Help with HTPC outputs

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No1Daemon

172 posts

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#20010 10-Mar-2008 09:40

Hello

I am in the process of upgrading some components in my home theatre pc but am running into some hurdles with inputs and outputs etc.

I have an asus motherboard which has a daughter board with an hdmi output on it. This is plugged into my pci-e slot.

I would love to get an hvr-2200 digital tuner card which is also pci-e but then I will not have hdmi output. Currently I am outputting composite only.

My onkyo receiver has component inputs only. I do not want to splash out over $300 for an hdmi to component box.

My requirements are basically:
twin dvb-t(yes I know the broadcast hasn't started yet)
Component out(easier than hdmi at this point. I don't want to have to dig a new cable through the wall either)
Something that has a low impact on cpu usage.

I haven't decided on software yet.

If anyone knows of any devices etc that I could use and that are supported by the majority of applications I would appreciate a heads up.

I have looked at the likes of the ati x1900 all in wonder etc but they only have a single digital tuner don't they?

I am not overly concerned with h.264 content but if possible I wouldnt say no to watching it.

I have a few options I believe. Firstly, I have a component video adapter which I think I can use with just a normal component to component cable.(correct me if I am wrong) but the motherboards which is the asus m2a-vm hdmi says " Supports YPbPr component TV-out with max. resolutions 1280 x 720p and 1920 x 1080i" I assume this is how that is done because there are no component outputs.

It also states in the specs it has 1 pci-e x16 and 1 pci-e x1. Or is the pci-e x1 slot the one that is really short? However I believe from looking into the case that there is only one pci-e slot. Why it lists 2 I don't know. 2 would have been ideal because I could have just thrown in the hvr-2200 and been away.
I guess I may have to go with a wintv nova t.

Thanks
Steve

CYaBro

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#115720 10-Mar-2008 13:32

A PCI-e x1 slot is the really short one.
The one that the HDMI adaptor is plugged into is a PCI-e x16 slot and is a lot longer than the x1 slot.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

No1Daemon

172 posts

Master Geek

#115725 10-Mar-2008 13:37

Thats good. So I should be able to buy the hvr-2200 and slot it into the pci-e slot and use an svideo component adapter plus component cables to achieve what I want, instead of upgrading the video card.
Thanks

richms

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#115735 10-Mar-2008 13:54

I would avoid getting an svideo to component adaptor, if all you get out of it is svideo then take that to the display as is, unless you have a need for component since thats what cables you have already. I have only seen a couple of pal to component adaptors and they both had pretty poor comb filters in them so had worse artifacts then using the decoder in the tv. plus you will get no HD over it, poor widescreen support and all the headaches with overscanning to try to sort out.

If the card lists those modes as output, you should be able to get it either from the dvi connector with a dongle (ati's do component that way often) or the tv out plug will be a 7 pin minidin and they bundle an adaptor that takes it to the mor normal 3 rca plugs.

And to watch dvb-t you will need h264 support, unless you put in a stupidly over powerful cpu to the machine. If you can wait, the I would wait till there are the first people out there trying the new 780g amd chipset with its h264 acceleration and general great value from a $150 motherboard. No idea if it can do component out on the dvi yet, which is the only sticking point for your situation.

Richard rich.ms

No1Daemon

172 posts

Master Geek

#115736 10-Mar-2008 13:59

The s-video to component adapter came with the motherboard, so I have it already. I also do need component because that is the only inputs on my receiver. Although if it is not hi definition then I wouldnt bother.

Why would they put the bit in the specs about resolutions via component of up to 1080i if it is not possible through the adapter they supply?

I just saw a review that said at 1080p playing H.264 video cpu usage was at 43% so it is obviously supported.

richms

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#115740 10-Mar-2008 14:07

Then its not an svideo to component adaptor, it will be a 6 or 7 pin mini din breakout cable - no conversion going on at all, the tv chip on the card is outputting component. You should be able to choose hd modes in that case.

Whats the cpu? an athlon 64 3200 isnt enough to do the HD smoothly IME which is why im keen on the new chipset, I just need an hdmi or VGA display to make the most of it. Worst case I will get a vga to component adaptor and use it on it since most cards can do the 1080i timing thru the vga port.

Richard rich.ms

No1Daemon

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Master Geek

#115746 10-Mar-2008 14:19

Sorry. Crossed wires perhaps. I assumed it was an adapter but there are 7 pins so it mustn't be.

The cpu is a 4000+, so hopefully that will be up to the task.

At some stage I will definately be replacing the daughter board with a decent graphics card though because the radeon x1250 is rubbish and if I could do it again I would stay away from ati products altogether. The drivers are buggy.

sbiddle

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#115756 10-Mar-2008 15:16

You can forget about trying to decode H.264 content with a 4000+ CPU. It simply isn't fast enough.

IMHO unless you've got a top of line dual core or even better a quad core I would strongly recommend against trying to use software decoding for H.264, particularly with the 1080i content that TV3 has. To decode H.264 you really do need a GPU for hardware decoding.

I'm guessing you have an Asus M2A-HDMI board? I have one as well and they're absolute rubbish.

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No1Daemon

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#115769 10-Mar-2008 15:52

Hi. You are right about the motherboard.

What do you think is crap about the motherboard? It tests well. The only problems I have had so far are the tv tuner I bought was crap, namely the hvr3000.

And the ati x1250 that is integrated into the board is dodgy. It has lead to me deciding to avoid ati products for all future product purchases.

I suppose the integrated graphics being so large a part of this motherboard that it has lead to your opinion as well?

There is no reason why we cannot get quality graphics by adding a new pci-e graphics card though is there? Like a geforce 9600 which encodes on the gpu.

CYaBro

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#115793 10-Mar-2008 17:28

sbiddle why do you say those boards are rubbish?

I have one in my mediaportal client machine and have had no problems.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

sbiddle

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#115797 10-Mar-2008 17:50

CYaBro: sbiddle why do you say those boards are rubbish?

I have one in my mediaportal client machine and have had no problems.

Their performance is only very average and the bios upgrades have been a disaster. If you've followed the Asus forums you'll see that virtually every bios upgrade fixed some issues and broke others!

The most recent bios does seem to be the most stable so far.