HD-HTPC, on the road but nowhere near there.

[MaxBurn]

I am not really reassured in the viability of building a HD-HTPC box any time soon when I read articles like this:

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3632&p=1

I guess RIAA wins and I just need to buy an approved set top player and stereo. I like in the end of the article Anand puts out there it is easier to steal than to get this stuff to work the right way.

 

[ddrueding]

You are right, of course, which was their intention. They aren't selling you a movie, they are selling you a disk with the movie as garbled as possible.

That chart looks a lot better when step 1 involves removing the protection...

 

[Stereodude]

I can't justify the money for either of the two HDMI sound cards. A stand along BD player is significantly cheaper.

 

[ddrueding]

I know it isn't good enough for some, but the audio that my ATI card puts on the HDMI is fine for me.

 

[Stereodude]

My plan is to get the nVidia GTS220 (with 7.1 HDMI audio) when they eventually start offering them outside of OEM systems. I tried an ATI card in my HTPC and it didn't work.

 

[Mercutio]

Managing audio sources in post-XP Windows is a royal pain in the ass.

I'll probably buy one of those AuzenTech cards as soon as I get around to buying a Receiver with support for HDMI.

 

[ddrueding]

That is one of the reasons I'm back to 100% XP-64.