Good Enough?

[JeffF]

Hi

I cut the cord on cable TV. I have a over the air antenna that works. I am looking to buy a used PC to use Windows media center to record from the antenna. Also want to use it to watch Netflix and things from the internet like from ABC.com, HBOgo. I have a good 55" HD TV and want to get a good quality picture from the PC.

My questions:
Is a 2.6 Ghz AMD Athlon 64 dual core running Window 7 good enough?
Also, is a Saphire 6670 1 GB DDR3 good enough?
I am also considering buying an HD Homerun and the PC would be wireless to my network. Any worries?

Thanks for your thoughts.

[bmblank]

You're going to be pushed away from a wireless network.
I should say it can be done, but it sounds like many have had problems. I did it, but i live in the boonies, so it may be an interference thing or something. Wired is better, garun-damn-teed.

[JeffF]

The HD Homerun will be wired in (I can put it right next to my router) but the TV is no where near it so I was hoping not to have to run 100 feet of Ethernet through my attic and down two floors.

[JeffF]

You're going to be pushed away from a wireless network.
I should say it can be done, but it sounds like many have had problems. I did it, but i live in the boonies, so it may be an interference thing or something. Wired is better, garun-damn-teed.

Yeah, I am worried about this. If most/all think wireless won't work, I will not even try it (if the PC I get doesn't come with a wireless card) and just bite the bullet and do the wiring (which will be a lot of work).
So if everyone can chime in on their thoughts on this...

[bmblank]

It sounds like allot go with either powerline adapters out moca with established wiring to avoid running a new network. I was lucky, building my own house,i got to do all my wiring before the walls were up.

[barnabas1969]

The TV has nothing to do with it. Will the tuner be wired to the network? Will the PC have a wired network connection to the tuner?

Those two things are what matters (besides signal strength/quality between the tuner and antenna, of course).

The CPU is plenty. The graphics adapter should be good too, based on my experience with the ATI/AMD HD 6450.

Will wireless work? Maybe... today... but maybe not tomorrow.

[barnabas1969]

It sounds like allot go with either powerline adapters out moca with established wiring to avoid running a new network. I was lucky, building my own house,i got to do all my wiring before the walls were up.

Wired > MoCa > Powerline > WiFi

[staknhalo]

Yeah, I am worried about this. If most/all think wireless won't work, I will not even try it (if the PC I get doesn't come with a wireless card) and just bite the bullet and do the wiring (which will be a lot of work).
So if everyone can chime in on their thoughts on this...

Yeah, forget the wireless.

[JeffF]

OK, so based on the comments above. The PC should work and wireless will likely not. Sounds like MoCa is probably the best way to go. I can buy 2 NetGear MoCa devices on ebay for about $100.
Any decenters?

[mdavej]

Yes. Get 2 DirecTV DECA devices for $25. Works beautifully as long as you keep it isolated. I don't have DirecTV, but their MoCA stuff (DECA) is ridiculously cheap on eBay. It's identical to MoCA except for the frequencies it uses, that's why it has to be isolated, which is no problem in an HTPC/extender network.

[JeffF]

The TV has nothing to do with it. Will the tuner be wired to the network? Will the PC have a wired network connection to the tuner?

Those two things are what matters (besides signal strength/quality between the tuner and antenna, of course).

The CPU is plenty. The graphics adapter should be good too, based on my experience with the ATI/AMD HD 6450.

Will wireless work? Maybe... today... but maybe not tomorrow.

The Tuner will be wired. It is the PC that I was asking if I can get away with wireless and it seems most people are saying probably not.
One of the reasons I am looking at the homerun is allows me to put the tuner/antenna upstairs. That gets me a better signal and the antenna would be away from more people disturbing the signal.
Thanks for your response about the CPU and graphics adapter. Anyone else have an opinion on it?

[JeffF]

Yes. Get 2 DirecTV DECA devices for $25. Works beautifully as long as you keep it isolated. I don't have DirecTV, but their MoCA stuff (DECA) is ridiculously cheap on eBay. It's identical to MoCA except for the frequencies it uses, that's why it has to be isolated, which is no problem in an HTPC/extender network.

OK, I'll bite. What does the DECA device do?

[mdavej]

Like I said, it's just like MoCA except for the frequency and the price - ethernet over coax.

Check out this little blurb I wrote about them over at avsforums:

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1473583/deca- ... -extenders

EDIT: Now you can get a pair of these things for $18 shipped (in the US). Pretty amazing deal IMO.

[JeffF]

Like I said, it's just like MoCA except for the frequency and the price - ethernet over coax.

Check out this little blurb I wrote about them over at avsforums:

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1473583/deca- ... -extenders

EDIT: Now you can get a pair of these things for $18 shipped (in the US). Pretty amazing deal IMO.

Thanks. That looks like the way to go.
Question: I currently get Internet via DSL. If I ever switch to internet from the cable company will it not work with DECA? Or is it just cable tv that does not work?

[mdavej]

You can't mix cable TV (or internet) and DECA on the same wire. With regular MoCA, you CAN mix cable TV signals and internet. But no matter who your internet provider is, you have to keep your DECA coax network isolated from everything else. So if you get cable internet in the future, you'll connect the cable from outside your house directly to your cable modem and nothing else. The rest of your coax network, as long as it's disconnected from the incoming line from the street and from the same coax going to your modem, will continue to work fine with DECA.

In your case, you'll take DECA #1, connect the ethernet port to your router and the other end to the coax bound for your central box or your remote TV. DECA #2 will connect to coax at your remote TV and the ethernet to whatever device you want to put on your network. Just make sure the coax isn't connected to the cable going to the street or directly to any TVs.

You haven't mentioned how you are going to interface your TV with your PC. Just getting ethernet to your TV is not enough. You'll need some sort of device that can talk to WMC your PC, like an extender or a second PC or streaming device. Or are you planning on just running HDMI over coax directly from the WMC PC? If that's the case, then DECA isn't going to work for you. If that's the case, I'd go back to your original wireless plan but use a wireless HDMI system like Actiontec or similar.

[JeffF]

You can't mix cable TV (or internet) and DECA on the same wire. With regular MoCA, you CAN mix cable TV signals and internet. But no matter who your internet provider is, you have to keep your DECA coax network isolated from everything else. So if you get cable internet in the future, you'll connect the cable from outside your house directly to your cable modem and nothing else. The rest of your coax network, as long as it's disconnected from the incoming line from the street and from the same coax going to your modem, will continue to work fine with DECA.

In your case, you'll take DECA #1, connect the ethernet port to your router and the other end to the coax bound for your central box or your remote TV. DECA #2 will connect to coax at your remote TV and the ethernet to whatever device you want to put on your network. Just make sure the coax isn't connected to the cable going to the street or directly to any TVs.

You haven't mentioned how you are going to interface your TV with your PC. Just getting ethernet to your TV is not enough. You'll need some sort of device that can talk to WMC your PC, like an extender or a second PC or streaming device. Or are you planning on just running HDMI over coax directly from the WMC PC? If that's the case, then DECA isn't going to work for you. If that's the case, I'd go back to your original wireless plan but use a wireless HDMI system like Actiontec or similar.

I plan to have a PC next to my TV connected via HDMI. The antenna will be connected to a HD Homerun Ethernet into home network. The PC will be using DECA to connect to me home network. The PC will also be used to display movies/tv shows from websites (ABC.com and HBOgo). Any issues?

[mdavej]

I see. You should be fine then.