Wednesday, April 17, 2013

How do I choose the best outdoor antenna for use with my HTPC?

Q. The basic indoor HDTV antenna I bought doesn't quite do it. The picture will often just pause or become very pixelated.

A. The large quantity of indoor antennas for sale at all kinds of stores may lead you to believe they actually work well. They really don't unless you are quite close to the TV transmitting towers. It's very rare for any viewer to get all desired channels with an indoor antenna of any type. It's almost as rare for anyone to get more than a very few channels with regularity. 60 years ago good TV reception was achieved with an outside antenna mounted as high as possible, and nothing really has changed as far as good antenna design goes.

Your problem will be solved by a better antenna, probably mounted outside above the roofline, and on a rotor if your stations are in different directions. The first ref below is a good one if you're in the U.S. The second one is also good for those in the U.S. or Canada. Enter your local info for a readout of what channels you should be able to receive and what antenna is recommended. Don't expect an indoor antenna to be high on the recommended list.


What Media Center Computer should I buy for hooking up to my HDTV?
Q. What Media Center Computer should I buy for hooking up to my HDTV?
Desired:
Home Server
DVR Capability
Play downloaded Blu Rays
Wireless Streaming
Hook up to HDTV: HDMI Out
Able to play Blu-Rays/DVDs of all regions
Fax/Voice Mail boxes ability?
I just want a Media Center computer. What should I buy???

A. Finding the right media center PC really depends on what are your key requirements. In addition, are you willing to build your own home theater PC or are you buying a pre-built mini desktop PC? As you require the media center PC to act as a home server and have DVR and Blu-ray capabilities, you should definitely consider building your own computer. This way you will make sure that you will have the right performance and components for your requirements.

Here are some highlighted custom components that fits to your requirements:
- Intel Core i3 processor
- Antec Fusion Remote or Silverstone GD06 case
- Ceton Infini 4 TV

Here is an example pre-built HTPC that fits to your requirements:
- Asrock Vision 3D
- USB TV Tuner

There is a HTPC Selector Tool at http://mymediaexperience.com/htpc/ which recommends pre-built and custom media center computers based on your needs. I'd recommend trying it to get an idea what media center PCs are available at the moment.


Turn an HDTV into a wireless monitor for my PC?
Q. I have my desktop Windows PC and a Sharp Aquos HDTV in the same room. I want to be able to keep my PC where it is, but then wirelessly use my HDTV as a second monitor for watching videos, movies, etc. The keyword here is wireless. I don't want to have to use wires.

A. Sending wireless high-definition signals is totally impractical.

You have to spend $800 for a WHDMI extender setup to do that, and those can only do 1080p/24, which is 1920x1080 resolution at 24Hz refresh rate. http://review.zdnet.com/product/audio-video-distribution/gefen-ext-whdmi-wireless-hdmi-extender/32365996

For $800, you might as well just build a dedicated HTPC and put it next to the HDTV, and put it on your home network with the rest of your computers.





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