PC Peripherals HTPC and UPS

N

nfsfan

Adept
hi guys..
my first post on the new look TE...:cool2:

Bought a PV8 recently, and contemplating on whether to buy the WDTV or build a HTPC. The usage will be for my parents, so ease of use is very important.

The mail problem with WDTV is (from my parents point of view), is that it doesnt have a scale to 16:9 zoom mode. If it zooms, it will result in clipping of video.

Currently have my PC as a makeshift HTPC( although very tiring to move it once every week!) , and am quite happy with xbmc, despite the lack of GPU acceleration on windows.

With a PC in India, it is customary to have a UPS. We also have low voltages here in Delhi. But is it really necessary to have UPS alongside a HTPC? If that machine wont be used for downloading, or surfing? since the TV is a plasma, so wont risk PC usage with my parents :) So data transfers can be done from My PC to the HTPC, when required using a LAN connection.
 
A UPS will lengthen and protect the life of your PC. It has nothing to do with the downloading or usage of the PC. If it's on, better to give it uninterrupted power.

On choosing a WDTV, can't deny the ease of use. I thought really hard about it and finally decided to build a HTPC myself, mostly because the WD player lacks a network interface+ it's inability to play DTS audio unless connected thru optical.

If you have the time/ money/ inclination, go for a HTPC. One friend of mine has the WD TV for his outstation trips and is building a HTPC along with mine. Nothing beats the convenience+features of one.
 
Is it even safe to run a PC in India without UPS? I mean surges can be taken care of by using a good power strip, but fluctuations?

About upgradability, i would say that i can build a HTPC for that, but currently u need a future proof AVR as well. 7.1 is the future, the ones with HDMI and TrueHD and DTS-HD cost a bomb! I have to buy a new home theater set as well, and given the budget only onkyo hts 3105/3200 ( both 5.1) and the philips HTIB( which sound much better as compared to the onlyo) come in .
 
Naga said:
A UPS will lengthen and protect the life of your PC. It has nothing to do with the downloading or usage of the PC. If it's on, better to give it uninterrupted power.

On choosing a WDTV, can't deny the ease of use. I thought really hard about it and finally decided to build a HTPC myself, mostly because the WD player lacks a network interface+ it's inability to play DTS audio unless connected thru optical.

If you have the time/ money/ inclination, go for a HTPC. One friend of mine has the WD TV for his outstation trips and is building a HTPC along with mine. Nothing beats the convenience+features of one.
Click to expand...

+10, 2 of my colleagues ended up having HTPC instead of WDTV. I would nevertheless recommend UPS for HTPC for same reason as naga.

~LT
 
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