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Computers/HTPCs A place to discuss your computer setups, PC requirements, ATI Wonder Card, etc. |
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#1 |
A couch and an HDTV to go please.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 11
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I'm in the process of building a PC to stream high def content from the internet. What I would like to use for components are as follows:
Motherboard with 800 MHz FSB(Biostart P4M900) A P4 2.6 GHz processor(800 MHz FSB)(socket 478) One gig of DDR2 667 memory Nvidia Geforce 7100GS (256 Megs memory) PCI EXpress x16 My basic question is will I be alright with these specs or will it under perform? Do I need to jump up to a core duo or a 1066 FSB? By the way I plan on streaming in 720p not 1080i. I have looked at some specs at various sites and apple HD seems to have the most rigorous requirements. Again I really only want to get 720p streaming successfully! Regards, Nathan Tinsley |
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#2 |
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Katy, Texas
Posts: 16,976
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Are you really going to be streaming HD or downloading it? I'm unaware of any HD streaming that is available yet. I know Apple has talked about it, but I've never seen it. Do you have a link to what it is you are going to stream? That would be helpful to answer your question.
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#3 |
A couch and an HDTV to go please.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 11
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Well abc.com is beginning to stream LOST in HD:
http://dynamic.abc.go.com/streaming/...lMenu&lpos=FEP Here's a link to apple's free HD streaming stuff: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/guide/hd/ A friend of mine is able to stream 720p stuff from apple and abc with a P4 1.6 (400 MHz FSB) Vaio. I guess that's my answer but he occaisionally get's hitches during playback. I just want a smooth experience! |
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#4 |
A couch and an HDTV to go please.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 11
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PS I'm not planning on downloading HD just yet. My guess is downloading would be a fee per download and I'm really into FREE!
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#5 |
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Katy, Texas
Posts: 16,976
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From the Quick Time info for 1280x720:
QuickTime 7 for Windows:
The ABC stuff is pretty good video, but it is not HD. They refer to it as HD because it was shot in HD, but the resolution does not even fill up my 1280x800 laptop screen. My wireless connection will keep up with the video, so that should tell you it is not HD. In any case, if that is what you are planning on watching I think your computer specs are ok, but you might consider going with a Nvidia 8500 GT PCIe card. Last edited by rbinck; 03-01-2008 at 09:30 PM.. |
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#6 |
High Definition is the definition of life.
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,968
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Just get a new card.
Id go ATI over nvidia. The hardware decoding is supposedly better. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...vs-nvidia.html Last edited by ssjLancer; 03-01-2008 at 08:00 PM.. |
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#7 |
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Katy, Texas
Posts: 16,976
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The Nvidia 8500 GT has hardware decoding. If you notice there was not much difference between it and the ATI cards tested. It has a passive cooling heat sink, so it is quiet.
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#8 | |
High Definition is the definition of life.
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,968
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Quiet is definitely a plus, but they also had this to say about the 8500.
Quote:
Plus Ati is canadian, thats a huge plus. |
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#9 | |
How can anyone watch standard def?
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 19
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I have been getting High Definition streaming video from this site. http://www.hd-tube.com/play.php?vid=94 I am very impressed with the quality and would like your opinion. I have a 17" laptop and can handle 1400x900 very easily. I have a ATI 200 video card. My computers at school really show these videos well. They run a 3 ghz dual processors and 2 gig of ram. Many of the videos are marked as uploaded in 1080p. They play just as well as the down loads I get from apple or Windows HD sites. again I would like your opinion The feed loads instantly and plays very smoothly for me. |
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#10 |
Panasonic 42" Plasma
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: UK
Posts: 8
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tinsley,
Both my dad and i have HD sets but no blueray players for HD content and since i download a lot of HD stuff, i built a media PC. I wanted to have a fairly good one so my spec was... core 2 duo 2.13GHz clocked up to 3GHz, which raised the FSB to something like 1500MHz. 1Gig DDR2 @ 800 MHz ASROCK 4CORE FULL HD motherboard - included ATI graphics chipset that was rubbish - corners of movies tearing etc! so had to buy a fanless ATI HD2600 XT PCI-E with big heatsink <- possibly slightly overkill for a media pc though. mine plays virtually anything using the excessive (and inefficient) KLM codec pack. My dad does a lot of work with PC's and as such has quite a few older spec'd ones around. After reading around the net i thought that we could build one for him using some of his older components. We settled on ... P4 2.8GHz, 800MHz FSB - all stock frequencies ASUS P4P800 motherboard 1gig DDR1 400 ATI HD2600 Pro (AGP 8x version) which has been a bit of a headache to get it to play HD stuff properly (even 720p!) With the best codec properly configured for the type of movie it would play ok (including some 1080p stuff) but it was no where near as simple as just installing one codec pack and not having to worry about it! - not best practise but quicker when you don't know what you're doing! Once i've figured out a fool proof way to determine the codec type required, the best one available and how to configure it for each HD movie i have then i'm sure my dad's media PC should play most stuff I also wanted to run a myth tv box but had so many problems installing the ATI graphics drivers in linux that i gave up. Nvidia cards have much more support in linux i feel. If you're buying from new -personally- i'd go for a core 2 as you'll futureproof yourself and on ebay my core 2 was about 50 quid compared with a P4 for about 30. Dave |
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#11 | |
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Katy, Texas
Posts: 16,976
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I'm thinking these sites that say they have HD are saying that because the videos were shot in HD. Uverse HD is about as low a bitrate as any for HD and they need about 6 mbps with zero server lag to deliver their HD and people complain about it's quality. It is hard for me to see how HD can be piped over a 1.5 mbps internet connection with all of the server lag that must exist frim their server to my computer. Anyway, if you enjoy that video, that's all that really matters. |
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#12 |
Rum -n- Coke
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 240
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I'd have to agree with rbinck. I think there are some things different when it comes to internet streaming for pc output vs. broadcasting into a home for tv output. Look what Netflix is doing with certain titles they have for pc viewing- "watch now" as they call it. Granted these titles are standard dvd res..........so it is not really hd to begin with, but it is streamed based on connection bandwidth because they test connection prior to viewing.
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#13 | |
Every day is Friday
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Hooooterville
Posts: 9,279
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#14 |
What is HD?
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 4
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I work with HD every day and 420GB is about 46:50 uncompressed 720p. Any one saying that they are streaming HD is as everyone has mentioned compressed HD material. The better codec's are VCI, H.264 and Avid DNX for broadcast. Any of these are high CPU or GPU hogs.
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#15 |
What is HD?
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 4
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if you are going to play 1080p video, you should get a dual core cpu.
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