Hooking Up Directv to HTPC

[gonzrick]

Hi. I just built my new computer which I will be using primarily for gaming but would also like to have it as my TV, DVD player and general computer use. I was going to buy a Sharp Aquos 26" but since it is a gaming rig, I would like to get the most resolution out of it and thought of getting a similarly sized computer monitor. Is a TV tuner for the computer what I need in order to get satellite? Also, how would the image look from the Directv (any recommendations on a good tuner) and if I upgrade to an HDTV receiver in the future, how can I hook that up and maintain the 1080i image, I don't see any tuners available with an HDMI connection, or is there? Any help would be appreciated. I know a nice LCD TV would be an easier option for hooking everything up but it would also be a hell of a lot lower resolution than a 1900x1200 monitor. Thanks for the help.

 

[Todd Humphrey]

You will need a satellite receiver. There are no satellite Cards for computers. ONLY HDTV receivers have HDMI connections. Unless you get a HDTV receiver and use the HDMI output, your picture will not be good. Standard definition satellite is basically 480x600 video. When you pipe through a higher res display. The TV's processor has to fill in the gaps. Since the forward error correction on the satellite transmission is so low (to reduce bandwidth requirements for each channel) there are already gaps in the display data. On a normal television is looks pretty good, but display a SD satellite picture on a HDTV set using only S-video, composite video, or even worse modulated video (3/4) and you end up with a far lower overall viewing experiance. The picture is very fuzzy along hard contast changes and many images can get a washed out look.

Get a HDTV receiver and you should be satisfied.