HT Dilemma - XBMC or HTPC. Surround Choices.

Pique

Hi,

I'm in a quandary as to what to do.

I've a 46" Samsung 720p TV with just the 1 HDMI port.
I'm modding an XBOX to run XBMC on it.
I also have a crappy (Aldi's finest) HD upscaling DVD player.

Now the question is,
What direction do I go in for a HT setup?
Option 1:
XBOX running XBMC, connected via Cat 5 or wireless to XP laptop and external HDD (or maybe even a NAS!)
Option 2:
HTPC, which may be neater but requires mucho investment in a new PC (or would this be achievable on a budget, bearing in mind that I don't game and it will only be used for playing movies and mp3s.

Also,
What kinda Surround do I go for in a 15' x 25' sitting room?
Logitech Z5500 (better for PC setup?)
Onkyo HT-S580 or HT-S590 (Not Cheap!!)
Kef KHT1005 (Very Cool and available s.h.)


All opinions welcome...
PK

mathias

I take it thats an original xbox , in which case no matter what you do that cannot supply a HD signal to your TV , so depending on your budget a HTPC would be way better.

A HTPC can be built for under 500 or so , maybe even less depending on the parts you may already have available. A budget silent card would give you a HD signal to your TV over a HDMI cable , one of the ATI cards with a HDMI slot would cater for sound and video.

Regarding surround , the 3 options you have listed are all quite good set ups , however regarding the onkyo's the 605 would be the one to aim for if you were going that route as its the latest and greatest with HDMI switching , it can be had for about 460 euros if you shop around or a willing to drive up to richer sounds in belfast.

You didnt give a figure for budget , it would be easier to advise if you gave a figure.

311

I'm just finishing a Htpc and it cost me under 500. All Brand new.

I'm using a Dell machine bought new,Pentium Dual core 1.6 ,Vista Home premium.

MCE PVR 150 TV,Radio Card/ With remote and transceiver.

Nvidia 8600GT

stevenmu

Today's [url="http://www.ibood.com/site/eu/iboodSpecs.php]iBood[/url] is an Onkyo HT-R508 with speaker set for €350. Could be worth looking in to.

Pique

Thanks for all the quick replies (must use boards.ie more often!).

I reckon I'm gonna go for the iBood as I've just remembered that the Onkyos mentioned (580 & 590) do not have HD, whereas the 508 does.

Also, isn't the XBox HD upscaling to 720p ?

Out of interest (and as I have no clue as to the standards of graphics & sound cards necessary for TV & Audio), what is this thing like? A friend told me the local Aldi still have a few knocking about...
www.aldi.ie/ie/offers/58_4958.htm
They also have a Multimedia centre which is basically the same as that but with HD DVD & Blueray but it's about a 1000 and tbh, I'm not that pushed about getting a Blueray player just yet....besides, I may pick up a PS3 in the next few months (or Santa...or the wife) might get me one

SouperComputer

A HTPC can cost VERY little, by that I mean around 200e. If you want 1080p HD playback, youll have to pony up the cash. The cost, like anything depends on your exact needs. If you need somthing to "upscale" to 720p or (1080p) and play it, then an early P4\athlon would do the job without breaking a sweat. PLAYBACK of 1080p video needs 2.8Ghz P4/Athlon equiv or 1.8 Core2 or above.

Make the HTPC your "NAS" and have the xbox access the media on it in another room.

Unless you plan using it as a PVR, a HTPC might be a waste tho. Not sure why you would not use it as a PVR its a pretty cool feature, even if you dont watch TV right now..

Although the xbox outputs in 720p, there little to no chance of it actually playing video of that res or above. Still for the price I think the original xbox + XBMC can't be beaten.

My advice, get a HTPC. Its more likely to be able to grow with your needs and its WAY more flexible. Make it into a PVR, throw the xbox in the kitchen/bedroom under a TV with XMBC and you'll wonder how you watched TV before!

There a specific forum for this kind of stuff too......

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=643

beolight

there are other options

http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=46466&cat=50

or

http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/index.php?pluginoption=catalog&loginaction=login&category_id=&main_id=&item_id=&begin=

kef speakers get thumbs up too

ibood deal not bad but still need media player

ongarite

Pique wrote: »

Thanks for all the quick replies (must use boards.ie more often!).

I reckon I'm gonna go for the iBood as I've just remembered that the Onkyos mentioned (580 & 590) do not have HD, whereas the 508 does.

Also, isn't the XBox HD upscaling to 720p ?

I'm sure you Samsung TV has component in. You can use your XBOX with XBMC at 720p using component cables and changing region to US/NTSC.

at 720p, XBMC will upscale all your DIVX stuff with no playback issues but MKV, HD playback is not possible.

Pique

ongarite wrote: »

I'm sure you Samsung TV has component in. You can use your XBOX with XBMC at 720p using component cables and changing region to US/NTSC.

at 720p, XBMC will upscale all your DIVX stuff with no playback issues but MKV, HD playback is not possible.

Yeah, it's got 2 sets of component inputs. Didn't realise that it had to be NTSC tho'.

Could someone please be kind to a numpty like me and provide specs of a PC that I could buy or build (the missus is well able to build PCs) to provide 720p.

SouperComputer

Pique wrote: »

Yeah, it's got 2 sets of component inputs. Didn't realise that it had to be NTSC tho'.

Could someone please be kind to a numpty like me and provide specs of a PC that I could buy or build (the missus is well able to build PCs) to provide 720p.

Well theres a couple of ways of lookin at it and it depends on what you mean by 720p.

What kind of computer could run 1280x720 resolution and play video? Any POS would, PIII 733 would do it with consumate ease, depending on the codec thats the video was compressed in and the btirate.

Will it play HD video that is 1280x720? Probably not! but it will play any non-HD content and upscale to 720p without breaking a sweat.


If you want to actually play HD content read my post above for specs (think P4 1.8Ghz for 720p, depending on codec again) . A couple of people have bought P4 optiplexes off ebay for about 150e, stuck a bigger HD, a passive NVidia 5200AGP and a Hauppage PVR150 in em and presto great starter HTPC.

Sparky

Moved to HTPC & Media Centre