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what hardware would i need to:
- use a television as a computer monitor
- put a computer's audio/video through a receiver
-run RCA and/or s-video video signal into a PC-OR-
-replace the receiver altogether and use the computer as an a/v switcher/receiver
I was considering integrated a PC with XP into my auido/video setup, which is curretnly a Surround receiver with all seperate components. I consider this for several reasons, one of which is because i have about 25 movies on my internet machine, all of which are in .avi or .mpg format, and most are just slightly too big to fit on a CD, i dont have a dvd+/-rw in my pc (yet), and i would like to watch them on an actaul tv rather then a 17' pc monitor. plus it would just be cool to have it all ran through the pc. thoughts on this?
Just when you see the light at the end of the tunnel, the roof caves in.

how fast would a system have to be to do this, like playing DVDs, watching TV, etc. the one i was going to use currently has:
500mhz Pentium 3
256mb PC100 RAM
32mb Radeon 7000 video card
20gb 7200rpm hard drivewould this suffice?
just looking for ideas. thanx.Just when you see the light at the end of the tunnel, the roof caves in.

I see on your website you say:"I like to work on computers, I build them, upgrade them, fix them, and other nerdy s--- like that. "
Mmm,the comp you describe in your post is a wimp, you need a lion to do what you want.But from what you say on your site, you must have known that already?
Turning a comp into a music and vid centre is fraught with problems, mainly of compatability.
AMD Athlon 64 FX-55
WinXP Pro. WinXP Pro x64
Nvidia:6800GT
Dane Electronic Pro. Dual 1024MB 400MHz RAM
Tagan 480Watt PSU: 28Amps on +12volt rail.
Asus A8V Deluxe "WiFi" M/Board

Using a TV as a monitor is very unsatisfactory, unless you have a A high definition set. The approximate resolution of an analog TV is 640x480.

you have gotten as bad as jboy, plainandsimple. why does everyone insist on being such jerks to me?!?!?! well i guess i will scratch the idea then.
Just when you see the light at the end of the tunnel, the roof caves in.

a tv tuner card would be a tart , but 500 mhz will not cut it . 512 mem is a minimum needed . i have good luck with this card
http://www.leadtek.com/multimedia/winfast_tv_usb2_1.html

Again, here's the cut and paste of my wannabe htpc.
"Here's a copy and paste from another forum about a month and half ago...
$20 APEX case w/ 300w psu
MSI K7T Turbo2
2400+ @ 143x15 @ 1.625v
256Mb generic PC133 ram (needed the matching stick for my PIII667)
Gigabyte 9600se video @ 430core/243memory
MSI tv@nywhere plus
19" Viewsonic A90f+ crt monitor
20Gig WD + 6.4Gig WD hdd's
Memorex 24-48-24 16x DVD ROM
Aerogate 3 fan speed controller w/80mm intake and 80mm exhaust fans set at minimum rpm (can't hear this thing at the most quiet part of the night)
EverCool WC300 water cooling (small self contained unit)
SolidTek ACK-571 ir keyboard/mouse
$79.95 AudioVox stereo for sound
AirLink USB wireless for network and DSLThis thing does a great job as is for tv, dvd's, and music while folding 24/7. Wireless mm kybd and MSI remote work just fine. I might add an inexpensive dvd writer this month but, don't have any real plans to take it any further."
Like I said, it works 24/7 folding at 100% cpu and is always available for dvd's, tv, and video capture. Low dollar and works as intended is a good deal for me.Software also includes pinnacle 8.0...works like a champ."
Brass tacks department:
1. I don't think the PIII 500 will cut it
2. The Radeon 7000 will work for tv and dvd's with the addition of a tv card.
3. 256Mb is enough memory with w2k pro or older os.
4. Watch tv on your monitor...don't expect anything good if you hook your machine up to an analog tv. A tv has about half the resolution of a monitor.Sounds like you want to do all this at minimal expense. That doesn't work...you need to spend some pretty serious money to get from where you are and be happy with where you want to go.
You might want to look at an inexpensive and upgradeable system like from PC Club (or similar) to sneak into the 21st century.
http://www.pcclub.com/product_system_detail.cfm?itemno=EN-FZ4&CFID=3606399&CFTOKEN=6383202
Your current machine has value as to you but likely has little value to anyone else...keep it and get something else to go further.
Skip
Skip

that is not my good computer it is just the one i had dedictaed as internet machine. thanx for the advice skip.
Just when you see the light at the end of the tunnel, the roof caves in.

"you have gotten as bad as jboy"
Gee, Brenda, it's funny how you have the same (irritating) effect on so many people - why do you think that is?
Resist the temptation to close your request for help with semantically-null questions like “Can anyone help me?”

screw you and him. go to hell.
Just when you see the light at the end of the tunnel, the roof caves in.

"why does everyone insist on being such jerks to me?!?!?!"
I'll bet it's your *sparkling* personality, but maybe it's your modest & polite manner.
A mystery
Resist the temptation to close your request for help with semantically-null questions like “Can anyone help me?”

I love your Internet page, so full of quaint grammar, sorry grammar is when you learn to string a legible sentence together.

* PartyWares * :)
MM Center/Server and spare CASH.
The short and sweet list:Minimum:
Quieter/cooler - PC 2.4GHz or faster, 1GB RAM.Midrange graphics card or just a chipset with decent onboard sound and graphics.
Mid-tower or small case.
TV tuner/s:
ATI TV Wonder Elite and the Hauppauge PVR-250 cards.Remote control - if you plan on connecting your Media Server to a TV, you'll need a remote. ATI, Snapstream, Microsoft. Get the one that matches your config.
IR Blaster - to change channels on your cable or satellite receiver, www.snapstream.com
PVR software:
MS Windows XP - Either Windows Media Center 2005-(watch out for the DRM in MCE2005!)-or BeyondTV 3.
LINUX OS - check out: MythTVLots of internal storage:
Shoot for 1 terabyte. 2 500GB SATA hard drives installed in RAID 0 will do.External backup drive(s):
To protect your data should you suffer a hard drive failure or virus attack.Streaming Box:
ah? Buffalo or Viewsonic or LinksysMoondog

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