Build a television capable media PC
April 14, 2003 on 11:51 pm | In Ad Rem | 1 CommentI have half a terabyte of hard drive space for DivX and mpeg-4 videos. I open a video file with a mouse movement and 3 clicks, minimize media player, and watch it on my TV with digital sound to my AV receiver. I can use the computer at the same time without noticeable slowdown or having to limit my computer use in fear of skipping. It is seamless. I can pause, rewind, and watch the next episode immediately; anything I care to do it is at my fingertips. I will explain fully how to achieve this.
First you must start with a reasonable home theatre system. I recommend an AV receiver with digital input. Next you need to buy the smallest and best looking computer case you can bear to see in your living room or in whatever room your TV happens to be. Be careful when picking your case, as built in video will be unsatisfactory and, you need to have room for an AGP slot. I personally use the Antec Aria. There are some amazingly small cases out which are VCR, or even Gamecube sized. A processor from AMD or Intel rated at 2000 or above is recommended. 512 megabytes of RAM is my minimum.
If you are going to build a high quality media machine you will need the Matrox G400 Dual Head. The G450, G500, and G550 are similar cards, but the G400 is truly the best for the job. If you cannot find a G400 on Price Watch the others I mentioned will work passably, but do not go for another brand such as ATI All-In-Wonder. The much more expensive Matrox Parhelia isn’t necessary, but will work too.
If your AV receiver supports digital then I would get a motherboard with digital sound capability onboard. Digital sound is always flawless, so you need not worry about cheap components creating noise. If you have only analog audio, I recommend a sound card such as the SoundBlaster Audigy 2 or the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz.