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WTF! A PC for TV PVP? Ok!
I am thinking about getting a desktop PC if a couple of financial factors are met. These include getting my tax return check, things continue to go well at work and having my saving rate keep going strong. So I am probably looking at around my birthday in October.
The main reason why I would like to get a desktop system is to get an ATI All In Wonder video card that I can use like a PVR Video recorder. I have read some flattering reviews of the latest multimedia laden video cards by ATI. ATI has made a pretty slick remote control for their All-in-Wonder series or so I have read. Some reviews go as far and saying that the software package for recording video surpasses Microsoft's Windows Media Center for ease of use and quality. Recording a program with the included software works extremely well, in fact we found it to work better than Microsoft’s Media Center operating system, which we’ve had a lot of exposure to lately.
I would defiantly want a DVD burner so I could toast DVD versions of recorded shows or make DVD-R data disks of recorded MPEG files. Also the ability to back up all my digital music on two DVDs would be pretty damn cool. My girl friend Kymberly has expressed interest in being able to digitize old movies on VHS then burning them to DVD.
Another big reason why I would like a desktop PC is the ability to crank out 3d graphics via a dedicated AGP card. I do love my laptop PC but the integrated Radeon IGP chip is just not cutting the mustard when it comes to the latest games and I would like the ability to play Unreal Tournament 2004, Half Life 2 , Doom 3 and Quake 4 the way that they were intended to be played. I am seriously skeptical that I could even get them to run at the lowest setting on my notebook.
Since a media PC would be a hybrid of a PC and TV it poses an interesting dilemma when it comes to laying out the room. I would want a system that I could use as a sit forward PC on a desk with a office chair and a lay back couch and comfy chair with a coffee table suitable for lounging. What I would do is have the PC on the floor by the desk and have the monitor on a swivel facing the coffee table and couch. I could then swivel it back to facing the desk for PC work and or to the sofa for lounging. I would also install a small surround sound speaker system in the room so it could serve and a stereo and home theater system. It does pose and interesting room layout problem.
I would most likely get the most powerful desktop made by eMachines. I have now owned two eMachines systems as well as them being a choice of friends and family. I do have some brand loyalty to the company and their AMD powered systems.. I like their design philosophy by delivering a good balance of power and value by limiting the product line and no at factory customization. Their current top of the line has a somewhat quiet AMD Athlon-XP CPU, 512 megs of ram, 160 Gigs hard drive, flash card reader, DVD-burner and most importantly a free fast AGP slot. This is about $650 and I could upgrade the RAM, video card and add an extra hard drive or modify it latter if I needed to. I would have the monitor go to sleep when not needed but I would leave the PC on 24/7 so it would function as a PVR and multimedia file server.
I would then want to get a ATI Radeon All-in-Wonder card to handle recording video and it would basically be the heart and brains of multimedia playback of the system. This would probably set me back $300 to $400. The newest ATI software can schedule and record TV shows, act as a video server for notebooks on the household network, download free ad supported TV listings from the net, turn in and record radio shows to MP3 and be controlled by an ergonomic RF remote control. It could also crank out the Direct-X 9.0 PC gameage that I desire so I can hang out with Gordon Freeman when Half Life 2 finally ships. I could also transfer recorded TV video files to my notebook.
I would then top it off with a quality flat screen LCD 17-inch monitor. That would set me back about $500 but it should end up lasting me years and I will look at it every moment that I will use this systems so I better not skimp on the monitor. I would want to watch a DVD with out my glasses sitting at least six feet from the monitor lounging on my sofa. I have my eye on an eMachines monitor but I want to read reviews first.
I would want a normal PC desk from Ikea but one with space for a my PS2, Gamecube, Cable modem and Wifi router so some shelves would be in order. Probably around $100. Then round it all off with a nice speaker set installed around the room. Also another $100. The entire enchilada would be around $1,600. That is still much cheaper than my first computers even if you adjust for inflation.
I have to wonder what Marshall McLuhan would think about the growth of computers acting as personal media systems replacing the TV, stereo and photo album. Anyway this is just window shopping and speculation at this point. Until then I will be quite happy with my notebook PC, VCR and PS2. OK?
Jake at May 20, 2004 
Nerd
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Comments
I've been using the ATI All-in-Wonder 9700 for a year and a half now, and I love the card. Their multimedia center software started off a little shaky, with lots of bugs, but they've relased 3 major versions of the software since I bought the card and each one has been better than the last. The latest version has some great features, and I haven't had any problems with it.
The only downside to the software is you can't use the remote to change channels if you have digital cable or satellite (something that requires a box or receiver to change the channel). It's not a problem for me, since I have basic apartment cable, but could be pretty annoying for others. It would mean you had to change the channel on your box to the channel you want to record and leave it there.
Although someone was telling me that there's a product from this company called SnapStream that's supposed to help out with that issue and is even better than the ATI-packaged multimedia center. http://www.snapstream.com/Products/Products_PVS3.asp
Posted by: Jeff at May 20, 2004 7:38 AM
this is like geek eroticism at its finest :)
Posted by: girlwonder at May 20, 2004 8:23 AM
Well you can store lots of stuff on a 160 Gig HD.
Posted by: Jake of 8bitjoystick.com at May 20, 2004 9:40 AM
Funny, I just rambled about this sort of thing not too long ago [1]. :)
My suggestion: Skip the ATI card (or at least tha AiW) and go with a Hauppage PVR 350 [2] for your recording needs. Also, I highly recommend the Beyond TV 3 [3] product from SnapStream -- it does things better than the ATI MMC, lets you schedule recordings via your browser, and downloads TV listings for your area, among other things
[1]: http://www.decafbad.com/blog/2004/05/10/homebrew_entertainment_appliances_cheap_open_and_embattled
[2]: http://www.hauppauge.com/html/wintvpvr350_datasheet.htm
[3]: http://www.snapstream.com/Products/Products_PVS3.asp
Posted by: l.m. orchard at May 20, 2004 10:31 AM
Oh! And never underestimate the utility of a modded XBox for playing media streamed over your network in your entertainment center :)
Posted by: l.m. orchard at May 20, 2004 10:33 AM
I don't have an Xbox anymore modded or otherwise. The reason why I would want to go with an ATI card is also for the 3d performance.
Posted by: Jake of 8bitjoystick.com at May 20, 2004 10:46 AM
17 inch LCD? You gotta go 20 inch CRT for a machine like that! Since I got mine I haven't been able to look at LCD's the same way.
Posted by: InsaneDavid at May 21, 2004 1:30 AM
When PCI express comes out thats the time to get a new computer.
Its going to put AGP out of business.
It should be out in june if I heard right but knowing me im been wrong about everything today.
Posted by: Zachary at May 23, 2004 7:05 PM
I strongly recommend taking a wait and save approach, there's too many new innovations that wil be in PC's by the end of the year. PCI Express(as mentioned in the last post), many new chipsets from the Intel(i915) and AMD camps, new socket types for CPU's, support for DDR2 RAM(for the 915 from Intel, and it has been rumoured that Intel might make a dual type chip able to use either DDR1 or 2, much like the chips that used either SDRAM or DDR RAM in the past). I feel that the current offerings of Socket A and Socket 478 are winding down(AMD already has a successor on the market, though pricy for most, and Intel has several announced replacements).
My solution late last year was to buy an inexpensive Dell PowerEdge SC400 server with a P4 2.8Ghz 800 Mhz FSB and HT, 256MB PC3200 ECC DC-DDR , 40 GB HD, a DVD-ROM, a low end server class ATI Rage 128 video card(PCI). Then I added a 1GB Ultra PC3200 DC DDR Kit, a 52x CDRW from another black tower of mine(Lite-On ROCKS), a 120GB WD SE HD, and a eVGA GF FX5700U with 128 MB DDR2, and my Windows XP Pro. And I now have a capable, though not OC'able, VERY stable PC, that will certainly remain viable until I can afford to adopt the "new" technologies, ie the stuff has gotten "common" enough and price has dropped out to where I deem it feasable to spend the money upgrading.
Posted by: Sadler2010 at May 31, 2004 5:40 PM
I thought that AGP was so much faster than PCI and ISA it is surprising to think that there is going to be a faster data bus.
Posted by: Jake of 8bitjoystick.com at May 31, 2004 5:52 PM
YAY! Freeman rulz!
Posted by: a random n008 at March 22, 2006 9:23 AM
