What is an HTPC?
It is a Home Theater Computer. Generally used to replace or enhance DVD players, replace “TIVO” hardware for “time shifting” (recording favorite shows for later viewing) and watching Television broadcasts, or Music (CD/WAV/MP3) playback. 1) “rev1” (revision 1) : This will be an ongoing, rambling series of upgrades to an old computer in an attempt to get it to play DVD’s and “over the air” (OTA) High Definition HDTV broadcasts through a HDTV display. We will make mistakes, correct them and try out various hardware and software. We will change cards and cases and describe the pain and suffering as well as hopefully some tips and tricks to make things easier. 2) “rev2”: We will focus on building from scatch, a simple “PVR” type HTPC, built for “TIVO” like abilities and music library creation and playback. 3) “rev3”: We will be a more “high end” system. We will put together selected new components in an attempt to show how exactly to build an HTPC with a very wide range of functionality fr
A home theater PC (HTPC) is a home theatre system that is integrated with your personal computer. These can be purchased from retailers, or you can build them yourself. Building an HTPC gives you a greater degree of choice in the components involved. You can mix and match equipment to your own personal taste, but it can be a time consuming task. There are many variables to consider when installing an HTPC in your home. These include the size and type of screen. The choice available these days is huge. Depending on your budget, you can now choose from plasma, pure flat or LCD screens. They all have varying degrees of resolution and definition. Choices in the size of the screen are also huge, and they can either be floor standing or hung onto a wall like a painting. Keep in mind that the screen will not just be used for watching television and films. As an HTPC is a fully functional computer, you can also surf the net and play computer games. The HTPC can play DVD films and music can be
HTPC stands for ‘home theater personal computer”. The Eplanet HTPC can be designed to fit any lifestyle or budget. It can be designed as a simple Personal Computer that is network, internet and multimedia ready or as a key component in your Home Theater system. BENEFITS OF AN HTPCGeneral Computing- Browsing the web, word processing, Internet, chat, e-mail, etc. all from the comfort of your couch via a wireless mouse and keyboard. Whatever features you find on today’s computers are available on the HTPC.TV Tuner, VCR and DVD Replacement- By using a TV tuner/video capture card in your HTPC, you can watch TV and still reap the benefits of a Personal Video Recorder (PVR), e.g., TiVo and RePlay TV. There are programs that integrate with these to provide local programming information guides for your area. By adding a DVD to your HTPC you can watch DVD movies and experience Digital Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound. You can replace your old VCR by transferring those old tapes to the hard drive of your
No, this is not off-topic, as this case is specifically designed for those individuals who want to build an HTPC. The fact that it also looks like a nice desktop is a good side-benefit, and probably has netted Antec a few extra sales… An HTPC is essentially a PC that is used in place of several components in your typical home theater setup. My particular HTPC performs the work of a TIVO, cable TV tuner, and Stereo system. I have decrypted and shrunk all of our DVD’s to a hard drive, and from there can play each and every movie on any television in the house with the help of a video converter in the cable line. I have all of our CD’s on the hard-drive as well, and can play these through the interface into the stereo speakers. If we had never purchased the DVD player, Stereo system and CD player, this would have saved us a lot of money. As it is, we already own all of those and now have another box in the entertainment center to deal with! What is in my particular HTPC? Just
Page 2 – Pros and Cons Page 3 – CPU/Motherboard Page 4 – RAM/Cabinet Page 5 – HDD/Graphic Accelerator Page 6 – Sound Card/TV Tuner Page 7 – DVD Writer/Network Interface Page 8 – Input Devices Page 9 – Softwares Page 10 – Configuration Revisited Next Page | Last Page–> The concept of an HTPC (Home Theatre Personal Computer) has been a very interesting one. For quite sometime, people have been trying to equip themselves with an ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system. A system that can playback audio files with multiple effects and enhancements, playback and burn DVDs, has an ability to play latest games of a gaming console, surf internet, stream latest audio and video files, has an ability to create a slideshow from photos taken from a digital camera, and a lot more. A PC having a microprocessor and a flexible operating system has all the mentioned capabilities. But a PC having a place in the living room isn’t as easy as it seems. Here’s where HTPC comes in picture. HTPC is a spe
