Coax Hardware

How do you get a high definition signal into a PC, using hdmi, dvi, or component video cables?

Does anyone know of any PC hardware out there that allows you to get a high def signal into your PC via hdmi, dvi, or component? There are plenty of PC tuner cards out there that will take coax, s-video, and composite inputs, but I want something that I can get those hi def signals from a set top box. Any ideas?

Here’s the card for it:
http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/intensity/
BUT take note that the HDMI standard can include copy protected encryption, such as DVD players. The Intensity card therefore will NOT capture from copy protected HDMI sources.

CB ANTENNA THRU THE GLASS WITH COAX, WHIP, MOUNTING HARDWARE AND PL 259 $22.95

SD8X18P 18′ Plug-Plug Coax Dragon Super Dual Mini 8 DSD8X18PEZ Plus Hardware $28.00

With the new faster processors, larger hard drives and newer LCD TVs building a Media Center PC has become more and more practical. A Media Center PC can record multiple TV programs simultaneously, you can organize all your music and photos can also be used as a standard computer. They are definitely very good. However, before deciding to build their own media center here are ten quick tips …

1. Consider building a machine with a dual-core processor or quad-core. The multiple processing threads will be very useful when several recording programs and watching a program simultaneously. A fast multi-core processor is a must if you plan to watch and record HDTV.

2. Do not skimp on RAM. A good media center will have at least 2 GB of RAM and probably should have up to 4 GB. The ram will help keep things moving quickly while recording programs.

3. You can never have enough hard disk space. With HDTV increasingly a standard that you will want to consider large amounts of hard drive space on your machine. I did not build a machine that had less than a terabyte of hard disk space.

4. To increase performance considering using a RAID configuration for their hard drives. Using the raid zero along with high speed SATA hard drives can help to improve video performance and can prevent recording errors.

5. Get TV tuner cards built with good hardware encoding. Tuner cards hardware MPEG encoding will weigh up the processor when recording TV, this will help ensure that you will not receive any omissions or problems in your recorded output. I use Hauppauge cards in my machine and a great job.

6. Invest in a decoding program well. The software decoder software offering Nvidia does a good job on my media center. However, I tested four or five before you find the one that works the way I wanted with my hardware configuration. Be prepared to test some different options before settling on which work best for you.

7. Do not forget to ask the remote. A media center without a remote control is a travesty. These teams are designed to operate while sitting on your couch. The remote does not cost that much and are very good.

8. Buy the best video card you can afford. The better the card video that is less likely that you will have problems with reproduction. Before buying the video card also sure to check the list of Media Center approved cards. If the card is not listed here you may want to avoid. Also make sure you buy a video card that has a high-definition output matches your TV (either DVI or HDMI is the best).

9. Get a good audio card is capable of feeding the audio source to your receiver or speakers. If you plan 5.1 or 7.1 to output data DVD's you will want to make sure the sound card you choose has an optical or coaxial digital output. You might also consider buying a card that will make all the sounds used in the feeding equipment in a 5.1 or 7.1 digital audio.

10. Be prepared to play with its configuration and build. Unfortunately, building a media center is not an exact science and there is usually a bit of tinkering to get involved in a fully functional system stable. If you are not comfortable playing with the settings and drivers for things to work might consider buying a prebuilt center media and have someone else do the testing and setup for you.

I've been running Windows XP Media Center Edition for some time and now I love. I built two centers in different media and both have been an explosion. Try it yourself and see.

About the Author:

Jeff McRitchie is the director of marketing for www.MyBinding.com and lives in Hillsboro, Oregon. He writes extensively on topics related to Binding Machines, Binding Supplies, Report Covers, Binders, Index Tabs, Laminators, Laminating Pouches, Roll Film, Shredders, and Paper Handling Equipment.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Ten Tips for Building your Own Media Center Computer