MaximumPC 2003 12

80 MAXIMUMPC DECEMBER 2003

YOUR

ENTERTAINMENT

PC QUESTIONS...

ANSWERED!

Last month’s story explaining

how to build the ultimate enter-

tainment center PC generated

a deluge of reader questions.

We picked the best queries and

handed them to the Doctor to

see what he had to say.

GOING THROUGH THE PROPER

CHANNELS

I’ve got a satellite receiver, what

can I use to change the channels

on it?

—JULIUS CORNWALIS

To get the most from your enter-

tainment rig, you’ll need it to talk

to your satellite receiver or cable

box. If you don’t, you’ll be unable

to record all the cool programming

you’re paying for. The solution is an

IR blaster.

An IR blaster is a small USB or

serial device that mimics the remote

control for your satellite dish or

cable box. After you configure the

IR blaster with the specifics of your

hardware, it can change the chan-

nel on your satellite dish or cable

box at will, and fulfill your PVR des-

tiny.

ATI says it will have a

Multimedia Center-compatible

IR blaster ready by the end of this

year, but you can buy one right now

that will work with Personal Video

Station 3 from Snapstream’s online

store (www.snapstream.com).

MAKING CONNECTIONS

Which types of connections are

the best for home theater video

and audio?

—WILLIAM TARANTINO

Use the most PC-like connections

you can muster. We recommend an

analog DB-15 connection for your

monitor, if at all possible. We have

seen some HDTVs that include a

DB-15 connector but don’t actu-

ally support PC resolutions above

640x480, so read your manual to find

out what your TV supports. If your

display doesn’t have a PC monitor

connector, you’ll need to either get

a videocard that outputs HD reso-

lutions or an HD adaptor for your

current card. At press time, only ATI

cards actually work with HD adapt-

ers, so nVidia-philes are out of luck.

On the sound front, analog is

best if you intend to play any PC

games at all. Most soundcards (the

nForce 2’s onboard sound is the one

exception) only output stereo PCM

signals through their digital connec-

tors. The analog connectors are the

only way to get 5.1 positional audio

on most machines. If you happen to

have an nForce 2 motherboard, feel

free to go fully digital. You won’t be

disappointed.

A LITTLE DEMO’LL DO YA

What are some good DVDs for

showing off my system to my

friends? What about games?

—FRANK SMITH

We have a few DVDs we keep

around for the sole purpose of test-

ing a sound rig or huge display. For

instance, Chapter 26 of the movie

Drumline features some exceptional

positional sound. The Two Towers

also offers reference quality sound.

Be sure to listen to the chapter with

the battle for Helm’s Deep, when orc

and elf arrows alike will seem to

whiz all around you.

Games can also make great

demos for your entertainment

system. We recommend firing up a

multiplayer first-person shooter and

diving into the online combat. Any

game that supports DirectSound3D

should sound great on your rig.

Unreal Tournament 2004, Planetside,

Battlefield 1942 , and Call of Duty

will all make your surround system

thump.

BURNING VIDEO TO DVD

How should I encode my video

to ensure it works on a set-top

DVD player?

—BENJAMIN DOYLE

It’s easy. Open Snapstream and go to

the web admin. Click on Recording

Preferences and change the

Recording File Format to “MPEG-2”

and the Default Quality to “NTSC

DVD Ready Hi-Res.” If you do that,

Easy CD Creator will be able to use

the video files for a video DVD with-

out having to transcode them.

EXTERNAL SPACE SAVERS

Can I use an external hard drive

to add more storage space?

—JASMINE NGUYEN

Definitely! USB 2.0 and FireWire

external drives are more than fast

enough for PVR or MP3 duties.

An external drive isn’t ideal for

installed games, for speed reasons,

but it’ll work in a pinch.

One of the benefits of using an

external drive is that you can mini-

mize noise by hiding the drive away

from your main PC using a long

connector cable. Just remember

to back up your external drive fre-

quently. We’ve found that external

drives have a significantly shorter

life span than internal drives.

SILENCE YOUR SYSTEM

How can I make my system

quieter?

—LEONARD NIELAND

Making your system quieter is really

the subject of another story, but we

have a few guidelines. First, use the

power management Control Panel

to disable your hard drives after

five or 10 minutes of inactivity. Loud

hard drives are one of the leading

sources of noise in today’s PCs.

Another source of noise is fans.

Most Shuttle boxes have just one or

two fans, which is one reason we’re

so fond of them. We’re reticent to

recommend that you tweak Shuttle’s

existing fans, since most of the mini

boxes are carefully engineered to

defend against the heat generated

by the system components, but

you can help muffle the noise the

wee PCs do make. First, add a filter

between the front intakes and the

bezel. The filter needn’t be anything

fancy. A piece of cut filter from

a central-air and heating system

will work perfectly. Second, apply

Dynamat or another low-profile

sound-absorbing material to the

inside of the case lid. Make sure

you don’t cover any air holes, and

that the case will still close before

you permanently affix the Dynamat.

It’s notoriously difficult to remove.

SPEAKERS SIMPLY DON’T

WORK

My rear speakers aren’t working.

How can I get them up and

running?

—LEAH SMITH

There are two places in most

systems that control the number

of speakers your system has con-

nected: In your soundcard’s control

panel, and in Windows’ “Sounds

and Audio Devices.” Make sure the

information in both areas matches

up, and that it accurately represents

the number of speakers you have

connected to your PC.

If you’re having trouble getting

5.1 sound from your DVD movies,

you might need to configure your

DVD software. In Multimedia Center,

you’ll need to go to the Settings

menu and then the Audio tab, where

you should select the proper speak-

er config.

EVERYTHING BUT THE

NFORCE2

I’m not using an nForce2

motherboard. Is there anything I

need to do differently?

—MARTY ATKINS

If you’re using a motherboard with

another chipset, you’ll probably

want to replace the crappy onboard

sound with a higher-quality product.

The Audigy 2 series from Creative

Labs produces great sound, has low

CPU utilization, and won’t empty

your wallet. Remember, there’s no

need to shell out for the expensive

Platinum edition because you don’t

have a free 5.25-inch bay for the

breakout box!

ALL-IN-WONDER AIN’T FOR ME

I’m using a stand-alone TV

tuner. Do I need to do anything

differently?

—DILLON CAWOOD

If you decide to use a separate

TV tuner instead of an integrated

card, like the All-in-Wonder, you

need to do two things: Pipe the

sound to your soundcard, and make

sure your card is compatible with

Snapstream. Some tuner cards can

pass an audio stream across the PCI

bus, but most need an analog audio

connection to the soundcard.

CONNECTING WITHOUT

A MONITOR CABLE

My HDTV doesn’t have a DB-15

input. What do I need to get a

high-resolution image?

—NORAH TEPPER

If you’re using an ATI All-in-Wonder

card, all you need is the little red

adapter cable that came in the box.

All newer ATI boards without tun-

ers, from the Radeon 8500 on, can

take advantage of adapters to output

their signals to HDTV sets. nVidia

users are outta luck. There’s no

word about HDTV adapters for any

nVidia boards. n

Doctor