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What is the min CPU and GPU that HD can play on

ocgw said:
I agree w/ everything you said, except for 1 point.

How exactly does using the optical digital output on your PC "severely limit the output quality of the sound from your PC"?

Imho the quality of your sound when using either of your PC's digital outputs is dependent solely on the quality of the sound system you have it connected to, & between the 2 types of digital output I prefer optical, in a perfect world there should be no difference, but it isn't, the shielding on an electrical cable is connected to ground, & is a possible source of ground loop feed back hum, the PC is a very noisy radio frequency enviroment full of unshielded components which can introduce analog noise

ocgw

peace
Click to expand...

SPDIF
can't do DD+, TrueHD, etc ... It is all downmixed to DTS or DD before being output over the SPDIF to your amp.
Analogue
can play any format you like at full bandwidth (although some software restricts it) and you can easily hear the difference in dynamic range.
 
sarah99 said:
SPDIF
can't do DD+, TrueHD, etc ... It is all downmixed to DTS or DD before being output over the SPDIF to your amp.
Analogue
can play any format you like at full bandwidth (although some software restricts it) and you can easily hear the difference in dynamic range.
Click to expand...

Ohhhhh, I see what you are basing your opinion on, my opinion is that DD+, & TrueHD are marketing ploys designed to make you buy new equipment you don't need (if you already pwn a high-end suround sound reproduction system)

I have a 1/4 ton of Cerwin-Vega high dynamic range (sensitize 102 db/w/m), broad frequency range (27-20,000 Hz +/- 3db) speakers driven by over 2 kilowatts (average not peak) of clean power (Adcom "big block" stereo power amps, & Yamaha 7.1 amplifaction), & (Marantz, & Yamaha processing) which cost me over $6000, & they still can't reproduce the full range of DD, ultimately, the weakest link, or limitation in any sound system are the speakers

http://home.comcast.net/~ocgw/wsb/html/view.cgi-photo.html--SiteID-2194603.html
http://home.comcast.net/~ocgw/wsb/html/view.cgi-photo.html--SiteID-2194678.html
http://home.comcast.net/~ocgw/wsb/html/view.cgi-photo.html--SiteID-2194679.html

You see both DD, & DD+ are digital representations of an analog event, but you cant hear 1's, & 0's, you can only hear sound reproduced by speakers, it is SO funny when peeps think they have high-end sound from "coffee-can" (book shelf) speakers, ppl don't need a better description of the event, ppl need better gear to resolve the description

It would take Wilson Grand Slams to fully resolve just plain-jane 5.1 DD (over $100,000 pr. pair new)
http://www.savantaudio.com/wilx1gs.html

While theoretically possible, in the real world the only ppl "severely limited by DD" are ppl w/ the highest-of-highest end Home theaters

in my most humble of opinions

Funny thing dynamic range, if a persons speakers could "describe" in the analog world the full range of SACD, DVD-Audio, or DD+, it would certainly damage our hearing in short order

Which reminds me, I downloaded I_am_Legend the weekend before it came out on Blu Ray, this guy recoded it to 720P, & jacked up the dynamic range (double-pass, nice job 5GB file, alternate ending too), I had a choice to play the sound loud enough to hear the voices, & be deafened by the special effects, or not hear the voices, I had to use night mode to reduce the dynamic range to watch the movie @ the level "intended by The director", or the max the surgeon general allows lol

Bottom line: A high-end speaker will hurt you before you hurt it, we didn't a need new format, they (the studios, mass-production hardware manufacturers, & software makers) are all in collusion to make you think you need to spend money on the latest gimmick to keep up w/ the latest technology, & you never will, invest in highly capable, good quality amps, & high-end speakers, & you won't need your yearly upgrade

btw, I have been into "high-end" Home Theater since the Laser Disc days lol, I have heard all the hype before

ocgw

peace
 
Last edited:
My prior system: AMD X2 4400+ with Nvidia GF 7600GS
My new system: AMD X2 4400+ with nvidia GF 9600 GT

Playing Spiderman3 on prior system, CPU was nearly pegged and playback was choppy. Playing it on my new system, CPU hovered 60-70% and playback was seamless.

Bottom line: A moderate CPU coupled with a GOOD gfx card (nvidia's pureview HD decoding capable) gives a great HTPC experience.
 
Well I have a DFI socket 939 board laying around. I'll have to work on it to see if I can get it running. The guy cooked the fan on the northbridge but I found an aftermarket one to fit. Hopefully it works and I can get a PCI-X card on it and a cool dual core proc.

thanks for the reply.
 
drafty888 said:
My prior system: AMD X2 4400+ with Nvidia GF 7600GS
My new system: AMD X2 4400+ with nvidia GF 9600 GT

Playing Spiderman3 on prior system, CPU was nearly pegged and playback was choppy. Playing it on my new system, CPU hovered 60-70% and playback was seamless.

Bottom line: A moderate CPU coupled with a GOOD gfx card (nvidia's pureview HD decoding capable) gives a great HTPC experience.
Click to expand...

On slow systems, modern ATI cards (2600pro and up) do wonders.
 
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