Help on video card/older TV in another room

[TheFluxCapacitor]

Hi everybody,

This is my first time posting in the forums here at Tom's Hardware. For awhile now, I have been putting together a list of computer parts to build a computer for the first time. I have got just about everything picked but am stuck on what video card would be best for me. First off, I should say that this computer probably will not be used for any gaming. I'm not into gaming on the computer and I don't see this changing. It will be used for recording and watching TV and movies a great deal and surfing the web and maybe some programming. The other part of this situation is that I have an older 27" analog TV in another room that I would like to be able to watch all the stuff I record on the computer on. It's maybe around 30ft. from where I will have the computer and has a 7 pin S-Video input. Here are some of the parts that I am thinking of buying that may be helpful to know:

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131614

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103033

Monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001281

Here are my questions:
Will I need a low profile ready video card?
In addition to HDMI and DVI outs, should the video card include an S-Video out?
How powerful of a video card will I need for the monitor I want?
Will I need a sound card?
What's the best way I can watch what I record on the computer on the TV in the other room and still be able to fast forward, rewind, etc.?

Any input will be appreciated. Also, if there's any input on what dual tuner card to use to record TV from a regular cable source taking into consideration the slots I'll have on the motherboard and how much space there will be, that would help too. Thanks.

 

[paperfox]

With that XCLIO Full Tower case you do not need a low profile graphics card.
I dont think you will find a graphics card with HDMI and svideo because both outputs are roughly the same size so HDMI replaced it. You will most likely need to use some sort of an adapter to get either.
Since you want to record TV with your computer you will need a TV Tuner video card. ATI's All in Wonder cards would be a good place to start.
A video card for your main monitor dose not need to be that powerfull maybe a 4670 or 5670 if you want to play HD videos on it.
Your motherboard has built in sound so you wont need a sound card unless you realy dont like the quality.
The TV tuner card should come with some software to allow you to playback and fast forward.

 

[TheFluxCapacitor]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. I did find a video card on Newegg that has HDMI, DVI, and S-Video outs. It's the only one I could find. Here it is: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162020. Also, I checked out ATI's All In Wonder cards and they don't appear to make one with 2 TV tuners included. I guess the biggest thing I still need to know is what would be a good device to sit close to my TV in the other room and connect to it via it's S-Video input and connect to the computer in the other room either via a long cable or wirelessly. I think I would prefer the long cable option. This device would include a remote so I could fastforward and rewind and all of that. Thanks for anymore input.

 

[VidiotNation]

Hi Flux, I'm dealing with a similar situation now and have been checking on the options. You didn't say what software you are using.

My situation is a little different since I went with a Hauppauge video tuner card for the input... This lets WMCenter record 2 shows at the same time on the central box. Now the trick... how to get the video to my TV in the living room that is NOT an HDMI new-fangled tv. The bummer part is that my PC has HDMI output on the card, but no s-video (Crap... wasn't planning on this when I selected the card). So, its a low end card anyway I can upgrade it. It looks like I have several options with s-video out using ATI4650's or up. But how to get the video to the TV?

I could stream it directly, then I don't need video out on the card but I need a WMC extender if I use WMC on the central box. WMC seems to be problematic in that the video extender options are limited. Several manufacturers used to support Windows Media Center, but have dropped out. You may find options for WMC or whatever you are using by searching for "Video Extender". Looks like Microsoft wants everyone to buy an X-Box to stream their media Center stuff via network. There are other PVR type options and software, linux included, but you have to fiddle with linux a lot to get it to work (MythTV and the like). They would want an extender too (which could be a PC). There are also media server boxes but you need to dig into the details; The asus o!play is one option.

I could use the s-video out and "extend it" to 1 single tv by using a CAT5 run and some baluns. They have S-video extenders that can go up to 100'. Then, I don't need another box by my TV since the TV has multiple inputs. I have an old ATI RF remote control that will control the central computer in the other room that is playing the WMC content. This is not a networked solution though and is for one-tv only.

So, to your questions:
Will I need a low profile ready video card? (didn't look your box/case up... defer to answer above).
In addition to HDMI and DVI outs, should the video card include an S-Video out? If you want older tv-out, using the card, then yes. This is a card-to-tv s-video solution, not a streaming or networking solution. S-video (or composite, or component) is a totally different level than HDMI. Converting one to the other is not just a "re-wire job" with an adapter. It takes smart hardware.

How powerful of a video card will I need for the monitor I want? Not really an apples-to-apples question. It's really "how powerful of a video card will I need for what my computer wants to do?" If you are not a heavy gamer, a reasonable card (>$50 <$99) will probably do the trick. I use the ATI HD cards... just check that it has video out for your tv if you go that route. Your monitor has tv-input tho... but will you use it if the TV comes from the computer?... hmm... Interesting choice of monitor. Not sure I understand it.

Will I need a sound card? Sound is built-in on the board. Should work with the right setup/config. That's a high-end board (X58) with 8 channel sound so it should have the clout to handle whatever you throw at it. Esp if you are using an I7.

What's the best way I can watch what I record on the computer on the TV in the other room and still be able to fast forward, rewind, etc.? One possible answer: PVR/DVR software - maybe with an RF remote and a video extender???? The answer to this depends on what software solution you wish to use. The extender could be a smart box (networked solution), like an x-box 360, or a s-video extender balun that matches the impedence and gets the signal extended a long distance. Check that the smart-box extender works with the pvr software your choose.

Good luck!

 

[VidiotNation]

P.S. You may also wish to check out video matrix switches if you have multiple TVs

 

[TheFluxCapacitor]

Hi VidiotNation,

Thanks for your reply. Did you ever come to a decision on the solution to your problem? Some clarification, I haven't actually ordered any parts or built anything yet. I'm still researching some things. I guess I didn't give much thought to the software I would use to record TV on the computer that I want to build. I plan on getting the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Dual TV Tuner found on Newegg here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116037. I know that there is not too much good that has been said in the reviews on Newegg about the Win TV 7 software that comes with it. So, if that doesn't work, I guess I would use Windows Media Center. Both the networked video extender and S-Video extender solutions that you propose are interesting to me. I only want to watch the recorded content from the computer on the one TV, so perhaps the S-Video extender is the way to go for me. So, I kind of thought that my video card didn't need to have an S-Video out, but you're saying that it probably should if I want to use my old TV for awhile longer. If I needed an S-Video out, I was going to go with the Galaxy 96GGF6HMFEXX GeForce 9600 GT found on Newegg here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162020. And, if I didn't need an S-Video out, I was going to go with the HIS H467QS1GH Radeon HD 4670 found on Newegg here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161287.

OK, here are some new questions for you:
Is this the S-Video extender that you had in mind for me: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815158159
Does it work to plug 4 pin S-Video connectors into ones that look like they have 7 holes? (As would be the case on both sides, the video card and my TV)
Will any CAT5 cable with RJ45 ends work?

I'm confused, though, how the remote control would work. When you say you "have an old ATI RF remote control that will control the central computer in the other room that is playing the WMC content", do you mean it works through the walls? Would the computer have to have something connected to it to receive the signal from the remote? Tell me more about this if you can and forgive me if I sound stupid about this. Perhaps an "RF" remote is different than what I'm used to. I do not have one of these remotes and would have to get one. I think that's pretty much everything. If this works the way I think you're saying, it's pretty much exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks so much for the help.

 

[TheFluxCapacitor]

Best answer selected by TheFluxCapacitor.

 

[VidiotNation]

Best answer selected by TheFluxCapacitor.

n
nI ended up with Microsoft media center, using the balun solution (sometimes - or at computer otherwise) from http://valley-ent.com/ (s-video over cat5 stereo) and an infrared repeater (radio shack since I liked the Hauppauge remote. Works ok... Media center steals the focus a lot, you have to [Windows key] + [P] and turn extended desktop on/off to move the video window and [Alt]+[Enter] to min/max the windows. It ended up costing $30.00 USD for the balun pair and I don't remember the cost of the IR Repeater. I had the cat5 cable already.
n
nMy s-video is 4-pin, so it was fine. This solution is only good for 4 pin s-video ( 4 s-video wires + 2 left + 2 right audio = 8 wires). Cat5 had RJ45 terminators. Good luck!