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sandeepmdas · 22nd January 2008, 16:36

Guys, I am the proud father of a 2-year-old junior BHPian who loves watching (again, and again) all those movies produced by Pixar. I have the HD version of all those movies in my hard disk and my son is now using my PC as his personal theater. I am also a proud owner of a Philips 100 hz CRT HDTV (model: 29PT8836/94). The TV can do upto 1080p and it has several component inputs but NO HDMI or DVI.

As we all know, upconverting DVD players can upconvert only via HDMI, due to the HDCP constraints. Even if I manage to get a DVD player that can upconvert via component -like OPPO or HELIOS- these plyers are still incompatible with HD content. Besides, I am also in need for one more PC.

To cut the story short, I am planning to assemble a PC that can be connected to the aforesaid TV. Buttt, it will not be dedicated to watching Cars and Monsters Inc, it will be used as a normal PC also.

Reasons:
- a PC can play any video format, provided you've got the content in the HDD/USB
- ongoing BR/HDDVD format "war" is not an issue
- top end DVD players cost nearly 2/3 of a PC
- NO top end DVD player can match the video playback quality of Nvidia or ATI
- Nvidia 8-series has the best video decoder in the industry
- unlike a DVD player, the PC is user-serviceable and upgradable.
- most ASUS cards carry a HDTV cable (YPbPr) as a part of the bundle
Also considered the following:
- I do no timeshifting
- I am not a serious gamer either

So, I made the following draft spec:
CPU: Athlon 64X2 4400+ Rs.3900
MOBO: Asus M2NMX-SE or Msi K9N6SGM-V Rs.2500
RAM: Kingston 2GB 800 Mhz Rs.2200
card: Asus 8500GT Rs.3300 ?
HDD: Hitachi Sata2 250G Rs.2900
ODD: Lite-On 20X LightScribe Rs.1600
CAB: maybe Zebronics GeForce4 Rs.1650
Monitor, Keyboard, SMPS, speakers etc are already available and not a part of the purchase.

For now, I will live with onboard audio and standard PC speakers.

Guys, thoughts and inputs, welcome! Does anybody have any bad experience connecting Nvidia YPbPr out to a HDTV? Do you think any change needed in the above configuration or the proposal overall? pls talk back....

Mods, sorry for the loooong post.

22nd January 2008, 16:36	#1 (permalink)
sandeepmdas BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Varkala Posts: 303	Help me build a Simple Home Theater PC Guys, I am the proud father of a 2-year-old junior BHPian who loves watching (again, and again) all those movies produced by Pixar. I have the HD version of all those movies in my hard disk and my son is now using my PC as his personal theater. I am also a proud owner of a Philips 100 hz CRT HDTV (model: 29PT8836/94). The TV can do upto 1080p and it has several component inputs but NO HDMI or DVI. As we all know, upconverting DVD players can upconvert only via HDMI, due to the HDCP constraints. Even if I manage to get a DVD player that can upconvert via component -like OPPO or HELIOS- these plyers are still incompatible with HD content. Besides, I am also in need for one more PC. To cut the story short, I am planning to assemble a PC that can be connected to the aforesaid TV. Buttt, it will not be dedicated to watching Cars and Monsters Inc, it will be used as a normal PC also. Reasons: - a PC can play any video format, provided you've got the content in the HDD/USB - ongoing BR/HDDVD format "war" is not an issue - top end DVD players cost nearly 2/3 of a PC - NO top end DVD player can match the video playback quality of Nvidia or ATI - Nvidia 8-series has the best video decoder in the industry - unlike a DVD player, the PC is user-serviceable and upgradable. - most ASUS cards carry a HDTV cable (YPbPr) as a part of the bundle Also considered the following: - I do no timeshifting - I am not a serious gamer either So, I made the following draft spec: CPU: Athlon 64X2 4400+ Rs.3900 MOBO: Asus M2NMX-SE or Msi K9N6SGM-V Rs.2500 RAM: Kingston 2GB 800 Mhz Rs.2200 card: Asus 8500GT Rs.3300 ? HDD: Hitachi Sata2 250G Rs.2900 ODD: Lite-On 20X LightScribe Rs.1600 CAB: maybe Zebronics GeForce4 Rs.1650 Monitor, Keyboard, SMPS, speakers etc are already available and not a part of the purchase. For now, I will live with onboard audio and standard PC speakers. Guys, thoughts and inputs, welcome! Does anybody have any bad experience connecting Nvidia YPbPr out to a HDTV? Do you think any change needed in the above configuration or the proposal overall? pls talk back.... Mods, sorry for the loooong post. __________________ Remember, you are unique like everybody else. Last edited by sandeepmdas : 22nd January 2008 at 16:38.