N00b needs help with $ly+ for Connecting to PC

phill2000star

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Hiya everyone!

This is my first post so please bear with me! :)

I am in the process of doing two things in my house at the moment. The first of which is transfering from NTL (prety good service but 12 month bundle discount running out and Sly+ seems a good option!), and the second of which is building a new HTPC (Home Theatre PC).

At the moment I have a TV downstairs which is on its last legs, and was thinking of upgrading that too.

I ideally would like the $ly+ box to be connected to the HTPC via some kinda of means. This could either be Composite, SCART, S-VHS, or plain old Co-Ax. As far as I am aware, (and someone please correct me if I am wrong) the preference of these methods are as follows: -
  1. Component (Most preffered method)
  2. S-Video
  3. Composite
  4. Coax (Least preffered method)
At the moment, from reading the posts in this site I would be better off using the S-VHS option as it uses seperate chrominance and luminance feeds. Q - Is this right??...

The next thing i need to consider would be the TV capture card in the HTPC. Am I right in thinking that a Hardware based MPEG-II encoder would be required to produce a decent output, eliminating / reducing problems I would encounter with a software based decoder, such as lipsync etc?

Does anyone have any recomendations on either capture cards, or chipsets used in good cards so I can check which would be ideal for my HTPC setup?

I would also like to be able to have the output from my $ly+ box routed to a 2nd TV in the bedroom, which would probably require around 20m of cable to be done correctly (i.e. hidden as the missus would go apesh*t !!). Wireless transmitters are not possible as the house is old with thick walls and even WLAN struggles to work well! Q - So which would be the best method to get the signal to the 2nd TV, and would there be much signal loss using 20m of cable for S-VHS??...

The next thing I need to consider is do I need to use a signal splitter for me to send the output from the HTPC to 2x TV's, or are there TV / Graphics cards with 2x S-VHS outputs?

I have included a diagram to show you the setup I intend to use!

Setup.jpg


I hope this all makes sense!

Any help from you guys will be very much appreciated!!

Cheers,

Phill :-ohmy
 

rolfw

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Haven't been over impressed with HTPCs to date, so have not really got involved in the technology.

The Sky+ receiver fed direct to a TV using scart RGB, gives excellent results, it can also be split and sent to another TV via CAT5 cable and suitable baluns in RGB, the units also cater for remote control extension, add to this a second Sky receiver with the Sky rooms package and it perhaps tends to discount the need for the media PC.

The connectivity with the media PC and available cards and interfaces is something I haven't really looked into and perhaps some other member may well have some information on this.
 

phill2000star

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Hiya Rolfw, many thanks for your reply.

The reason for the HTPC is more than just the recording facility. I have a few boxes in my front room that I want to get rid of, eg HIFI, DVD, FM radio etc. The need for the HTPC is for the CD / DVD / MP3 / Radio and DivX and other encoded video playback as well as the PC functions such as email & internet.

The HTPC will ideally be used with the $ly+ box to transfer recordings I want to keep for ever / burn to DVD. You think that using Scart RGB is better than using S-VHS?

PS. I didnt get a welcome to the site that you sometimes give other n00bs! lol O-Ha
 

rolfw

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phill2000star said:
PS. I didnt get a welcome to the site that you sometimes give other n00bs! lol O-Ha


Sorry, took me so long to read your post, you were no longer a newbie. ;) :-lmao


I prefer scart RGB to S-Video, but mainly because of compatibility. Perhaps you could run Sky+ and the Media PC in tandem, running connections from both to each TV, then a connection from Sky+ to Media PC for the odd thing you may want to put onto DVD.
 

phill2000star

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Yeah I guess. I think I will have to see what kinda box I get from $ly when I order it. Does the customer get a choice when they place their order?...
 

rolfw

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Don't think so, it will be whatever they have at the depot.
 

BarMoo

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The hub of your HTPC looks like a box I have seen before?

What you should really consider is a server: I believe that the box pictured(sic) is some kind of media server.

If you can hold out and get an HD SKY+ box - I would. It should come with component outs. It won't matter if the content is HD or not - MPEG is component (YUV) 4:2:2.

Any regular SKY STB will give a decent RGB out - but RGB is matrixed from YUV (not Y/C) - and given that HD is around the corner I would hold off for a bit and ask some questions.

In any event, you are clearly looking to have a smart home:D

Problem with SKY will always be the proprietory nature of their STB (thinking it should be available as a PC card: fat chance). Else get 2 HD SKY STB's (which will always need local programming - or certainly some kit to interconnect between a server and the box - and not seen in your diagram).

Thought about Freeview?

Have Fun,

Mark.
 

phill2000star

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Hiya Mark. The box shown is actually just a case for a standard PC with a 7" touchscreen monitor in the front. It will be running on Microsoft Windows Media Centre and running on a network in the house. I have a media server in another room that I currently have a Network Media Player streaming content to my TV in the front room. The $ly+ will only be connected to transfer stuff to the network so it will be available all over the house.
 
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