Hey Everyone,
I would like to thank everyone for bringing MediaPortal to where it is. .. It is truly an awesome application! I have used it for a few years with analog and now want to use it with HD capabilities as I now have a Samsung 46" 1080p television.
My current HTPC is a AMD 2400+ with gig of ram and Nvidia 5700 Ultra. It has served me well over the years for analog but it just cant handle any HD content from the ATI 650 Tv tuner card.
So here are my goals for a new HTPC:
-Handle Blu Ray
-Handle HD Television
-Output Dolby 5.1 Digital Signal for audio to my surround sound (preferably via optical cable)
-Preference for quiet (does not have to be silent but I don't want a leaf blower)
-Output video to TV using HDMI
-Continue to use ATi 650 tv tuner
-Leaning towards an AMD processor over Intel (unless there is a compelling reason to go Intel)
1. Will any of these integrated boards be able to handle HD? AMD 790, 780, NVIDIA Geforce 8200 Integrated
2. Is it better to go with a graphics card or use integrated video cards these days if I only want to use it to view HD content and no gaming??
3. If graphics cards are the way to go which models do you guys recommend?
4. Which gives better picture these days ...Hardware or Software decoding
-If software, what do you guys recommend?
5. For audio I am completely lost in what sound card will actually pass a 5.1 digital signal to my surround sound with my ATi 650 TV Tuner card when it comes to watching HD programming
Thanks in Advance,
John
I would like to thank everyone for bringing MediaPortal to where it is. .. It is truly an awesome application! I have used it for a few years with analog and now want to use it with HD capabilities as I now have a Samsung 46" 1080p television.
My current HTPC is a AMD 2400+ with gig of ram and Nvidia 5700 Ultra. It has served me well over the years for analog but it just cant handle any HD content from the ATI 650 Tv tuner card.
So here are my goals for a new HTPC:
-Handle Blu Ray
-Handle HD Television
-Output Dolby 5.1 Digital Signal for audio to my surround sound (preferably via optical cable)
-Preference for quiet (does not have to be silent but I don't want a leaf blower)
-Output video to TV using HDMI
-Continue to use ATi 650 tv tuner
-Leaning towards an AMD processor over Intel (unless there is a compelling reason to go Intel)
1. Will any of these integrated boards be able to handle HD? AMD 790, 780, NVIDIA Geforce 8200 Integrated
2. Is it better to go with a graphics card or use integrated video cards these days if I only want to use it to view HD content and no gaming??
3. If graphics cards are the way to go which models do you guys recommend?
4. Which gives better picture these days ...Hardware or Software decoding
-If software, what do you guys recommend?
5. For audio I am completely lost in what sound card will actually pass a 5.1 digital signal to my surround sound with my ATi 650 TV Tuner card when it comes to watching HD programming
Thanks in Advance,
John