Why Home Theater on a Computer
Since 1997, I have watched both TV and DVD movies on my computers. My daughter and granddaughter's for those last 10 years had gone through about 10 TV's in that time and they would take mine-making me buy a new TV. Then I saw a TV Tuner for Windows 95. I have not looked back since. Mainly because I thought both TV channels and DVD movies look a lot better on a computer monitor than a regular TV. Since 1986, when I started with computers- I have used CRT monitors. It is only since August of 2006 that I started using LCD Monitor's. When I started using Vista, Vista Media Center can have as many as 4 TV Tuners installed. Last year I decided I wanted to have 2 Analog and 2 HD TV tuners. I bought the AverMedia AverTV HDTV/TV tuner Combo PCIe (X1) card. At one time, what I used for monitors were a 19" CRT and 17' LCD. I tried TV on both and the LCD won hands down. I then bought a 20" LCD. The size was bigger so that is what I watched TV shows on. Using the 17” to surf the net and writing reviews. This is when I decided to see if I could build my computer into a Media Theater. I read everything I could find on 1080P and HD movies. One of the things I found out about was HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) which content providers put on the HD and BluRay disks. What HDCP does is make sure that the source (Player) - display (video card) and video display device (CRT or LCD or whatever) and only those devices with it. This is another form of DRM. I already had the video card (Sapphire HD 4670 which by the way has HDMI output) and LiteOn BluRay ROM (ready only BluRay drive-dvd burner)-now I needed a LCD monitor. I had to look for a LCD monitor that would have those specs and below is what I could afford and I think I made a pretty good choice.

 Specifications from TigerDirect website
As usual I looked on the TigerDirect website for the LCD that would meet the spec's for what I wanted. Which were at least 1920 X1080 resolutions? Have HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection developed by Intel and used by content providers for high definition movies) in other words DRM.
Display Type: TFT LCD Viewable Screen Size: 24 inches
Pixel Pitch: 0.27 mm Display Colors: 16.7 million
Input Video Signal: 15-pin D-sub DVI-D with HDCP
Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
Brightness: 400 cd/m²
Response Time: 5 ms
Horizontal
Viewing Angle: 160 degrees Vertical Viewing Angle: 160 degrees Maximum Resolution: 1920 x 1200
VESA Mounting Compliant: Yes
Dimensions With Stand: 22.7" x 18" x 8.7"
Unit Weight: 20 lbs.
Power Consumption: 110W
Cost $350
As can be seen-this monitor has fantastic specs. The viewing area and color-contrast ratio-resolution makes this one of the best monitor's I have ever used and in 20 years of using computers, that is more than just a few.

 Ordering and Putting together
 As usual the first place I looked was TigerDirect website. Where I found this Monitor. I ordered it on Wednesday and received via UPS on Thursday as usual. The LCD monitor was was very well packaged with a Manual, 6' VGA cable, 6' DVI-D cable and Base unit. When I installed this LCD Monitor on my pc –the clarity, sharpness and amazing life like color made me glad I bought this. There were no dead or constantly lite pixels.

Hooking this up to a computer. As usual it is too bright for my eyes and I reduce it to about 50%. The controls on this as usual is easy to use.

The first button brings up a Auto Adjusting screen that auto sets for User,Text, Standard, Graphics and Movies.
These adjust the Contrast/Brightness to a preset levels.
Presssing the Button next to the power button brings up a window where you can adjust the Contrast-brightnes-Language-OSD-analog or digital.
With the 2 cables you can have 2 differant computers on the inputs switching to one or the other with on screen controls.
Languages available-English-French-Spanish-Dutch and serval Asian languages
You have control of all aspects of this monitor.
Comparing this to a CRT Monitor and a 20" LCD Monitor. With a CRT TV, the LCD looks sharper and the color is fantastic. Comparing the 20" to the 24" in performance the same the main thing I like about the 24" is the size which by the way is way easier on these old eyes.


 Vista Home Theater System
I got a HD ROM drive from TigerDirect. This included PowerDVD 7, allows me to play Blu-ray Movies. With the video card (Radeon 4670 512 meg memory) having DVI HDCP compatible and this 24" LCD. I am able to watch HD movies in full 1080P resolution. Also with AVerMedia MTVCOMG2W AVerTV Combo G2 TV Tuner and AverMedia AverTV Combo HD/Analog TV Tuner card, I can watch/record 2 different TV channels at the same time. With a outside antenna I also can receive/record on the air HD TV. Watching HD is like being there except it looks like your viewing through a window, colors-sharpness are so much better in HD. As I said before I prefer watching TV on a monitor esp a LCD monitor as the sharpness-color is so much better than on a CRT TV. The one thing I don't like is that in Vista Clear QAM is not enabled. So that in that OS I cannot watch HD on cable (4 channels is on cable in Clear QAM) how I know this, I'll tell later in this review. With this setup I can view- do minor fixes-print all my photos in Ultimate. I can copy my Music on to the hard drives and listen in full Hi Fi Audio.

My System
Gigabyte MA770-UD3 motherboard (Reviewed soon)
 AMD Phenom X4 9750(2.4 GHz) CPU
ATI Radeon HD4670 512 Meg DDR2 (Reviewed soon)
8 gig of Pc6400 DDR2 system memory
LiteON DH-401-08 Blu Ray Rom (review soon)
Phillips DVD burner -RW DL
Ultra 7 in 1 Media reader (Reviewed)
Logitech X-530 5 Speakers (with Onboard RealTek surround sound (Reviewed) 
AVerMedia UltraTV 1500 NTSC/ATSC TV Tuner 
 AverMedia Aver Combo NTSC /ATSC TV card
Micro Inovations wireless Keyboard/Mouse (Reviewed)
Western Digital Hard drive 500 gig Green Hard drive 750 gig(used as an External for Recorded Movies)
 
Western Digital Green Hard drive 1T (used for external backup) Microsoft Media Center Ir Remote (Reviewed)
2 Ultra Products E Sata External cases (Reviewed soon)
Acer AL 2016W 20" LCD Monitor (Reviewed)
Ergotron Neo Flex Monitor Arm (Reviewed)
Dual-boot Vista X64 Ultimate- Win7 X64 Ultimate

Windows 7 X64 Ultimate
With Windows 7, Clear QAM is enabled. So hooking to cable (without the set top box-you receive all local stations broadcasting ATSC signals. As I said there are 8 channels of local ATSC here. ATSC TV Has better color-sharper-more clear to me. Windows 7 is faster-very stable and a fantastic OS. Plus many times the programs broadcast in ATSC format are in HD usually 720i or 1080i. Just recently I recorded "Santa Clause 2" from one of those HD channels . Normally recording a 2 hour movie uses only 2 gig of harddrive space but recording this HD movie used 11 gigs of harddrive space. The color and sharpness of the movie compared to a analog TV Show/Movie is easily seen. If like me you watch many TV movies on cable many times there is a black area above and below the program. Well with Vista and Windows 7-in Media Center you can upscale the program so it fits the 1080i area. One thing you have to be aware of is that the analog picture has to be fairly sharp or when upscaled it will not look the best. Luckly with a lot of channels when they broadcast movies, they actually broadcast a sharper better signal. Actually if you watch a shopping channel they talk as if up converting a signal makes it equal to a actual 1080p/i screen but the way they up convert can not a sharpen the picture. Even with my old eyes I can see the differance's between analog, DVD and 1080P resolution. Another thing these TV Tuners (even the analog channels) if they broadcast in Dolby 5,1 Surround sound and if you have the capablility of this you will hear them in 5.1.
By the way, the reason I have 4 TV Tuners in my computeris, how many times have there been 2 programs on at the same time that you wanted to watch. With this setup i can watch one and record the other to watch at a later date.

If you have noticed I have a 750 gig Harddrive(698 gigthe computer see's). I use this to record all of my TV Shows/Movies shows on. Recording analog TV at better setting in Windows Vista/7 Media Center, I am able to record approximately 200 movie but at HD quality only about 55. At 3 gig per recording, I can record these to DVD-in fact I already have 150+ on DVD.
Plus I have a 1 Terrabyte harddrive that i use to put all my downloads on plus with Windows Vista and/or Windows 7-I can make a Shadow Copy of my systme so that if I ever lose one of the harddrives I can recreat the system again to where I was before the failure.


Netflix

This year Microsoft with an agreement with Netflix using Silverlight added into Media Center the ability to watch more than 3000 TV/Movies off the internet. Resolution compared to analog tv is better but not quite DVD quality.

Blu Ray Movies
I said earlier that I had a Blu Ray drive. It does play Blu Ray movies as long as it is only single layer and use's formats that it can read. I recently bought 2 Blu Ray movies "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and "Harry Potter: The Half-Blood Prince" both special editons of each. The player will play the 2nd disk of "Harry Potter: Special Features" which is Blu Ray by the way. Oh and by the way the "Harry Potter" movie included a DVD of the same movie. The drive is a LiteOn DH401S blu Ray reader/DVD Burner. I hope to buy a LG CH08LS10 Blu Ray reader/DVD burner. If I am able to get it(December 23rd,2009) I will add to this review and tell what I have found working or not.


LG CH08LS10 Blu Ray Drive
I finally got the LG drive and installed. It took a while to install the drive, which I will tell about when I review Windows 7. Mainly to get it to work, I had to remove and reinstall Windows 7 Ultimate X64.
Once installed I found that all the special features of the Blu Ray movies (Harry Potter: The Half Blood Prince Special Edition and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Special Edition)played . BD Live works. The resolution of the movies is fantastic and the color is also fantastic.
It is like sitting in the theater watching the movies.


LCD Monitors and LCD TV's
 This LCD monitor is now discontinued even tho it was manufactured in January of 2008. You may find some still for sale. In the 2 years since it was made there have been many advance's in the technology. What I have done here is just to give a idea of what can be done with a computer. As far as TV's, many video cards have come with VGA-HDMI=DVI outputs Many TV's now come with VGA/HDMI inputs. By April of next year I hope to have a 32" or 37" LCD TV that I can use with this setup. Hopefully the video card I have may work but then knowing myself I may have already bought a new Video card.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 350
Operating System: Windows