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[autoboy]

Don’t forget that it can decode all formats, including DTS, Dobly Digital and their HD versions to stereo for use on TVs that can’t decode those formats.  That’s huge for me.  I wonder if I’m still going to just pull the lossy codec on my BDs to save space…

Glad to at least have the option though…

I can’t wait for Cable Card, and I’m hoping that I’ll still be able to copy freely most of my content since I don’t watch premium channels.

I see three negatives so far.  No multichannel PCM audio support,  the form factor prevents me from stacking andlaying it on it’s side, and the lack of a front USB port.  I used mine on occasion when using standalone mode, and as a free USB charger for ipods.

Those are pretty minor complaints. 

Probably my biggest problem now is do I upgrade?  I would like to upgrade my bedroom to get DTS decoding support, but do I upgrade my main system also so I can support HD bitstreaming?  Hmm.  I guess that will depend on Cable Card support since I don’t believe in spending $ just to get HD audio.

If they launch Cable Card on SageTV, I will be upgrading just to simplify my system and make it more reliable.  It’s a mess with 2 HD-PVRs and 2 cable boxes connected with 4 cables each and mine hasn’t been very stable.

[autoboy]

I think you can go even further back than 2 years.  HDMI 1.1 equipped receivers will still support HD audio over HDMI, and if you buy a high end used unit, you could get a very nice amp section in it.  It’s going to be a better amp than a what you find in today’s $400 receivers.

[autoboy]

I think you can go even further back than 2 years.  HDMI 1.1 equipped receivers will still support HD audio over HDMI, and if you buy a high end used unit, you could get a very nice amp section in it.  It’s going to be a better amp than a what you find in today’s $400 receivers.

[autoboy]

It’s a ton of fun for those of us who are HDMI only.  For just $300 you can get a receiver with 4 HDMI ports and HD audio decoding.  If they kept the analog circuits, it would raise the price.

For the component crowd who may find this post, it may be better to search in the used AVR market where you can get great receivers that will feature component connections and analog inputs for HD audio.  Remember, there is only one current source for HD audio.  Blu-ray.  So, you only need a single connection able to handle it making those analog ports perfect for the new format, while still allowing your AVR to handle the old lossy DD and DTS codecs for everything else you attach.

[autoboy]

It’s a ton of fun for those of us who are HDMI only.  For just $300 you can get a receiver with 4 HDMI ports and HD audio decoding.  If they kept the analog circuits, it would raise the price.

For the component crowd who may find this post, it may be better to search in the used AVR market where you can get great receivers that will feature component connections and analog inputs for HD audio.  Remember, there is only one current source for HD audio.  Blu-ray.  So, you only need a single connection able to handle it making those analog ports perfect for the new format, while still allowing your AVR to handle the old lossy DD and DTS codecs for everything else you attach.

[autoboy]

[quote=”Mikinho”]
If you don’t need LiveTV DVR functionality both XBMC and Boxee (Note: Boxee is a fork of XBMC) can offer more flexibility than SageTV or 7MC.

– Both are free, SageTV is not
– Both are open source and cross platform, neither 7MC or SageTV is

I have Boxee and XBMC running on old Gentoo laptops that I would have otherwise donated since they aren’t powerful enough to run 7MC and I can’t stand using XP anymore.
[/quote]

Just to clarify, SageTV is cross platform.  It will run on Linux, OSX, or Windows.

Boxee and XBMC can also be run on a AppleTV, though the AppleTV will not run HD very well.  Boxee is coming out with a set  top box based on cell phone chipsets.

[autoboy]

[quote=”Mikinho”]
If you don’t need LiveTV DVR functionality both XBMC and Boxee (Note: Boxee is a fork of XBMC) can offer more flexibility than SageTV or 7MC.

– Both are free, SageTV is not
– Both are open source and cross platform, neither 7MC or SageTV is

I have Boxee and XBMC running on old Gentoo laptops that I would have otherwise donated since they aren’t powerful enough to run 7MC and I can’t stand using XP anymore.
[/quote]

Just to clarify, SageTV is cross platform.  It will run on Linux, OSX, or Windows.

Boxee and XBMC can also be run on a AppleTV, though the AppleTV will not run HD very well.  Boxee is coming out with a set  top box based on cell phone chipsets.

[autoboy]

That sucks.  Sorry man.

The new receivers are really designed for all HDMI systems.

Did you ever consider something like a DVDO edge?  I think the edge specializes in HDMI as well, but there may be other systems designed for component.

[autoboy]

That sucks.  Sorry man.

The new receivers are really designed for all HDMI systems.

Did you ever consider something like a DVDO edge?  I think the edge specializes in HDMI as well, but there may be other systems designed for component.

[autoboy]

He’s talking about getting an HDMI equipped sound card.  THAT would be obsolete.  A good analog soundcard is not obsolete as long as you have a need for analog output.  If he wants to go the analog route, then a good ANALOG soundcard would be a good choice, but I would surely skip the extra expense in getting an HDMI soundcard.

The only reason I upgraded my receiver is because I ran out of inputs.  I have a lot of equipment because I like to play with new gear and my old receiver could only support 3 spdif inputs and 1 analog input.  That’s not enough surround inputs for me.  The addition of HD audio was also a small factor, but I’ve since realized I can’t hear a difference on actual source material.  That’s why I’m the resident troll when it comes to HD audio upgrades.  I’m so bad that I convert all my HD audio to lossy Dolby Digital at 640K so I can play it on any TV in my house.  I can tell no difference in quality of the audio.

[autoboy]

He’s talking about getting an HDMI equipped sound card.  THAT would be obsolete.  A good analog soundcard is not obsolete as long as you have a need for analog output.  If he wants to go the analog route, then a good ANALOG soundcard would be a good choice, but I would surely skip the extra expense in getting an HDMI soundcard.

The only reason I upgraded my receiver is because I ran out of inputs.  I have a lot of equipment because I like to play with new gear and my old receiver could only support 3 spdif inputs and 1 analog input.  That’s not enough surround inputs for me.  The addition of HD audio was also a small factor, but I’ve since realized I can’t hear a difference on actual source material.  That’s why I’m the resident troll when it comes to HD audio upgrades.  I’m so bad that I convert all my HD audio to lossy Dolby Digital at 640K so I can play it on any TV in my house.  I can tell no difference in quality of the audio.

[autoboy]

My opinion:

Hulu quality is terrible.  Yeah.  It is really that bad and blow it up to 65″ and it is worse.  I don’t mind the commercials because there are only a few of them, but OMG it looks bad.

Netflix streaming is great.  I catch up on a lot of shows on Netflix, the ones available in HD look as good as the Cable broadcast, and I can watch them all in a row.  It is perfect for watch a whole season of a show at once, but their selection doesn’t include a lot of shows I watch.

Netflix movie rental is a big part of my TV experience.  I like quality, so I like to rent seasons of shows on BD or DVD and watch them at my convenience.  Shows on HBO eventually make it to BD and I can wait.  I’m waiting to see the Pacific when it comes out on BD.  I also wanted for Life on BD because the Discovery Channel is too compressed to appreciate the quality of the cinematography.  I don’t think I am alone in waiting for Life either…I ended up buying the whole set.  The problem with Netflix for most consumers is that you have to watch what they give you.  You have 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 movies at a time, and often times that’s a whole season of a show so you don’t get to watch anything but that.

Bit Torrent.  I’ve tried it on a few shows like Lost early on.  The quality wasn’t great, it was hit or miss on 5.1 surround, and it was really time consuming trying to find a good rip.  I’d rather spend my time watching for TV than searching for TV.  I still use it on occasion when something goes wrong with my system and I miss an episode of the Bachelor.  The wife hates it when that happens.  She thinks it is only her shows that sometimes miss, but it happens fairly often for one reason or another.

Cable.  The quality is very good when compared to a lot of streaming.  You get the news, sports, and other shows that never end up on DVD or streaming.  I record a LOT of shows I never watch and I have a large library of casual shows recorded and ready to watch at any time.  I can’t live without cable, but I also can’t believe how much I pay for basic HD service.  It is ridiculous.

[autoboy]

My opinion:

Hulu quality is terrible.  Yeah.  It is really that bad and blow it up to 65″ and it is worse.  I don’t mind the commercials because there are only a few of them, but OMG it looks bad.

Netflix streaming is great.  I catch up on a lot of shows on Netflix, the ones available in HD look as good as the Cable broadcast, and I can watch them all in a row.  It is perfect for watch a whole season of a show at once, but their selection doesn’t include a lot of shows I watch.

Netflix movie rental is a big part of my TV experience.  I like quality, so I like to rent seasons of shows on BD or DVD and watch them at my convenience.  Shows on HBO eventually make it to BD and I can wait.  I’m waiting to see the Pacific when it comes out on BD.  I also wanted for Life on BD because the Discovery Channel is too compressed to appreciate the quality of the cinematography.  I don’t think I am alone in waiting for Life either…I ended up buying the whole set.  The problem with Netflix for most consumers is that you have to watch what they give you.  You have 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 movies at a time, and often times that’s a whole season of a show so you don’t get to watch anything but that.

Bit Torrent.  I’ve tried it on a few shows like Lost early on.  The quality wasn’t great, it was hit or miss on 5.1 surround, and it was really time consuming trying to find a good rip.  I’d rather spend my time watching for TV than searching for TV.  I still use it on occasion when something goes wrong with my system and I miss an episode of the Bachelor.  The wife hates it when that happens.  She thinks it is only her shows that sometimes miss, but it happens fairly often for one reason or another.

Cable.  The quality is very good when compared to a lot of streaming.  You get the news, sports, and other shows that never end up on DVD or streaming.  I record a LOT of shows I never watch and I have a large library of casual shows recorded and ready to watch at any time.  I can’t live without cable, but I also can’t believe how much I pay for basic HD service.  It is ridiculous.

[autoboy]

I’m guessing a bit on the performance of the 5550 vs the 5670.  I know for certain that the 5670 will have all the bells and whistles enabled by default in the drivers, but the 5550 last time I checked (when they first came out) didn’t have all the best settings checked by default in the drivers even though it was capable of the same quality when forced.

There is an option called smooth video in the drivers.  Checking that box will set the card to disable post processing options that the engineers think it can’t handle.  At the time of the review I saw (which was so long ago I can’t find the review anymore), only the 5670 and higher weren’t disabling any post processing with smooth video checked.  Unchecking smooth video allows  you to set the options manually and the 5550 with DDR3 was capable of all the same post processing.  The reviewer thought that it was just an oversight and thought that the engineers would enable all the post processing on the 5550 as well. 

Ah, I found it.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3601/the-final-word-on-the-best-radeon-htpc-card

The 5550 is very similar to the 5570.

[autoboy]

I’m guessing a bit on the performance of the 5550 vs the 5670.  I know for certain that the 5670 will have all the bells and whistles enabled by default in the drivers, but the 5550 last time I checked (when they first came out) didn’t have all the best settings checked by default in the drivers even though it was capable of the same quality when forced.

There is an option called smooth video in the drivers.  Checking that box will set the card to disable post processing options that the engineers think it can’t handle.  At the time of the review I saw (which was so long ago I can’t find the review anymore), only the 5670 and higher weren’t disabling any post processing with smooth video checked.  Unchecking smooth video allows  you to set the options manually and the 5550 with DDR3 was capable of all the same post processing.  The reviewer thought that it was just an oversight and thought that the engineers would enable all the post processing on the 5550 as well. 

Ah, I found it.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3601/the-final-word-on-the-best-radeon-htpc-card

The 5550 is very similar to the 5570.

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