Aspire iDea 500 (1 Viewer)

[Scubefr]

Does someone know this HTPC ?

• Processor
  Intel® Core™ Duo processor with Intel® 945GT + ICH7M-DH chipset (Viiv™ Technology)
  
• System Memory
  2 x 512 MB SODIMM DDR2 533/667 MHz memory
  
• TV Function
  2 x Hybrid Analog + DVB-T TV Tuner for simultaneous TV viewing and recording (2 x Analogue or 2 x DVB-T):Yuan MPC-718 Hybrid HW encoder with FM for MS Windows
  Video playback media: CD, VCD, SVCD, DVD, DVD dual layer
  HDMI supported resolutions up to 1080p with HDCP support
  DVI supported resolutions up to 1920 x 1200
  
• Audio System
  High Definition audio with support for Dolby® Digital Live & DTS Connect
  Dolby® Surround 5.1 channel decoding
  Virtual Surround Sound by DTS Neo PC
  7.1 Channel analogue output with S/PDIFsupport for digital output
  
• I/O Video Interface
  1 x DVI-I output
  2 x S-Video: one " Input " (front), one " Output " (rear)
  1 x HDMI output
  2 x Composite RCA: one " Input " (front), one " Output " (rear)
  1 x Set of Component (Y Pb Pr)
  2 x SCART: one " Input " (S-Video, CVBS, Stereo), one " Input/Output " (System’s CVBS, Stereo output and 2nd S-Video, CVBS, Stereo input)
  TV antenna Input and Output
  VGA output with DVI to VGA adapter
  
• I/O Audio Interface
  2 x S/PDIF: one " coaxial ", one " optical "
  7.1 Channel Audio output (8 x RCA)
  1 x 1/4-inch Headphone output (front)
  1 x 1/4-inch Microphone input (front)
  1 x Stereo Input RCA (front)
  1 x FM Antenna Input
  
• I/O PC Interface
  Intel® PRO 10/100/1000 Network Connection
  4 x USB port (2 in front)
  Wireless LAN antenna (IEEE 802.11g)
  2 x IR Blaster
  2 x IEEE-1394 port (front 4 PIN, rear 6 PIN)
  Memory Card Reader (support for Compact Flash, Compact Flash II, Micro Drive, Secure Digital, MMC, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro)
  
• Hard Drives
  One SATA 250GB hard disk
  
• Optical Devices
  Slot-in DVD-RW Dual, Double Layer drive
  
• Housing Dimension
  430 x 335 x 70 mm
  
• Operative Acoustic
  23dBA (Idle) and 28dBA (Microsoft® Media Center Edition heavy load)
  
• Input Devices
  Wireless keyboard with built-in touchpad (receiver integrated)
  Microsoft® Media Center Edition remote control (receiver integrated)
  
• Accessories and Cables
  S-video cable
  FM Antenna cable
  IR Blaster cable
  Stereo audio + Video RCA cable
  HDMI cable
  DVI cable
  Stereo RCA cable
  SCART L-Type cable
  Coaxial Digital Audio cable
  DVI to VGA adaptor
  Stereo to Mini-phone Jack Y-cable

This HTPC is very nice, but the only unknown factor remains the TV card !

 

[mzemina]

Looks very nice. If it supports MCE (which I am sure it was designed for) it will support MP - due to driver support.

 

[Scubefr]

It's a very good news ! I think i'll go for it !
...
I'll post as soon as i get it to told you how it's nice !

 

[mzemina]

I'd be a little concerned about the video. I have not seen anyone else with Intel 945GT video, so I don't know how it would work - I would hope ok.

 

[Scubefr]

on the official website they annonce the Idea 500 is Vista ready ...
So the video chipset must be good with MP ?

 

[mzemina]

I had a hard time trying to find more info regarding the integrated video. I didn't see anything on Intel's webpages whether it is DirectX hardware accelerated. I would think that it is, but like I said I haven't found anything about it and with a search I didn't find anyone that has similar video hardware (chipset).

Regarding the TV card - you may have to take the cover off of the case to look at the TV Tuner card in order to learn who made it and the chipset used. Then hopefully the MP configration/setup wizard can find that card so you can use it. Otherwise it may take some manual changes to add that TV card so it can work with MP.

 

[Scubefr]

I'll bought it in few days ! It's decided ! And then I'll comme back to told you how it's work, I hope the Tv card would work fine with MP if not I'll may ask to Dman to add it

 

[mzemina]

I'll bought it in few days ! It's decided ! And then I'll comme back to told you how it's work, I hope the Tv card would work fine with MP if not I'll may ask to Dman to add it

That is the best direction. Hope all goes well with you and expect to see pictures soon.

 

[Tech Geek]

I had a hard time trying to find more info regarding the integrated video. I didn't see anything on Intel's webpages whether it is DirectX hardware accelerated. I would think that it is, but like I said I haven't found anything about it and with a search I didn't find anyone that has similar video hardware (chipset).

The info I read a while back said that the new GPU uses hardware instead of software for most of the features. It also does a better job of rendering Direct 3D images. It looked to me like it did a pretty good job of catching up to ATi & NVidia. I think the latter two still had better benchmarks though.
It's sure to be ok for SDTV but I wonder about HDTV.

I think the info was on tomshardware.com but I'm not sure.

 

[Tech Geek]

Oh yeah, I was talking about compared to the previous intel integrated graphics which used lots of software and wasn't that great for Direct 3D.