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[JimH]

Last Friday, I went down to the local MicroCenter looking for parts to build a new PC to hook up to my TV and Stereo.  I ended up deciding it would be not much different in price and a lot easier to buy a PC.  I got a Sony RX650  Windows XP Home, PentiumŪ 4 1.60 GHz, 80 GB drive, 512 MB, CD-RW & DVD ROM, for about $1000.

I also got an All in Wonder Radeon, 128MB AGP video / tv tuner card, and a Logitech Cordless Freedom Optical keyboard/mouse.

At home, once I got it running, connected to my network, and switched the video card, I connected it to a Sony 32" Digital TV and to an amplifier.

The TV card is connected to the TV with an S-video cable for video and a ministereo to RCA jacks cable for audio.

The connection to the amplifier is by feeding TV sound back to the amp with RCA cables.

To get Windows Desktop images on the TV, I lowered the resolution to 800 x 600.  

HOW WELL DOES IT WORK?
My TV is now the monitor for the PC.  Running Windows, the image of the desktop is just useable.  It isn't crisp.  The text characters have non-uniform line widths, but it is readable.

Running Media Jukebox 8.0.199 with it works really well, with one exception (DVD).

TV works well with image quality comparable to using the TV tuner.  (I don't yet have an HDTV tuner.)

Music plays nicely, as you would expect.

What I didn't expect is that displaying digital images from a Sony camera works using their PictureGear program works extremely well.  The images are mostly 2048x1536 and they look great.

Combining a slide show of images with music was a big surprise.  Really pleasant.  Like a soundtrack on a movie.

DVD was good news and bad news.  It worked great, with a high quality picture.  But it only worked once for each movie I tried.  The second time, it wouldn't play.  It's probably a bug in the beta version of Media Jukebox.  We'll get it fixed.

The wireless keyboard and mouse worked well, too.  It took a little time but most of the media keys on the keyboard (volume, play, stop, next track, last track, etc.) work now.  I had to add a line to a file called players.ini in the Logitech directory.  Thanks, Gatobrit, for reporting it in your earlier thread.  Here's the line again:

MediaJukebox=cmd,media jukebox.exe,MJFrame,MEDIA JUKEBOX,xxx,32778,32779,32780,32781,32782,0,1,Media Jukebox

It's worth mentioning that the overall effect is that the experience is not much different than using standard stereo components except that you have the addition of the Windows desktop so you can do ALT Tab to get a different task or run TV in a window while you surf or read email.  Except for the readability of the text, it's just like using a PC usually is.

The best thing is that my wife loves it.  I find her at the TV now, looking sheepish.

For those who want to dig deep into this subject, I recommend the HTPC forum at AVSForum.  Here's the link:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=26

Anybody else doing this with their TV?  Details are welcome.

[Scronch]

Wow!
What a cool prize for all us Interacters!!
How do we enter this really cool contest?
Thanks!!

Scronch

[JimH]

Scronch,
I'm giving away the story, not the TV.  

Not sure what's up with Interact.  This should put it on top.

Jim

[IRONPANTS]

I just bought a 51" TV, installed a Radeon graphics card in my PC, and purchased a wireless mouse. It's absolutely incredible - people can sit in front of the TV and play music on Media Jukebox to their heart's content. And best of all, they don't have to mess with my PC. One roommmate said that this new setup is good for 20 additional pounds on each of us in the upcoming month. I diagree - at least 25.

-IRONPANTS

[Scronch]

WOW!  A 52" TV, a 32" TV, and a new PC!

GREAT PRIZES, GUYS!  I think we've been overdue for a great contest like this.

Now, how do we enter?

Scronch

[KingSparta]

now we need to know the burner model and specs

I do have a 36inch tv, that was the biggest i could go without going projection tv, and or HDTV and i see no point in that yet untill the fcc pulls the plug on the tv stations and they all convert to HDTV. most programs are standard and not hdtv quality i figure by the time i need a new tv HDTV will be ready for me.

Disclamer: unless my sight gets worse

[JimH]

Scronch,
Get your own TV.
Captain Cranberry

[koreth]

Depending on where you live, you might already have access to lots of HDTV shows.  Most of CBS's lineup is broadcast in HD.  So are ABC's high-profile shows like "Alias" and "NYPD Blue" and their weekend movies ("Raiders of the Lost Ark" and lots of James Bond flicks coming up in HD soon!)  Fox does widescreen (not high-resolution, but still digital) for "The X-Files" and a few other shows.  You can get HD HBO/Showtime if you have a DirecTV or DishNetwork dish; most of the movies they show are fed in high definition.

It looks fabulous.  I love getting a crowd together to watch "Alias" in HD widescreen each week.

What's more, if you use your PC as your decoder (there are a few addon cards to allow it), you can do TiVo-style timeshifting of HD shows with no loss in quality.

www.hdtvgalaxy.com has schedules and info on which stations are HD-capable.

[Scronch]

>>Scronch, Get your own TV. Captain Cranberry

I WON!  I WON!  And I didn't even know that I'd entered.
Thanks!  I'll be glad to email the shipping address.
My wife is sooooo excited.

Scronch

[Mysticeti]

> Anybody else doing this with their TV? Details are welcome.

Yes indeed.  My config is very similar.  One difference is that I have my "Media Jukebox PC" located in my basement so that the fan and disk noise aren't intrusive (the PC is on 24x7).  The PC's video (composite) and audio are snaked up via ductwork.  The mouse and keyboard are RF based (Logitech) so no line of site is needed.  Full screen visualizations are a feast for the senses when MJ is hooked up to a big screen TV and stereo system.

Initially this PC was an old Micron Pentium 200 MMX with an ATI (PCI) All in Wonder card tossed in for TV-OUT.  This worked great with MJ version 6.  Version 7 worked fine but full screen visualizations were a bit choppy.  Recently I upgraded the system to be a Pentium III with a GeForce 3 Ti video card and full screen vis is quite snappy again.

A note for anyone who might be considering this (putting the PC in a different room/basement): video card selection is important!  Don't get just any old card that has TV-OUT.  I'm actually somewhat disappointed in my GeForce 3 Ti card as it only displays output on the TV *or* the PC monitor.  The ATI All in Wonder did both simultaneously and based on this I assumed that was the standard behaviour.  If you don't want an ATI card there are older GeForce 2 cards with a feature called "TwinView" that supports simultaneous output. The new GeForce 4's have nView that should do the same.  With the ATI card I could easily work on the system while in the basement if necesssary (the PS/2 keyboard and mouse work conjunction with the USB wireless Logitech keyboard/mouse).

I'm pleased as punch with MJ and I'm stoked that the media keys on the Logitech keyboard work in V8.  I was already using the "Run" key to launch MJ.  With MJ configured to start playing whatever previously playing on startup I can hit this key on the keyboard and not have to turn on the TV to "get tunes".

To save power (and prevent accidental burn in) I have the PC configured to turn off the monitor and spin down the hard disks after an hour of inactivity.  I'm not sure MJ can do anything about it but sometimes the first song it plays after being launched with stall/skip in the middle because after playing what data Windows has cached in memory the hard drive has to be spun up.  Turning off disk spin down isn't an option (I'm already feeling guilty enough about leaving this PC on all the time).

Once HDTVs are the norm the problem of fuzzy text on TV displays will become a quaint memory.  In the mean time MJ allows you to pick a font and size which helps alleviate the problem.

P.S. Anyone want to buy a used 6 CD changer?  I haven't had mine hooked up to the stereo since getting MJ.

[JimH]

Bumping this to the top because someone asked about this general subject a few days ago.

[Endymion]

HTPC with dual display.  One display goes to 17" LCD, the other goes to Sanyo XP21N front projector onto 120" screen.  VGA signal for front projector comes from ATI Radeon card and passes through AccessDTV HDTV card then to projector.   Removable 120GB hard drive for APE library and music controlled by Media Jukebox, of course.  NTSC signal received by Hauppauge TV card and scaled by DScalar program and displayed through front projector since Accessdtv card NTSC quality sucks (the quality of the HDTV on it is great though).  Also have an additional 80 GB hard drive for storing HDTV streams.  Firewire/USB2.0 connections with Pinnacle Studio 7 software and Adobe Premier for capturing and editting DV from my camcorder.  Music output is via Soundblaster Live card Optical digital output to Denon 5800 receiver.  Using an old intel wireless keyboard which is a bit clunky (anyone know a small form factor wireless keyboard - not infrared, radio wireless?) and using the wireless Gyromouse which I feel is the best possible wireless mouse available.  Alpha CPU coolers and adjustable speed Enermax fans to allow for low speed quiet fan operation are a must in this application.  DVD playback via HP DVD RW writer using Cinemaster filters with the unbeatable Zoom Player.  My Tivo is connected to the Hauppauge card's SVideo input for scaling by DScalar.  The 17 inch monitor is for controlling Media Jukebox when I don't have the front projector on.   DVDs, HDTV and scaled NTSC all look fantastic on the big screen.   It's a one stop multimedia solution.  I love being able to orangize and play all my music via Media Jukebox any my 200CD changer has been gathering dust in the corner for months since I got the program.  DVD's look fantastic with the ATI Radeon card plus cinemaster DVD filters plus Zoom player and sound great via DTS decoding done on the 5800.

Next projeect (for this weekend).  Pack all that functionality into one of the Shuttle "Spacewalker" PC boxes which are really small.

-John

[sekim]

Endymion,

Can you tell me when the showtimes for Spiderman and Episode II are??  

Wow, this sounds like you should be charging admission. Any chance of real butter on the popcorn?