Newbie questions

[lucasbuck]

Sorry, I really have researched, I'm just overwhelmed. I'm completely new to HTPC, and am getting ready to buy Sage. I'm trying to decide on a capture and video card. Here's my setup and considerations:
- I have a non-HD projection TV now, so I need something other than HDMI output. S-video or something would be great. BUT, I'm going to be getting an HD sometime in the future, so if the card also had a HDMI output that would save me down the line.
- I also want to be able to run PC games through the card, on the TV.
- I use a DISH Network receiver, that's just a single tuner (1 room). So I guess I don't need a capture card that does more than one tuner, correct?
- What do I need to buy to have my Harmony One remote interface with Sage through my PC?

If someone could recommend a capture card, video card, etc. I would really appreciate it. Thanks for any help.

[SWKerr]

Tuner:
If you are in an area where you can get OTA signal then you probably want to get a card that will tune HD from an antenna. Even if you are using an analog TV the picture will look better than an analog capture if played back via Svideo. The OTA capture will also look great once you update the TV.

There are a few cards that will do OTA HD and analog capture. I would recommend the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250. You can get it with or without a remote kit. If you do not get the remote then you can add the USB-UIRT (Recommended). The USB-UIRT will cost more but will be more flexible. If you want to save some money you can get by with a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1600 but it can only do one HD show at a time. If you do not have OTA locals than any analog tuner will really work but you will still need the USB-UIRT to change the channel on the Sat box. (Most Hauppauge cards come with a IR blaster so USB-UIRT would not be required)

Remote:
Most remotes that come with a capture card can be used in Sage and setup to work on the Harmony. I would get the USB-UIRT because it will be easier to setup. Using the MCE blaster outside of MCE is difficult to setup. The Hauppauge blaster works ok but I would still use the USB-UIRT even considering the extra cost.

I would also use EventGhost as well. EventGhost will allow you much better control of SageTV as well as let you control other programs. I use my remote to control Netflix and the Hulu desktop.

Video Card:
It would be better to get a card with HDMI out and buy a box to convert VGA to Svideo. Last year they were common but now that requirement will cost more and you will get less card.

I got this converter to send signal to my old analogs sets ($25). It will take input up to 1024x768. The picture looks good on the old TVs.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

With the converter box you can get whatever video card you want. I would recommend the ATI 4550. I have this one ($40).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102819

The ATI 4550 will be fine for gaming at 1024x768 and even be decent on HDMI in higher resolutions later. The ATI 4850 is much more of a reasonably priced gamers card but until you upgrade your TV it would be pointless.

The nVidia cards generally require you to plug in to the motherboard for HDMI audio. Be careful about this if you are looking at them that you have the right connection on your motherboard. The 9600GT is a decent gamers card with Svideo out but may not work as well when you upgrade to HDTV and HDMI.

[lucasbuck]

Thanks for the reply. A few other things:
- I get locals through the dish, not great OTA.
- Wouldn't I need a video card with more memory for gaming? The one listed is only 512k.
- Should I get a sound card? Any recommendations if so.
- I'm wanting to have a monitor in my kitchen with a net connection and screen saver that works like a digital frame. Is there any card that could run sage on the tv, and do dual to the kitchen well?

[SWKerr]

I get locals through the dish, not great OTA.

You might want to try getting a better antenna. Being able to get locals in HD would be very desirable. The best setup would be a HVR-2250 for local HD and a HD-PVR hooked to a HD receiver. With that setup you could record just about anything you want in HD. The alternative would be two HD-PVRs and two Dish HD Receivers, more money probably less stable. The HD-PVRs are a little pricey if you don't have HD equipment yet but they would do analog capture as well and you would be future proof.

For analog I would still go with the HVR-1600. You can find cheaper but it will work and comes with everything you will need. If you fix the antenna then you are golden.

- Wouldn't I need a video card with more memory for gaming? The one listed is only 512k.

Video Card:
It really just depends on your gaming needs. I would venture to say yes you are good with just 512. The ATI 4670 is more suited to pure gaming but it will use more power and need a fan. In a HTPC you are usually striving for a passively cooled card. Until you get an new HD set you will be fine. After you buy the HD set you can still play the games at higher resolutions than before but a slower card will not be able to run smoothly at highest possible resolutions. Until you go to someones house with a nice $$$ setup you will not even know what you are missing. It will still be playable. You can drop a lot of cash on a gaming rig.
Here is a link to review covering that series of cards:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3420

Personally I do very little gaming on my PC. That is what the Xbox360 is for. It is a lot cheaper than a gaming PC and the graphics still look really good. The other thing to consider with gaming is the cpu. a fast processor is also required for decent performance at high resolutions. Here is something on the best graphics cards for the money:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...hics,2296.html

- Should I get a sound card? Any recommendations if so.

Sound card:
Most of todays built-in sound will work fine. What motherboard are you planning on using and what kind of sound does it have? What are the built in outputs. Also do you have a decent stereo to take advantage of digital sound.

- I'm wanting to have a monitor in my kitchen with a net connection and screen saver that works like a digital frame. Is there any card that could run sage on the tv, and do dual to the kitchen well?

We'll see if someone has any ideas but I am think not really. If you are willing to live with 1024x768 in the kitchen then yes. Analog recording will still probably look fine.

With a dual monitor setup you need to set the resolution to duplicate to each display if you want TV on both. In that case the resolution needs to be the same for both which would mean the the Monitor would not look as good as you probably want it because you had to set it low to support the analog set. You could have the resolution different on each but then you would need to manually move sage to the monitor you wanted to view it on.

Once you have a HD set then yes you could do it no problem but until then you are somewhat SOL. Most ATI and nVidia software allows you to save Profiles that will let you switch rather quickly between different video setups so it may not be as painful as I make it out to be.

There is always the extender for TV in the kitchen. ($200)

[lucasbuck]

Thanks again for the info. I'm sure I'll be bugging everyone once I start building it.

[freedml]

I use 3 Hauppauge 950Qs and have been happy with them. Lots of amplification is needed to get some channels as I'm in a fringe area.