Ever wondered if you could integrate your computer into your home theater system? Well it might be easier than you think. Come join us as we attempt to build an HTPC. From choosing the parts to building the actual system and reviewing it through a series of articles. Stage one of the HTPC (home theater PC) project explores the advantages of building a HTPC, which parts we would pick at a first glance and why.
I have often toyed with the idea of putting a computer into my family room and hooking it up to my home theater, but due to the lack of parts and an acceptable chassis design, I have repeatedly chosen to pass up this opportunity.
Computer cases are large, bulky and usually lacking in colors, while my home theater equipment is all black in color and match a rack-style size format. Computer DVD playback has been marginal at best often sporting an s-video output. With HDTV on the market and most new televisions sporting HDTV capability, why use a computers DVD playback with S-video resolution when you can buy a progressive scan stand alone DVD player which would support the televisions capabilities?
What we're talking about here is integrating a special PC computer into your current home theater, in effect, a Home Theater PC (HTPC). Similar to a stand alone DVD player, this computer will use your current receiver's decoder as well as other components of your home theater like your television and speakers. This is not a system review, just a project we are working on here in the labs. Build at your own risk especially as we've not yet completed our own. Look for a full review on our HTPC soon. We will let you know just how well everything works, whether it's worth the price and whether or not the technology is here or too ahead of its time.
atc600gx1 While I was looking at Trendetronics web site I noticed that they had a computer case that looked very similar in style to that of a home receiver. It is made out of black anodized aluminum, had round legs on it with a strip of gold, a fold down front panel that could hide any drives and front USB and FireWire ports. MAde by Cooler Master, this was the perfect HTPC case. Priced at $249, you still needed to purchase the computer components. The Cooler Master case requires a Micro ATX motherboard which could be tough to find with a full sized AGP graphics port. There are various Micro ATX motherboard on the market at the time of this article the motherboards that stood out to me where the ABIT BG7m Intel 845G chip set P4 478 Micro ATX motherboard, ASUS P4B533-VM Motherboard for Intel P4 478 with optional SPDIF and 5.1 channel AC3 sound and Smart Card/Memory Stick/Secure Digital reader connectors (optional). Other required parts would be the processor, hard drive and memory. I would also recommend a black DVD-RW/CD-RW drive from either Toshiba or Pioneer.
This was the base system of our HTPC system and there was some hardware upgrades that still had to be done. In order for this computer to play DVD movies in progressive scan format using HDTV signals, a video card with these abilities had to be found.
The first company that came to mind was ATI Technologies, famous for their All-In-Wonder (AIW) series. The newest incarnation, the AIW Radeon 8500DV recently came to market. This new video card is simply amazing in its feature set and performance. It has 64mb of video memory and uses the new Radeon chip for excellent graphics, and is a great foundation from which to base a full-featured multimedia video card.
All-in-wonder While NVIDIA sells chips to be used in "Personal Cinema" product lines, they are not as full-featured as the offering from ATI. The AIW Radeon has hardware DVD decoding, Dolby 5.1 output using your receivers decoder, an RF remote control, Component video out put for HDTV support, two IEEE 1394 Fire wire ports, TV tuner, Hardware IDCT Acceleration for DVD its feature-set is complete down to the RF remote. If you want to download movies via camcorder, use the fire wire port. If you want to record your favorite TV show each week, use the built in Digital Video recorder software. Want to watch progressive scan DVD movies in HDTV format? No problem. You can even monitor your home using the security software and by hooking up extra cameras to this system. So after installing the ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon card, I stillLogitech Freedom needed to install a FireWire/USB 2.0 Combo card. Iogear makes a FireWire/USB 2.0 combo card with two FireWire and USB ports in the front and one internal port for each format on the back of the card allowing you to run a cable to the front USB/FireWire ports on our HTPC case. Depending on which MicroATX motherboard you go with, you could also run an internal USB cable to one of the front USB port on our HTPC case.
To finish off this HTPC I need to find a good Wireless keyboard and optical mouse. I quickly headed over to Logitech and found my answer, the cordless freedom optical. This keyboard was larger than what I was looking for, but had all the controls on the keyboard I needed so I would have to compromise. One touch buttons that controlled e-mail, media player, internet browser, volume. The mouse was both wireless and optical so I did not have to worry about having to clean out the mouse ball and using it on a mouse pad. The great thing about the Logitech Freedom keyboard and mouse is the fact that it uses an RF technology. So even at a good 10 feet away, the keybaord and mouse still work. Remember that the ATI All-In-Wonder has a remote control as well, so I am not restricted to a keyboard and mouse for controlling the movie playback.
There are many other benefits of having a computer integrated into the home theater. Music and MP3 storage and playback through your home theater, surfing the internet with your family on the family room television set, streaming videos and media content for everyone to see on the television, streaming internet audio through your home theater is pure Digital sound.
So let's break down the features and benefits of this system:
- Industry-leading DVD playback with AC-3 Digital Audio output to enable Dolby® 5.1 surround sound
- DVD recording with the included DVD-RW/CD-RW drive
- HDTV support
- Dolby® digital stereo audio output (S/PDIF)
- Two external IEEE 1394/iLink(TM)/FireWire® ports, one internal
- Hydravision(TM) software enables you to display information on a TV and monitor at the same time
- RF remote Control
- Stereo TV tuner with 125 channels
- TV-ON-DEMAND
o Pause live TV or record live broadcasts and watch them later o Get instant replays of favorite programs o Click through the transparent live TV window to access your desktop - no more moving the TV window to get to your work!
- Use the integrated Gemstar GUIDE Plus+(TM) Interactive Program Guide1 to view and search TV listings by category, actor/performer, or date. Schedule and record programs at the click of a mouse - all the benefits of a Personal Video Recorder without the monthly fees
- Amazing TV features including:
o TV Magazine* - images and text from TV programs allowing you to read and archive TV programs o Hot Words* - real-time notification when selected words are detected in programming o Zoom & pan - zoom in on the action on-screen and choose your own close-ups o Intelligent Teletext on your PC**
- Digital and analog video capture & editing
- MP3 storage and playback through home computer
- Wireless Keyboard and Mouse with one touch controls
- Streaming internet music through your home theater
- Surf the web using your television, for the whole family to enjoy
- Play state of the art videogames using the 64mb Radeon video processor
So in conclusion, if you are interested in integrating your computer into the home theater, you will have many options to choose from. The hardware and software are there and there are a number of case colors, sizes and designs to choose from. We simply chose what we felt was a sleek system for those that care about design. While I would price the system we built at just under two-thousand dollars (about $1900) the advantages are enormous. You would have one unit to replace your stand alone DVD player, VCR, DVR, and home computer. The advantages to this include future expansion. Want a newer video card? Simply replace the one in there. Want a larger hard drive, augment or replace the current one.
In my opinion, the HTPC will soon be the new trend in computing. Upgradeablility adds enormous benefits over pre-built systems and with a plethora of parts to choose from on the market, why wouldn't you build a top of the line HTPC system?
If you are interested in purchasing a system like this, I have included links to the manufacturers and their products for further information.
ATI Technologies Trendetronics Logitech
By Ian Bell Staff Writer, Designtechnica.com January 15, 2002
Slashdot Mirror
Here's the article copy-n-pasted...
/Memory Stick /Secure Digital reader connectors (optional). Other required parts would be the processor, hard drive and memory. I would also recommend a black DVD-RW/CD-RW drive from either Toshiba or Pioneer.
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Ever wondered if you could integrate your computer into your home theater system? Well it might be easier than you think. Come join us as we attempt to build an HTPC. From choosing the parts to building the actual system and reviewing it through a series of articles. Stage one of the HTPC (home theater PC) project explores the advantages of building a HTPC, which parts we would pick at a first glance and why.
I have often toyed with the idea of putting a computer into my family room and hooking it up to my home theater, but due to the lack of parts and an acceptable chassis design, I have repeatedly chosen to pass up this opportunity.
Computer cases are large, bulky and usually lacking in colors, while my home theater equipment is all black in color and match a rack-style size format. Computer DVD playback has been marginal at best often sporting an s-video output. With HDTV on the market and most new televisions sporting HDTV capability, why use a computers DVD playback with S-video resolution when you can buy a progressive scan stand alone DVD player which would support the televisions capabilities?
What we're talking about here is integrating a special PC computer into your current home theater, in effect, a Home Theater PC (HTPC). Similar to a stand alone DVD player, this computer will use your current receiver's decoder as well as other components of your home theater like your television and speakers. This is not a system review, just a project we are working on here in the labs. Build at your own risk especially as we've not yet completed our own. Look for a full review on our HTPC soon. We will let you know just how well everything works, whether it's worth the price and whether or not the technology is here or too ahead of its time.
atc600gx1 While I was looking at Trendetronics web site I noticed that they had a computer case that looked very similar in style to that of a home receiver. It is made out of black anodized aluminum, had round legs on it with a strip of gold, a fold down front panel that could hide any drives and front USB and FireWire ports. MAde by Cooler Master, this was the perfect HTPC case. Priced at $249, you still needed to purchase the computer components. The Cooler Master case requires a Micro ATX motherboard which could be tough to find with a full sized AGP graphics port. There are various Micro ATX motherboard on the market at the time of this article the motherboards that stood out to me where the ABIT BG7m Intel 845G chip set P4 478 Micro ATX motherboard, ASUS P4B533-VM Motherboard for Intel P4 478 with optional SPDIF and 5.1 channel AC3 sound and Smart Card
This was the base system of our HTPC system and there was some hardware upgrades that still had to be done. In order for this computer to play DVD movies in progressive scan format using HDTV signals, a video card with these abilities had to be found.
The first company that came to mind was ATI Technologies, famous for their All-In-Wonder (AIW) series. The newest incarnation, the AIW Radeon 8500DV recently came to market. This new video card is simply amazing in its feature set and performance. It has 64mb of video memory and uses the new Radeon chip for excellent graphics, and is a great foundation from which to base a full-featured multimedia video card.
All-in-wonder
While NVIDIA sells chips to be used in "Personal Cinema" product lines, they are not as full-featured as the offering from ATI. The AIW Radeon has hardware DVD decoding, Dolby 5.1 output using your receivers decoder, an RF remote control, Component video out put for HDTV support, two IEEE 1394 Fire wire ports, TV tuner, Hardware IDCT Acceleration for DVD its feature-set is complete down to the RF remote. If you want to download movies via camcorder, use the fire wire port. If you want to record your favorite TV show each week, use the built in Digital Video recorder software. Want to watch progressive scan DVD movies in HDTV format? No problem. You can even monitor your home using the security software and by hooking up extra cameras to this system. So after installing the ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon card, I stillLogitech Freedom needed to install a FireWire/USB 2.0 Combo card. Iogear makes a FireWire/USB 2.0 combo card with two FireWire and USB ports in the front and one internal port for each format on the back of the card allowing you to run a cable to the front USB/FireWire ports on our HTPC case. Depending on which MicroATX motherboard you go with, you could also run an internal USB cable to one of the front USB port on our HTPC case.
To finish off this HTPC I need to find a good Wireless keyboard and optical mouse. I quickly headed over to Logitech and found my answer, the cordless freedom optical. This keyboard was larger than what I was looking for, but had all the controls on the keyboard I needed so I would have to compromise. One touch buttons that controlled e-mail, media player, internet browser, volume. The mouse was both wireless and optical so I did not have to worry about having to clean out the mouse ball and using it on a mouse pad. The great thing about the Logitech Freedom keyboard and mouse is the fact that it uses an RF technology. So even at a good 10 feet away, the keybaord and mouse still work. Remember that the ATI All-In-Wonder has a remote control as well, so I am not restricted to a keyboard and mouse for controlling the movie playback.
There are many other benefits of having a computer integrated into the home theater. Music and MP3 storage and playback through your home theater, surfing the internet with your family on the family room television set, streaming videos and media content for everyone to see on the television, streaming internet audio through your home theater is pure Digital sound.
So let's break down the features and benefits of this system:
- Industry-leading DVD playback with AC-3 Digital Audio output to enable Dolby® 5.1 surround sound
- DVD recording with the included DVD-RW/CD-RW drive
- HDTV support
- Dolby® digital stereo audio output (S/PDIF)
- Two external IEEE 1394/iLink(TM)/FireWire® ports, one internal
- Hydravision(TM) software enables you to display information on a TV and monitor at the same time
- RF remote Control
- Stereo TV tuner with 125 channels
- TV-ON-DEMAND
o Pause live TV or record live broadcasts and watch them later
o Get instant replays of favorite programs
o Click through the transparent live TV window to access your desktop - no more moving the TV window to get to your work!
- Use the integrated Gemstar GUIDE Plus+(TM) Interactive Program Guide1 to view and search TV listings by category, actor/performer, or date. Schedule and record programs at the click of a mouse - all the benefits of a Personal Video Recorder without the monthly fees
- Amazing TV features including:
o TV Magazine* - images and text from TV programs allowing you to read and archive TV programs
o Hot Words* - real-time notification when selected words are detected in programming
o Zoom & pan - zoom in on the action on-screen and choose your own close-ups
o Intelligent Teletext on your PC**
- Digital and analog video capture & editing
- MP3 storage and playback through home computer
- Wireless Keyboard and Mouse with one touch controls
- Streaming internet music through your home theater
- Surf the web using your television, for the whole family to enjoy
- Play state of the art videogames using the 64mb Radeon video processor
So in conclusion, if you are interested in integrating your computer into the home theater, you will have many options to choose from. The hardware and software are there and there are a number of case colors, sizes and designs to choose from. We simply chose what we felt was a sleek system for those that care about design. While I would price the system we built at just under two-thousand dollars (about $1900) the advantages are enormous. You would have one unit to replace your stand alone DVD player, VCR, DVR, and home computer. The advantages to this include future expansion. Want a newer video card? Simply replace the one in there. Want a larger hard drive, augment or replace the current one.
In my opinion, the HTPC will soon be the new trend in computing. Upgradeablility adds enormous benefits over pre-built systems and with a plethora of parts to choose from on the market, why wouldn't you build a top of the line HTPC system?
If you are interested in purchasing a system like this, I have included links to the manufacturers and their products for further information.
ATI Technologies
Trendetronics
Logitech
By Ian Bell
Staff Writer, Designtechnica.com
January 15, 2002