Looking for input on HTPC system

Howdy,

Just finishing up finishing the basement and looking to build an HTPC and get a new TV. Looking to ask a couple basic questions and list some basic parts I have already to see how things would work.

I have a spare Athlon XP mobile 2400, Thermaltake Silent Boost cooler, and an ATI AIW 9600pro. Was thinking of buying a silverstone case, Abit NF7-S ver 2.0 MB, NEC DL burner, and 512MB of midrange memory. Does this sound like a basically workable solution for an HTPC system. Should I get a separate soundcard with SPDIF out??

I have an older sony amp that has optical audio in/out. I do not need to blow the roof off the house so I think the amp is powerful enough and I can hook up 5.1 surround the amp. Am I missing anything on the sound. Plug SPDIF in from the computer and it should work?

I am looking to spend about $1000 on a TV. I do not want a projector. If the TV I select has S video input can I just plug my All in Wonder into the TV directly without problems as the card has S video out? If so can the S video transmit any resolution without difficulty? (ie 480p, 720p,1080i) I am looking to get a screen at least 30in or larger so smaller LCD's are out and bigger LCDs, plasma which would have the DVI inputs are price prohibitive.

Any advantage to HDMI on the TV since my computer doesn't have that output? Or can I use a DVI to HDMI converter? Does such a thing exist? Is it more than $100 bucks if it does?

I am very unsure of all the connectivity and display issues. I don't want to buy the TV to discover the computer can't display on it correctly etc. I imagine the TV will be used mostly for playing movies from the computer, maybe some gaming. Will the 16:9 ratio TV work ok for the gaming and displaying the windows desktop? I see the 1080i resolution TV's a lot and they are in the $1000 range a lot. Can the computer display to the "i" or interleave resolutions? Is it compatible?

Finally can anyone point me to a tutorial or website so I can educate myself more on this?

Thanks for any help,
Mike

Answered one of my own questions.

DVI to HDMI converters exist and are about $100 for a 3 foot cord.

Follow up question as well, I know certain computer resolutions equate to tv resolutions. I think 1280x768 is 720p, or something like that. My point being does my video card have to send in a certain resolution for the TV to display correctly? Or will the TV take anything I send it and display at 1080i if that is the TV's default resolution?

Hopefully I am making some sense? Trying to figure this out is making me feel like I am not.

Thanks mike

You are correct for the most part. I have my PC hooked up with a dvi to hdmi converter cable. DVI cables just don't come long enough. From what I heard there is absolutely no difference between the cables. Also just get a cheap cable on ebay or something. I got a 25 ft dvi to hdmi cable for like 18 bucks. Yeah they are $100 bucks at best buy, but there is little difference in quality.

Also S-video is great if you have a basic tv. Problem is that it maxes at like 800x600 rez. It does not do any hd resolutions ie: 480p etc. So on your regular tv it is fine for movies and such...but not for surfing the web or pc games.

My pc is hooked up at 1280x720 that is the 720p resolution. That is the basic widescreen resolution. I had to mess with it quite a bit with powerstrip to get the desktop to fit. I hear this is less of a problem with LCDs, I have a Samsung DLP. I am in the process of upgrading my PC and making this one into my HTPC for anime, roms, and old adventure games.

So to answer your question if you are making a HTPC setup make sure you get an HDTV. You can get one without hdmi or dvi. There are component adapters for radeon cards so you can do that instead.

ebay cable here

Please don't pay 100 for the cable. It hurts me on the inside. I think this is the same guy I got mine from.

sweet, thanks for the heads up on the cable. Looking more seriously at a smaller tube crt set. 30inch samsung slim version which can recieve in 720p, most of the big screens in my price range are 1080i. Wanted to stay around $1000 for the tv.

Thanks, mike

Make sure you get one that has 720p all the new stuff is going to be that way. I don't know much about crt tvs. I went big with the 50' samsung dlp.

I think for 1000 bucks I would go with a projector. There are some really cool set ups to look at. All I know about projectors is that DLP is better and you want a bright one :p

Let me know what you get.

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Originally posted by Yuriens
sweet, thanks for the heads up on the cable. Looking more seriously at a smaller tube crt set. 30inch samsung slim version which can recieve in 720p, most of the big screens in my price range are 1080i. Wanted to stay around $1000 for the tv.

Thanks, mike

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That new Samssung looks really good for the price. If you end up getting it, let us all know how it is. I have a few Samsung displays and they are all great.