advice on creating a media center

ello2003

im thinking about creating a media center where i can view and record tv as well

as a fully function pc using video editing, and productivity tools

I have sky digital and a cinema surround sound kit... i want to be able to record sky tele through windows media center would i be able to do this with the following hardware

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en...-78001219.html

this is the pc i wish to connect and the tele is a Samsung LE32R74BDX 32 inch HD Ready LCD

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-LE32.../dp/B000F4TC3C

my question is would i be able to record sky tv and work as normal on windows media centre and what cables etc will i need to do so

thanks very much in advance

kind regards
ELO2003

8T8

The HP link is broken. I assume this is a pre-built system from HP with MCE on it ?

If so all it needs is a tuner which HP will probably supply if not order one with it.

As for the TV I have the same series TV. It offers a variety of methods for connecting to a PC.

VGA - easiest for connecting graphics card output to TV. HDMI is also an option with a DVI to HDMI cable.

As for Sky you will need a scart adapter to convert the video signal assuming you want the "best" picture quality get a scart RGB to s-video converter and all you need to do is run the cables from that to the computers tuner.

You can also use one of these little adapters if you just want to use composite.

As for the query about using the PC yes you can use it as normal while MCE records in the background though make sure the CPU in the PC your buying is a dual core one to handle the load.

ello2003

Processor, operating system and memory
Processor type
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6600
• 2 x 2.40 GHz, Level 2 cache 4 MB, 1066 MHz
Operating system installed
Genuine Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 with Update Rollup 2
Upgradability
Windows Vista Capable PC*Windows Vista Premium Ready
Supported applications
Windows Vista Premium Ready
Platform
Intel® Viiv™ Technology
Chipset
Intel® P965 express chipset
Standard memory
2 GB
Memory type
DDR2-SDRAM
Memory slots
4 DIMM sockets
Internal drives
Internal hard disk drive
250 GB
Hard disk controller
SATA 3G Hard Disk Drive
Hard disk drive speed
(7200 rpm)
External hard disk drive
HP Personal Media Drive sold separately (PC170A)
Optical drive type
DVD writer
Optical drive speed
SATA DVD RAM and Double Layer ±R/ ±RW 16x/8x max supporting LightScribe technology
System features
Memory card device
15in1 memory card reader
Modem
High speed 56K modem
Network interface
Ethernet 10/100BT integrated network interface
Video capture interface
IEEE 1394 FireWire® Interface
Wireless technologies
Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g
Video adapter
ATI RADEON X1650 SE, with Avivo
Video RAM
512 MB video memory
TV tuner
TV (analog and DVB-T) tuner card
Internal audio
Intel® High Definition Audio 7.1
Audio connectors
3 front audio ports, 6 rear analog audio ports & 2 rear digital audio ports
Keyboard
Wireless keyboard and optical mouse
Handheld remote control
HP Media Center Remote Control
External drive bays
2 external optical drive bays, 1 internal HDD bay, 1 external HDD bay
Expansion slots
3 PCI
External I/O ports
6 USB 2.0 ports (2 in front); 2 FireWire®-IEEE-1394 ports (1 in front)
Software


thanks for the fast reply

also what composite? i only want to be able to plug in sky to my media center and record will i need that scart RGB to s-video or the other adapter

cheers

8T8

Yeah everything looks fine on the hardware specifications the only thing I cannot see is if the tuner HP supply has s-video or composite inputs which is what you will need to feed the signal from the Sky set top box into the tuner.

It says it has an analogue tuner for terrestrial TV and a DVB-T tuner for digital TV, it probably does have s-video or composite but if it doesn't then you will need to get a tuner which does (which is easy enough).

In regards the query above composite is a type of video connection (ever see the yellow,red,white cables for plugging something into a TV) and so is s-video. S-video offers better picture quality over composite so if it really matters to you get the converter from maplins (which can also output composite as well).

In order to get the video signal from the Sky set top box into the tuner it must be converted into something the tuner supports, unfortunately scart being a primarily Euro thing most TV tuners do not support scart so we must convert into composite or s-video.

Take a look at this MCE compatible tuner on Komplett in the picture you can see the composite connection yellow carries the video, the s-video one in the black connector in the center. If you are wondering what red and white do they carry the audio and are used also in conjunction s-video.

ello2003

im a little confused now...

so how exactly will everything plugin in?

will my sky plug into media pc then the pc connects via a dvi to hdmi to my hdtv or does sky need to be in my tv via scart etc

just so i can go add my pc, tv ad all cables and things i require to a shopping basket

thanks again

8T8

okay here is how it will work out:

PC -> TV (VGA cable like regular computer monitor) (alternatively you can hook it up via DVI -> HDMI.)

Sky box scart output -> scart cable -> maplins scart/s-video convertor -> s-video cable -> RCA cables for audio -> PC tuner s-video input & audio input.

With that setup you will be able to use the TV as a regular computer monitor & record the output from the Sky box.

SouperComputer

well, the PC is going to control everything so yes, the Ddgibox gets connected to the PC. Then the PC simply gets connected to your TV and or audio amp.

You will use the remote for your computer to change the channels. The has its own IR transmitter (called a blaster). This sticks onto the front of the digibox to allow the PC to control the channel selection.

The PC should take connections just like a a conventional TV or VCR, Svideo and Composite. So all you need as an adaptor\cable that goes into the SCART on the digibox to get those signals into the PC.

ello2003

awesome guys,

forever grateful

ello2003

final question but would it be possible to replace the scart cable -> maplins scart/s-video convertor - with http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=-9471&DOY=5m12
this

8T8

Yes you can but you will need to use the composite video cable as s-video wont be in colour with those adapters.

ello2003

Sky box scart output -> scart cable -> maplins scart/s-video convertor -> s-video cable -> RCA cables for audio -> PC tuner s-video input & audio input.


so just to clarify cos ive order my media center pc and tele just got the cables to go

Sky box scart output -> scart adapter> composite video a/v lead-> PC tuner s-video input & audio input.

s-video cable -> RCA cables for audio will these be replaced by http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=32572&criteria=composite&doy=5m12

hope im understanding correctly
thank you for your time

8T8

Yes the composite video cable is actually just the yellow one but the red/white RCA (also referred to as phono) cables carry the audio but are often lumped in as part of the composite video.

So basically;
Sky Box scart out -> Scart/Composite adapter*-> Composite video & audio cables-> PC tuner composite video & audio input

* The adapter must be plugged into one of the scart outputs on the Sky box and the switch on the adapter set to out (the little arrow pointing away from the scart side in the picture of the adapter you linked to).

ello2003

hello again ive connected everything up as stated...however im still having some teething problems........the quality of the sky through MCE is poor and the aspect is out when i use my scart STB to scart on the tele its ace but the Comp AV gives poor results any way to improve these settings? also the audio is out of sync when viewing live tv

also i have no sound from my PC what so ever not media player or windows sound the sound for my sky is again connected to a surround sound system via a scart im thinkin i need to buy some digital in/out to go from my surround sound system to my PC will this then play sounds from windows thru the system?

help!

thanks

8T8

ello2003 wrote:

hello again ive connected everything up as stated...however im still having some teething problems........the quality of the sky through MCE is poor and the aspect is out when i use my scart STB to scart on the tele its ace but the Comp AV gives poor results any way to improve these settings? also the audio is out of sync when viewing live tv

also i have no sound from my PC what so ever not media player or windows sound the sound for my sky is again connected to a surround sound system via a scart im thinkin i need to buy some digital in/out to go from my surround sound system to my PC will this then play sounds from windows thru the system?

help!

thanks

The picture quality is due in part to composite video connection.

The audio sync issue is a common enough problem though not exactly easy to pin down as to why just make sure;
All updates from Windows update are installed choose custom and install all from "High priority" & "Software, Optional"
Tuners drivers are up to date
Double check cable connections from TV to tuner

The aspect ratio can be compensated for by pressing the I (Info) button on your MCE remote and select zoom cycle though by pressing the ok button and will stretch to fill the screen the '3' setting is a common favourite.

The sound from your PC is routed into the TV through the PC Audio in marked on your Samsung HDTV it is a standard 3.5mm jack like the standard stereo output on your soundcard. All you need is a cable to link them.

I'm not familiar enough with Sky & surround systems so I do not know how it is routed or if it disables audio on the scart connection or not if you gives us more info on the type surround sound system you have we might be able to help.

ello2003

I dont have the model number for my surround sound system but its a phillips and its have line in (phono red and whites) aux out (phono red and whites) digital line in and s-video...im going out to buy some digital in leads tha morra as ive plugged my headphones into the back connection of my computer ie the sound cards output and it worked where as the connections on the front s-video, comp av , headphones and mic must be input as the headphones port on the front didnt have any sound.

8T8

Getting a little confused here myself with that last post so just to spell it out as clearly as I can;

The Samsung HDTV's have a dedicated PC Audio in on the back of the display very near or next to the VGA connection if it has not changed location on more recent models. This uses the same 3.5mm connector you often find on computer speakers and head phones & this will channel the sound from the PC soundcards line out to the TV at least in stereo.

In order to output the sound from the PC to the surround system well that is straight forward enough the tricky part is sharing it with the Sky box an area I'm honestly not sure how to tackle. Anyway you have two means of connection through the analogue connections or the digital connection which is called SPDIF your soundcard in the PC must have the output for either in order to make the connection.

As for the front panel connections I assume you mean those on the PC itself it puts the ports there for easy access they are not inputs they are duplicates of the ports on the back of the machine. There may be some configuration issue either software or hardware that is preventing it from working as it should when the headphones are inserted into the front panel connection.

This guide on Microsoft's site may be of some use to you in setting up surround sound on the system.

ello2003

Thanks for your time and patience ive now bought a digital in/out cable and connected it to my surround sound >> pc sound card and my tele now plays sky thru MCE without audio sync issues

my only problem now is the quality when i watch it just thru my tele and sky connected via scart the picture is very good however thru the phono and compostite its quality is reduced. is this due to the fact its running through my pcs tv card etc etc or would an s-video cable work better?

thanks again

8T8

You really need something like this or this (which is supposedly the better of the two) in order to convert the scart RGB into s-video and get better quality out of the signal.

MCE does not support RGB as an input so s-video is the best you can get unless you get a digital DVB-S internal tuner but those are complicated to setup to say the least due to their semi unofficial nature with Sky.