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I heard it was 5 hours a day.  5 hours is doable.  9.25 hours a day is not.

[autoboy]

You need to go into the audio settings in windows, select the HDMI audio properties, and set the output to support HD audio.  The properties will list the supported output formats.  You check the ones you have.  Then you can set the TMT correctly. That’s how I did it, but I was just going for DD and DTS since my 3450 doesn’t support HD audio output.

BTW, am I the only one on this site that CAN’T hear a difference in HD audio?  Am I going deaf or something?  Cause I can pick out things pretty quickly.  I was at my Father in laws and I could instantly tell that his front right speaker was missing the tweeter.  Hitting it on the top of the speaker solved it.  At least temporarily.  I have no idea if my “fix” is still working.  He didn’t seem to mind it was missing.

[autoboy]

[quote=”babgvant”]
Are creating a new lossly version from the lossless track or comparing the stock core stream against the lossless one?
[/quote]

I’m comparing the core track to the lossless track.  With DTS the core is actually part of the lossless.  With Dolby True HD the lossy track is a separate track.  I compared both by switching between the HDMI port and the Toslink port on the receiver.  The player output over both at the same time and I just needed to switch inputs.  Video was by component and HDMI which also output at the same time.

[autoboy]

[quote=”Mast3rL33″]
I have seen noticeable improvement in audio quality even through my analog output. I suspect, had I more capable hardware, I would see even better performance.
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That’s great.  I’ve got some awesome speaker cables for sale if you are interested.  Only $2600 a pair.  They make a world of difference in transient response on female vocals.  ;D

[autoboy]

You can’t have an HD audio conversation without me.  “Is it worth it?”The best way I can answer you is: 

[b]It’s not worth it, unless you think it is.[/b]

In my tests I can’t tell a difference on a Onkyo 875 and Axiom Audio m60, vp100, qs8 system.  My speakers are revealing of problems with the audio, and I can’t tell any quality difference whatsoever.  And I did these tests using the same encode of the audio, switching between the core track and the HD track on both DTS and DD.  Double blind tests by experts in treated listening rooms have also shown that we can’t tell a difference.  If you can’t repeat it when you are trying to hear it, then there’s no chance of hearing it when you are absorbed in a movie.  Remember that the DD and DTS tracks on BDs use the full bitrate of DD and DTS (640k and 1.5mb respectively) which were chosen because they were the point at which no difference could be heard.  That’s the explanation to the first part of my answer.

Now, if you think you will be able to hear a difference because it is “lossless”  or you’ve tried switching between two audio tracks on a BD and heard a difference, then it is worth it to get HD audio working.  Those that have heard a difference are because different tracks are from different masters and typically have some quality and more often loudness differences.  Others simply fall to the placebo effect.  This is totally fine.  If you are in this camp and think you are getting better audio because it is lossless then that’s great. You’re thinking you are getting better audio and that is going a long way towards enjoying the movie and your system that you spent so much money trying to get. 

So, what kind of person are you?   Are you a results kind of guy?  Or are you a ideological kinda guy?

I’m a results kinda guy.  I rip to the lossy formats and don’t look back.  But, if given the choice, I do like it when I see the HD audio logo on my receiver.  It makes me feel good even though I know it doesn’t change anything.

[autoboy]

He should be able to handle deleting movies manually.  The rest of the family will us the BD player if they want to pop in a movie that isn’t already loaded.

Yeah.  I really want a dedicated theater. It’s pretty awesome.  I thought my home system was pretty good, but the 2:1 screen size and the BIG sub made it a very cool experience.  I could feel the bass resonating in my chest.

[autoboy]

Form factor isn’t an issue. He’s got a whole closet dedicated to HT gear.  It’s a pretty awesome theater. 

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1152809

He’s going to want Netflix and Vudu so he’s already got a cheap BD player.  The Dune would be a second BD player, and I’m guessing that it would become the main BD player, with the other cheap player focusing on streaming media.  I’d do that to keep the UI the same for all movies. 

I don’t know much about MyMovies (MM) or Zappiti so I will have to look into how much maintenance is required.  I was hoping to use MM on SageTV also but I hadn’t started to look into it closely.

[autoboy]

The 8400 was no great video card.  I think you will find that the onboard graphics are just as capable.  That’s too bad about the case.  I thought it was cool.  Not my style, but I can see it being a great piece in an appropriate room.

[autoboy]

And don’t try to peel off the heatspreaders to make it fit.  I got the heatspreader off, but I also got a RAM chip along with it.  Lucky for me I bought it at my local Frys and I could take it back.  😉

I don’t see anything wrong with the Phenom X2.  At idle it will be just as efficient, and they don’t really use all 95W that they are rated at since it has 2 disabled cores.  It’s also pretty likely that you will be able to unlock a core or two if you want to.  Not that I would in a HTPC.

[autoboy]

[quote]I like Sage Extenders – in fact own an HD100 and an HD200. Our problem with that is that I’m also somewhat of an audiophile (audiophool?). The SPDIF out wont give the best audio out with HD audio. Since we are using a sound card in the HTPC there is no easy way to get the full HD audio to the soundcard from the Extender. Otherwise I sure would go with an HD300. For most people they make a lot more sense than a Client PC!
[/quote]

You mean that you are using the analog outputs from the HTPC to get HD audio output on your receiver that DOESN’T have HDMI bitstreaming available.  That’s what I think you are saying, because the HD300 can bitstream full HD audio from a blu-ray over its HDMI port to a receiver with HDMI 1.3 inputs.

It sounds like a perfectly good build.  The motherboard is kinda strange since you are using an old Nvidia chipset with bad graphics built in.  I’d go for a modern AMD based motherboard and you can have your pick of either the Nvidia 8400 graphics card you already have, or the AMD graphics built in.  You don’t need to pair the graphics card with a motherboard unless you want SLI or Crossfire for gaming.

I have the Nvidia 7025 chipset in my wife’s computer and it is a perfectly acceptable system for basic stuff, but the graphics lacks most HD acceleration and is really only fit for an office machine.  It’s also a bit long in the tooth when it comes to SATA connections.  But in a HTPC it doesn’t really matter much.

[autoboy]

I had much higher hopes for GoogleTV than this.  I’ve really bought into the idea of the Apps store built on a standard OS for set top boxes.  But, their reliance on the browser, mouse, and keyboard are really disappointing.  This whole GoogleTV experience isn’t anything new to HTPC users.

I don’t want to use a browser on my TV.  That’s why I got rid of the HTPC.  It isn’t practical for the rest of the family to be navigating around websites in order to watch 90210 on demand.

[autoboy]

You’re going to be short on power.  That’s a powerful system for a Pico.  The Ceton card alone is said to use 25W.  And you don’t know which voltage that is pulled on.  The Pico provides very little power on the 5V rails.  The Pico is a cool PSU, but I would recommend you walk before you run. 

Fans in your system can be extremely quiet if you pick the right ones, optimize airflow, and enable fan speed control.  Don’t shy away from fanned power supplies.  There are some that are incredibly quiet.  Check out SilentPCReview for their latest recommendation on power supplies.  They won’t steer you wrong over there.  The rest of the build seems great, if a little ambitious for a first try.  I’m not sure you need 8GB of ram coupled with a SSD, 2GB is enough for a dedicated HTPC, but it can never hurt.

[autoboy]

I have some very minor buzzing from my Panasonic 65″ V10 plasma.  But, I also have a small fan running in my entertainment system that maskes the buzz.  These sounds are VERY faint and I only notice them if I strain to find them.  Buzzing is a big problem on some plasmas, but if it is not noticable in normal viewing then i would tend to ignore it. 

You’ll find problems with all sets if you go looking for them.  Plasma seems like it is the best fit for  you.  I can’t imagine that you are very happy with the picture from a LED DLP.  I found their picture to have a big bright spot in the middle, very poor off angle viewing (from relatively minor angles it got bad), and an abundance of the silk screen effect.  My Plasma is worlds better than any of my two rear projectors.

[autoboy]

I’m hoping the new COD is good.  I’m still playing COD World at War since I have to have customizable servers.  I play tactical.

[autoboy]

[quote=”Skirge01″]
An “IP based interface”?  My guess is that they’ll tweak it just enough so that it’s proprietary and completely negate any actual usefulness.
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My guess is that it will be the same as firewire was.  It will be ruined by 5C encryption that nobody can get a license to decode.

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