Windows XP SP3 solves the HDMI audio problem

The OS I used when I built my own HTPC was Windows XP, it never be a problem to me as I hooked it to my LCD TV with a D-sub cable which obviously cannot carry audio signal. I used analog audio output instead. But, when I have a HDMI cable, naturally I would expect my TV's built-in speakers would sing but unfortunately it didn't!

I know HDMI is kind of digital stuff and it provides superior sound quality directly from the source to the speakers, in this case the PC was the source, the HDMI cable as the bridge and the TV's speakers as the audio device, but they just didn't work under Windows XP (SP2, to be exact). So I started searching around and found that it might be due to the Microsoft UAA (Universal Audio Architecture) Bus driver problem, I downloaded it and installed it numerous times but it still didn't work due to some reasons beyond my knowledge.

You know what? I solved it immediately when I installed the SP3!

ATI finally supports 1360 x 768 resolution

I am back again after almost 5 months of silence! First of all I would like to tell you that I have added some stuff to my system: a 500GB hard disk, a Sony DVDRW and a HDMI cable. With the HDMI cable the text quality on my Sony LCD TV is really impressive now, it helps a lot when I view the texts. Besides, I also found that ATI finally answers to his fans and provides a driver that supports 1360 x 768 resolution! Good news to all HTPC owners who are still dealing with non-HD LCD TVs!

What the big guys say about 1360x768 resolution

I've got a Dell Voxtro 1400 notebook running on the latest Intel chipsets. As I could not get the full screen display when I connected it to my LCD TV, I wrote to Dell for technical support. Dell replied on 2 Oct 2007: “I understand that you would like to connect your notebook to your Sony LCD TV to get the resolution of 1360x768. If I had misunderstood your concern, please feel free to let me know. Please be advised that your system is running on an integrated graphic card. The card can only support the resolution of 800X600 and 1024X768 for external display…I apologize for my inability to assist you on your said concern. We value you as our customer and look forward to serving you better. Thank you & best regards, Theresa Kong, Dell Services - Technical Support, ANZ & SA - Online Team”

Obviously it’s Intel’s problem. So I went to the Intel’s website and surprisingly they did have a forum on the 1360x768 topics! Archibael said: “Support for non-standard resolutions like 1360x768 and 1680x1050 still rough, especially when EDID from the monitor is wrong or misleading. Intel's position on this is typically: fix the monitor EDID-- that's the problem. It certainly is, much of the time... but Intel's competitors have made many other resolutions available to the end user.”

As for my HTPC, I wrote to Gygabyte for the same support. I got this answer from them: “Sorry for long waiting. We are trying to work with ATi to see if there is any new VGA BIOS to fix the problem. Once we get any solution, will let you know as soon as we can. At last, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any other questions or suggestions. Thank you for your time. Yours faithfully, Gigabyte Technology”.

I wrote to Gigabyte again after I had resolved my problem with an Omega driver on Oct 31 2007. I informed them: “I installed a driver by omega, it works fine for me. It can output 1360x768 and match the native resolution of my LCD TV. Maybe you should look into it and see whether you could come up your own solution.” Then they replied: “Thank you again for your email and information. Omega VGA driver is not the official VGA driver, thus, we will still try to ask ATi to provide any solution for this symptom. At last, if you still have any further question or suggestion about our products/service, please do not hesitate to contact with us directly. We will try our best to help you resolve the problem ASAP.”

My conclusion is, all big guys do not support 1360x768 although this is the only closest resolution that matches the native resolution of a 720p LCD TV. And, there are more than 80% of the LCD TVs sold worldwide nowadays are with this 1366x768 resolution. Funny?

A Media PC chassis

There are many criteria to consider when you select your PC chassis. Do you have enough desktop space? Where you want to place it, underneath your desk or on the desk? For HTPC, a small desktop form factor chassis is preferable as you could easily match it with your existing audio video stuff and it looks nice too. But most of the desktop chassis is with a minimum depth of 40cm, it would become a problem if you desk does not have the depth. I chose a Cooler Master Elite 340 (W195xD385xH370) as my desk is only 40cm in depth, this is the only low cost model below $50 (without power supply unit) with reasonable good build quality I could find with a ‘short’ body which I could place on my desk.

And, if you wish to upgrade your HTPC and put in more hard disks in future, then you should select one which is expandable.

What you have to do before buying your 720p LCD TV

If you intended to buy a LCD TV for HTPC, I have some findings here. As the heading of my blog suggests, we are going to build a Low Cost HTPC. The LCD TV we are talking about will be the 720p stuff that would normally give you a resolution of 1366x768 and they are priced under $1000. Full HD 1920x1080p stuff is out of the topic here as they are way too expensive for ordinary people like you and me.

We know 720p means 1280x720 and we think the corresponding 720p LCD TV should come with this resolution, but the fact is that it does not. LCD TV manufacturers use 1366x768 panels for the display instead of 1280x720. According to them, the video playback will be expanded or ‘overscaned’ a bit to fill up the screen of 1366x768 if the video source is 1280x720. That means for 720p LCD TV, you will never get a ‘pixel to pixel’ mapping for video playback even for a 1280x720 source. I am no expert in this field but after I did some research over the internet, I found that even the so-called full HD 1920x1080p LCD are also facing the same problem. So, do not believe in ‘pixel to pixel’ mapping in HTPC as what you see on screen is not what you think you would see. But believe me, the video playback on a 720p LCD TV, say 32", is still great and you don’t really notice any difference if compared with a 1080p from a viewing distance of 8 to 10 feet.

720p is fine but 1366x768 is an odd resolution as PC won’t support it unless you do some fine tuning. You should stick to 1360x768 when you connect your TV to your PC as this is the best resolution a PC can offer. But to do it your LCD TV must be able to support it first. As far as I know, not all 720p LCD TVs support 1360x768. For instance, Toshiba Regza 32WL66E only supports 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768 and 1280x1024 via D-sub.