OK, my previous HTPC up and died on me (XP 2800, ASUS A7N8X-E motherboard, Radeon 9800 Pro). So, I’ve been getting the parts together for a new setup and this forced me to get it going.
I set up a new media server running SageTV 6 with a X2 3800+ and ASUS M2N-SLI motheboard. My new living room system (which used to have my main HTPC) is a X2 3600+ and ASUS M2NPV-VM motherboard.
My first issue is the sound. Apparently, the SPDIF output on the motherboard only sends a passthrough signal and doesn’t do any of the decoding itself like the old Soundstorm chipset I was used to. That means I have to control the media center with one remote, and use the remote for the reciever to control the sound. Not what I wanted 🙁 So, I can either buy a new remote that handles everything, or find a sound card that does it’s own decoding. Any recommendations on sound cards? Would the Chaintech AV-710 fix my issue?
My bigger issue is video. My old Radeon 9800 Pro played Standard TV perfect and HD with only a minor hitch (and I think that was more to do with the Athon XP processor). This new setup struggles with Standard TV and is practically worthless for HD recordings.
SDTV gives me intermittent pixellation issues, occasional skips, and there is a faint bar that scrolls from the bottom of the screen to the top (visible during really dark sequences or black screens).
I’m using S-video out from the video bracket supplied with the motherboard, going to a standard 27″ TV. Any advice would be helpful. I would think that the 6150 chipset should be able to handle SD at least.
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