HTPC/Emulation PC to LCD/Plasma TV

[Domino]

Hello guys I was thinking about hooking up a HTPC for video watching/game emulation to a LCD or Plasma TV.

I wonder if anyone else has done this before and like the results on it? For me it would be nice to run MAME on a nice Plasma TV. Also nice is to use the USB ports on the front as controller ports.

[BuckoA51]

HTPC's are good if you are prepared to put the work in, they can be the most flexible solution. No other solution has such wide compatibility with media and of course the games/emulators etc are an added bonus. We use our HTPC frequently for gaming and video streaming, however its far from perfect, the main drawbacks are:-

1) Expensive - You can end up buying a lot of hardware and software to get things working nicely. At the moment I'm running Girder for the remote control, and a USB-UIRT, no other solution worked as well.

2) Hassle - Putting everything together nicely takes time, research and experimentation and even when you do, PC's do require maintenance, driver updates etc. If you want the best results you'll need to learn about codecs, players etc. I highly recommend Zoom Player as that takes care of much the codec side for you. If you want to use optical or HDMI audio out for your surround sound, you'll need to spend some time tweaking that too.

3) There's no perfect front end - There are a bunch of front ends for HTPC, frustratingly, no single front end does everything perfectly. Boxee for instance started off as the most promising one with fantastic app support and some of the best streaming channels, then sort of lost momentum. Meedios is the most flexible but is still in alpha. Windows Media Center is good but Microsoft don't seem behind it very much.

4) Won't give as good results as a standalone streamer - Fudoh can explain this better than I can, but basically PowerDVD isn't as good as a good DVD player, getting 24p playback on the PC for bluray or other media is a nightmare. Just getting the PC to change refresh rates based on what's playing is bad enough. Video playback doesn't play nicely with modern TV's frame creation/motionflow systems, it's just not as good as a dedicated video playback system, though we are talking at a videophile level really.

I know people that are happy with their HTPCs and other folks who have basically shelved theirs. I now have both a HTPC and a Dune player which is kind of greedy but I get the best of both worlds in this setup

[Domino]

Hey man for starers thanks for your reply:

1) Expensive - You can end up buying a lot of hardware and software to get things working nicely. At the moment I'm running Girder for the remote control, and a USB-UIRT, no other solution worked as well.

That isn't a bad interface at all. I just need something that I can open a media player and navigate to the correct video file.

2) Hassle - Putting everything together nicely takes time, research and experimentation and even when you do, PC's do require maintenance, driver updates etc. If you want the best results you'll need to learn about codecs, players etc. I highly recommend Zoom Player as that takes care of much the codec side for you. If you want to use optical or HDMI audio out for your surround sound, you'll need to spend some time tweaking that too.

For that I would use the K-Lite Codec packs since they usually have the latest codecs all in one package. I just tweak it so it only outputs in stereo and etc. I used it before and I know how to get it fully working to my liking.

I won't be using surround sound at all. Stereo for me works perfectly. For me I would start off using the TV speakers and later get a outboard DAC that can handle up to 24/96 (I can get 24/192 if I really need it) and use the DAC's analog outs to a receiver to power the speakers. I have plenty of vintage receivers on hand so I can just use one of them and have the receiver power some speakers. By using vintage receivers you will need to do any type of processing on the computer/DAC end because well 70s receivers don't do processing of course.

3) There's no perfect front end - There are a bunch of front ends for HTPC, frustratingly, no single front end does everything perfectly. Boxee for instance started off as the most promising one with fantastic app support and some of the best streaming channels, then sort of lost momentum. Meedios is the most flexible but is still in alpha. Windows Media Center is good but Microsoft don't seem behind it very much.

This will be the issue. The worse thing I could come up is to use the Windows 7 desktop and navigate with the remote.

I have a question, what frontend are you using?

4) Won't give as good results as a standalone streamer - Fudoh can explain this better than I can, but basically PowerDVD isn't as good as a good DVD player, getting 24p playback on the PC for bluray or other media is a nightmare. Just getting the PC to change refresh rates based on what's playing is bad enough. Video playback doesn't play nicely with modern TV's frame creation/motionflow systems, it's just not as good as a dedicated video playback system, though we are talking at a videophile level really.

The stuff I will be watching are mostly anime stuff that you can find online. By doing that route most of the stuff that I watch (older 80s titles) aren't the best rip quality to begin with. Then again even the 720p/1080p rips of things online isn't the best compare to a real Blu-Ray.

I should say that I would use this more for emulation than watching videos.

Now if I want to do the videophile route I would get an Oppo player and just use the analog outs.

[emphatic]

Check out MediaPortal: http://www.team-mediaportal.com as it's pretty easy to setup and totally free. The community is great and very welcoming to n00bs. I use it everyday (right now for example) and while I don't use my HTPC for gaming at all, it can be done with just a little bit of work (installing and configuring their Emulator plugin). If you're a TV Show buff like me, you'll love it as it has the best handling of TV Series I've ever come across. I've tried XBMC etc, but nothing comes close. Have a look at YouTube for some demo videos.

For ALL codecs to work in MediaPortal, just install the LAVF package available from the built-in extension handler. It can playback x264/MPEG2/xvid/quicktime/etc. If you have a surround receiver, you'll get 5.1 sound whenever the files contains it.

It doesn't have to be expensive at all, I'm running this very well on an old DELL C521. Just make sure the Video card can do hardware accelerated video if you plan on watching HD material. I got myself a Microsoft MCE remote and you don't have to get 3rd party apps to use it, just install it and click one box in MediaPortal's config and it's working. Very easy to configure as well.

[Stealthlurker]

Hello guys I was thinking about hooking up a HTPC for video watching/game emulation to a LCD or Plasma TV.

I wonder if anyone else has done this before and like the results on it? For me it would be nice to run MAME on a nice Plasma TV. Also nice is to use the USB ports on the front as controller ports.

I've got 4 setups like that in the house and it's great. Been doing it for a couple of years now. Nowadays I rarely sit at a proper desk to use a computer, unless I need to do "serious" work.

No need to fiddle with modded consoles and their limitations. Being able to play any kind of video under the sun without conversion. Beyond emulation gaming, cross platform games that get a PC release look much better than their ps3/360 counterparts. Add in a wireless x360 controller and you wouldn't know that you're playing on a PC.

In terms of a keyboard, I really like the one below. Liked it so much have 4 of them. With the mini-trackball on the right, you can hold the whole kb like a controller/gamepad. Left, right click and scroll wheel on the left. If I didn't need the strafe buttons etc, you could really play an FPS with it lol. I actually really like the mini trackball on the thumb. You can really zero in very precisely and quickly. If they modified an xbox 360 pad by removing the right analog stick with one of these mini trackballs, I would actually be able to play a console FPS naturally.

http://www.amazon.com/Multimedia-Keyboa ... 898&sr=8-1

In terms of a slick front-end I don't even bother with one and just use the PCs in straight up Windows 7. The keyboard above is fairly compact, very light and easy to hold so it makes using a standard OS interface not bad at all imho. I've given up on using various HTPC frontends. All of them are lacking or can be pain for different things.

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[BuckoA51]

I use a combination of a hacked Windows Media Center and Boxee. Mediaportal I've tried a couple of times and ditched for one reason or another. I couldn't imagine just using the desktop and trying to squint at icons from my sofa.

I'd go for Zoom Player over the codec packs as I've had bad experiences with codec packs but it's up to you.

stuff that I watch (older 80s titles) aren't the best rip quality to begin with. Then again even the 720p/1080p rips of things online isn't the best compare to a real Blu-Ray.

It's not the quality of the rips that's the problem, its that playback on the PC at different refresh rates is a nightmare, and the PC loses cadence when playing video which can cause stuttery playback and interferes with any picture processing your TV might be doing. It's not dreadful by any means I lived with it for years but its just annoying to spend all that money and have it outperformed by a £150 media streamer.

[Domino]

For video streaming/watching how about getting a Popcorn Hour device?

http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/index.php

A friend of mine had one and he loved it.

Downside is that you can't play games on it but it can solve most of the video issues.

Then again if you do a HTPC setup it will smoke any stand alone Streamer device.

[BuckoA51]

Yeah I went for a Dune media streamer in the end, I was surprised at how affordable they were. The PC's still useful for games, internet streaming through Boxee and various other things.

[Domino]

Yeah I went for a Dune media streamer in the end, I was surprised at how affordable they were. The PC's still useful for games, internet streaming through Boxee and various other things.

How's the Dune working out for you?

[BuckoA51]

I've only had it a few weeks, but the playback quality improvements vs the PC is appreciable, it also changes automatically from 24/50/60hz and actually works at 24p unlike my PC

[fagin]

I went for the full HTPC as I had bad experiences with streaming.

All my DVD's all ripped onto the HTPC and that is all I use it for tbh. Films from SKY are recorded onto DVD-R and then copied onto HTPC.

Stress free imo and works everytime. lol

[BuckoA51]

For DVD playback the Dune (or even something really fancy like an Oppo) will always beat the PC, at a fraction of the cost too. The big advantage of the HTPC is its untouchable flexibility, of course.

[fagin]

Flexibility as a "one stop shop" was paramount to me, as was the ability to just do it with minimal fuss.

[BuckoA51]

Well I never heard a HTPC described as "minimal fuss" before

[fagin]

I meant after it takes weeks to get it set up!! Lol

[Domino]

I don't want to take weeks to set it up, I want something that works after no more than one hour of tweaking.

I wonder what Fudoh uses personally for streaming?

[Fudoh]

A Dune Smart B1 for playback and a Synology DS2411+ for storage.

[BuckoA51]

I don't want to take weeks to set it up, I want something that works after no more than one hour of tweaking.

Well a PC will work after an hour or less of tweaking if you're prepared to just use a keyboard and mouse. To get everything optimal and playing nicely and working with a remote and with a nice fancy launcher for your games etc you should expect to put in a lot more time and effort to find the best solution for you. Strange as it sounds I actually enjoy this to a point, guess it depends on if you like messing with PC's or not.

If you get the front-ends working nicely they blow away whats available on a streamer, of course, our Windows Media Center machine for instance, automatically downloads covers and descriptions of all my films and TV and displays them while you browse through, very nice. This can be achieved on the Dune to a lesser degree but you get my point.. put the time in you can do some amazing stuff.

[emphatic]

I don't want to take weeks to set it up, I want something that works after no more than one hour of tweaking.

Well a PC will work after an hour or less of tweaking if you're prepared to just use a keyboard and mouse. To get everything optimal and playing nicely and working with a remote and with a nice fancy launcher for your games etc you should expect to put in a lot more time and effort to find the best solution for you. Strange as it sounds I actually enjoy this to a point, guess it depends on if you like messing with PC's or not.

If you get the front-ends working nicely they blow away whats available on a streamer, of course, our Windows Media Center machine for instance, automatically downloads covers and descriptions of all my films and TV and displays them while you browse through, very nice. This can be achieved on the Dune to a lesser degree but you get my point.. put the time in you can do some amazing stuff.

With an MCE remote, MediaPortal will work in under an hour if you follow these steps:

1. Download and install MediaPortal
2. Install the LAVF filter package (available in MediaPortal's extension manager)
3. Install the StreamedMP skin (the installer have all the great plugins you want)
4. Setup paths to music, videos and pictures
5. Setup remote (click "Use MCE remote)
6. Configure MovingPictures (movie plugin) by setting a path to your movies
7. Configure MP TV-Series (downloaded TV Series plugin) by setting a path to your shows
8. Setup video playback filters to use LAV filters for MPEG2, h264 etc.
9. (Optional) setup a download path for OnlineVideos (let's you save YouTube, Apple trailers etc.)
10. (Optional) configure your Basic Home screen in StreamedMP configuration or download other skins

If you have an NVIDIA card, setup the LAVF filters (from windows start menu) to use CUVID acceleration, if you have a new Intel card, use the Intel option. If you have a receiver, setup the LAVF Audio filters to output digitally (bitstream).

[BuckoA51]

Sounds like MediaPortal's come on some in the last year or so, must give it another look. Can you use an external player of your choosing, rather than relying on MediaPortals in-built player?

[emphatic]

Can you use an external player of your choosing, rather than relying on MediaPortals in-built player?

Yes, but unless ZoomPlayer's been developed further since last I tried it, you'll miss out on the non-linear stretch that MediaPortal has (looks great when displaying 4:3 material on a 16:9 screen. Also, MediaPortal now has it's own audio renderer that is similar to ReClock and native BluRay playback is on it's way as well, maybe in 1.3. There's already a plugin (BlueRay Handler) that will let you playback BluRay material, but not discs right outta the case IIRC. I don't use discs at all.

[BuckoA51]

Bluray playback on the PC is universally dreadful so not too interested in that, though the reclock type functionality sounds good. I had to give up on Reclock due to it not playing nicely with SPDIF output, I'll check it out anyway.