Working on first HTPC, few questions

[weeber]

Hey everyone, I finally got tired of all that old computer hardware I had lying around and decided to build an HTPC with it. I've been reading a bunch posts on this forum and HTPCnews, so I had a pretty good idea what I was getting into. However, I've run into a few issues that I'm hoping you guys can help me out with. I don't have PVR capabilities yet, but I'm planning on buying the PVR250 with Sage 2.0 in the next couple of weeks. First I want to get this thing running right first.

1. Probably the most annoying is this hum I'm getting from my speakers (connected to a reciever). I have the SPDIF out of my Soundblaster Live 5.1 (minijack to phono adapter) connected to the COAX2 input of the reciever. The hum is present even when the computer is off, but once I pull the powerplug from the computer, the hum disappears. From my research, it sounds like this is a grounding problem, but I haven't seen anything on how to solve it, any tips?

2. The TV-out I'm using is from a PNY FX-5200. Unforturnately I have to use composite, because my TV doesn't even have S-Video input. Anyhow, are there any tools you would recommend for adjusting the screen image other than the default NVIDIA ones?

3. My video card came with NVDVD to play DVDs, so this is what I started using to play DVDs. However, it's been problematic. At first it didn't want to play certain DVDs, but I seemed to have fixed this by upgrading to Windows Media Player 9. Now however, NVDVD seems to run fine the first time I start it, but if I close the program and start it again it takes forever to start playing. Any ideas.

4. Last question (for now). I'm not getting Dolby Digital from my DVDs. As mentioned above, I have the digital connected, I have told the Soundblaster drivers only to output to SPDIF, and I have told NVDVD that I'm connected to a receiver using SPDIF. Still I only get stereo, what do I need to do to get digital surround? Do I need to run the digital audio out cable from the drive to the input on the soundcard?

That's all for now, for your reference here's my setup.
Athlon (Thunderbird) 900MHz
Gigabyte M7VKD (VIA KT133A)
256MB RAM - PC100
Soundblaster Live 5.1

[montagne]

Hi weeber,
1.grounding issues can be a real pain to resolve sometimes, and there are tons of places on teh web to find answers to this question. TRy doing a google search on "ground loop". Before going thourgh a ton of reading though, make sure that your PC and your receiver are connected to the same outlet. The ground on different plugs can vary slightly, causing a hum.
2.have you tried .PowerStrip ? That's where I would start.
3.sorry, i can't help with this one. Try using a different player.
4.I don't know what the problem is here, it sounds like you've done it right, but I am not very familiar with NVDVD. You definitely do NOT need to plug the digital cable from the drive to the sound card.
5.(yeah, I know there was no 5). Read my article on TheNoiseReport.com. It may give you some ideas for building your HTPC.