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Getting Started, Input Please?

B

Bunk454

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 16, 2003
Messages
247
Hi all,
I'm planning to build my first HTPC, which will be based on the following Gigabyte motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128090

PC building is nothing new to me, so that's not the issue. I just have a few questions which I'd like some feedback on from more experienced users.

The HTPC will running Vista Ultimate using WMC and will be used for a media server and basic internet browsing, email, etc
I do not plan on using it as a DVR.

My current setup consists of a Samsung 52" 1080p LCD tv and a Samsung HT-TX75 all-in-one home theater system. (I know, but it was free).
So, my questions are as follows:

1. My Samsung surround sound system has one HDMI input and one HDMI output, so I would just connect the HTPC HDMI cable to it, and then run the output HDMI cable to my TV?

2. Both audio and video would be carried over the above mentioned connection?

3. The "all-in-one" surround sound system does 1080i up-conversion. Will I lose this quality when I rip all of my DVD's to the HTPC? Does this really matter? How much quality am I losing?

4. Blue-Ray? I don't know much about it, but it's the clear winner over HD-DVD.
Is it worth putting a Blue-Ray dvd-rom drive in the HTPC?

5. Can the Blue-Ray discs be ripped to my HD like regular DVD's? If so, how much disc space does a typical Blue-Ray movie use?

6. Will the video quality of a Blue-Ray movie be compromised any by passing through the connection I specified in question #1?

Sorry for the long post, just trying to get my feet wet here.
Thanks in advance for any help.
 
1) Yes,

2) Yes.

3) No (I'll explain why in response to #6).

4) Yes. A BD drive in a HTPC is a great solution. You'll be able to use all the features available to Blu-ray (which is something that most current stand-alone players cannot claim).

5) Not sure. I think the Sony DRM has been cracked so you can rip some of them to your HTPC. But I'm not sure.

6) No. The HDMI in on the Samsung will pass the video information through to your TV. This means it comes in at 1080P and the Samsung HTIB doesn't do any processing on the video stream. Most modern graphics cards do up-conversion by default.


Fun facts:

It's called Blu-ray because noone is allowed to trademark "Blue"

The abbreviation is BD, not freaking BR. It's a Blu-ray Disk. When you go to Burger King to order a Whopper, you don't ask for a B.K.
 
As above but

4. I would look at an LG combi drive. They do both BD and HDDVD and cost the same as a BD standard drive. Why limit your viewing of current HD media and eventually there will be a sale of HDDVD discs to clear stock. You can also copy the HDDVD to a BD-R DL disc at a later date if needed (again using AnyDVD HD to remove the AACS protection).

5: Yes. AnyDVD HD will allow you to rip 99% of BD discs to your HDD (still some teething problems but they are usually quickly fixed and updates issued). The problem comes in that most playback software will not allow you to playback a folder that contains BD files to reduce copyright theft. If you use something like CloneCD (use the trial version as only writing is stopped after the trial expires) with AnyDVD HD to make an ISO image and then mount that image using Deamon-Tools to make it look like a real BD disc it works fine.
 
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