Hi I have 2 questions (system specs below):
1) What do I need to get lossless audio (either pcm, dts-hd, or dd-hd) when i watch blue rays on my home theater system? Do I need a sound card for this, and if so what would be best. I'd really rather not spend more than $100 on a card if need be.
2) I'm trying to set up my hauppauge 2250 card (the one that doesnt come with the remote) on my computer for use as a dvr. The cable company said i need a set top box to watch HD channels which doesnt surprise me since they make me pay extra for the box. Is this really true? If so, I need a IR-Blaster/receiver to be able to use my Logitech Harmony 300i remote with and for the card to talk with the box. Can someone recommend one? The other thing I'm considering is trying to find a good htpc mini keyboard/mouse like the logitech dinovo mini which looks pretty cool but seems to have had a lot of problems especially considering how expensive it is. Any recommendations?
System specs:
HTPC: e8400 cpu, 4 gig ddr2 ram, radeon 4870 512mb graphics card, LG blu-ray writer/player, dfi lp dk x38 t2rb mobo with onboard alc-885 sound.
audio receive: pioneer vsx-d510 which has 5.1 analogue inputs and optical input but no hdmi. So i know that to get lossless I'll either have to decode it at the source and send over analogue or use dts-hd/dd-hd over optical and let the receiver do it, but I cant figure out if my receiver is capable of dts-hd/dd-hd.
speakers: 5.1 Jamo surround sound speakers with a pair of altec lansing 605b duplex speaker cabinets daisy chained to the 2 front channels.
Thanks for any help
1) What do I need to get lossless audio (either pcm, dts-hd, or dd-hd) when i watch blue rays on my home theater system? Do I need a sound card for this, and if so what would be best. I'd really rather not spend more than $100 on a card if need be.
2) I'm trying to set up my hauppauge 2250 card (the one that doesnt come with the remote) on my computer for use as a dvr. The cable company said i need a set top box to watch HD channels which doesnt surprise me since they make me pay extra for the box. Is this really true? If so, I need a IR-Blaster/receiver to be able to use my Logitech Harmony 300i remote with and for the card to talk with the box. Can someone recommend one? The other thing I'm considering is trying to find a good htpc mini keyboard/mouse like the logitech dinovo mini which looks pretty cool but seems to have had a lot of problems especially considering how expensive it is. Any recommendations?
System specs:
HTPC: e8400 cpu, 4 gig ddr2 ram, radeon 4870 512mb graphics card, LG blu-ray writer/player, dfi lp dk x38 t2rb mobo with onboard alc-885 sound.
audio receive: pioneer vsx-d510 which has 5.1 analogue inputs and optical input but no hdmi. So i know that to get lossless I'll either have to decode it at the source and send over analogue or use dts-hd/dd-hd over optical and let the receiver do it, but I cant figure out if my receiver is capable of dts-hd/dd-hd.
speakers: 5.1 Jamo surround sound speakers with a pair of altec lansing 605b duplex speaker cabinets daisy chained to the 2 front channels.
Thanks for any help