HTPC Finished + 1 more question

[BenKenobi]

Hey all

I've made a couple posts about an HTPC and I finished it right after christmas. And let me tell you, it was a real pain.

We ended up going with the asus p5q-em, which is a micro atx motherboard that was SUPPOSED to have a powerful enough onboard video to support hd. However, ASUS has actually a terrible job making drivers for the windows XP version of this chip, and does not support HD. Cyberlink would not accept it. Only the vista version of the driver would pass the cyberlink check.

To bypass this, we picked up a 4350 ati on newegg for 30 bucks and its now working fine with my old e6600 processor (overkill a little bit).

This was disappointing as the motherbaord was advertised as a great HTPC board. I am now going over to newegg to write a review, because there are over 60 reviews for this baord, but only one saying the same problem that I got and was very brusque with not much information...

Anyways, I'll post pix later

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1 more question

The cyberlink that came with the LG drive was an OEM version - and it does not support full sound, it will only give 2 channel. I knew this from the beginning, as juneau told me this, but i learned that upgrading to the deluxe version will not allow you to play HD-DVD's anymore, and only Blu-rays. So what my question is, are there viable alternatives to Cyberlink, should is going to make me pay 90 dollars for full sound (total rip) that can still play HD-DVDs? Because Hd-dvds are a LOT cheaper than blu-ray disks.

Thanks

[juneau]

Hey all

I've made a couple posts about an HTPC and I finished it right after christmas. And let me tell you, it was a real pain.

We ended up going with the asus p5q-em, which is a micro atx motherboard that was SUPPOSED to have a powerful enough onboard video to support hd. However, ASUS has actually a terrible job making drivers for the windows XP version of this chip, and does not support HD. Cyberlink would not accept it. Only the vista version of the driver would pass the cyberlink check.

To bypass this, we picked up a 4350 ati on newegg for 30 bucks and its now working fine with my old e6600 processor (overkill a little bit).

This was disappointing as the motherbaord was advertised as a great HTPC board. I am now going over to newegg to write a review, because there are over 60 reviews for this baord, but only one saying the same problem that I got and was very brusque with not much information...

Anyways, I'll post pix later

---------


1 more question

The cyberlink that came with the LG drive was an OEM version - and it does not support full sound, it will only give 2 channel. I knew this from the beginning, as juneau told me this, but i learned that upgrading to the deluxe version will not allow you to play HD-DVD's anymore, and only Blu-rays. So what my question is, are there viable alternatives to Cyberlink, should is going to make me pay 90 dollars for full sound (total rip) that can still play HD-DVDs? Because Hd-dvds are a LOT cheaper than blu-ray disks.

Thanks

I had a feelilng you would be posting this soon. Cyberlink quashed the HD-DVD hack a few patches ago. There is still a work around but it requires you to take files from PowerDVD 7.3. This is a very long winded, so onto the alternatives. Corel WinDVD. This will play Blu-ray and HD-DVD. It's has pretty decent support and seemingly doesn't need to be updated half as often as PowerDVD. It does have it's bugs though, just like Cyberlinks offering. The other option is Arcsoft Total Media. I haven't used this. I've heard good things, and i've heard bad things. The main problem right now is that there is limited options when playing HD discs on PC's, and tbh none are really up to scratch.

I do suggest that you ditch the idea of playing HD-DVD's and stick with Blu-ray. Yes they're cheaper, but at the expense of buying another application that might give you playback headaches? I'm currently re-purchasing all my HD-DVD's on Blu-ray and it sucks (no Hot Fuzz or Shaun of the dead on blu yet). But i know for a fact that if this drive ever dies the chance are the products around for sale when i come to buy a new one will be Blu-ray only. Nobody is going to support a dead format.

Last little tidbit....... i'm actually buying a standalone player. I've gone through so much haslle with my HTPC that i'm giving up as of sorts. It will still be used but for file based playback only (MKV). I have some discs in my library that aren't new, yet PowerDVD (which is my player of choice) requires a update that isn't available, and has been this way for weeks. Which is why Slysoft Anydvd HD is needed. Also i have strange video skips every 40 seconds that look like a dropped frame. This apparently is due to outputting at 24hz to the TV when the file is actually 23.976. It can be helped but then you have to add another application into the mix called ReClock or you can try Powerstrip with custom timings which can take weeks of guessing to setup. If you have a 24p TV i hope for your sake that your gfx card will output at 23.98Hz, however i doubt it will.

I don't want to burst your new HTPC bubble, but from my experience it just isn't worth it, and tbh i wish i has never bought my LG Blu/HD-DVD drive, and as of right now i'd say that introducing HiDef playback via actual disc media onto PC's at this stage was a bad idea.

Yet there are people who have good experiences.

These are good guys if you ever need any indepth help.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-cinema-pcs/

[BenKenobi]

Thanks for the advice Juneau.

I also have to agree with your last point. This whole HTPC was more of a headache than it was a good thing. I reused a bunch of my components (case, HDD, PSU) and it still ended up being more expensive than a standalone. I think we would have been better off buying a PS3.

As far as playback, it's looked fine to us, and I've never seen skipping - yet.

I'll definitely check out the Corel solution, but I still need to do more research.

PowerDVD just seems like total crap to me, since they give you the supposedly "full" version, yet you can't get good sound! You know that they intentionally did that.

[juneau]

Thanks for the advice Juneau.

I also have to agree with your last point. This whole HTPC was more of a headache than it was a good thing. I reused a bunch of my components (case, HDD, PSU) and it still ended up being more expensive than a standalone. I think we would have been better off buying a PS3.

As far as playback, it's looked fine to us, and I've never seen skipping - yet.

I'll definitely check out the Corel solution, but I still need to do more research.

PowerDVD just seems like total crap to me, since they give you the supposedly "full" version, yet you can't get good sound! You know that they intentionally did that.

So are you outputting to a 24p TV? It's quite hard to notice most of the time. However if it happens during a panning shot you will indeed see it. The micro-stutter as it's called is a total PITA.

They do give you the full version. However it's a full OEM version not retail. Gotta love'em eh?

[WalkinTarget]

Heh, poor Ben .. we tried to warn him ...

Juneau, are you saying you are not satisfied with your BD stuff ?? Clarify on that point for me, so I can make fun of you too if you mean what I am reading.

I've officially retired the component DVD player now, and my wife (bless her technology naivete) asked me how we were going to watch DVDs on the plasma.

I explained to her that I have a lot better setup built into the HTPC than the standalone unit, and it was simply a matter of popping the disc into that instead of the component.

I have a feeling I will need to purchase PowerDVD as well to make things work well, but until I finish building mine, I have no idea what I need. The included audio on my board even has its own separate codecs and installation instructions based on what you are plugging it in to.

So what have we learned ? HTPC setups are as difficult as ever, and if you expect things to just work, you are in for a world of stress. Its not even the fault of the end user, as when you toss in OCUR or BD audio, you run into legal hassles that have kept these things from being developed and rolled out to end users.

[juneau]

Heh, poor Ben .. we tried to warn him ...

Juneau, are you saying you are not satisfied with your BD stuff ?? Clarify on that point for me, so I can make fun of you too if you mean what I am reading.

I've officially retired the component DVD player now, and my wife (bless her technology naivete) asked me how we were going to watch DVDs on the plasma.

I explained to her that I have a lot better setup built into the HTPC than the standalone unit, and it was simply a matter of popping the disc into that instead of the component.

I have a feeling I will need to purchase PowerDVD as well to make things work well, but until I finish building mine, I have no idea what I need. The included audio on my board even has its own separate codecs and installation instructions based on what you are plugging it in to.

So what have we learned ? HTPC setups are as difficult as ever, and if you expect things to just work, you are in for a world of stress. Its not even the fault of the end user, as when you toss in OCUR or BD audio, you run into legal hassles that have kept these things from being developed and rolled out to end users.

I am satisfied. Except for the small niggling problem of the micro stutter. Like i told ben, it's not always noticable until it happens on a panning shot. The main reason i'm going for a standalone player is not because the micro stutter won't be there, but the better support from the manufacturers when new firmware is needed.

[BenKenobi]

Well I went and bought the full Cyberlink last night. We were getting full 5.1 channel sound and we watched Stargate. It was pretty much awesome.

We were watching for over 2 hours and I didn't notice any micro stuttering. It was smooth the whole way through.

Looks like I'm done, but it sure was a hassle getting to this point.

[juneau]

Well I went and bought the full Cyberlink last night. We were getting full 5.1 channel sound and we watched Stargate. It was pretty much awesome.

We were watching for over 2 hours and I didn't notice any micro stuttering. It was smooth the whole way through.

Looks like I'm done, but it sure was a hassle getting to this point.

Are you outputting to a TV that has that unnatural 100Hz processing etc? It also depends how big your screen is and how far you sit way from it.

[BenKenobi]

Well I'm not going to worry about unless I notice something

[juneau]

Well I'm not going to worry about unless I notice something

I also have a trained eye, which sucks in these situations.

[mapes]

Looks like I'm done, but it sure was a hassle getting to this point.

This is why I've steered clear of this area...