7 yet. I purchased it, but haven't installed it yet. I'm pretty stoked about the built-in netflix streaming though.

Really?

Argh. That definitely forces me into a multi-boot stance (I still have an old version of PowerDVD Ultra laying around).

So the plan is as follows:

Windows XP Pro SP3 (64 Bit): DVDs/TV/HD-DVDs
Windows 7 (64 Bit): Blu-Rays/Gaming

Will this work out?

[Blacklac]

Really?

Argh. That definitely forces me into a multi-boot stance (I still have an old version of PowerDVD Ultra laying around).

So the plan is as follows:

Windows XP Pro SP3 (64 Bit): DVDs/TV/HD-DVDs
Windows 7 (64 Bit): Blu-Rays/Gaming

Will this work out?

Is it PowerDVD 7, by chance?

You can run PowerDVD 7.3 and PowerDVD 9 on the same computer, if that matters. I am. Although, I'm not really sure if 7.3 will run on Win7, so that may not help trying to alleviate the dual boot situation...

[Blinx123]

Is it PowerDVD 7, by chance?

You can run PowerDVD 7.3 and PowerDVD 9 on the same computer, if that matters. I am. Although, I'm not really sure if 7.3 will run on Win7, so that may not help trying to alleviate the dual boot situation...

Ya. PDVD 7.3

A quick look into Sevenforums.com tells me, that properly running PowerDVD 7.3 under Windows 7 is an absolute luck shot.

Gonna go multi-boot then.

Any ideas on a nice and clean multi-boot setup? Something like Apple's Bootcamp would be great. With a function that lets you easily set up the boot-process while still in Windows. So I won't have to choose from a list of OS' every time I boot up the system. Or if I had to, then at least with my remote rather than the keyboard.