I'm using Hauppauge PVR-150MCE. Bought it for RM499. Its pricier than normal tuner because it comes with a Windows XP MCE remote (Can be use for Xbox360 remote as well) and a IR Blaster to control Astro Decoder.

I never try to use on normal TV so can't really comment on the signal but yeah signal low tuner also cannot help.

You can check out the features of my tuner card from here:
http://www.terencey.net/blog/?p=65

Brand new MCE ir receiver/ blaster with remote controller to let go.

it's the one from Hauppauge. anyone interested? RM 160- my cost

willing to trade with HDD 200GB

This post has been edited by ryansia: Oct 20 2006, 12:55 PM

got my HFPC (yes...hifi poc...not ht pc ) assembled yesterday:






*I wish I was a plug *

The emu anlog card has no support so it was bending upwards (downwards after I terbalik the casing) which would hack shorted and get killed if one didnt pay attention....some electrical tape did the trick.

The stupid pci locking mechanism was totally F up..I spent almost 30 mins trying to align the pci cards properly.

nice!

Post pics of the finished product la. And the entire setup with your receiver and speakers.

What casing you using?

will take some pix after i tidy up a little it's the silverstone LC11B casing. I've also changed the stock amd fan to the enermax.

Edit: Here's my modest system:




PSB Alpha B without the grille

This post has been edited by AlamakLor: Oct 29 2006, 11:36 PM

wah....
so simple yet so nicely done....... jealous ler pulak
how much u spend on the htpc? bole buat budget, simpan duit.

Asus M2NPV-VM came with component video output?
Or u r using additional card?

Comes package with the mobo.

Had some issues with my RAM on this mobo. Using 2x 512mb kingston 667 DDR2 RAM, kept getting BSOD. But I manually up the voltage to higher value then problem solved.

All in all a great feature packed and value for money AM2 mobo.

for this pc, I only bought the casing, ram, processor and the enermax fan...these sum up to around rm2k. Sound card, hdd, and dvd rom were salvaged from my old pc which is now a server. Adding those salvaged parts (NEC dvdrw, emu1212m, 1 X 250sata, 1 X 160ide) around RM3.3k for this pc.

I left all my music and movie drives in my server though

This post has been edited by AlamakLor: Oct 30 2006, 11:20 PM

AlamakLor - nice looking rig

I'm building a high-end HTPC too, for my new home theatre setup which will be installed within the next month. I'd like to ask for everyone's opinion/advice for my proposed rig.

I'm using this HTPC as:
1. PVR - to record TV/Astro - also with episode guide;
2. DVD player (HD?) and DVD burner to backup or move offline my favourite recorded shows
3. Music player - to stream MP3s from my server (located in another room) over either wired (1G) or wireless (802.11g) network (wired/wireless depends on pre-existing wiring)
4. Video player - to stream MPEGs from my server (as above)
5. Secondary gaming rig - occasionally would like to be able to play games on this rig - and use the projector/big screen LCD as the monitor
6. Secondary internet access rig - occasionally would like to surf on this rig
7. What else can I do with this thing?


Proposed Specs:
Casing: Silverstone LC-18 (integrated 7" LCD screen) - love the LCD screen, but price tag is very hefty!!! About RM2.6k. Are there any other casings out there with integrated LCD screens that are cheaper? I've looked but can't seem to find any.

CPU: Athlon AM2 X2 3800+ with Zalman CNPS9700 LED cooler
Mobo: Asus AN2N32-SLI Wireless
GPU: XFX 7600GT - to add another 7600GT in SLI if I want to do more gaming on the big screen
TV Tuner: Hauppage WinTV-PVR-500 MCE (dual tuners, so I can watch one channel while recording a 2nd channel)
Video output to:
1. Sony VPL-HS60 projector (100" target screen) [already purchased]
2. 40+" LCD screen (Toshiba, Sony, Samsung?) - will get this later
3. integrated 7" LCD screen (if I get the Silverstone LC18)
Sound card: Creative X-Fi Elite Pro
Sound output to:
Yamaha RX-V2600 plus 7.1 Energy Take 5.2 speaker setup [already purchased]
HDs: 3x Seagate 320GB HDs (depends on casing's availability to have multiple HDs without overheating - the LC18 can hold 5 HDs or 3 HDs with spacing in between)
Others: dual DVD-RW or maybe just one DVD-RW now, adding a Blu-Ray/HD-DVD later when they become more widespread, 3.5" multi-card reader
OS: Win XP Pro/MCE
PSU: Silverstone ST60F Modular PSU (600W) - 600W enough? - including future expansion (2nd GPU for SLI, 2nd optical drive, maybe 4th & 5th HD)
Keyboard/Mouse: Logitech Cordless Desktop MX5000
Remote: Logitech Harmony 890 or 1000 Advanced Universal Remote
Software: to be determined

Have I missed anything? I'll be ordering parts in the next few days, and will post pics here.

Thanks

hey, are you using the soundmax at all? the driver comes in a combination of english and chinese is there a full english driver out there? I ended up uninstalling it and disabled it in bios....

Wow, traveler. Thats some super high end specs you got there. drool.... Yahama RX2600.... wish I have that. The entire setup should cost close to 20k .... *faint*

PVR-500MCE cost RM800 man. Buy astro max straight la. Dual tuner needs 2 decoder. You will be paying double for astro as well. Not worth it. Astro max you still pay for 1 decoder but can record 1 channel while watching another.

My home theatre setup cost about 30k for receiver, projector, screen, speakers, installation & cabling, automation equipment for lighting and equipment control, and a few odds and ends. I'm adding my own HTPC, old 300-disc CD changers (have 2), Roku Soundbridge, LCD TV (to be purchased later, waiting for higher spec), and HD/Blu-ray DVD player (also later, when I have better feel on which format will win out).

I dont know about Astro Max, as I would prefer to concentrate on having all my shows recorded on the HTPC so I can archive them later either to DVD or to my server. I had thought of only 1 astro decoder, with the 2nd source coming from the TV antenna.

will you ever be going near the htpc to use the touch screen at all? lol

RM2k+ for a casing seems absurd to me...2k+ could get you some very good audio equipments. My casing can hold 3 hdd but I decided to install only 2 in it and slap the others in my server so that other pcs could access it..and i dont have to worry about heat/noise/power issue

Any issue u found on your mobo? i plan to get same mobo as u
Any comment on the nvidia 6150 performance on your mobo?? Thanks!

Yeah RM2K+ for a casing is absurd to me too. Which is why I am looking for an alternative. I really want an integrated LCD screen about 7" or so in size, and I don't need it to be a touchscreen. But I can't seem to find any cheaper alternatives. I've found a couple other designs but they all seem to be about the same price + shipping to KL.

Am also looking at some sound absorbing material like Akasa's stuff, to add on the inside of the casing to quieten things down. Was also considering watercooling the rig, but decided it would be simpler to just use a quiet CPU cooler like the Zalman.

The board only has a max vddr of 1.9v, so you really need to get something that is rated 1.8 for it to boot up. Another thing is, you cant run dual display with TV + VGA, I think you can run TV + DVI though...im not sure about that. You can only run dual monitor true vga and true dvi connection. Using vga -> dvi converter will not get you dual monitor. Another problem that I have is I cant seem to find a native english software for the soundmax...which really piss me off.

AlamakLor,

what's so important about finding native english software for soundmax? I didn't realize that the software is not native english.

I manage to get my hands on a receiver and a set of speakers but I dunno how to connect both the front and rear jack speaker output from the mobo to the RCA left right input on the receiver. Any idea?

it just gives me the feeling of having a cheesy software in my rig.
You will need some RCA -> stereo 3.5mm converter to use the card. Or you can just use digital connection and let your receiver do all the job (if you receiver has digital input)

Unfortunately, my receiver don't have digital input. Its a Yamaha RX-393 receiver.

Yes i'm currently using a RCA -> stereo 3.5mm cable to connect my HTPC to my receiver. But that is for the front channel. When I tried set in xp to enable 5 speakers, the sound driver indicates that I need to connect the rear channel output as well.

I'm thinking of getting another RCA to stereo 3.5mm cable and 2 x 2RCA to 1 RCA converter to input into the receiver. Means the front and rear channel from the mobo will both go into the receiver through the 2x 2RCA to 1RCA converter. Hope you understand what I'm saying here. I'm not sure if this is a workable solution though.