Computer to HDTV Sound Options

"I have read your guide on how to use an HDTV as a computer monitor and found it to be very informative. There is however one detail I am unsure of. This is Sound. If I were to plug my PC video card to my HDTV via a DVI/HDMI cable I would get pure digital visual but no audio correct? But if I were to plug it in via HDMI/HDMI from video card to HDTV would I get audio? Or do i have to buy a sound card with HDMI out to get surround sound?"

There are a several different ways to get audio passed from your PC to your HDTV. Depending on what hardware you have available, you may be limited to stereo audio, with a few cases where you can also get surround sound.

AMD Live! Home Cinema Changes Home Theather PC Market

The home theater PC market has been rather dull for several years. Sure you can get a sound card with 7.1 surround sound, but they've generally been noisier than I'd want in my own home theater. You can purchase video cards that output to an HDTV and support HDCP, but the experience hasn't been on par with using home theater components. At Computex 2008, AMD is showing off a couple of new boards from MSI that change the game in important fundamental ways.

Connect a PC to an HDTV

How can I connect my PC to my HDTV? I know it's possible to connect my PC to an HD screen, but I'm not sure what hardware I need to do to make it work.

I've covered a couple of variations on this in the past, talking about using an HDTV as a PC monitor and which connection you need to go from a PC to HDTV, but this time, I'm including a video to walk through the process. For most HDTV screens purchased in the last 2-3 years, you need to make a connection from a DVI out on your PC to an HDMI in on your HDTV. If you currently use onboard video on your PC (as in you didn't buy the more expensive video card option when you bought the computer) there's a strong possibility that you'll need a new video card. For cabling, choose between either a cable with DVI on one end and HDMI on the other, or an HDMI cable coupled with a DVI-to-HDMI adapter. Either way, read this article on how to not overpay for HDMI cables.

Watch the video for more details and step-by-step instructions:

Media Center Alternatives

"I have Windows XP and don't want to buy a new operating system to get Media Center functionality. What are the best alternatives to Windows Media Center Edition that I can install on my existing operating system?"

Adding the ability to record television on your computer, browse photos and videos from the comfort of your couch, and quickly integrate your digital music library with your home theater is one of the more useful advances in computing over the last several years. I personally prefer Windows Media Center Edition for all my PC home theater integration, because it integrates with my Xbox 360 (which means I don't need a PC in my living room) and because it is the most elegant solution on the market. I can certainly understand not wanting to spend additional money on a new operating system just to add Media Center-like functionality to an existing computer. I continue to recommend two alternatives to Windows Media Center Edition as the best options for integrating with Windows.

How to Play HD-DVDs with Windows Vista

One of the things I like most about the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive is portability. I can connect it to my Xbox 360 or I can plug it in to a PC elsewhere in the house. The only tricky part is figuring out all the right pieces to making HD-DVD playback work on your PC. Windows XP doesn't currently support HD-DVD playback without finding a hacked driver for the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive, so if you want HD-DVD playback, moving to Windows Vista is your best option.

Burn DVR-MS Files to DVD

Tony writes, "I have recorded loads of TV programes on Windows Media Center but when I try to burn them to DVD they don't work. Helpline advised Nero 7, do you have a better solution?"

Nero will burn virtually anything to DVD. They have a great depth of features for burning, but I really dislike their user interface for simple tasks because the application seemingly makes the simple complicated. My preference for burning Windows Media Center Recordings is Sonic MyDVD. MyDVD was the first application to offer support for burning the Media Center DVR-MS files and it remains one of the most reliable alternatives for burning DVR-MS files to DVD. I haven't personally tried it, but the latest version should allow you to burn the DVR-MS files to Blu-Ray disks, making it possible to put more standard definition television on a single disk.

TVTonic

I'm constantly on the lookout for new ways to extend my Media Center. jkOnTheRun tipped me off to TVTonic over the weekend. It's by far the best looking interface for adding subscription audio and video content from RSS feeds to Media Center. The interface supports any audio or video format you can play in either Windows Media Player or QuickTime, which covers almost everything. A nice list of pre-populated channel selections is included for browsing, although you need to subscribe to get any of the actual videos. Add your own favorites to the list of channels, or make your own video channel and add it to the collection.

DVRMSToolbox

Many solutions attempt to make it easy to manage the video recording from Windows Media Center Edition, but all fall short in some small way. MyTV ToGo could score the best overall app rating if they'd create a watched folders option for outputting converted files automatically. In the meantime, the latest release of DVRMSToolbox gets my vote for best conversion tool, in spite of lacking an option to convert files for iPod or PSP playback. Other features make this forgivable. The key combination is support for converting files to either MPEG-2 or WMV while stripping commercials in the process. You end up with a smaller file and no commercials at the same time, which is a win for Media Center users. The other key feature is background processing and automation, which makes setting up overnight conversions a no-brainer for those of us who want our media ready to go while we are sleeping. Free also has a certain ring to it, although I'd gladly pay for the same feature set in a version of MyTV ToGo, because the interface is well worth the price. [Windows XP $0.00]

Easy DivX to Xbox 360 Streaming

Lack of DivX support remains one of the top gripes of Xbox 360 owners. Brains-n-brawn.com offers a complicated hack to make streaming DivX work via the Windows Media Encoder. I found something better! There's a new and much simpler way to stream DivX, XviD, etc to your Xbox 360 using a Windows Media Center add-in. Follow the required steps and you'll be playing back your entire DivX library from any Xbox 360 connected to your network.

Tivo versus Media Center

I'm fully in the Windows Media Center camp in the debate over using Tivo vs. using MCE. At the same time, I got my parents a Tivo because I knew they wouldn't want to mess with all the complicated setup in using a media center PC to record and view television. I think everyone could benefit from the media management aspects of a media center PC because watching a slideshow on your television is closer to the old slideshows I grew up with in the living room and whole house access to a common music library just makes sense. Still, Tivo's simplicity is its biggest asset. You don't need to be a geek to enjoy Tivo. Xbox 360 integration take the MCE experience in the right direction, but we still have a long way to go.

digital501 offers an interesting comparison of the two home media managers, with the conclusion that the end game is all about money. I think this is where everyone gets confused. Tivo popularity has nothing to do with cost, although there is a perception that $300 for a box and "lifetime" service is cheaper than setting up a media center PC. Tivo, like the iPod, has a certain elegance media center solutions still can't match. Agree? Disagree? Take up the discussion on Digital Media Thoughts.