Playing HD From PC to TV

ricey

Just got a hd tv yesterday has a hdmi connection and all of that
what are my options on playing hd files like .ts and hr.hdtv files
on my pc on it?

Cheers hope someone can help out.

Regards

copacetic

to get the full quality you really need one of the newer graphics cards with hdmi output up to the native of your TV.

since tv has hdmi, i assume it has no dvi?

ricey

Ya it had dvi also, well i think it does it aint arrived yet.

So a graphics card with hdmi output will give me perfect playback?

brav

Hey Ricey,
well dvi and hdmi has pretty much the same picture quality. you can convert dvi to hdmi easy enough.

DVI does not transmit sound, but as your using your PC you will prob use the computer for sound as the easiest thing to do is plug the TV in to your DVI slot and play the movie use windows media player or something.

I assume you know how to play the .ts files, if you don't you can
a)convert them to mpeg using something like this: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~balazer/HDTVtoMPEG2/HDTVtoMPEG2_v1.11.89.zip
or
b) use this to allow you to play it through windows media player http://www.elecard.com/ftp/pub/mpeg/decoder/EMpgDec20.zip
This way is a lot easier(its what I do) but you have to go into windows media player and open the file, instead of just double clicking the file.

Any questions just ask, I'm watching an Imax .ts now using my PC

ricey

I really don wanna watch anything on my pc.

In a perfect world this is what id like to do. Have the files on my pc
having some sort of a connection going from my pc to the tv and play
the files on the tv and the sound through my 5.1 system.

Is there a way i can +set that up to get perfect hd and 5.1 playback?

brav

well ya, kinda the way i said!

This is the way mine is set up at the moment,

My PC is connected to the TV with a DVI cable, and the sound from my PC is connected to my surround sound, (using optical, but if you had a pc surround sound, same thing)

Only thing is your PC will have to be near the T.V..

I'll throw up a drawing in few min to show what I mean in case you don't get me


[edit] here is a drawing, not an artiist so no need to remind me! [/edit]



So basically the t.v. will act like your monitor.
My graphics card has dual dvi out so I use one for the tv and the other for the monitor.

ricey

Cool i get it now. So i would need a new graphics card then id say.
Would a hdmi one be better the dvi and if i got a hdmi one would that
do for the sound also? Sorry if im asking stupid questions but im total in the
dark about it right now.

What kind of card would i need? Iv been seaching but if anyone could advise me on some.

copacetic

the hdmi one has the audio built in, you may want to double check the tv connections, 90% of the time they have hdmi or dvi but not both..

ricey

wel it defo had hdmi so im not too sure about the dvi connect.
So is this what i would need a new card with hdmi out and that
will be for the video & audio?

brav

ya but those cards are quite expensive http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=318632 was the cheapest I saw on komplett(€526), but for what? just to have hdmi and to carry the sound, but usually the speakers on tellys are not great any, better buying a decent €200 card(or keep the one you have) and spend another €200 on surround sound and a simple cable like this http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=316699!

As far as I know most of the graphics cards that have hdtv output come with software that plays the films for you so maybe that might be easier.
Also that card for €526 is a really good card but still, don't know if its worth it just to use the sound on the TV.

What tv is it anyway?

ricey

ok brav good comments as im really open to any suggestions you
know. So you would say my best option is to get a decent dvi card
for the video and get a nice 5.1 system and hook that up with a diff
connection.

Im not sure of the exact model but its a sony 50" rear projection
thats in the sony center for €1699

brav

I suppose it all depends on the situation really.
Do you have a PC already near the tv or are you planning on building one for the purpose as a media center. Because €500 is a bit of an overkill if all your using the card for is watching video.

If you do already have a pc do you know what graphics card it is? it might already have a dvi connection.

To go with the kind of set up I have it would be reall helpfull if you knew your way around a computer and gadgets etc.The reason I went for that setup was because I already had the surround sound and my graphics card had 2x dvi.

I used to send my divx files to my modded xbox and watch them that way but then with the hd quality lost and stuff I set up my pc near the tv so I could enjoy the better quality.

Sparky

I use a nVidia 6600GT for the HD material to the TV.
No choppyness at all.

I use the DVI to connect via a HDMI adaptor.
All my HD material is either 720 or 1080, with exception to the BBC broadcasts.

Videolan does an exceptional job at showing HD if thats any help.
All in .ts aswell

ricey

Iv been looking around pixmania at diff cards sparky
will the nVidia 6600GT do the job, would you recommend
it like?

Prob a stupid question can i get a card that will output and capture
video?

brav

to output and capture video you would need a VIVO card(video in/video out)
But if you are talking about say capturing tv so you can pause and record etc then you will prob be better off with a tv card as well as a graphics card. I'm not too sure if the VIVO cards would be able/compatible with pausing and recording TV

The 6600gt is a really good card and could easily handle the job. Do you have any other requirements for the PC? If not then a card like this would be great http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=321181

ricey

I wouldnt want to pause tv just capture tv shows to my pc and encode to
xvid or something. Will that card output and capture hd tv?

Sparky

The 6600GT I have is also a capture card aswell.
VIVO as brav has explained.

Try komplett.ie. The card I have is a Gainward and can be overclocked easily aswell. It has 2 DVI's out, but comes with DVI-VGA adaptors if you need them.

Lump

Where are you getting these "HDTV" files, if you're talking torrents, the .hdtv refers to the fact that they were recorded from HDTV, but they were compressed alot to make them downloadable.

Saying that, they will still have more lines, but compressed alot

The bit rate of HDCam SR (The standard the BBC will be using) is 440 Mb/s @ 25 fps..... that's a lot

John

branners69

I hook my laptop up to my Pioneers 436XDE using a standard monitor cable to the PC Input on the plasma media box, downloaded HD stuff looks great.

For the sound I use one of these, I bought it from the Creative website for €55 which was a bargain. It connects to my laptop via usb, I have a toslink/optical cable running from it to my Pioneer amp.

The Audigy also comes with a remote which I can use to control my laptop so I can choose what I want to watch from the comfort of my chair!!

brian_rbk

anyone come across a wireless hdmi or dvi sender and reciever kit similar to those available for scart connections?

andy1249

Some pointers , as I have already done this PC content to HDTV thing ,


You dont need to convert DVI to HDMI , they are exactly the same signals , all you need is a DVI connector to HDMI connector , as in this link ,

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=316702 ,

As mentioned , DVI has no sound , those pins are missing ,so another cable is required for sound but these are a dime a dozen.

Almost any graphics card you can buy these days can manage the output resolution , mine is working fine on a 3 year old 9600XT , even an FX5200 can manage it. A 6600 is way overkill , save your money !

Both ATI's Catalyst drivers , and Nvidias forceware drivers have a utility in the driver for setting up HDTV , go to either Nvidia's or ATI's site to download a manual that shows you how to do it.

With regards to sending HDTV data wirelessly , the best wireless setup for home use so far is 802.11g , this has 56mbps bandwidth or so , some have double that , anyway heres the thing , while this seems OK for broadband , sending any large amount of continous data over this type of wireless connection seems to be rife with problems ,
I tried to send all my MP3's over my wireless connection ( 56GB ) and it could not manage it , couldnt even manage 1 GB without a dropout , so the upshot is , I doubt there is a wireless connection out there that could keep up a stream of HDTV data without dropping out a couple of times in between ,
If you find one , let me know , I want one too ,
Anyway , hope this helps.

ricey

Sparky-s wrote:

The 6600GT I have is also a capture card aswell.
VIVO as brav has explained.

Try komplett.ie. The card I have is a Gainward and can be overclocked easily aswell. It has 2 DVI's out, but comes with DVI-VGA adaptors if you need them.

Think i might go for that one sparky, is this it?
Gainward GeForce 6600GT 128MB 2ns GDDR3 PCI-Ex,"U/1960PCX GS"ViVo/2xDVI -B-Grade

Now i just need to know if that will output 720p res to my tv and will it capture
to my hd? Also is it easy to install?

A 6600 is way overkill , save your money !

Its only €150 thats nothing really is it.

andy1249

If your current card already has DVI you dont need a new one at all , if the new one is just for the HDTV then you can get what you need ( a DVI port ) for 40 or so ,

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=320620 ,

Note , all graphics cards for PC's have been able to output 720p and 1080i and have been able to do that for years ,

For HDTV the 6600 has no advantage over the above card , and thats 110 to spend on yourself or the partner , nice meal , few drinks , etc.
Makes sense to me anyway ,

Good luck with the HDTV anyway , .

ricey

But i want to get a card so i can capture also and the one i have now wont
do that. So it looks like il have to buy a new one.

andy1249

Capture what ? It wont capture HDTV ... just so you know , the capture is for analog sources only , if you want to record HDTV off the TV or record anything of the TV then you are going to need and TV tuner card like a PVR500 , thats a different animal ,

The video capture on the likes of the Vivo cards is for capturing analog video like off an analog camcorder or some old Vcrs etc , they are not nearly powerful enough to record live TV.

ricey

K so what your saying is the card i have now will do for the output of
the video but i will need a different card to capture, thats cool as long
as i know.

andy1249

Yup thats about it , the card you have now will output to the TV at HDTV resolution no problem , as long as it has a DVI ,

To record TV onto your computer you need a TV tuner card , which incidently just records TV , the video is played back through your main card ,

This is the one thats the most popular at the moment over in the HTPC forum , it has dual tuners and lets you pause live TV , record two channels at the same time or record one and watch another etc.

Its also one of the few cards rated to work with Windows MCE ( media centre edition , which is basically XP with Media front end , looks great on a HDTV )

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=305161

ricey

And that will work with xp pro? Cuz i aint got the media center edition.

andy1249

Yes it will , however XP does not have TV recording software so you have to get some ,

This is generally considered excellent , it works fine with the PVR500 and is free ,

http://www.team-mediaportal.com/requirements.html

It turns your PC into a media centre , and has most of the features found in MCE , Its pretty cool for showing photos etc while playing music in the background , and all that good media centre stuff , download it and have a play around , I think You'll like it !

ricey

Will this do the job for me

http://cgi.ebay.ie/NVIDIA-GeForce-6600-512MB-PCI-express-Graphics-Card-NEW_W0QQitemZ160012633263QQihZ006QQcategoryZ90710QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

pH

ricey wrote:

Will this do the job for me

http://cgi.ebay.ie/NVIDIA-GeForce-6600-512MB-PCI-express-Graphics-Card-NEW_W0QQitemZ160012633263QQihZ006QQcategoryZ90710QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

It's not a capture card if that's what you're asking.

If you want to record TV it's far better to buy a separate capture card (hauppage make some of the most popular ones).