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I think this card and AOpen's i945GMt-FSA Mini-ITX motherboard could make a decent HTPC if I could just find a decent-looking Mini-ITX HTPC case.

Avermedia has a linux based system, as well as windows based. http://www.aver.com/

Ok, I cant find the answer to this anywhere on the web - perhaps you guys can help me. Im currently running a 12" powerbook though a new sony 17" TFT - the powerbook is rubbish for games so I decided to get an xbox 360 for my gaming fix. As I cant afford an HDTV (if someone could find me one for the £200 mark i'd be happy ;) ) I was going to run the xbox though my monitor - here's the question. What resolution will the 360 run at? I discovered that microsuck had decided to make a vga adaptor - but will it be custom PC-esque resolutions?
Aslo, is using a VGA adaptor they best way of running HDTV gaming on a monitor. Would an external TV adaptor (remember im on a powerbook, so USB or firewire only) provide some of that 'blur' that TV's use so well with consoles? If so, suggestions for a HDTV external tv adaptor. I was looking at http://www.aver.com/products/tvtuner_AVerTV_box9.s html - would this work for the higher HDTV resolutions .. i think it only does 480i..
any help would be great -
cheers

Rob

Hmmm this must be an important topic since this was on ask slashdot where the Adaptec VideOh! DVD Media Center USB 2.0 or the AVerMedia UltraTV USB 300 where mentioned.

rely on /. to repeat "important" hardware.... 8-)

the tv wonder was NOT recommanded by a lot of readers, but this might be the usb 1.1 tv-wonder that simply does not have enough bandtwith to the computer.

this looks sweet

The above article references some products.
Here's the links:
1. Aver.com (product link is HERE has a closed unit (no fan noise, solid state it seems) that is advertised to turn a VGA monitor into a TV. Price: $130.

2. InnoVision (product link is HERE same features. Price: Unknown, pricegrabber.com doesn't have any prices nor does the manufacturer site.

3. ViewSonic (product link is HERE
same features. Price: $163

4. WalMart (buy a Micron SuSE PC model "Microtel SYSMAR746 PC With 1.4 GHz Duron" for $199.98, install a Video Card like the "ATI TV Wonder Pro that does this kind of stuff for $65 at Amazon.com figure out how to control it easily and eliminate fan noise) and you've spent about $275 including shipping. It may be more versatile, but you may not need it to be versatile.

Just some links, hope this is helpful.

I have an Aver Media external TV turner and that sucker works wonders. Here is a link to their TV Tuner Product Page

I've found the AverTV Studio card to be absolutely wonderful. It has great picture quality, S-video input, an FM radio, and a remote. And don't say you won't use the remote--after you use it for a while, you won't be able to go without it. :P You should be able to find it on NewEgg for a good price--that's what I did.

I listen to a lot of talk radio too and I record shows everyday. I have an Avermedia Studio, which consists of TV, radio, VCR, CD player, etc. Included is a scheduler which allows recording on both TV channels and radio frequencies.

Odd though, I don't think this one can handle AM. FM only. Not sure why that is, but I've been pretty satisfied with the whole deal. The (Windows) software that comes with it is kinda flaky at times, though.

Definitely worth the money, around $70-$80 depending on where you're shopping. But with this model, Linux support isn't there yet, in my opinion. The radio portion of the card works fine in Linux, but I've had issues with TV. Your milage may vary, of course.

Has anyone ever taken apart (or seen the inside) of a big screen TV? Do any of you youngins remember the old big screens from the 70's and early 80's?

The picture display tubes used in typical big screen TV's are in reality nothing more than liquid cooled versions of the tube used in a typical TV. These tubes are liquid cooled (on the front - it is a passive cooling - think of using water as a heat sink, with no pump) because they are driven to insane brightness levels (way brighter than maximum brightness on a normal TV set), to get the picture as clear as possible in the final result. Furthermore, most big screen systems use three tubes, one red, one blue, and one green (they are black and white tubes with filters - not unlike stage gels), each aimed and focused separately to get the highest resolution picture possible (this seperate aiming, etc is one reason why you should have your big-screen adjusted after moving it - even if it is across the room). HDTV sets merely use ultra high-res SVGA tube systems to get the resolution needed.

After that step, it is simple optics - most of the time no more than one or two largish glass lenses (with anti-chomatic aberation built in) and a mirror or two to flip and reverse the image - sometimes the image is projected inverted and reversed and bounced off of one mirror to get the final image. The idea is to get the projection as near parallel with the screen as possible. Where that isn't possible (due to the size of the cabinet), special lenses are added (or it is done electronically) to "keystone" the image in the proper direction so that it comes out "square" in the end.

That is all - amazing, isn't it, that one would pay almost 2000 bucks for a few TV sets, some wood , and some optics? Well, you do get a better quality system, and the optics are top notch, too - plus, the TV sets are anything but normal...

What these 100 inch plans and systems try to do is do all of that on the cheap - a light tight box is built around the TV set, a fresnel lens is added (it is a cheap lens), and you turn the TV set upside down and add a mirror to reverse the image. Typically, you might also crank the brightness up to get a slightly better image for the larger 100 inch displays.

What does this get you? Actually, if you do everything perfectly (and watch out turning that set upside down - sometime the magnetic field of the earth screws things up, and you need to degauss the set to recover in the upside down mode), have it all aligned, use a good fresnel lens, a good lighttight, square, painted black inside box with a nice mirror, and you use a larger set (15-19"), and a good projection surface (not a sheet - not enough reflection - ideally, you want a silver beaded projection screen, for maximum gain - but since it would be stupid to spend $150 on a screen for a $10 big screen, there are alternatives, more on that later) - you can get a reasonable image. You will have to turn out the lights, and let your eyes adjust - but you will get a watchable image. It isn't a scam. The edges will tend to be fuzzy, though, because a fresnel lens isn't a perfect lens, and has focus issues at the edges. Put a black border around your projection surface to mask these off, and things don't look too bad. Also, don't try to go for a 100" display - try a 40" display first, and adject until you are happy with pixel size and clarity. It is possible to make it look damn good, good enough for most entertainment uses.

Now, want to know how to make a better projection TV system (though this time, it will cost a bit - more than $10, but less than $500)?

LCD projection systems are really systems designed to rip the gullible off. At least with CRT projection, the manufacturers have an out with the special CRTs and optics they use. LCD projectors, though, are the simplest of them all (note, DLP projectors are not LCD projectors, so I can forgive their cost) - it is crazy that they sell these ultra expensive projectors that are nothing more that glorified slide projectors...

That's right! Slide projectors! The optics and light system are the same (nearly equal) as to what is in an "old-time" slide projector - the slide now is an LCD panel! This panel is typically rather small for it's resolution - but this doesn't excuse the cost, because LCD production quality is supposed to go up as the size goes down, and the price is supposed to go down as well, right? Well, it hasn't - at least I don't know where I can get a $150.00 800x600 LCD projector yet, which typically uses a smaller LCD display (less than 2" diagonal). Anyhow - all one has to do to build their own LCD projector is to get an LCD about the size of a slide, and drop it in place of the slide in a slide projector (which can be bought cheap off of Ebay). This kind of projector system was first described by Robin Cook in his book "The Virtual Reality Homebrewer's Handbook". One thing he recommended was to use a fan to cool the LCD, because the projection lamp could overheat the LCD, causing it to shut down or burn out. What is used for the LCD? Why, an LCD TV, of course - you take one apart, remove the backlight (because the projection bulb will be your backlight), and put the screen in place of the slide in an old slide projector. You also need to re-route the electronics and cabling, but it can be done. Also, try to use a TV with a TFT display for clearest moving images. It is also possible to scale this up by using larger LCD displays (various electronics surplus dealers sell $99.00 4 inch LCD displays for use in in-car video systems), and a custom lens/projection system. A larger LCD will give a clearer image.

Now, what will be the quality of such a system? All I can compare it to is a device I have, that works the same way, and is how I got my "Big Screen" experience cheap. I own a Fujix P401 LCD projector - cost me $250.00 a few years ago, and gives me an "OK" picture. I can comfortably display X on it if I use a 640x480 setting - some things are readable - but mostly I watch VCDs on it (using mtvp - anyone know of an equal Free replacement to mtvp?). Higher res images can be displayed, but they are fuzzy, at best. I would imagine a homebrew system to be comparable to this, possibly better.

Now, would it be possible to reproduce a three tube CRT system? Of course! You could build three of the 100" systems, but use black and white sets with colored pieces of plexiglas (or stage gels) in front of them. It would be a little bulky, though. I could imagine gutting some small (9" or smaller) portables to do this, and building a custom cabinet. Another possibility is to get (through various electronics surplus retailers on the net) surplus big-screen optics (which shouldn't cost more than $25.00/ea), and put them in front of the CRTs you are using. This would result in a more compact system (especially if you removed the casing of the TVs - be careful of the high-voltage inside, though - one hand in pocket when poking around inside those sets!!!).

Now, what to use for the projection screen - well, since you are doing this on the cheap, you can't very well buy a nice screen - they can be expensive. However, sometimes you can get a used silver projection screen fairly cheap (under $50.00 sometimes on Ebay, less at garage sales) - but make sure it is good quality. Most of these are tripod style, and don't have a ratchet mechanism to allow a "pull-down-from-ceiling" setup, that is much more enjoyable. To solve this, use what I used: A pure-white blackout shade. These can be found at Home Depot, and they can be had for ultra-cheap prices (less than $30.00 for the largest size). You can build mounts by using some bolts and a couple of bookshelf brackets, with careful setup, a pull down system is easy (I had mine together in an hour). These shades are smooth, have a high reflectivity, and are very inexpensive. Another alternative is high reflectivity white paint on a board. You can also use a white vinyl shower curtain, stretched tight. There are numerous options. Just look around and imagine.

Finally, I want to tell you what I used to display X under Linux on a TV (or projection system with composite input, like these homebrew projectors use). There is a device called the Averkey iMicro that is a true plug-and-play system. Pop it into your VGA port, load up X, and it will recognize the settings - no need to mess around with your XF86config settings (unless you need a certain res) - high-res, low-res - don't matter - it can recognise it. And it gives a great image, and it is cheap (around $100). I highly recommend this product.

OK - now you know the scoop. I hope this long, long comment will help someone. Realize that you won't get the be-all and end-all of projection images with these systems. However, I don't think they are a scam - in reality, they are selling the lens and some plans, and true, as good or better plans could be found on-line. But people are lazy, so I tend to think that they are selling a lens, some plans, and the cost of research - for $10.00 or less in many cases, that isn't a bad deal. I tend to wonder if I compiled all the info I had onto a CD, and sold that with a lens, if I could make some cash - but I am lazy, so if someone else wants to take a stab at it, go for it!!!

Have fun, my friends!