Turning my computer into a media HUB

[spartan1121]

Ok so im getting ready to buy a nice 32" 1080p lcd television for my room and im thinking about turning my computer into a sort of media hub. I figure i can save money on a blu-ray player by buying a drive since they're getting down to about 100 dollars. Im looking into buying a home theater in a box basic surround sound system. So what all will i need to be able to hook my computers sound into a home theater system? Im assuming some sort of sound card would do the trick. Also, could my current graphics card support 1080p resolution for movies? This is all kind of thinking right now so im getting some suggestions. Also i think im gonna be buying an external hard drive to store movies ect on.

 

[Spit-wad]

1. What graphics card do you have?

2. Do you realize that the difference between 1080p and 720p on a 32" is EXTREMELY hard to notice? If you want to go for 1080p, which is obviously ideal for blu-ray, you should consider stepping up to 40". Up to you though... I myself have both a 720p and a 1080p 32" LCD, and I can barely tell the difference when I watch blu-rays.

3. For LCD TV's, go Sony, Samsung, or Sharp (I know you didn't ask for advice on that, but I felt like giving it).

 

[spartan1121]

oh wow my sig is gone, i have a radeon x850 xt some googling revealed that the max resolution is over 2000 x 1500 so 1080p should be fine. And the reason im getting the 1080p sharp is because my dad is moving up to a bigger model and i can get that one for the same price as a similar size 720p in a store , or maybe even cheaper. I already asked around in the off topic section about the tv and they agreed sony samsung or sharp. This is the model sharp i'll be getting AQUOS widescreen lcd television | LC-32D62U. Now as far as my other questions i think i will need a sound card with s/pdif out and that should take the signal to the home theater system i have, as well as either a dvi or dvi to HDMI cable that will go to the television. Would something like This(although im not certain i'd want pci express x1) take the s/pdif signal to something like This? so that i could run the television as my monior with the surround sound hooked up, and with a blu-ray drive off of newegg for 100 dollars play blue-ray movies. Although now that i think about it if i have to buy a sound card im spending almost as much as a blu-ray player it's self...hmm i'll have to think on that lol.

 

[Spit-wad]

That's almost the exact same TV that I have... and yes, it's a nice one. Basically Sharp is more affordable then Sony and Samsung, but not ****** like Envision, Vizio, and Element.

 

[spartan1121]

yeah i can't wait to have it, just gotta make a little more money and wait for my dad to buy a bigger one, it's too small for his room his bed is like 15 feet away from the tv. Now im just kinda looking into my options as far as movies and the like.

 

[hickfarm]

You could get a newer video card instead that supports HDMI audio. Like my 3870 can output sound through the card somehow i believe. Then you could just hook the sound up from the TV to the sound system. IDK for sure how it works, but i know there is a way. It would elminate the need to buy a need sound card and you get yourself a spiffy new video card.

 

[spartan1121]

oh ok hdmi normally does support both video and audio i just thought that when it came from a video card it was just the video signal. Problem is im not really heavy on computer gaming, i mainly just stick to xbox so im not sure i'd get that much use out of a new card.