the mediaportal looks very interesting. will have to read up on that...

coz currently my htpc is just running on XP.

same here man...my HTPC is cased in a microfly oso....but with 42" LG Plasma

upgrade??? upgrade wat??? the HTPC?? its not upgraded man... my htpc is even LOWER specs than urs.. A64 2800+ s754 1mb, ddr400 etc etc

the one in my siggy is my main gaming rig. been around for quite awhile.

right click on desktop and go to properties... u need to set ur TV as primary monitor. then ur video will be there and not on ur lappie.

also at the display properties... choose the TV, and set to the reso u want.. it SHOULD only set the TV and not the lappie.

audio... check soundcard or watever else...me no sure.

DG45FC @ RM445?

y didnt u get the Gigabyte GA-EG45M-DS2H instead? its about 490 and also m-atx...

or were u specifically looking for a mini-itx board?


anyway...does anyone know how much the Asus P5Q-EM costs?


This post has been edited by mADmAN: Sep 16 2008, 02:51 PM

gentlemen (and ladies if theres any)

whats a good player to play HD files?? both 720 and 1080p?

my current favourite player is BS Player. is it good enough for HD content?

or do i need a different player for HD content?

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Added on September 19, 2008, 6:09 pmoh yeah....

hope others can comment on my future HTPC/torrent rig setup as well...wan to play HD content as well as save powah...

E5200
Asus P5Q-EM
2GBx1 DDR2-800 RAM
SATA DVDRW
FSP SAGA 400w
WD500GB Green Power HDD.


rig will be on 24/7 for torrenting

This post has been edited by mADmAN: Sep 19 2008, 06:09 PM

@adamismadi
tested with any 720p or 1080p files yet???

hows the playback with the system??

im thinking of getting a similar system with urs.....

hope others can comment on my future HTPC/torrent rig setup as well...wan to play HD content as well as save powah...

E5200
Asus P5Q-EM
2GBx1 DDR2-800 RAM
SATA DVDRW
FSP SAGA 400w
WD500GB Green Power HDD.

---

Added on September 19, 2008, 6:18 pmalso....

whats a good player to play HD files?? both 720 and 1080p?

my current favourite player is BS Player. is it good enough for HD content?

or do i need a different player for HD content?

This post has been edited by mADmAN: Sep 19 2008, 06:18 PM

@djlah
wats ur rig specs man?

its the microfly....so m-ATX is the max it can go..

i also wanna use integrated everything....trying to save as much power as possible.... coz the HTPC will also be a torrent rig.

hence the reason why i plan to get only 1 stick of ram...logic is..1 less item to consume power

yeah i know....today already bought all the stuff...

not using GC....bought the G45 Gigabyte mobo...so will be using onboard HDMI output. (if GC is needed i have an 8600GT with HDMI output to use just in case)

proc bought the E5200 for the 45nm.

HDD bought 1TB WD Green Power HDD

also bought just 1 stick of ram

theres alot of choices for m-atx boards with PCIe slot for under 400

guess u should be looking at the G33 chipset mobos..... mostly the onboard video doesnt have HDMI.

actually ah....i wanna try this hardware decode thingamajiggie that uses the GC to process the video....

right now im using E5200 with G45 mobo. running the few 1080p that i have perfectly with cpu usage @ around 45%.... but im just itchy to try....

so HOW do i go about setting it for the hardware graphic card thingy?

EDIT: forgot to mention....my preferred player is BS Player... but i do have MPC HC installed as well..

This post has been edited by mADmAN: Dec 23 2008, 07:34 PM

imho a low power consuming HTPC better... then can watch every single format. can play any type of music files like flac etc.

and can also double up as a file server/ downloads PC.

eh??? VLC doesnt utilize dual cores ah?? didnt know that lol...but makes nod difference to me oso la since i use BS Player and it does utilize both cores




anyway, would still like an answer to my question below.... mobo is Gigabyte EG45M-DS2H... BS player with K-Lite Mega Codec Pack.

not exactly a HTPC case....more of an SFF but definitely suits ur budget and with good features....

go to the bulk orders section or garage sales and look for XQBOX.

just though id share something....i was trying out the DXVA thingamajiggie as posted by blindbox (in the spoiler) earlier in the thread....



its supposed to drastically reduce CPU usage and get the GC to do the rendering for 1080p files right?

well i did everything in the screenshot and the link....and it didnt work.....mebbe i did something wrong or wat...

BUT i did discover something interesting...

first the specs...
E5200
Gigabyte EG45M-DS2H mobo (using onboard video to HD Ready Plasma via HDMI)
2GB RAM
Creative Audigy 4
K-Lite mega codec pack

file played...
Die Hard 4 mkv
12.1GB Single File
1920*800 reso (1080p file)


AFTER putting in those settings...i tested for CPU usage during playback....tested with a few different scenes.... cpu usage for playback using....

MPC HC (came with K-Lite) with DXVA settings applied as per screenshot
CPU Usage was around 70-80%


BS Player Pro 2.22 Build 952 with stock settings...nuttin touched
CPU Usage was around 40-50%

so...my conclusion is...

now why in the world would i wanna do THAT?

waste my time and effort to go through all that hassle just to get my proceesor usage @ around 40% for MPC-HC???

when i already have another software which ive been using for years n years thats already giving me around 40% without touching anything?

a software that ive always preferred over MPC, VLC, winamp, n watever other video player... MPC-HC just isnt worth the hassle....




so again i repeat...

if under clone mode....

set the monitor/lcd u want to play the video on as the primary display.

not mad....just stating the obvious

BS Player been around for quite awhile... i first heard of it when streamyx first came out.

it used to be free then.... have to pay for it now...

free version no longer available..... (except for trials i think)

me using Pro (aka paid version)


not sure wat its like now...im using an old version... can go to BSplayer.org to check it out

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Added on January 28, 2009, 2:19 pmoops...i just checked the site... looks like theres a free version too.. but somewhat limited....

This post has been edited by mADmAN: Jan 28 2009, 02:19 PM