If I'm not getting an HTPC at the moment, is there anything else that might be interesting? I really want to view HD content on my TV, but how? Perhaps getting and HD DVD player might be the way to go. Elgiganten currently has a promotion where you get a player and five movies for 4kSEK. But then again - will HD DVD be alive in a couple of years? If the DVD playing functionality in the Toshiba HD-E1 had been region free and with DivX support I might have taken the plunge since it is a great upscaling DVD player. As it is now I still need a second DVD player for my region 1 movies and Divx content.
What about a gaming console? The PS3 is 6kSEK (still waiting for the price cut that US saw recently) and the Xbox 360 about 4kSEK. With the PS3 you get a Blu-Ray player in the price, but the Xbox has video live which seems interesting. Not yet available in Europe, but it will come.
So. I'll wait some more. But I'm really itching to buy some new gadget. Any suggestions?
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Monday, July 16, 2007
Friday, July 13, 2007
HTPC: The non-decision decision
After doing some research on different routes for an entertainment system I ended up feeling most comfortable with an HTPC. It basically boiled down to two options: the Scaleo EVI or an AMD-based system built on discrete components. Both alternatives are about 10kSEK.
What do I get for this money that I don't already have today?
If TV recording comes to the Apple TV that might be one way to go. A Scaleo EVI with HD-DVD/Blu-Ray for 10kSEK might be another. A silent TViX 4100-SH a third.
None of which alternatives are available today.
So I have decided. To wait.
If I were to go for a solution today it would be the Scaleo EVI with 32-bit Vista, but the risk of not being able to update it to support HD broadcast and HD-DVD/Blu-ray in the future holds me back. And I'm not interesting in spending the time on building a system on my own - even if its put together by a store I will need to spend time on configuration and software installations.
What do I get for this money that I don't already have today?
- Recording of TV programming in SD
- Possibility to view downloaded HD material
If TV recording comes to the Apple TV that might be one way to go. A Scaleo EVI with HD-DVD/Blu-Ray for 10kSEK might be another. A silent TViX 4100-SH a third.
None of which alternatives are available today.
So I have decided. To wait.
If I were to go for a solution today it would be the Scaleo EVI with 32-bit Vista, but the risk of not being able to update it to support HD broadcast and HD-DVD/Blu-ray in the future holds me back. And I'm not interesting in spending the time on building a system on my own - even if its put together by a store I will need to spend time on configuration and software installations.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Choosing an HTPC
Now that I've decided on an HTPC running Vista, all that remains to do is to get a system. I can either get a pre-built system from a major supplier or go for a system assembled from parts - either by myself or a store.
The pre-built systems are nice, somewhat expensive and not very easy to expand. A Sony Vaio system might be a good choice, but I haven't found any in Sweden. Other options are Scaleo EVI (12kSEK) or Acer Aspire Idea (11kSEK). If I drop the HDMI requirement an FIC spectra for 8kSEK might be an option. (The Scaleo is available for 10kSEK at netonnet - and they have it in stock in Malmö close to where I live. Interesting...)
The main problem with these systems is that they are most likely not possible to upgrade later. The main reason for this would be to be able to use HD-DVD or Blu-Ray in the future. Another option would of course be to get a separate stand-alone player.
The benefits of a pre-built system is that they are well integrated, everything should play well together and they have a relatively nice form factor.
Looking at a system built from components then. There are a couple of firms in Sweden that sell HTPC:s they assemble themselves. The ones I've found are pyrotech.se and tvpc.se. A local firm such as itel also might have HTPC models.
My price point is around 10kSEK (I wouldn't cry if it was cheaper) and in that category pyrotech has their HTPC 2 system for just shy of 8kSEK. Itel's version costs 8.500 SEK, but has more memory and a slightly larger disk but no TV-card. Add another 1kSEK for that and the price is similar to the Scaleo EVI system from netonnet. Oh, I also need a USB stick for WiFi so thats another 300 SEK.
All of these choices are driving me mad - and is the reason for me writing these posts. I must try to make some sense of it.
If I'm going for an assembled system, at least I've decided on getting the Antec Fusion chassi and an AMD processor (I'm leaning towards the new low power BE-2350) with a G690 motherboard. For a TV-card I want the Hauppauge Win Nova T-500 which has dual DVB-T tuners (no encrypted channels).
Hopefully I will have decided soon and can tell you what system I got. But if you have any comments or pointers on what to get, please let me know.
The pre-built systems are nice, somewhat expensive and not very easy to expand. A Sony Vaio system might be a good choice, but I haven't found any in Sweden. Other options are Scaleo EVI (12kSEK) or Acer Aspire Idea (11kSEK). If I drop the HDMI requirement an FIC spectra for 8kSEK might be an option. (The Scaleo is available for 10kSEK at netonnet - and they have it in stock in Malmö close to where I live. Interesting...)
The main problem with these systems is that they are most likely not possible to upgrade later. The main reason for this would be to be able to use HD-DVD or Blu-Ray in the future. Another option would of course be to get a separate stand-alone player.
The benefits of a pre-built system is that they are well integrated, everything should play well together and they have a relatively nice form factor.
Looking at a system built from components then. There are a couple of firms in Sweden that sell HTPC:s they assemble themselves. The ones I've found are pyrotech.se and tvpc.se. A local firm such as itel also might have HTPC models.
My price point is around 10kSEK (I wouldn't cry if it was cheaper) and in that category pyrotech has their HTPC 2 system for just shy of 8kSEK. Itel's version costs 8.500 SEK, but has more memory and a slightly larger disk but no TV-card. Add another 1kSEK for that and the price is similar to the Scaleo EVI system from netonnet. Oh, I also need a USB stick for WiFi so thats another 300 SEK.
All of these choices are driving me mad - and is the reason for me writing these posts. I must try to make some sense of it.
If I'm going for an assembled system, at least I've decided on getting the Antec Fusion chassi and an AMD processor (I'm leaning towards the new low power BE-2350) with a G690 motherboard. For a TV-card I want the Hauppauge Win Nova T-500 which has dual DVB-T tuners (no encrypted channels).
Hopefully I will have decided soon and can tell you what system I got. But if you have any comments or pointers on what to get, please let me know.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Video solution, part 4 - Home Theater PC
As you might have gleaned from my summary of media players I'm not really happy with the current alternatives available. This leaves me with one option: getting a HTPC. It might sound easy in theory, but can be infinately complicated in practice. I've decided to look at hardware and software simultaneously and look at the alternatives as a complete system. Of course you can install Myth TV on a hardware you originally planned for MCE (if there's Linux support for your HW). The options for me are:
An OS X system. The Mac Mini is close to a perfect fit for an HTPC but it does not have HDMI out (it does have DVI, and a DVI->HDMI converter so you can get the image to your TV but no sound), its built on the Core Duo (not the Core 2 Duo which is a 64-bit processor as opposed to the 32-bit Core Duo) and also the hardware is overdue for an update. If Apple were to release a new version of the Mac Mini anytime soon with HDMI I'd buy that in an instant. You need a third party solution for DVB-T recording; Elgato seems to have the best solution for this.
Many people swear by Windows Media Center Edition 2005 since they have something up and running that they are pleased with. I'm building a new system and am very reluctant to go with an old operating system. Which leaves me with:
Windows Vista Home Edition. Its certainly not the be-all and end-all for everyone, but this would be my choice if I were to build a system today. It has a built-in Media Center and even if people complain about driver support I'm sure its better than for Linux when going for new hardware. E.g. I'm looking at the Radeon HD 2400 Pro graphics card for off-loading the processor when playing back HD content and there's no support in Linux for that card. (Apparently there's barely support in Windows, but that's another matter.) Choosing Vista also leaves the door open for alternative DVR software such as Mediaportal, DVB Viewer or GB-PVR should I not be happy with the built in Media Center.
Most problems reported with Vista and MCE are related to viewing scrambled channels, and as I mentioned in my first post in this series this is not something I need to do. What remains now is to choose between 64-bit and 32-bit Vista and set up a suitable hardware configuration. But that's for the next post.
- A Linux system with PVR software
- An OS X system
- A Windows Media Center Edition 2005 (or XP) based system
- A Windows Vista Home Premium system
An OS X system. The Mac Mini is close to a perfect fit for an HTPC but it does not have HDMI out (it does have DVI, and a DVI->HDMI converter so you can get the image to your TV but no sound), its built on the Core Duo (not the Core 2 Duo which is a 64-bit processor as opposed to the 32-bit Core Duo) and also the hardware is overdue for an update. If Apple were to release a new version of the Mac Mini anytime soon with HDMI I'd buy that in an instant. You need a third party solution for DVB-T recording; Elgato seems to have the best solution for this.
Many people swear by Windows Media Center Edition 2005 since they have something up and running that they are pleased with. I'm building a new system and am very reluctant to go with an old operating system. Which leaves me with:
Windows Vista Home Edition. Its certainly not the be-all and end-all for everyone, but this would be my choice if I were to build a system today. It has a built-in Media Center and even if people complain about driver support I'm sure its better than for Linux when going for new hardware. E.g. I'm looking at the Radeon HD 2400 Pro graphics card for off-loading the processor when playing back HD content and there's no support in Linux for that card. (Apparently there's barely support in Windows, but that's another matter.) Choosing Vista also leaves the door open for alternative DVR software such as Mediaportal, DVB Viewer or GB-PVR should I not be happy with the built in Media Center.
Most problems reported with Vista and MCE are related to viewing scrambled channels, and as I mentioned in my first post in this series this is not something I need to do. What remains now is to choose between 64-bit and 32-bit Vista and set up a suitable hardware configuration. But that's for the next post.
Video solution, part 3 - Media Players
This is the third post in a series where I'm trying to find a good solution for handling TV and video in my living room. In the last episode I introduced the contenders and covered the HDD recorder category.
Now on to the media players.
This is an interesting category where a ton of development is going on at the moment. If you're interested you can read up on the MPC Club forum. The most interesting option here is probably the TViX M-4100SH which has HDMI, supports resolutions up to 1080p and has a DVB-T tuner add-on. You still have a sucky GUI and a box that is pushed to its limit with HD content. It costs 3.400 SEK for the box, 900 SEK for the tuner and an additional 1.000 SEK for a 160GB HDD = 5.300 SEK. And there's no support for the matroska container, which means you might have to re-mux or re-encode stuff. Oh, and it only supports wireless networking with an external USB dongle (which adds more to the cost) and the stability is less than stellar. Some people have also reported problems with the fan noise being perceived as a problem.
AppleTV is the other interesting candidate in the media player category. For 3.700 SEK you get a box with a 160GB HDD, but no tuner capabilities. Unless you hack it, the box only support media you can watch in iTunes, which means we need to re-encode pretty much everything. It appears you can also get a tuner to work with AppleTV which is promising, but not quite there.
XBMC is a tried media center, but the xbox suffers from being to noisy and it does not support HD content.
If you are willing to wait until late this fall the Syabas Media Tank is probably the media player to get. Its only a reference design and no consumer models have yet been announced. The HW specs look excellent though and it is well worthy of consideration.
Which leaves us with the final category: a Home Theater PC. Details and options to follow in the next post in the series.
Now on to the media players.
This is an interesting category where a ton of development is going on at the moment. If you're interested you can read up on the MPC Club forum. The most interesting option here is probably the TViX M-4100SH which has HDMI, supports resolutions up to 1080p and has a DVB-T tuner add-on. You still have a sucky GUI and a box that is pushed to its limit with HD content. It costs 3.400 SEK for the box, 900 SEK for the tuner and an additional 1.000 SEK for a 160GB HDD = 5.300 SEK. And there's no support for the matroska container, which means you might have to re-mux or re-encode stuff. Oh, and it only supports wireless networking with an external USB dongle (which adds more to the cost) and the stability is less than stellar. Some people have also reported problems with the fan noise being perceived as a problem.
AppleTV is the other interesting candidate in the media player category. For 3.700 SEK you get a box with a 160GB HDD, but no tuner capabilities. Unless you hack it, the box only support media you can watch in iTunes, which means we need to re-encode pretty much everything. It appears you can also get a tuner to work with AppleTV which is promising, but not quite there.
XBMC is a tried media center, but the xbox suffers from being to noisy and it does not support HD content.
If you are willing to wait until late this fall the Syabas Media Tank is probably the media player to get. Its only a reference design and no consumer models have yet been announced. The HW specs look excellent though and it is well worthy of consideration.
Which leaves us with the final category: a Home Theater PC. Details and options to follow in the next post in the series.
Video solution, part 2 - Meet the contenders
As I just mentioned I'm looking for a solution to handle my video and TV. I'm fine with multiple boxes, but would prefer an integrated solution. Without further ado, lets bring out the contenders:
There are a couple of set-top boxes available with a harddisk and DVB-T. They suffer from the same drawbacks as the HDD recorders (although some models, e.g. the Topfield 5700 can be hacked to provide a decent GUI with exentions). They also have no DVD-player, but I have one already today so its not a big issue. Prices between 4.000 SEK to 6.500 SEK for the unreleased dreambox 8000.
In the next post in this series, I'll cover the media player options.
- HDD recorder with DVD
- Set-top box with DVB-T HDD
- Media player / media streamer
- Home Theatre PC
There are a couple of set-top boxes available with a harddisk and DVB-T. They suffer from the same drawbacks as the HDD recorders (although some models, e.g. the Topfield 5700 can be hacked to provide a decent GUI with exentions). They also have no DVD-player, but I have one already today so its not a big issue. Prices between 4.000 SEK to 6.500 SEK for the unreleased dreambox 8000.
In the next post in this series, I'll cover the media player options.
Finding a video solution that makes me happy
This is the first post in a series where I'm trying to find a video solution that makes me happy.
I'm picky. I'm not impossible, but picky. Having looked all over for a good solution for handling my music I settled for the Squeezebox and I must say I'm very satisfied. There are a few performance issues with the server; if I haven't been using the remote for a while it sometimes takes a long time before the Squeezebox reacts to input. Other than that its excellent.
Having the music part taken care of I now need to find a solution for my TV and movies. Did I mention I'm picky? But not impossible. My top priorities are to:
In the coming posts we'll take a look at possible solutions listing pros and cons. I'm pretty sure I'll end up with a Home Theater PC (HTPC), but then again I might not. Stay tuned.
I'm picky. I'm not impossible, but picky. Having looked all over for a good solution for handling my music I settled for the Squeezebox and I must say I'm very satisfied. There are a few performance issues with the server; if I haven't been using the remote for a while it sometimes takes a long time before the Squeezebox reacts to input. Other than that its excellent.
Having the music part taken care of I now need to find a solution for my TV and movies. Did I mention I'm picky? But not impossible. My top priorities are to:
- Record Swedish DVB-T freeview channels in SD with 5.1 sound, including show series programming
- Watch DivX/Xvid in up to 720p resolution
- Watch DVD:s
- 5.1 sound output over optical or coaxial to my surround system
- HDMI output for video and sound to my TV
- Have a really nice looking and easy to use GUI
- Have a rock solid, quiet system with as low power consumption as possible
- No wired network (i.e. if a network is needed it has to be wireless)
- Pause Live-TV
- Dual tuners to record two programs simultaneously
- Watch and record Swedish DVB-T freeview channels in HD (only test transmissions in Stockholm at the moment, unclear whether or not this will become a reality and when)
- Watch HD-DVD and/or Blu-ray once the format war is settled
- Have a nice looking physical box
- A gaming platform
- A VFD
- To watch encoded TV channels
- To surf the Internet on my TV
- One box for everything - multiple boxes is fine if not ideal
In the coming posts we'll take a look at possible solutions listing pros and cons. I'm pretty sure I'll end up with a Home Theater PC (HTPC), but then again I might not. Stay tuned.
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