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Darth B

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  1. I did something similar last year for my pool. I bought an Onkyo TX-8050 networked stereo receiver and a Klipsch AWR-650-SM Granite Outdoor Rock Speaker. The system sounds surprisingly good. The Onkyo sits in by basement and is connected to my home network. All of my music is stored on a NAS - running a DLNA server app - as FLAC files. The Onkyo can stream music from my NAS, internet radio or FM local stations. Onkyo has apps for iPod, iPhone and Android to control the TX-8050. Hope this helps.
  2. stubby5000 Choosing your equipment really depends on what you want your HTPC to do. It you only want to use the system for 2 channel audio playback, then a DAC based system would be preferred. From your posts, I'm assuming you want to use the system for both video and audio (including multichannel, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MA) playback. Based on your posts, I'm assuming you want to bitstream the multichannel audio formats to an AV receiver for decoding, etc. (you could let the PC handle the decoding, but I would not recommend it). An easy, inexpensive solution is to use an ATI 5XXX based video card - like the 5450 you noted above. I'm using an ATI 5570 connected via HDMI to an AV receiver connected via HDMI to a LCD TV. This is a economical way to get started. An earlier post mentioned nVida cards with a SPDIF connection for sending audio via HDMI. These cards will not bitstream Dolby TrueHD or DTS MA. SPDIF does not have the bandwidth for these formats - it must be HDMI. I started with a nVida card before realizing this limitation. I don't know about the newer nVida cards so please research before buying nVida. I've used a number of different software packages. Right now I'm trying JRiver MC - as recommended by CA. Its proving to be great for audio and video.
  3. stubby5000 Choosing your equipment really depends on what you want your HTPC to do. It you only want to use the system for 2 channel audio playback, then a DAC based system would be preferred. From your posts, I'm assuming you want to use the system for both video and audio (including multichannel, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MA) playback. Based on your posts, I'm assuming you want to bitstream the multichannel audio formats to an AV receiver for decoding, etc. (you could let the PC handle the decoding, but I would not recommend it). An easy, inexpensive solution is to use an ATI 5XXX based video card - like the 5450 you noted above. I'm using an ATI 5570 connected via HDMI to an AV receiver connected via HDMI to a LCD TV. This is a economical way to get started. An earlier post mentioned nVida cards with a SPDIF connection for sending audio via HDMI. These cards will not bitstream Dolby TrueHD or DTS MA. SPDIF does not have the bandwidth for these formats - it must be HDMI. I started with a nVida card before realizing this limitation. I don't know about the newer nVida cards so please research before buying nVida. I've used a number of different software packages. Right now I'm trying JRiver MC - as recommended by CA. Its proving to be great for audio and video.
  4. I tried JRMC in the past and was not impressed. About 2 weeks ago I decided to try it again. I've been running JRMC 15 and like it. The sound is as good as any other player I've tried. I only wish better theater skins were available.
  5. I've reviewed the notes I took when I installed JRiver and got the ALAC working using the BASS filters. I started a How-to-Guide and attached. I can't promise that it will work, as I'm recalling much of the information from 6 month old memories. Hopefully its enough to get you started.
  6. There may be multiple ways to get JRiver to playback ALAC files. The method I used involved adding the necessary BASS filters. This allowed ASIO and WASAPI playback of ALAC files. I first added the BASS filters using DCBass Source. I soon realized that DCBass was just adding the BASS filters into one of the JRiver folders. Also the files DCBass added were old versions. I then went to the Un4Seen site (the BASS developers) and downloaded the new files and added them to the same JRiver folder. It's actually pretty easy to do. I could give more specifics HOWEVER.... I abandoned the use of JRiver. I didn't care for it as a Media Center type application. So I do not currently have it installed. However, I do have the disk image of the install saved so I could restore it and give more details.
  7. JRiver can playback ALAC. You have to add the necessary filters for BASS to make it work.
  8. I agree with pretty all of the points made by Audio Elf and Charles. I chose ALAC as my file format for the following reasons: 1) My family has 3 members using Apple Portable Players. I found iTunes is the easiest means for managing the content on each iPod. 2) The iPods have limited storage space - as noted by Audio Elf, so smaller files are desired. ALAC generates smaller files. 3) Similar to Audio Elf, I did not want manage two music libraries - one for the PC with large files, the other for iPods with smaller files. I wanted a single file format that supported both the PC and iPods. 4) I wanted metadata stored within the files. 5) I wanted a lossless file format. My mission then became to get the best possible playback using ALAC. I also agree with Audio Elf and Charles about Foobar. Its a really good sounding player.
  9. Sorry for the delay. There's two ways to get ALAC supported. 1. Google "dc bass source". Download "dc bass source", install and run. Select ALAC support. "dc bass source" is a utility program that will install and register the bass files (developed by un4seen developments). This is the easy way to add the support. However, the files installed have been updated. These files work fine, its just the an older version. 2. The alternative is to visit the "un4seen developments" website. Download the latest BASS support files for ALAC, install and register them manually using the regsvr32 command. Its a bit more advanced and I can provide additional instruction if needed. Be sure to download the 32 bit version. JRiver is a 32 bit app and will only work with the 32 bit version. Hope this helps.
  10. You can play ALAC files in JRiver. Search the JRiver forums for ALAC - there's a couple of posts that will tell you how to do it. I've done it, but my notes are at home. I will try to respond later with instructions.
  11. Yes you want to by-pass kmixer. ASIO should work.
  12. I have a couple of thoughts and a few questions. First, is the only connection from your PC to the Denon by HDMI? HDMI is the only connection type that supports the transfer of HD audio from Blu-Ray. Second, the audio path is not recognized as a protected path - DRM stuff. I've had this problem. The easy solution is a software program called AnyDVD HD, by Slysoft. I consider this an essential piece of software for an HTPC. It removes all DRM/copyright issues and eliminates all of the associated headaches. You can get a 21 day trial version for free. A lifetime membership costs $150ish - its worth it. I've owned it for 3+ years. Tryout the free trial to see if it solves the problem. Which movies are you trying (if you don't mind me asking)? I had troubles with Avatar. After updating AnyDVD, it worked just fine. Also, try a couple of different DTS-HD movies. I use Avatar and Transformers 2. Also, try a few Dolby True HD movies. I use Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. The third possibility (and most complex) would be a Direct Show Filter/Codec problem. I just battled my way through an issue last weekend. I just started putting together a guide explaining how to test, troubleshoot and configure Direct Show Filters based on my experiences. I hope to finish by next week and will share with you then. In the meantime try some of the other things above. Good luck and stay in touch.
  13. Christmas in July - gotta love it. Good luck with the upgrade. I just updated my PC. I replaced my noisy video card and the ASUS Xonar HDAV with an ATI 5570 based card. Last weekend I got Media Portal updated and running with the new card. This weekend I tried J.River Media Center. The ATI 5XXX series cards are pretty well supported - so setup was pretty easy.
  14. I've used MediaPortal on and off for about 3 years. Its biggest advantage is its flexibility. You can configure just about everything in it. Its flexibility is also its biggest disadvantage. Because its so configurable, you can easily get lost in it. The documentation isn't the best which increases the difficulty in setting it up and using it. About the best place for information is the user forum; however, its huge so be prepared for many hours of searching and reading (and frustration). So why do I use it? Its the app that best meets my need. I've tried just about every media center type app in existence for the past 3 years, trying to find the perfect fit. In January, I once again set out to find the perfect app. I created a list of requirements and searched the net for apps to meet my needs. I evaluated different apps and came (once again) to the same conclusion.... MediaPortal.
  15. Best of luck. I look forward to hearing how it works out.
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