I want to buy or build a home theater PC and I'm overwhelmed by the options for hardware. Mac or PC? Low-end or mid-range? [more inside]
posted by Dec One on Aug 20, 2011 - 17 answers

I've got an Acer Aspire Revo hooked up to an HDTV. When the Revo is powered up, the digital channels (coming in through a coax cable from an outside antenna...for free, over the air signals) do not come in. When I power the Revo off or put it to sleep, then the digital channels come in and I can watch TV. What gives? [more inside]
posted by snwod on Sep 5, 2010 - 6 answers

What is the current state of CableCards? Is it worth adding to my HTPC? [more inside]
posted by medarby on Oct 1, 2009 - 11 answers

AVfilter: Have XBox 360, Mac, and HTPC/cable box - need one display, 25 inches or larger, to use with all 3. Should I be shopping for an HDTV (no tuner req'd) or a Computer monitor? [more inside]
posted by bartleby on Feb 17, 2009 - 8 answers

With digital OTA coming in February and the possibility of dipping into HD in the near future, help me give my 2 year old HTPC a facelift. [more inside]
posted by genial on Sep 10, 2008 - 4 answers

Keep me entertained on my new 20" widescreen. How small can I encode my DVDs and what's the most cost-effective way to get broadcast TV on it? [more inside]
posted by piedmont on Aug 22, 2008 - 5 answers

I need to optimize x264, VC-1, etc. playback. Forgive me if I'm missing the glaringly obvious, but I have been googling for over an hour and haven't found anything. Most of the guides I've found are more geared towards encoding. I'm looking for a conclusive source on how to configure my computer for the smoothest and least-CPU intensive playback of next-gen HD codecs (yes, even accepting small reductions in picture quality!). [more inside]
posted by nervestaple on Nov 19, 2007 - 4 answers

Now that I found out the XBox 360 won't have Xvid support in the Media Extender (thanks M$), what alternative media streamer would the mighty filter suggest to view the LOADS of Xvid (and perhaps x.264 HD) content on my PC via my HDTV over a wired network connection? [more inside]
posted by lattiboy on May 1, 2007 - 12 answers

I'm running DVI out of my PC into HDMI on my HDTV, but I'm wondering how to playback DVD movies in 1080i... [more inside]
posted by SweetJesus on Jun 27, 2005 - 4 answers