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draganm
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 8990
Location: Colorado
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| Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 5:38 pm Post subject: |
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alright thanks, I'll order from Apple today
| ecrabb wrote: | | … There are also a couple of TV shows we like, like Sons of Anarchy. SC |
just started this, it's not the greatest show, but It's good. Can't believe I spent my youth around people like this.
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Jeremy112
Joined: 28 Sep 2006
Posts: 2649
Location: Fond du Lac, WI
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| Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 3:38 pm Post subject: |
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a 10 year old PC, and you're trying to get it to run modern day programs? Let me guess, windows XP? Even at max specs your old HTPC is not something I would even consider as a HTPC anymore. A radeon 9600 isn't even DirectX 10 capable, nor could it even do a good job of playing anything in the HD realm.
Netflix is having so many issues on that computer because the computer physically cannot handle the load being put onto it.
For $20 you could probably get a used Sony network streaming media box (don't remember what its called but I have one and I use it for Slacker internet radio and Netflix, works perfectly for that.
That computer should be at the Smithsonian 
_________________
When I'm asking for a Model number, that doesn't mean I'm asking for a nude photo with your number on it 
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gjaky
Joined: 05 Jun 2010
Posts: 2802
Location: Budapest, Hungary
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| Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Jeremy112 wrote: | a 10 year old PC, and you're trying to get it to run modern day programs? Let me guess, windows XP? Even at max specs your old HTPC is not something I would even consider as a HTPC anymore. A radeon 9600 isn't even DirectX 10 capable, nor could it even do a good job of playing anything in the HD realm.
Netflix is having so many issues on that computer because the computer physically cannot handle the load being put onto it.
For $20 you could probably get a used Sony network streaming media box (don't remember what its called but I have one and I use it for Slacker internet radio and Netflix, works perfectly for that.
That computer should be at the Smithsonian |
Hey, my so called "htpc" is based on a core 2 duo E4600 (6 years old?) 1GB RAM, integrated intel GMA950, and it played bluray just fine on Windows XP. Now the VGA card was upgraded to a Geforce 8800GTS to use the old nVidia stereo drivers, so I can actually play fullHD 3D movies on win XP with this rig now, why would I want to upgrade if it works?
I'm pretty sure there are tasks that will do Dragan's pc fine... the newer stuff is not always better, but they make it to look so!
_________________
projectors in the past : NEC 6-9PG xtra, Electrohome Marquee 6-7500, NEC XG 1351 LC ( with super modified Electrohome VNB neckboard !!!)
current: VDC Marquee 9500LC
The MOD: VNB-DB, VIM-DB
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Jeremy112
Joined: 28 Sep 2006
Posts: 2649
Location: Fond du Lac, WI
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| Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 6:05 pm Post subject: |
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| gjaky wrote: | | Jeremy112 wrote: | a 10 year old PC, and you're trying to get it to run modern day programs? Let me guess, windows XP? Even at max specs your old HTPC is not something I would even consider as a HTPC anymore. A radeon 9600 isn't even DirectX 10 capable, nor could it even do a good job of playing anything in the HD realm.
Netflix is having so many issues on that computer because the computer physically cannot handle the load being put onto it.
For $20 you could probably get a used Sony network streaming media box (don't remember what its called but I have one and I use it for Slacker internet radio and Netflix, works perfectly for that.
That computer should be at the Smithsonian |
Hey, my so called "htpc" is based on a core 2 duo E4600 (6 years old?) 1GB RAM, integrated intel GMA950, and it played bluray just fine on Windows XP. Now the VGA card was upgraded to a Geforce 8800GTS to use the old nVidia stereo drivers, so I can actually play fullHD 3D movies on win XP with this rig now, why would I want to upgrade if it works?
I'm pretty sure there are tasks that will do Dragan's pc fine... the newer stuff is not always better, but they make it to look so! |
There is a huge difference between yours and draganms HTPC. His is using single core technology most likely, a 32-bit single core CPU at that. You are using a dual core 64 bit CPU with what I consider "decent" specs even for today. Your CPU would make for great HTPC applications or everyday PCs with windows 7.
1GB of ram is enough to do stuff, but its still minimal. Your intel GMA950 is DX10 based graphics, and supports HD content. An 8800GTS is also DX10 based, and also a wonderful video card for HD video yet. You really have no need for an upgrade as far as those specs go, (well, aside from the ram, more would really help it out overall, and if your motherboard supports PC6400 800MHz DDR2 and you aren't running it, that would also help it out as well.)
Dragans PC as I said is a far cry from what you are running. He is on an 8 lane AGP video bus with a non HD capable video card, you are running a 16 lane PCI express bus video card which is HD capable (even your integrated intel GMA graphics use the PCIe 16 lane bus)
Windows XP MCE or Windows vista/7 with MC, it doesn't really matter, at least in your position, dragan wouldn't really want to go anything newer with the hardware his old HTPC is based off of, it would be an un-enjoyable experience to say the least.
Your Intel Core 2 Duo based system still has a a good 4-6 years of life left in it before I would set it out to pasture. Anyone using computers 10 years old or older for everyday use really should consider replacing their system with something more current (if not for speed, then for less hassle and more convenience.) The only need I could see for old PC's would be certain manufacturing machinery or other equipment that cannot use newer computer systems/operating systems, (and where it would be cost prohibitive to replace said equipment because of an old failed computer that could be easily replaced with a similar unit.)
Anyway that all got way off tangent at the end there, this thread makes me interested in posting my new HTPC build. 
_________________
When I'm asking for a Model number, that doesn't mean I'm asking for a nude photo with your number on it
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draganm
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 8990
Location: Colorado
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| Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2013 6:58 pm Post subject: |
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| Jeremy112 wrote: | | a 10 year old PC, and you're trying to get it to run modern day programs? Let me guess, windows XP? Even at max specs your old HTPC is not something I would even consider as a HTPC anymore. A radeon 9600 isn't even DirectX 10 capable, nor could it even do a good job of playing anything in the HD realm.That computer should be at the Smithsonian |
you young whipper-shhhhhnanpper, you don't know good stuff when you see it .
| Jeremy112 wrote: | There is a huge difference between yours and draganms HTPC. dragan wouldn't really want to go anything newer with the hardware his old HTPC is based off of, it would be an un-enjoyable experience to say the least.
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ok ok i get it, it's a boat anchor  I only spent 50 bucks and it's fine for surfing the net and, BTW, it came really close to flawless streaming of netflix HD. My biggest frustration wasn't netflix but trying to integrate the endless microsoft updates and frameworks, what a F-ing nightmare.
Watching a 100 dollar Apple TV box now, so the debate is a moot point.
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UncleWill
Joined: 11 Dec 2012
Posts: 417
Location: Northern Virginia (outside Washington DC)
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| Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2014 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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Ecrabb - quick question:
Does the Oppo have decent file support? (FLAC, AVI, MKV, etc.)
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UncleWill
Joined: 11 Dec 2012
Posts: 417
Location: Northern Virginia (outside Washington DC)
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| Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2014 8:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Your Intel Core 2 Duo based system still has a a good 4-6 years of life left in it before I would set it out to pasture. Anyone using computers 10 years old or older for everyday use really should consider replacing their system with something more current (if not for speed, then for less hassle and more convenience.) The only need I could see for old PC's would be certain manufacturing machinery or other equipment that cannot use newer computer systems/operating systems, (and where it would be cost prohibitive to replace said equipment because of an old failed computer that could be easily replaced with a similar unit.) |
Depends on the system. I was using my old SONY regularly up until a few months ago when the AGP graphics card went ape-shite on me. Need to get that fixed...
What surprised me though was that it could handle most tasks OKAY even for a P4. Videos were fine (720P was pushing it, depended on the bit-rate), FLAC burning was fine, it output to my television fine, and had dual disc burners wish I sorely miss. Overall, it was actually a kickass machine.
Oh yeah, and it was running XP 
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ecrabb
Forum Moderator
Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 15909
Location: Utah
TV/Projector: JVC RS40, Epson 5010
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| Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2014 8:57 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, it plays most of the common formats. The one thing it won't play (that it used to) is ISO. They removed that to keep the studios happy as they were entering North America as a fully legitimate company.
SC
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UncleWill
Joined: 11 Dec 2012
Posts: 417
Location: Northern Virginia (outside Washington DC)
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| Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 12:30 am Post subject: |
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Is the lobbying of the studios really strong enough to prevent allowing Oppo's players from handing ISOs? I guess they can if its SONY...
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ecrabb
Forum Moderator
Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 15909
Location: Utah
TV/Projector: JVC RS40, Epson 5010
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| Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 2:02 am Post subject: |
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Well, I oversimplified. Let me clarify.
If a manufacturer like Oppo wants to sell a Blu-ray player through legitimate mainstream channels like retail stores, integrators, and distributors in the US and Europe, then they need to have a license from the Blu-ray Disc Assocation and pay the fees and royalties. That licensing body is explicit about certain things the players aren't allowed to do. Same with HDMI.
But, why do the manufacturers care, you say? What power do the studios have? Well, without the content, the manufacturers and patent holders have nothing anybody is interested in. It's not overstating to say the licensing bodies are very much there to protect content owners' content, so yes - they're most certainly influential enough to tell the manufacturers what they can't do when as it relates content.
SC
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ecrabb
Forum Moderator
Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 15909
Location: Utah
TV/Projector: JVC RS40, Epson 5010
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| Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 2:07 am Post subject: |
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BTW, this is exactly what Steve Jobs was referring to about five or six years ago when he said Blu-ray licensing was a "bag of hurt".
SC
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pm
Joined: 23 Aug 2010
Posts: 85
Location: Hants UK
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| Posted: Sat May 03, 2014 4:12 am Post subject: |
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I know the Oppo won't see an ISO, but will it see an ISO mounted on a network PC as a virtual Bluray drive? Or are we talking about the same thing?
Cheers,
PAul
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UncleWill
Joined: 11 Dec 2012
Posts: 417
Location: Northern Virginia (outside Washington DC)
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| Posted: Sat May 03, 2014 5:55 pm Post subject: |
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Loophole?
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the big E
Joined: 20 Apr 2013
Posts: 1928
Location: speedwell Tn.
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| Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 3:32 am Post subject: |
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| ecrabb wrote: | BTW, this is exactly what Steve Jobs was referring to about five or six years ago when he said Blu-ray licensing was a "bag of hurt".
SC |
+1 I agree
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crt king of black
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ecrabb
Forum Moderator
Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 15909
Location: Utah
TV/Projector: JVC RS40, Epson 5010
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| Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 5:13 am Post subject: |
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| pm wrote: | | I know the Oppo won't see an ISO, but will it see an ISO mounted on a network PC as a virtual Bluray drive? Or are we talking about the same thing? |
I'll check, but I'm pretty sure it simply won't read an ISO that isn't mounted from a standard unencrypted Blu-ray volume. Period. End of story. I'd guess the network share was just as big of a concern as a USB-connected volume, if not more so.
The thing that really pisses me off about stuff like that is there are actual legitimate uses for mounting and playing an ISO that have nothing whatsoever to do with ripping Hollywood content. Authoring your own discs, for instance.
In a few years, when Blu-ray is on the decline, I hope people rub the studios' noses in it. Congratulations, between the encryption, the sh*tty players, the long load times, the unstoppable FBI warnings and trailers, and all the other bull****, people happily ditched it for streaming… Which, BTW doesn't even have an FBI warning.  Of course, the movie studios will be happy to rent you the same stuff over and over because it won't be in a format that most will want to own anymore anyway. 
What's really ridiculous is that even when discs are on the decline, people will just start capturing the streams from Vudu, Apple TV, etc. Not quite as convenient or as high quality as ripping a disc, but the people that steal movies won't give a crap about quality.
Grrr...
Cheers,
SC
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the big E
Joined: 20 Apr 2013
Posts: 1928
Location: speedwell Tn.
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| Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 5:53 am Post subject: |
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Didn't I hear something like that from Steve jobs back when he made his blu ray is a bag of hurt speach
Anyway I find Blu-ray Discs do have a longer load time then dvd's but I will take that over the low quality streaming feeds anyday(7.1 lossless audio with uncompressed pic)
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crt king of black
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ecrabb
Forum Moderator
Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 15909
Location: Utah
TV/Projector: JVC RS40, Epson 5010
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| Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 7:15 am Post subject: |
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| the big E wrote: | | Didn't I hear something like that from Steve jobs back when he made his blu ray is a bag of hurt speach |
Yes, and guess which format's year-over-year growth is huge and which format isn't really growing like the studios hoped they would?
| the big E wrote: | | Anyway I find Blu-ray Discs do have a longer load time then dvd's but I will take that over the low quality streaming feeds anyday(7.1 lossless audio with uncompressed pic) |
What "low quality streaming feeds have you watched"? Have you actually A-B compared streaming and Blu-ray?
There's no question that the quality of the audio and video on streaming or digital downloads aren't as good as Blu-ray, but I think most (including here) don't realize just how good they actually are.
The biggest drawback is that none of the streaming or download services that I'm aware of will output 24p. Of course, a lot of people here don't use a processor or HTPC and instead watch 720p/60 or 1080p/60 from their BD players, anyway. Also, I don't think most people here have audio systems good enough to reveal the difference between a good high-quality Dolby Digital streaming track and one from Blu-ray. Is there a difference? Of course. Is there that much of a difference in practice with older speakers, a single anemic sub, a high noise floor from a loud projector, and an untreated room? No. I'm a big fan of high-res, but people that think they can hear the difference between a core audio track and an advanced audio track in an average room with average equipment are delusional.
I'll also say this: In the last year, my wife and I have started watching a lot more rentals from Apple and Vudu, and most are surprisingly good, and that's on a large screen with a short viewing distance. I still watch all the big blockbuster stuff, as well as any really good scifi I'm into on Blu-ray, but for everything else, it's Apple TV and Vudu rentals, and I have to say I haven't really been disappointed.
The problem is that the selection of rental on Blu-ray just sucks. In my town, I have two choices: Red Box and a regional video rental chain that's still hanging on, Family Video. Red Box's selection was always a little light, but since they expanded to games, it's worthless. I can literally only rent a Red Box video about once every six weeks now. I'd say in a given month, we watch 6 rentals from Apple TV or Vudu, and 2 on Blu-ray. Sad, but true. Unfortunately, I think it's only going to get worse, so you better get used to it.
SC
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