Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater My Home Theater

Hello,

I've been lurking around on a few sites reading up gaining some knowledge on the different areas that make up a home theater. Now I think I am ready to take the plunge. I wanted to see what some more experienced people think of it, and where I could improve on it or cut some costs out.

My ultimate Home Entertainment system would comprise of three different areas. And the requirements for each area.

Sound- Crystal clear, with deep bass and an enveloping surround

Video- HD quality, widescreen, >50 inch diagonal

Computer- Able to surf the web, record TV programs, and play some video games (World of Warcraft)

I want to integrate all three into a pretty awesome theater. Here are my plans so far.

For sound I am planning on using the Yamaha Rxv – 2500 for the A/V Reciever,
For speakers I am planning on using all Axiom with M22tis as the fronts the V-150 center, QS8s for surround and a HSU sub. I hear this is a great midrange receiver, I also like it because I eventually want to upgrade to 7.1 sound, moving the m22tis to the rear and getting the M60 floorstanders as the fronts.

My question is this will I be able to get enough sound quality out of the HTPC to fully take advantage of this system?

For the Video I am planning on making a DIY projector. I am pretty confident that I can make a really good LCD projector on the cheap for about $700. I will be using a ProView 15.4" Widescreen LCD Display to project the image. This monitor has a native resolution at 1280x800. Reading other DIY projects they have made projectors with diagonals of 100 inches at HD quality. As for the screen itself I will either make a high gain screen using some sand blasted plexi glass and reflective paper, or just black out cloth from Jo-ann fabrics stretched across a wooden frame.

For the HTPC the brains of the operation I plan on using just a standard atx case as it will be tucked somewhere out of sight. For a processor I am thinking a Amd athalon 939 3500+. Coupled with a gig of ram, Hauppauge 150 capture card, a sea gate 80 hard drive for programs and a 200g for storage. A Samsung TS-H552B DVD+R/w for the dvd player. For video a geforce 6600 GT will be used, and for audio M-Audio Revolution 7.1.

Here is where my second question comes in, Do I even need the sound card? Because this will be connected to the Receiver couldn’t that do all my sound processing?

I will probably be building this entire system over a 2 year period, doing each category individually starting with the HTPC and the Proview monitor which will later be tore down to be used in my projector. Than the last step would be the Sound system.

Some rough guesses on all the costs
HTPC
1400
Projector
700
Sound
2300
Software and cables
300

Total system Cost- $4600

I might have to lower my standards on the sound because that takes up over half my budget.

What do you guys think about this?

1. The general consenus is that the compression used to store sound/video (MPEG, MP3, etc.) comes at a cost to quality. But I still think it's cool.
2. You'll need the sound card to get a digital signal OUT of your PC to go INTO the receiver. You'll most likely need some adapter to go from the sound card's miniplug to a rca/coax type cable.

Rather than a HTPC for day to day watching... why not just pick up a cheap $50 DVD player? Even the one we got mom-in-law for Christmas two years ago has s-video out. Not sure what this fascination with movies coming off a computer is... it's a lot more expensive to put together a system to be able to play back video with any sort of quality than it is to just get the cheapest Koss/Daytek DVD-P on the market.

Unless it's the "just 'cause I can" factor.

Bren R.

I want it to be hooked up to a HTPC for a number of reasons:

1. To use as a DVR to playback Recorded Television Programs
2. With the correct Software and configuration, you can play back dvds better any standalone dvd player can.
3. All of my music is stored on the computer.
4. I just think It would be cool to search the internet on a 100 inch screen.

In reply to:

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2. With the correct Software and configuration, you can play back dvds better any standalone dvd player can.

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Better? What do you mean by better? This is a pretty bold blanket statement. I'm assuming you mean better controls, ability to enter chapter information, that sort of thing.

I sincerely hope you haven't been mislead to believe that a DVD drive and PC combo somehow gets a better video signal off DVD media than a settop DVD-P will?

Bren R.

I agree with Bren, using HTPC may result in better configuration options, and having better aspect ratio controls. However, if you have a DVD player with a top notch scaler, a pc can't touch the video quality.

I think the real issue is not how the data is retrieved from the disc, but rather how it is sent to the display device. With a standalone DVD player, it sends 480P to the projector and lets the projector scale it to it's native resolution. With a HTPC, the scaling is done in the computer and then sent to the projector in it's native resolution. So, the real issue is quality of scaling ability. Though I here that some recent PJs have some great scaling abilities, it is generally thought that PCs do a better job than the PJs with scaling. Beyond that, I can't give particulars. I just wanted to relay the impression I've found while digging around the HTPC forum over at AVS.

This guide has led me to believe otherwise.
Through the right configuration of my PC, I can get a better image quality than a $50 standalone dvd player.

In reply to:

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Through the right configuration of my PC, I can get a better image quality than a $50 standalone dvd player.

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Keep in mind, though, that "the right configuration" will cost over $1000 (even if you factor in existing PC parts, you had to buy them at some point, right?). Heck you even mention having $1400 set aside for this.

So I would agree than a $1000+ HTPC WILL outperform a $50 DVD player.

I only mention this because I was thinking about going the HTPC route, but since I don't use MP3s, have a DVR built in to our Dish satellite system, and I don't think that I will play games on my projector (tried it before with an old projector, and 1st person shooter games make me feel sick after about 5 minutes at that large of a size)...

For me, that didn't justify the cost of a HTPC, and I already have the hardware for a HTPC minus the video capture card and remote. PLus, when I ran the idea past my wife, she said, "You mean I would have to wait for Windows to boot before I could watch a movie?!?!"

I will stick with a nice quality DVD player for my system for now, and when a really good HTPC that can do it all (HD-DVD or BLU-RAY as well) for less than $500, then I will jump on it. But I think that we are all a few years away from that.

With all of that said, if you want DVR, MP3 (although many DVD players offer this to some degree), gaming, and like to tinker with PCs, then go get a HTPC. Personally, I think that your money would be better spent on a real HD projector and not a DIY. Then again, it is most likely the DIY projector (and the fact that it uses a flat panel monitor) that is the requirement for the HTPC since it natively outputs through the VGA port to the VGA input on the monitor.

I'll put my Z3's scaler, which I don't own yet , up against any HTPC set up, or DVDO for that matter....