Upgrading for HDTV

[gazoo]

Yep, I was agreeing with all that (buying a PCH). Just sayin', a PC is a little less likely to NOT go obsolete vs the PCH or other media extender. I currently have a mediagate that I can't use for 50% of my recordings or other media formats due to the aforementioned obsolescence.

[mvallevand]

I find the exact opposite, I tend to find PC's are obsolete faster, become too noisy, and lose more value then media extenders. I have a Mediagate MG-35 (which I hate) that I bought for $125 two years ago, it still has its fan boys. How much is a two year old $125 video card worth today.

I also couldn't build your client for close to $400 it would end up being close to $500 at today's prices.

Martin

[kendrak24]

I'm thinking of leaving the analog world and going digital, and here's my setup:

Server:
AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core 3800+, 2GHz
1GB RAM
1 Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3300831A 300GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache ATA/100
1 Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3300831AS 300GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA
NVidia 6800 GS (not to be used for viewing though)
Client:
PCH

So, if I get 2 DVB-C cards (with HD support), my server hardware would be enough?
Or is there anything that needs to be beefed up?

[gazoo]

You should be good with that. I can do software H.264 1080p with the same processor so I would expect you would be ok too. Not sure about the video card, but it sounds like you would need to do software H.264 (which you should be able to).