Ya, you are right .. I also think if something goes wrong .. it's really waste my money to buy that display card .. if I just upgrade just cost me around RM400  But, I going to buy a used c2d CPU need around RM1k lolx   ...For sure c2d have last longer than old p4.... Dunno what to do now ...  

xbmc is used solely for my mkv whereas my bluray collection are in media browser. xbmc can't handle bdmv properly and media browser don't have resume function when playing mkv. so i use them both.

when configured as an external player, there's no resuming function. you can't resume from the last watched position. which for me is a very nice feature to have

I understand that currently the PC decodes of the lossless audio. Does it make any difference if decoding done by PC or AV receiver in terms of quality? Thanks.

pentium d...with ati hd5450...hdmi to onkyo 608...
currently using mpc-hc + ffdshow...
so far only playing around w/ffdshow;
however, found a guide..will be removing the Haali mkv splitter, and to use Gabest....
the problem is with the Haali, when it comes to bitstreaming...that what people say on some forums say lah...
so will try that lah...at least got some starting pt...
previously, dont even know where to start...that's the reason of my few post here..

i also work ...it just take like 20 sec for a posting.....nothing much...
btw..thanks paskal for the reply.

Is this MKV file got more than 20GB???

How about change your player instead of vlc ? I think that will have much better in cpu usage and the smoothness too. Any recommend player here ?

thanks splayer cpu utilization not so much differ from vlc but one cool thing is splayer actually go online and look for srt file and download it. manage to get about 70% of subtitles for my tv series

how do u get mpc-hc to download the subtitle? so far im not able to get a single sub at all using mpc-hc

Also, if I use a PC, I understand that I do not need to get an AVR, just a sound card then can plug in some 5.1 speaker setup.. Am I correct?

hi guys , planning to build my own HTPC.. anyone can recommend a setup for me?

planning to use intel i3 2100 ( is this good enough)?
motherboard Asus P8H67-M PRO
2Gb Ram
1tb hdd
???CASE
???POWER SUPPLY

quick questions sifus

Say if I have HTZ282, a HTPC and a LCD TV. How do you guys get 5.1 surround sound ? I'm asking about how you guys connect stuff..

I've just purchased a Pioneer hifi (amplifier, subwoofer and 5 speakers) and I have a 40inch LED tv.

Now,my house doesn't have any Astro nor normal TV antenna port. But I do have a Maxis fibre internet.

So, i'm thinking to buy a simple CPU (with good VGA card to play bluray movie via HDMI connection to my LED) and a good sound card to connect to my amp. Also, I would buy a wireless card so that I can do streaming from my Maxis line later.

i went over to a pc shop the other day and i was advised for 3 options.

1) buy a good VGA card (Sapphire HD7750) with a HDMI output. I can then connect the HDMI cable between my VGA card to my amplifier. Then another hdmi cable between my amp to my TV.

The guy told me that some cust get this works, but he can't guarantee it as he has not done it before. i'm also curious because how can the amp project the video signal to the tv? anyone done this before?

2) another way is to buy an built in mobo (Asus P8Z77-V) with a optical port and a hdmi port. optical will connect to my amp and hdmi will connect directly to my tv. this is a more budgeted way to build my pc as the mobo cost around RM6xx.

now, i don't know if using the built in soundcard and vga, will compromise on my download 1080p bluray movies or my dts/dolby sound at my amp?

3) the best way to do tis is get a pci sound card (SB X-Fi Titanium Pro Audio), around rm5xx that supports both dts and dolby, and another pci vga (Sapphire HD7750), around RM3xx that ensure smooth 1080p playing movie. needed to say, the price of this plus the mobo (Asus P8Z77-V LX2) will cost me around rm1.1k, which is rm500 more compare to the built in mobo.
now guys, which one u think is more worth my investment? my amp is only rm3xk. not those more than 10k high end sound system. but it does support all sort of dts, dobly, pro logic, etc.

Also, i read from you 1st page, seems like some recommended Mobo by AMD, e.g. M4A785G HTPC is meant for HTPC usage. but i heard that AMD chipset is not as good as i3 chipset when it comes to play bluray movies.

So hope to have more solid ideas from u all.

hi bad2928,

few questions

1) built-in vga will be able to play 1080p (say 20GB file size of movie) without any lag?
2) built-in soundcard will not compromise on my dts/dolby output to my amplifier?
3) if i get a external soundcard, what major advantage i can have? I cant tell the difference
4) this built-in vga, can play diablo3? that's the only game i wanna play using my tv. no other games.
5) last but not least, i cant find this mobo in AllIT pc shop. do i have to pre-order from factory?

guys, i think i have a better idea on what this htpc is all about. so let me refine my requirements and you can help me to shortlist to 2 mobo for me to choose.

Main purpose :-
Watch bluray movies to my TV via hdmi
Play Diablo 3 game (the only game Im gonna play, no others)
Have Wifi, so that can connect to my Maxis Fibre
Have bluetooth so that I can connect to my bluetooth mouse and keyboard
Optical output to connect to my amplifier

From the AllIT Pricelist, i've shortlisted to 5 mobo. Please help me to shortlist to 2 based on my requirements:

Gbyte GA-Z77M-D3H RM369
- Integrated VGA that supports HDMI 1920x1200
- VIA VT2021 codec (haven't heard of VIA before) with Optical output

GByte GA-Z77P-D3 RM449
- Integrated VGA that supports HDMI 1920x1200
- Realtek ALC887 codec with Optical output

GByte GA-Z77X-D3H RM509
- Integrated VGA that supports HDMI 1920x1200
- Support for 2-Way AMD CrossFireX™/NVIDIA SLI technology (Not sure what is this)
- VIA VT2021 codec (haven't heard of VIA before) with Optical output

ASUS P8Z77-V LX RM430
- Integrated VGA that supports HDMI 1920x1200 60Hz
- Supports AMD Quad-GPU CrossFireX™ Technology/Supports LucidLogix® Virtu™ MVP Technology (Not sure what is this)
- Realtek® ALC887 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC with Optical Output

ASUS P8X77-V RM649
- Integrated VGA that supports HDMI 1920x1200 60Hz
- Supports Intel® HD Graphics, InTru™ 3D, Quick Sync Video, Clear Video HD Technology, Insider™/ Supports AMD Quad-GPU CrossFireX™ Technology/Supports LucidLogix® Virtu™ MVP Technology/ Supports NVIDIA® Quad-GPU SLI™ Technology
- Realtek® ALC892 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC with DTS Ultra PC II, DTS Connect, with Optical Output

Now, i'm not sure if those built in VGA are the same for all the mobo, but I did see some differences in Audio cards. Thought some RealTek CODECs are different, I google from the internet and some feedback that there's actually not much difference.

Hope to hear from you all later.

Thanks bad2928.

u must be a fan of Asus, cause didn't c u choose Gbyte mobo also huh. 
Anyhow, a friend of mine try to connect the hdmi cable to his Yamaha amplifier, but it ended up failure. it can project the sound, but not the video. So he ends up get a pci sound card with optical cable to connect to his amp and the hdmi cable connect to the tv.

i'm not sure if his is a special case, or all amp suppose to be able to project out the video signal to the tv, and the sound to the speakers?

oh, then do u support sapphire or gbyte gc? the pc shop guy told me sapphire is more preferred nowadays. but then sapphire only supports Radeon, whereby GByte supports got GeForce and Radeon.

Between GeForce and Radeon, which one you choose? Say GT640 and HD7750? If i buy this vga, then i'm pretty confident to play diablo 3 without any problem, rather than relying on my built-in vga

thans bad2928. i think more or less i've made up my mind to get this sapphire 7750 vga card, to replace my onboard vga.

only thing is that if i wanna get the optical port or not. or just fully utilize the hdmi port.