Windows 7 for Audio or Video, yes - No?

hey Chazz

If I do'd it at all I'd probably just go the upgrade route on my 32 bit Vista laptop... the HDMI thingy bugs me some too as I'd prefer it over the vga I have now.

As of this week my adaptive software designers say support is in place for Win 7 now.

I'll likely not change any other pc's OS. Ain't broke... don't fix it... sort of thing i guess.

Hi G

Having the ability to record and watch up to 4 HD channels; HD cable/OTA HD or satellite at once using a dropped in cable card with no DVRs or cable boxes necessary, all while streaming that content to 3 other TVs in the house will be the Bee's Knees when it is released next year!

Say what?

Dell makes a Studio model Chazz that can be an HTPC for $519.00. This includes a Blu-ray drive and a true HDMI output.

What's a studio pc & what's the name of this gizmo? Got a link to it?

Thanks much guys

Here you go Jim the link to the Cable card they are only designed for Windows 7.
Ceton Multi-Channel cable card

Ceton FAQ

Here's the Studio series Dell.

Here's a new kid on the block Zotac Mag. It's actually small enough to fasten to the back of a TV unseen.

The integrated graphics card in the Dell Studio and the Zotac already supports uncompressed audio/video playback over HDMI. So no extra sound or video card needed.

Thanks a ton G... U D Man.

Now there's some food for thought!

I spent a few months optimising some PCs for audio use, trying out various players, including Cics Music Player. For each of XP, Vista and 7 it was beneficial to turn a lot of the services off. It was also beneficial to eliminate moving parts from the PC, not just because of mechanical noise but also electrical noise. Where I got to at the end of that was a preference for 7 over the other two. For streaming audio it seems to me to have the best of what XP and Vista have to offer. I am basing this just on listening tests and it is predicated on the configuration and player software I used.