Can you really build a htpc that you forget about ?

I have been wondering if I could build a htpc that is just a scaler that i really can just forget about.

I see that the silk cards auto detect the input going into them, so could I have an s-video cable coming out of my amp and a sdi cable from the dvd player going into one of these cards and dscaler doing the scaling etc. and just leave it on 24/7

how easy is it to set up infa red to swap between resoluions ?

say
720x576p @ 75hz
and
720x480p @ 60Hz

could I have one button on my pronto to do this ???


also what would be a good size cpu and ram to make this work ??

and what about a 19" rackmount server case, dont need a floppy or dvd drive just to use it as a scaler. I could d/load all drivers etc. with wireless usb card, or am i missing somthing ??

advice would be most grateful

 

Well I am trying one of your lumagens tonight Gordon, so hopefully I wont need to go down the "build your own scaler path"


but it would make a good little project.

 

Gizlaroc,

I built my own HCPC for just over what a Lumagens costs. I could have got this way under £1k if needed.

Yes am sure this is a one box solution that will make mincemeat of a Quadscan Pro/Elite, but unless there is an upgrade for SDI, it will get old quick IMHO.

The picture now is stunning in depth and really is starting to do my BG1208/2 justice.

But I can see the attraction of plug and play, the only alternative again IMHO is the HD Leeza, if it stands up to all the hype.

Nathan

 

You can create custom resolutions in powerstrip and then assign a desktop icon to them. You can then assign shortcut keys to the icons. The pronto can learn the shortcut keys. Girder is another option.

 

Is that fairly easy to do ???


I was looking at the H3D card and their own software, I have downloaded the software and it seems to remember your settings for each input ie s-video, sdi and pal, ntsc etc.

could I set up a system with this card using this software (and powerstrip) and have it start when i start windows so i never see the desktop in normal use and just use the remote ( have a pronto remote file for it) ??



it would just look like a scaler to the end user and all the adjustments could be done by remote.

or is the software not very good ??

to make it worth the effort do i need to be using descaler ??

how would it compare without dscaler to a regualr scaler ?

thanks for the advice

Guy

 

I prefered using DScaler with the H3D card, even with the H3D software you still need to have powerstrip setup properly. I now use a gyration mouse as my HTPC control method, its much easier than setting up and using a pronto and being RF its much more practical.