Chasseur

[Chasseur]

Currently, I’m using an old Media center remote that is no more available for purchase.

I tried the Harmony 200 remote with the xbox extender. It was working well except it’s missing the skip/replay buttons. The Harmony 300 do have the missing buttons, so I would go with the 300 instead.

[Chasseur]

I tried the xbox media remote (latest black edition) with the xbox: I like the feel and responsivess. However, it was not built for media center because it miss some buttons: 

– No Green button: we can’t go back to main menu!

– No stop button: The main reason I don’t use the remote! You cannot stop the tv show you are watching. This is really annoying. 

[Chasseur]

With my current bluray drive, some discs are not able to play. They are not even detected in Windows. I’m wondering if a new drive might correct this.

[Chasseur]

I’ve been using my Radeon HD 6570 for ~2 months now. I use MC7 and TMT5. At first, I had various issues. Finally, after finding the right combination of drivers and TMT5 version, I really enjoy my purchase.

Video is more fluid that with the GT430. With TMT5, auto refresh rate switching to 24p is really nice. I also didn’t notice the 29/59 frame rate issue in live tv.

I use TMT5 version 5.3.1.144 and Catalyst version 12.6.

[Chasseur]

Even best video cards require to use the best drivers available, which are rarely the latest ones. Trying to find the best driver can be a pain.

What drivers versions are considered the best for GT430 and 6570 cards when using 7MC and TMT5?

 

[Chasseur]

Here is my setup:

htpc => tv (HDMI connection)
tv => audio receiver (SPDIF connection)

My tv is a Sony Bravia and my audio receiver is a low end Sony 5.1 system.

[Chasseur]

– Any advantages of a 2GB card versus 1GB?

– Is it safe to get a fanless version of the card?

Here’s 3 similar card versions:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161409
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161390
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161374

Would you recommend any of theses? 

[Chasseur]

Does anyone have tried any card from the radeon 7xxx series? Is the 29/59 frame rate issue still there? Is there anything new that could be of interest for an HTPC?

[Chasseur]

With the GT430, I sometimes get micro stuttering watching TV in media center. When I disable “Use inverse telecine” in the nvidia control panel, the stuttering is gone. However, not sure it’s the best setting when watching other content…

[Chasseur]

Here’s a big comparision of both cards: http://www.anandtech.com/print/4380

[Chasseur]

How does the 6570 perform with TMT5? Is the auto-refresh rate switch working? (auto switch to 24p)

[Chasseur]

If the problem is not visible on a GT 430, that means Nvidia is able to correct the problem. It also means ATI/AMD should be able to correct it also.

[Chasseur]

I never seen the switching issue and I’m wondering how bothering it is with the 6570? How often do you see it? If the issue is visible during a recorded show, do you see it during all the show?

[Chasseur]

Thanks for the details, Aaron.

I have the GT 430 and it’s working very well with live and recorded tv in WMC. However, for bluray playback via TMT, it could be better.

You almost convinced me to buy a 6570 until I read about the recorded tv issues.

[Chasseur]

Dkeyguy1, could you give more details about your “much better experience”?

[Author]

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