redtop Posted February 13, 2007 Author Share Posted February 13, 2007 Easylistener, A couple of follow-up questions if you don't mind... Everyone that has an HTPC says it make a big difference and I believe it. Can you describe in what way? Better resolution? Sharper picture? Brighter picture? More HD like? Inquiring minds (and those of us with an upgrade itch) would like to know...[]And secondly, how are you streaming the video around the house? That sounds really cool! Thanks in advance. Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 This thread is not intended to brag or show off I just want to share with you guys what's possible in a nearly 100% DIY HT build. Why not?... it's a great looking room! [] and something to be proud of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtop Posted February 13, 2007 Author Share Posted February 13, 2007 Formica, Thanks for your compliment. Your kind words are appreciated. I am proud of the result, just not pompus...[] That's what I wanted to communicate. I did not want it to appear that I thought mine was better anybody elses theater. That happens sometimes here. My intent was (and is) to post it here to inspire other forum members. The information freely shared with me over the last four years has greatly educated and enriched the audio component of my life and my family's. For that I felt I should offer something back to the group. Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ram2500 Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Very nice setup. Looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfz28 Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Wow, great job you should be very proud of the job you done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easylistener Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 What the computer gives you is much more control over the picture. The pany projectors are a little soft and the computer will sharpen the picture much more than a dvd player. It will also scale the picture using a much more powerful video cards. Using ffdshow lets you pick the HD color system, so the picture will have the same great vivid colors the hd channels have. If you use Directv or cable for you hd channels you will have a real hard time telling the differnce from that and the upscaling of the computer. It does make that big of a differnce. It will also let you get out the a lot of the grain in the older dvd's or the badly recorded ones. I did not have a lot of faith in the htpc's when people were telling me about them. I believed that a dvd could only look so good, and that the upscaling dvd players were doing the same thing, but this is not true. I had to prove it to myself so I jumped in. I will never look back. I am now looking at some of the new blue ray drives to add into the system. I just need to make a video card and drive update. Since I am not using 1080p I will not need the huge processor. This is another advantage to the htpc, it is easy to upgrade. For the streaming I have cat5 and cat6 wire connector to all the computers. I have a computer at every tv. This way I can watch differnt dvd's in each room. The kids room doesn't have a very strong computer because he doesn't have hd yet, either does the bed room. I do have wireless in the house and have used it in the past but it is just faster and works with out flaws with the wires. When I used the wireless system I had some problems when some used the microwave it would slow way down. This would create studders in the picture. The other advantage of this is each computer has two hard drives and it gives me huge storage space for all the dvd's and music. I hope this helps. If you have anyother questions feel free to ask and I will try and answer them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtop Posted February 14, 2007 Author Share Posted February 14, 2007 Thanks for the detailed reply easylistener. I'm going to study it and then probably come back with a question or two... FWIW, if you are curious about the microwave's effect on the wireless network, it can be helped if you move your wireless network channel down to 2 or 3. It should have less effect there. Most wireless access points default to channel 6 or 11. Strange, but true... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcott Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 I really like the attention paid to speaker placement and acoustic treatments. The false wall is a great solution. I also like the hardware selection, colors, design, and clean looks. Great job!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whamo Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 That's sweet! Thanx for sharing the pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtop Posted February 16, 2007 Author Share Posted February 16, 2007 Thanks again to all for the kind compliments. -------------- Easy, I'm back with some of questions... Did you have to do a lot of "tweaking" with the software to get it to display just right? Once you did, was it set it and forget it or do you still find yourself making adjustments according to the quality of the movie? Did your projector give you any configuration problems when going from the Zenith to the HTPC? And finally, there are a ZILLION threads on AVS about this topic. Do you have any recommendations or links to ones you found most helpful during your education process? Thanks in advance. -------------------- If any of the rest of you with experience in the HTPC area want to chime you are welcome to. I don't mind this thread expanding its scope...[] Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinacat Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 Mr. Redtop very nice setup. I hope to have something that awesome one day. Im also interested in trying to educate myself on the HTPC topic where does one start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtop Posted February 16, 2007 Author Share Posted February 16, 2007 Im also interested in trying to educate myself on the HTPC topic where does one start. There are a few threads on this forum. Try a search for those. The AVSForum.com web site has tons (too much for me) about every flavor of HTPC imaginable. That's why I asked Easylistener for his insight. His HTPC is modest, his projector is similar to mine and I trust his opinion based on his previous posts here. If your goals are similar to mine, stay tuned...I expect a reply from him at any moment...[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinacat Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 Id really like to be able to copy all my cd/dvds to a hard drive and be able to navigate through them with a pc then select and play. And from my very basic understanding some program should be able to make plain dvd look even better than before. On a side note I see where sony ,(Sony Vaio VGP-XL1B2 200 CD/DVD Media Changer) is making a 200 disk cd/dvd changer that is compatible with a pc using Window 05 media center. That would be great for loading info into your pc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted February 18, 2007 Moderators Share Posted February 18, 2007 great job. WOW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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