windows 7 htpc

screetch · 12-02-2009, 11:40

hi all

i awant to have a poll about your htpc.

do you use vista or windows 7
do you use 32 or 64 bit?
If 64bit : why or what do you think is better compared to 32?
do you use h264 mkv for playback?
do you have a music library?
how quick is the boot time until you see the media center?
do you use a remote or a mouse to control the media center?

screetch · 12-02-2009, 17:58

no replies?

will2348 · 12-02-2009, 18:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by screetch

hi all

i awant to have a poll about your htpc.

do you use vista or windows 7
do you use 32 or 64 bit?
If 64bit : why or what do you think is better compared to 32?
do you use h264 mkv for playback?
do you have a music library?
how quick is the boot time until you see the media center?
do you use a remote or a mouse to control the media center?

I have XP, but have heard how great Windows 7 is, so i am planning on getting that on final release date.

I have 32bit, 64bit is only useful if you are using a few complex memory hogging programs, i don't have h264 for playback, i do have a music library though, and i don't have media centre.

banbury_oddball · 12-02-2009, 18:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by screetch

hi all

i awant to have a poll about your htpc.

do you use vista or windows 7
do you use 32 or 64 bit?
If 64bit : why or what do you think is better compared to 32?
do you use h264 mkv for playback?
do you have a music library?
how quick is the boot time until you see the media center?
do you use a remote or a mouse to control the media center?

Hi Screetch - Hope you are not the real one !

Anyway, I have a Scaleo E HTPC (barebones) and custom built.

I've been running Windows 7 on a partition on my hard drive and is very speedy. It's the 32bit option as my VFD Display does not have an 64 bit drivers around. I dont use any extra bits of software to play DVD's or HD / Bluray discs.

I do have a music library mainly mp3's so don't often use Windows Media Centre for playback. It does have a nice touch where it displays all your album art in the background scrolling slowly down the screen, but prefer to use Winamp. The new WMC will play playlists happily too.

Boot time is minimal and don't find myself tapping my finger waiting for it. I have around 180 DVD's backed up onto two drives with one being external, and that is slow at listing them and getting the covers & synopsis via the internet.

However there seems to be a problem when playing back DVD movies stored on hard drives. I have a 1TB Buffalo external drive which has the majority of films on and every few minutes it's as though the unit powers down and restarts as you can hear it quite clearly. No lights go off. I've turned all power savings off for the device and also within Windows 7 so it does not power off hard drives or USB devices, and still happens. A few people have reported this too.

So, if I'm watching DVD's via the hard drive, I use Vista. This is the 64bit option so my display on the pc stays the same and doesn't show the title of the tv programme (if watching live tv via the tv card) etc etc.

My system is a Scaleo E with V5 HDMI Motherboard, low profile 512mb ATI 4550 graphics card, 4gb ram, 750gb internal hard drive, digital sound via internal soundcard and connected via amp. I use Power DVD 8 to watch Blu Ray and HD discs.

terrob · 03-03-2009, 18:53

Hi there ive a vista 32 bit media system.

Spec:-

Pentium D 950 3.4 Mhz
Samsung F1 1Tb harddrive
2 gb memory
DVB -T Tuner
DVB-S2 Tuner
Thermaltake Bach Case with Imon display
Consair HX 620W PSU

I use it as my main TV display on my LCD TV watching a mixture of freeview and freesat channel. I also have ripped all my mp3s also to the HDD and since i updated the system to the TV pack with the hacked (from green button website) DLL i can watch the BBC HD channel in brilliant surround sound and HD picture. All my holiday pics are also stored on the HDD so i can view them as i listen to the MP3s.

I use the imon remote as it has more fuction then the standard microsoft remote, boot time is normal for windows vista, but i dont usually switch it off.

tellytart1 · 03-03-2009, 19:11

Am using Windows 7 here, and seems remarkably stable for a beta. Well worth a try.

screetch · 04-03-2009, 08:13

yeah lets hope they the RC1 of windows is quicker in booting. I am thinking about having a remote to control the pc (for my GF) but until it is switch on and change channel instead of booting a minute etc..it does not make much sense.

There recently was an update on win7 and all tv channels were lost, I had to research the whole transponder and actually also have Luxe HD now

12-02-2009, 11:40	#1
screetch Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: HTPC(Win7,4GBRam,HD3870,E8200 Posts: 156	windows 7 htpc hi all i awant to have a poll about your htpc. do you use vista or windows 7 do you use 32 or 64 bit? If 64bit : why or what do you think is better compared to 32? do you use h264 mkv for playback? do you have a music library? how quick is the boot time until you see the media center? do you use a remote or a mouse to control the media center?

12-02-2009, 17:58	#2
screetch Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: HTPC(Win7,4GBRam,HD3870,E8200 Posts: 156	no replies?

12-02-2009, 18:03	#3
will2348 Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: London Posts: 1,418	Quote: Originally Posted by screetch hi all i awant to have a poll about your htpc. do you use vista or windows 7 do you use 32 or 64 bit? If 64bit : why or what do you think is better compared to 32? do you use h264 mkv for playback? do you have a music library? how quick is the boot time until you see the media center? do you use a remote or a mouse to control the media center? I have XP, but have heard how great Windows 7 is, so i am planning on getting that on final release date. I have 32bit, 64bit is only useful if you are using a few complex memory hogging programs, i don't have h264 for playback, i do have a music library though, and i don't have media centre.

12-02-2009, 18:36	#4
banbury_oddball Forum Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Banbury Posts: 1,299	Quote: Originally Posted by screetch hi all i awant to have a poll about your htpc. do you use vista or windows 7 do you use 32 or 64 bit? If 64bit : why or what do you think is better compared to 32? do you use h264 mkv for playback? do you have a music library? how quick is the boot time until you see the media center? do you use a remote or a mouse to control the media center? Hi Screetch - Hope you are not the real one ! Anyway, I have a Scaleo E HTPC (barebones) and custom built. I've been running Windows 7 on a partition on my hard drive and is very speedy. It's the 32bit option as my VFD Display does not have an 64 bit drivers around. I dont use any extra bits of software to play DVD's or HD / Bluray discs. I do have a music library mainly mp3's so don't often use Windows Media Centre for playback. It does have a nice touch where it displays all your album art in the background scrolling slowly down the screen, but prefer to use Winamp. The new WMC will play playlists happily too. Boot time is minimal and don't find myself tapping my finger waiting for it. I have around 180 DVD's backed up onto two drives with one being external, and that is slow at listing them and getting the covers & synopsis via the internet. However there seems to be a problem when playing back DVD movies stored on hard drives. I have a 1TB Buffalo external drive which has the majority of films on and every few minutes it's as though the unit powers down and restarts as you can hear it quite clearly. No lights go off. I've turned all power savings off for the device and also within Windows 7 so it does not power off hard drives or USB devices, and still happens. A few people have reported this too. So, if I'm watching DVD's via the hard drive, I use Vista. This is the 64bit option so my display on the pc stays the same and doesn't show the title of the tv programme (if watching live tv via the tv card) etc etc. My system is a Scaleo E with V5 HDMI Motherboard, low profile 512mb ATI 4550 graphics card, 4gb ram, 750gb internal hard drive, digital sound via internal soundcard and connected via amp. I use Power DVD 8 to watch Blu Ray and HD discs.

03-03-2009, 18:53	#5
terrob Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 18	Hi there ive a vista 32 bit media system. Spec:- Pentium D 950 3.4 Mhz Samsung F1 1Tb harddrive 2 gb memory DVB -T Tuner DVB-S2 Tuner Thermaltake Bach Case with Imon display Consair HX 620W PSU I use it as my main TV display on my LCD TV watching a mixture of freeview and freesat channel. I also have ripped all my mp3s also to the HDD and since i updated the system to the TV pack with the hacked (from green button website) DLL i can watch the BBC HD channel in brilliant surround sound and HD picture. All my holiday pics are also stored on the HDD so i can view them as i listen to the MP3s. I use the imon remote as it has more fuction then the standard microsoft remote, boot time is normal for windows vista, but i dont usually switch it off.

03-03-2009, 19:11	#6
tellytart1 Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: London Posts: 3,638	Am using Windows 7 here, and seems remarkably stable for a beta. Well worth a try.

04-03-2009, 08:13	#7
screetch Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: HTPC(Win7,4GBRam,HD3870,E8200 Posts: 156	yeah lets hope they the RC1 of windows is quicker in booting. I am thinking about having a remote to control the pc (for my GF) but until it is switch on and change channel instead of booting a minute etc..it does not make much sense. There recently was an update on win7 and all tv channels were lost, I had to research the whole transponder and actually also have Luxe HD now

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windows 7 htpc