Very innovative 2.4Ghz Wireless Keyboard/trackball/touchpad for HTPC MCE

http://usb.brando.com/usb-keyboard_c034d015

I wonder is anyone selling these products here in Malaysia ....

I would recommend you to connect via a DVI to HDMI converter, either a DVI to HDMI converter + a HDMI cable (male both sides) or buy those with 1 end HDMI and the other end DVI.

Much better to output digital display instead of analog vga display.

With this, even the audio can be sent to yr LCD TV without additional audio out cables. ( Not sure if your graphic card support this or not )

An investment in DVI-HDMI converter would not go to waste if you can still use it in the near future...

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Added on September 17, 2009, 1:13 amI just built one last month.... here are some of my experience and things to avoid... read my blog below.

For a full HTPC, remember to get a TV input card + remote control + IR Blaster ( http://hauppauge.com/site/products/data_pvr150mckit.html ) so that you can control yr Astro from yr HTPC and even schedule a recording accordingly.

I went with DDR3 but I think DDR2 should be fine too, prices are not too big of a differences these days.

I choose a ASUS AMD785G mobo with built-in ATI graphic card + VIA HD Audio... the audio can be sent to both HDMI (to the tv together with video ) and SPDIF ( optical link, raw digital audio ) directly to AV receiver for DTS decoding.

If you use it for Astro recording, you might need to keep the HTPC turn 24hrs so SSD would not make much sense.

Remember to budget for a bluetooth dongle, keyboard + mouse as those Microsoft Wireless/Cordless keyboard/mouse would NOT work as the distance between the receiver and keyboard/mouse are too short range and too much interferences.

Also remember to get a quiet CPU cooler as the stock cooler would makes too much fan noise.

Hope this helps..









This post has been edited by stan001: Sep 17 2009, 01:13 AM

Not sure if this help, try to configure the Sound under Control Panel under the Audio and Voice tab.

There is a default voice device and voice recording.. which device to send the voice & audio to...

My board have both ATI HDMI output and VIA HD Audio device..so I need to select which device to send the audio output to...

I'm using win XP MCE 2005 for my HTPC. Have not used Vista before, it looks heavy on graphics and gonna slow down my PC ...

MS MCE is kinda bad and not very well designed, very very hard to find where to configure so many settings as it was hidden all over the place... sometimes, my liveTv does not work.. but the integration with IR blaster for the remote control of Astro is good for scheduled recording..

Hv not played with MediaPortal yet..

Why not go with new AMD 785G chipsets (with HD4200 IGP) as 780 is an older chipsets... you know la, motherboard investment can last a long long time... other components (ram/hdd/gc/cpu) can be changed but motherboard usually last the longest..

Read about the AMD 785G chipsets :-
http://hothardware.com/Articles/AMD-785G-C...igabyte/?page=1

Wireless would be too slow..

You can go with those ethernet over electrical wires... hv yr content in a NAS

85M or 200M HomePlug... depending on where the power socket is located, you can get 15-20Mbps tput ... the more adapters, the lower the speed...


You will need a pair...

Number of sound channels depends on the content ( 2, 5.1 or 7.1 )...

If you play a HD movie in .mkv encoded with DTS/DD, then you will get 5.1.. if the content is only encoded in stereo, then you get 2 channels only...

Best way is to try to play a DVD on yr PC, in the s/w select DTS or Dolby Digital and select SPDIF as your sound output, it should send the digital sound signal to yr AVR like a regular DVD player would do..

I do not think such HD content exist in Malaysia or at least over streamyx... US or Korea probably YES...not here..

Your best alternative option would be to play Blueray movies for HD content or like myself, borrow some HD content to experience the differences of playing 720p or 1080p compared to DVD content.. as for the sound, it is still either DTS / DD...

I would not focus on any brand or models...

For HTPC, unlike normal desktop PC, the requirements are a little different :-

Important criteria :-

- HTPC chassis, there are lots of very nice ( and expensive ) case to choose from to blend into yr living room ...

- Cooling - with some small cramp chassis and inside yr poor circulation tv cabinet, cooling is important as it is relative to the fan noise

So choose all the components with lowest noise/low fan RPMs - PSU, CPU, CPU cooler, GPU...

- choices of output - MUST have - HDMI -> tv, SPDIF -> AVR

Soundcard - no comments, no experience with the X-Fi card since usually output digital to AVR for decoding..


Hope this helps in your decision...

AMD 760 is an old chipset with HD 3000 IGP... get the current chipset for future proof... 785G is the latest chipset with IGP HD 4200..

If you planning to get the ATI 4830, you might want to go with AMD 770 (no IGP) + SB 710

Choices are ( by pricing ), MSI , ASUS , Gigabyte... google for the A770 models...

Make sure the mobo have HD audio on board as you need to be used with yr existing speakers ( not AVR )..

Do you need recording function for yr HTPC ??

If YES, go for the Hauppauge PVR-150, the MCE edition comes with a sensor & remote control... it can also control yr Astro via a IR blaster ( send IR signal to yr Astro decoder to change the channels ) when you do schedule recording..

No if do not need recording, I think getting of of those special hardware media player ( too many to choose from ) and plug into yr LCD/Plasma would be cheaper / easier to setup...

Try running the Win XP Media Center Edition (if you can still find it), it comes with the built-in media center s/w with recording functions... if you do not want to go with Vista..

AMD CPU hv feature called "cool & quiet", it will clockdown when idle by reducing the multiplier... my 2.8Ghz would be running at 800Mhz when idle.. Use CPU-Z to check the running speed.

You MIGHT need an efficient/low speed CPU cooler if the stock cooler gets too noisy... my stock cooler was running at 6000 RPMs and it was very annoying in the living room... so hv to get the Zalman CNPS low profile cooler

Win XP would only use less than 4Gb due to the 32bit limitations BUT you still need some ram (512Mb) as Video RAM / Frame Buffer for the ATI HD 4200... so it would be less than 4GB anyway..

Make sure the HTPC chassis is efficient in drawing out extra heat ... add/change to low noisy fans too..

I got the Zalman 8700 LED for around RM180-190 at ALL IT Mall... the cooler is low enuf for some smaller HTPC chassis and the fan blows down towards the mobo, so can cool the rest of the board too..

I set the fan speed to 2000 RPM ( max is only 2400 ), this cooler is very efficient in terms of heat transfer...

A bit hard to install on my mobo cos the fancy heatsink design on top of the chipsets... luckily the heatsink is adjustable a bit...

No idea what mobo model r u taking about...

Most mobo need to have either 4 pins or 8 pins power from the power supply..

Check the power supply unit connectors, most should support both 4 pin or 8 pins (2 x 4 pins) ... and check the mobo layout to see what type of connectors it needed.

Just plug in the 4 pins, if you system are still unstable, buy a 4 pins to 8 pins adapter..

8 pins are really needed for those dual CPU or those Xeon CPU that requires lots of power.

Google Gigabyte forums for other possible solutions..

I think higher power rating PSU comes with 2 x 4 pins for the CPU.

I am no electrical / electronics expert... only know that W = V * A ( still do not understand those specs on the PSU means )...

What I understand about the 4pins & 8pins CPU socket is that it just carry same amt of current using more cables ...

My Xigmatek 500W PSU comes with two 4pins connector but I only use one of them only...

If you do not overclock yr CPU or use too many stuff that take up the too much power ( a few hdd, GPU card..etc..etc ) , then the 4 pins should work.. if you get unstable, then buy the 4pins to 8 pins connector and if it is still unstable, then you are not supplying enuf power to the mobo / cpu.. then you might need to change yr PSU to a higher rating one...

I'm confused when you mention 2 x 2 pin and 2 x 4pins...

Have fun setting up your HTPC..

Most ppl usually use Media Player Classic as it support most of the video codec ( .mkv,etc.. ) .. and even support GPU offload to decode those HD content... 720p, 1080p

Downside is that it does not work with remote controller... I usually use my BT mouse for controlling the playback ... a bit of a hassle..

Pls dun get those Cordless type, costing like RM120 or less for both keyboard and mouse... the range of the keyboard / mouse is like 2 - 3 feet only...

I purchased a cordless type from Viewnet, have to exchange it for a Logitech BT MediaPro keyboard, not the best keyboard around but that was the only BT keyboard they have at the moment.... plus add in RM20 for a bluetooth dongle..

Yr options are 2.4Ghz type or Bluetooth (BT) options of keyboard and mouse or those Media Edition keyboard/mouse combo ( usually comes with either trackball or small touchpad )

Depend on yr budget, taste, feel (touchpad or trackball) and availability here....

With BT type ( add RM20 for the dongle ) you can also connect to yr other BT devices like phone for file transfer...etc..etc..


This forumer sells HTPC cases and remote controller..

http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=662901&hl=





This post has been edited by stan001: Jan 22 2010, 01:22 PM

Not the same meh ??, the program that comes with K-Lite is called Media Player Classic home cinema..

A good article for all HTPC users :-
http://www.guru3d.com/article/accelerate-x...the-gpu-guide/1

Found info on how to make MCE remote controller to work with the latest version of Media Player Classic Home Cinema (MPC-HC V1.3.1249.0 )

Options -> Player -> Keys

Look for command Play, choose MEDIA_PLAY pulldown menu under App Command column...

Do the same for Pause, Stop, Jump Forward (medium) & Jump Backward (medium )...

Credit to the person that wrote this instructions below :-

http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-entert...er-classic.html

The ION mobo is very nice and fanless... I read a lot of good stuff on the ION platform as a HTPC/MediaPlayer appliance..

How much is the price of this mobo ?

Does the XMBC do DXVA (DirectX Video Acceleration) using the ION GPU ? If yes, than it will not use the CPU for decoding...

I read somewhere the ION uses the 9400M GPU..

What about the chassis ?

I think manufacturer will use board to built fanless MediaPlayer appliance out of it with all the necessary bundled s/w..