HTPC advice

[schmosef]

Have you seen a review of an X1300 doing HDTV?

[Mehen]

not yet, but i did find this http://www.bonafidereviews.com/artic...?id=122&page=2

I noticed that the "HDTV" adapter plugs into the svideo on the vid card - isn't svideo only 480p @ max, or is it because the "svideo" port on the video card isn't really regular svideo (I think it has more pins than standard svideo and thus might actually do HD...)

anyways, will keep looking...

[Mehen]

most "indepth" review of the video out so far... pretty sad excuse for a review though

http://casemodgod.com/Reviews-story-2-96.html

All he says is that he was "impressed..."

" The Sapphire X1300 is also equipped with the Avivo technology. Avivo is ATI's revolutionary video and display platform to be bring you dazzling colors, super sharp images, and smooth video playback. The card is also ready to handle your HDTV for play back too. I hooked up the card to a nearby TV and was impressed by the performance and quality it displayed, the playback was smooth and flawless. I was able to adjust the setting to my TV and tweak what ever I wanted. "

[Mehen]

here's an interesting bit:

http://www.hothardware.com/viewarticle.aspx?page=7&articleid=734&cid=2

seems the nvidia card scored higher than the ATIs, but that is with an older ATI driver, and ATI actually improves performance with new drivers

app they used:

http://www.hqv.com/benchmark.cfm

whether the new drivers show improvement or not, AVIVO does look pretty good on paper

[schmosef]

Hey, the Parhelia looked good on paper!

[Mehen]

lmao!!

Well, bottom line, with an X1300 im they can't go wrong, its dirt cheap

[az]

You will not be able to build a quiet and good-looking HTPC with a remote like the Sonos offers for that amoung. Well, maybe you could, but it would really be a lot of work. If all he wants to do is have a system to listen to music stored on a harddrive (on a computer or NAS device), have a look at the Squeezebox and Soundbridge. They both have pretty neat design and good displays, and cost a lot less than the Sonos. The Terratec Noxon is dirt cheap, but I returned mine (crappy, though fascinatingly blue display - I don't think I've ever seen anything that blue before! Also, reaction to the cheap-feeling remote was poor and navigation was slow.)

The Soundbrigde is compatible with lots of Media Servers (iTunes, Windows Media Connect, uPnP servers like TwonkyVision...), and there is a method of installing TwonkyVision on a Linksys NSLU2, so this would be a relatively cheap and very silent and energy-saving combination.

I don't know if it's available outside of Germany, but the Hermstedt Hifidelio is a stationary mp3 player with built-in harddrive, cd drive (to grab discs), and display (I'd never buy a player that would force me to use the TV for listening to music).

[schmosef]

It's not simply a cost issue. He has money.

Right now he's weighing the pros and cons of going with a Sonos versus getting an HTPC. I've told him that I'm not trying to push him in either direction.

The Sonos is a great solution to a very specific problem. The HTPC is much more flexible but isn't nearly as good as the Sonos for the specific issue that the Sonos targets.

[az]

Yep. I'm thinking about getting a HD recorder for video and some kind of stationary mp3-from-hd player with display sometime next year if funds permit and it really bugs me that there is no standard for this stuff, or I could make do with one HD and both appliances and the computer accessing it.