[KeilwerthSX90R]

I know this isn't Mac related an maybe should be in the Lounge but what are the advantages of HTPCs to traditional AV compenents? What is a good resource for more information on this subject?

Are there any options that would allow me to store TV shows saved on a DVR to my Mac hard drive? Does the newest version of TiVO do that?

Thanks,
Josh

[istallion]

The AVS forum has an excellent HTPC forum. However I believe they've removed their Tivo hacking forum.

HTPC's are used to get more flexibility and performance than that offered in stand-alone dvd players and scalers. Cheaper too.

[JB72]

Typing this on an 8 foot wide 16:9 screen right now, as I kick back in my couch with a bluetooth keyboard. That's one advantage. Affordable video scaling and filtering is another. Giant screen games are kinda nice too.

Unforunately, HTPC with a Mac is mostly hamstrung by the fact that DVD Player doesn't support 5.1 sound, and doesn't include advanced video filters for digital screens.

[Ken_F2]

Another advantage is relatively inexpensive HDTV viewing and recording. HDTV boards for PCs are available at under $200, and top-of-the-line HDTV + NTSC tuner boards with DVR cost around $250.

Of course, with a HTPC, you also get superior DVD playback and Dolby Digital 5.1 output on DVD, HDTV, and [with nForce] on games.

[KeilwerthSX90R]

Any recommendations? Where is the AVS board? How much should I expect to spend on the computer and what should I be looking at for a display? A large CRT HDTV, projection, or Plasma?

Thanks,
Josh

[JB72]

Originally posted by Ken_F2:
Another advantage is relatively inexpensive HDTV viewing and recording. HDTV boards for PCs are available at under $200, and top-of-the-line HDTV + NTSC tuner boards with DVR cost around $250.

Speaking of that, Digital Connection has a "powerbuy" on the MyHD MDP-120. I'm thinking of getting it.

[JB72]

Originally posted by KeilwerthSX90R:
Any recommendations? Where is the AVS board? How much should I expect to spend on the computer and what should I be looking at for a display? A large CRT HDTV, projection, or Plasma?

Thanks,
Josh

AVS Forums

Head over to the "Home Theater Computers" section; lurk, ask questions, etc. It's not something I would jump into right away. Addicting, potentially expensive, but very rewarding too.

[Ken_F2]

Are there any options that would allow me to store TV shows saved on a DVR to my Mac hard drive? Does the newest version of TiVO do that?

You can't store video recordings from a Tivo on a PC or Mac (at least, not without some hacking). The latest Tivo software does let you playback music and pictures from your PC or Mac on the Tivo over a network (i.e. wireless). The latest Tivo software also lets you schedule recordings for your Tivo using any PC or Mac connected to the Internet--this feature is very cool, but you've got to pay extra for it.

As far as Tivo-like software for the PC, there are a lot of choices. Here is one of them, with screenshots right here. These programs get your local programming information from the Internet, so your PC would need to be connected to the Internet--most people use 802.11 wireless.

Any recommendations? Where is the AVS board? How much should I expect to spend on the computer and what should I be looking at for a display? A large CRT HDTV, projection, or Plasma?

For the computer, you're looking at <$100 for the cpu, <$125 for the motherboard, <$120 for the memory, <$100 for the 2D/3D graphics card, $80 for a 80Gb hard drive, $200 for a DVD writer/player, $280 for the top-of-the-line HDTV board, plus $200 to $300 for a high-quality HTPC case that looks like a stereo component. If you want to store lots of HDTV recordings on your HTPC, you'll need approximately 8.6Gb per hour (30 hours = 250Gb). With a DVD writer, you can also offload recordings to DVDs.

If you want to use a HTPC for DVD and HDTV, just about any decent HDTV display will do. If you want to browse the web and stuff, then digital displays (LCOS, LCOS, plasma, etc) are much better.

As JB72 said, the AVS Forum is the best forum for information on this sort of thing--what it involves, how it works, whether it is for you, etc.