[BabyBenz84]

Ok so I have been using XBMC on my Xbox as of late and it has been pretty good to me but I am contemplating redoing my entertainment and computer setup so I would like to get some input from you guys.

I have way too many extra computers sitting around that are just collecting dust and would like to make use of them. This is what I am looking at doing for a setup:

PC1: XP gaming machine and some apps storage (P4 3Ghz, 1.5gb ram)
PC2: Win98 gaming machine (can't remember specs, not that important anyway)
PC3: Unchosen OS machine for storing all of my media (music, pics, vids) and being used as a server for media devices (P4 2.6ghz (maybe 2.4, I think its 2.6 though), 512mb)
PC4: Ubuntu machine used for internet surfing, downloading, and distribution of downloaded files amongst various machines. (AMD Athlon 3000 XP 2.16Ghz (I think), 1gb ram)
PC5,6 & possibly 7: XP and exact specs unknown. One will most likey be a P4 2.4 or 2.6 Ghz. That will be for the HDTV if I don't use the xbox for it. I'm not sure about the other two but I know it won't take much since they will just be for SD content.

(If you think any pc is short on ram let me know because I have extra sitting around and could easily bumb it up)
(Also note that only the gaming machine is SATA and the rest are ide. I'm not sure well ide will be for streaming hd content)

I have three tvs that I know I want to keep connected with all my content. Possibly more will be added later:
TV1: Just a SD flatscreen with composite, s-video, and component.
TV2: An older Panasonic HDTV with composite, s-video, and component inputs (no vga or dvi/hdmi). This tv is 1080i and I believe 480p. This tv is my main tv for entertainment and is paired with a DD/DTS receiver which has an optical and two coax.
TV3: Just another SD flatscreen with composite, s-video, and component inputs.

Ok, note that the first two TV's are within range of my router to run wires which as I understand it will be the fastest and most reliable connection method. The third TV's HTPC will need to be wireless and there is no way around it. I do have a couple extra Linksys Wirless G cards sitting around but will wireless G be enough? I have a nice 802.11N router that I can use. Should I purchase a 802.11N wireless card for it or will 802.11G be enough for streaming SD videos from my media storage computer?

Now I need to decide on exactly how I will handle the other two tvs. Since one is HD I would like to take advantage of that fact even if its not 1080p or 720p. I know I am going to have to decide between using the XBOX or a PC with it. Each seems to have advantages and disadvantages. I am currently using the xbox with it at the moment but all content is stored locally on the xbox hdd.

XBOX: Well the great thing about the xbox is that its pretty much all ready to go. I've got it plugged into my HDTV with a good set of MS component cables and I've added a coax digital out so I'm getting DD and DTS sound. It makes for a great experience I think. From my understanding XBMC on the xbox will upscale video to 1080i (although I hear complaints from people concerning speed) and 720p. So neither really benefit me but will it scale to 480p? I can use that. I know that it can't handle any media in native HD though. Does this mean that I will have to have an SD copy of the video on my pc or can is there a way to downscale either on the pc or xbox end? Maybe an app that will run on the pc and downscale when it detects the xbox is streaming content? I also hear there is noticeable quality loss when streaming

PC: Well, obviously I have a lot more options when it comes to what I can play and how fast. Using XBMC on a PC will I be able to watch 720p and 1080p on my 1080i HD set? Is there someway that they will be converted into the proper format for my tv? How well does a PC stream media? Will I able able to stream videos with no quality loss? And now lets say that I can stream hd content to my set and convert it properly. What of the other PC and XBOX? Will I need to have a both an HD and SD version of my video so that the the xbox and sd pc can play them or is there a way to downscale? I kinda already asked that lol.

The bad thing about the PC for my HD set is that I am going to need to purchase a new sound card that supports DD&DTS with either an opticle or coax out. Also, since my HDTV does not have VGA or DVI/HDMI I am going to need to purchase a converter to go from VGA to component (I don't think my tv can process RGB so I won't be able to just use the conversion cables but will need an actual transcoder). I guess that would be money well spent though.

I am also not sure if my P4 2.4 or 2.6ghz will be enough for the type of video I want to play on my HD set. Perhaps I will have to use my gaming machine instead?

At this time I am not looking to do any DVR related activities so that does not need to be taken into account.

I hope I did a good enough job explaining what I have to work with and what I want to do. I just want some answers to my specific questions and some general feedback and advice. And I hope this is the right section to post this in.

To me the PC seems like th way to go once I lay out the money for the transcoder and new sound card. It is simply much more versatile and powerful.

[althekiller]

Can we get the abridged version?

[tslayer]

How true... The attention span for most of us is one small paragraph.

Most of us tech geeks don't read novels. Sorry.

[natethomas]

Um. I think I get it. Or some of it.

The xbox cannot play hd content. This means if you have hd content that you want the xbox to play, you WILL have to have an sd version of the content as well.

PCs are always cool. XBMC should be able to play anything you can throw at it and put it on whatever screen you want to use, so long as the PC itself can display on the screen. Thus, if you have a 1080i screen and the PC can display on it, XBMC should too.

A P4 2.6ghz cpu, I believe, will have no trouble with 720p content, but may hiccup on 1080p stuff. P4s are not quite as optimized as more modern Intel cpu's, so where a modern 2.6ghz would handle 1080p decently enough, the p4 could have problems.

I'm not sure what you are talking about with "streaming media." Do you mean over the internet or over a network connection? If over a network connection, both the PC and the xbox will "stream" media equally well. The tricky question is always going to be whether your network has the throughput to get that media to its location. For this purpose, hardwiring is always recommended, especially for hd content. For sd content... there's really no recommendation. You'll just have to see for yourself.

[BabyBenz84]

Thanks for the answer natethomas!

By streaming I mean over the network. The PC for the HDTV will be wired to the router. I'm not sure what my throughput is but I can download some software and find out. What kind of throughput will I need for streaming HD?

And when you say XBMC on the xbox and pc stream equally well, are you saying that even on the PC I am going to suffer quality loss?

One more question to your answer: You said XBMC will display whatever I tell it to as long as the computer is capable but what if I try to play 1080p content on my 1080i screen and have a vga to component transcoder. Will the transcoder automatically convert the 1080p to 1080i or is this something I will need additional software to do on the fly or to convert the actual files permanently.

[infy]

I think this guy came from 10 years in the past :p

[BabyBenz84]

I think going the PC route is deff the route for me to go. I have a system that I was occasionally using as an HTPC and it has an ATI Radeon 9550. Not a great card but I found out that its DVI port supports this neat little adapter http://www.amazon.com/DVI-I-To-Component...B000BSHHY8 to allow me to use component!

So I have my component issue solved and now have a way to get full hd. Now all I need to do is get a sound card for it with digital out. I am thinking of getting this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6829118105

I would really like this question answered though: "And when you say XBMC on the xbox and pc stream equally well, are you saying that even on the PC I am going to suffer quality loss?"

[natethomas]

Mr. Benz, I still don't understand that question. Let's start out by trying to figure out what you mean by "streaming." In fact, let's not go that route. Let's talk about networks.

Imagine, you have two computers on a network. One is the server, the other is the client. The server houses all your videos. The client plays them. The server does not play them, it simply sends them, bit for bit, across the network.

Both the xbox and xbmc for computer play files under this principle. A perfect and complete copy of the video file is sent to the xbox or computer by the server. The xbox or computer then plays this file as if it were on its own harddrive.

This means, at least over the network, there should be no quality loss, because, if there were, the file would be damaged and the xbox and computer would no longer be able to play the file.

This is why I am confused by your question. To my knowledge, the xbox experiences the same degree of quality when playing a file from its own harddrive as when it plays a file off a network.

Is this what you are talking about, or are you talking about something else? Please, if I did not answer the question, explain what you mean by "streaming."

[BabyBenz84]

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear.

Yes, by streaming I mean the server storing my videos and the client playing them through my LAN.

I have done some research on Google and have seen several times, people saying that when they stream videos over a network to the xbox, that they notice some degradation in video quality. I have assumed that this is due to the limitations of the xbox hardware and that a much more powerful computer should be able to render the video 100% the quality of the source file on the host.

When you said "If over a network connection, both the PC and the xbox will "stream" media equally well" I became confused as I am under the impression the xbox does not stream video over network in 100% the quality of the source file.

So, in a nutshell, my questions are: As long as my network has enough throughput, and the client computer is powerful enough, I should be able to stream video without any quality loss whatsoever correct? I'm pretty sure the main HTPC here will be a P4 2.6ghz, 2gb DDR, and an ATI Radeon 9550.

I mean, pretty much as long as the video is able to transfer faster then the video plays I should be ok right?

Also, is it true what I heard about the xbox losing video quality when streaming over a network?

[rwparris2]

So, in a nutshell, my questions are: As long as my network has enough throughput, and the client computer is powerful enough, I should be able to stream video without any quality loss whatsoever correct?

Yes. This applies when xbox is your client as well.

For 1080p, you may need a gigabit network. To play that on an HTPC you'll need ~2.8ghz c2d or or a vdpau compatible video card (the radeon you posted below won't do it).
Good luck.

[kizer]

On my setup all I know is that my Xbox and my pc play as well as each other playing the same media.

One is a xbox with a 800mhz processor 64meg of ram
One is a pc with a 3ghz processor and 1 gig of ram

When I fire up 720 media which is only one file at the moment the xbox has issues and the 3ghz machine just plays.

Both use files stored on a Network attached storage device and both access the same exact files encoded mostly as Xvids.

I hope that clears things up for you some. I've not really messed with 1080 media simply because I haven't nor I don't have a blueray player that I want to attempt to rip media from.

[BabyBenz84]

Thanks guys. Things are beginning to get clearer now

HD is really a new area for me and I've never streamed anything other than music over a network before. I think I'm on the right path to getting this figured out.

And so getting a vdpau compatible video card is what I need if I want to play 1080i videos without having to get a new cpu and motherboard? I'd be able to use my P4 2.6ghz?

Or am I going to have to break down and use my gaming machine? It has a P4 3Ghz that says it uses Hyper Threading Technology and it has a PCI express x16 slot. I know its not much of a gaming machine but its my most powerful pc.

I'd rather just replace the video card in the 2.6 if possible. I guess I'll start looking for another card. My problem is I am limited to just PCI and AGP x8 and it has to have some form of component out. I like how ATI uses a DVI-I to component adapter but I am open to other methods like those mini-din to component I think some nvidia cards use. All I need it to do is play 1080i videos. Gaming is not a concern and the cheaper the better. A fanless one would be nice too.

I'm going to do some research but please feel free to suggest a card.

I hope I'm not getting too off topic here...

EDIT: Hey, what do you guys think of this card? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6814121260

It seems to be everything I need.

EDIT AGAIN: I just noticed this site has an HTPC section. Perhaps it would be a good idea to move this post to that section if a mod sees fit as this post has drifted more towards an htpc discussion than XBMC.

And about that card? What do you guys think? I know vdpau was recommended but I came to find out that is Linux only and I think I would like to keep the HTPC an XP machine for simplicity and compatibility sake.