I'm making my first jump into HD, with RCN coming to my home Sunday to install the DCT5100 with HD service. My previous setup was a junky old eMachines with just the HVR 1600 getting RF from an old set-top box. Between offering curtains upgrades to my wife and receiving birthday presents from others, I'm looking at a very nice upgrade.
I just received a new heavily-discounted Dell machine yesterday, which I ordered with the NVidida 8600GT-DDR3, though Dell isn't very clear about exactly what specs are on exactly what branded cards they're offering. When it arrived, I could see it has two DVI ports and one "TV" port.
It's also got a Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeGamer -- and I was surprised to find, given what I'd read on other forums, that it actually has optical in/out built in, with no need for an adapter. And to accompany it, a Logitech Z5500 system.
I found an ATI Theater Pro 650 on sale a while ago that I plan on installing into the Dell.
This forum and other forums were really helpful in choosing to purchase this equipment.
Now that I've got it and am preparing to install it Sunday, I'm here with my first forum posting to ask: what's the ideal installation?
How should I hook up the box to the PC, and the PC to the TV?
The 650 only has RF in; will that cause some loss and/or should/could I be doing something else for audio in?
Is it possible to run DVI from the box to the PC and then still use the 650 and PVR software in some way?
I'm assuming I can just run an optical cable to the Z5500 and whatever video setup to the Olevia, and not worry about audio & video being out of synch; am I correct?
I'm a total newbie to the world of HD and higher-end audio, so please excuse any of my ignorance. I've done my best to inform myself as much as possible in these forums the past few months.
PS: Also, best advice for getting the 650 to interact with the box?
I just received a new heavily-discounted Dell machine yesterday, which I ordered with the NVidida 8600GT-DDR3, though Dell isn't very clear about exactly what specs are on exactly what branded cards they're offering. When it arrived, I could see it has two DVI ports and one "TV" port.
It's also got a Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeGamer -- and I was surprised to find, given what I'd read on other forums, that it actually has optical in/out built in, with no need for an adapter. And to accompany it, a Logitech Z5500 system.
I found an ATI Theater Pro 650 on sale a while ago that I plan on installing into the Dell.
This forum and other forums were really helpful in choosing to purchase this equipment.
Now that I've got it and am preparing to install it Sunday, I'm here with my first forum posting to ask: what's the ideal installation?
How should I hook up the box to the PC, and the PC to the TV?
The 650 only has RF in; will that cause some loss and/or should/could I be doing something else for audio in?
Is it possible to run DVI from the box to the PC and then still use the 650 and PVR software in some way?
I'm assuming I can just run an optical cable to the Z5500 and whatever video setup to the Olevia, and not worry about audio & video being out of synch; am I correct?
I'm a total newbie to the world of HD and higher-end audio, so please excuse any of my ignorance. I've done my best to inform myself as much as possible in these forums the past few months.
PS: Also, best advice for getting the 650 to interact with the box?