HD DVR & 1080p video experiences with your Dell?

Basically, I started this post to hear some experiences from those that use their Dell notebook as an HTPC, primarily recording/watching HDTV & playing 720p - 1080p videos. I ask because I am currently trying to decide on replacing my current HTPC with another desktop style system, or using a less expensive notebook than what we use for gaming (Alienware M17x & M17x-R2 in my sig).

Resolution & screen size (connected to an HDTV), hard drive size (2TB external HD for storage) & amount of RAM (easy to upgrade) in the system when bought are not important for the intended function of the system. Because of that, the only requirements I currently expect to have are listed below, but I thought I would ask you guys for your experiences to see if there were other things I should consider.

• A Dell consumer system (Inspiron, Studio, Studio XPS, Alienware) that can be bought with my Dell preferred account
• Intel Core i CPU with a minimum of 2 cores/4 threads
• HDMI or VGA video output
• Analog or digital 5.1 or 7.1 audio out

If you have a Core i series CPU in your Dell notebook (any size screen) & use it with an HDTV tuner for DVR & HD playback, please answer the following questions:

Which model is it?

Which processor do you have in it?

How much RAM do you have in it?

How well does it perform?

Does it get too hot if left on for extended periods of time?

How well does it handle time delay (can you watch, pause, & record live television) through media center?

Any complaints, of any kind, about your system?


Thank you for your participation.

 

No one here uses their Dell notebook as a DVR?

 

I havent used it as a DVR but I can say that 1080p on the WLED screen and on my Sharp aquos is pretty darn good. Easy as pie just hook the HDMI cable and Im done. I would assume it would work well as a full blown HTPC.

 

cool. I just unplugged my ps3 and plugged in my laptop and am now typing this while looking at my TV. I have the 1080p screen on a 15" dell studio 1558. It also has the ATI 5470. Looks pretty neat

OOOOOO I just went to youtube and picked a 1080p video and played it in my tv through the HDMI cable. Looks good, but as I don't have a bluray drive in my laptop I can't really compare it to my PS3 for true HD quality. Still impressive though.
No lag or sluggish performance either.

 

Thank you for your input, but have either of you (or anyone else) hooked up a tv tuner to your notebook yet?

I know the 1920x1080 & higher resolution systems are easily capable of displaying the resolution needed on to a 1080p HDTV. My concern is handling the processing power required for recording HDTV while playing another HDTV recorded file, or doing a time delay (where you start watching a DVR file while it is still recording the same file).

 

I think you're asking the wrong questions. There seems to be more processing power associated with encoding highly compressed file types than in recording relatively uncompressed 1080P files.

I have deep misgiving about your idea of using a minimally capable notebook PC as a HTPC. Yes, it can be done, but I would much rather separate the functions of a streaming content and a DVR. You can buy a perfectly adequate DVR, requiring no subscription service, for under $250. Similarly, any computer with Intel integrated graphics will do a satisfactory job of streaming HD content, although I'd prefer the latest i Core generation for streaming 1080P HD.

Of course, MSI just announced the fanless MSI WindBox III, with a Core 2 Duo/GS45 rather than an embarassing Atom. It reminds me of a Stealth Fanless Mini PC at a fraction of the price. It would be tempting with Mythbuntu.

 

Thank you for your opinion, but I'm asking the correct questions that apply to my situation. The htpc is not intended for encoding/ripping. It is for recording HDTV & decoding/playback of audio & video files. If I need to rip/encode/compress big files, I'm going to do that on one of the much more powerful gaming systems.

I'm not planning on some $400 "minimally capable notebook pc". When I mentioned wanting something less expensive than our current notebooks, you have to consider that out current notebooks are easily $2500-3500 each. I'm expecting to spend $800-1200 for a 14"-15" iCore notebook with a minimum of 4GB RAM & 1GB dedicated video. It's the details of what others have done with specific models that was the reason for this thread. Even our netbook can stream 1080p to a HDTV or play back an avi/mkv/mpg file. Not well, but it can do it. It's HDTV recording & playback capabilities that I was looking for feedback on. I thought that since this was a forum dedicated to notebook computers that I might get more feedback than if I were to post this on a site such as green button or avs, both of which are dedicated to custom built desktops in htpc cases.

I could consider multiple pieces of equipment, but would easily have $800+ invested in everything I would need & much more clutter & more headaches to teach the family to use each item. I'm definitely not going to a linux box because that would be even more headaches to teach the family than how to use multiple pieces of equipment. They can currently grab one of the universal remotes in the room & start watching whatever they desire, or grab the bluetooth keyboard & mouse for websurfing. Our currently dying htpc is a Dimension c531 with an AMD Athlon 64x2 3600+, 3GB PC2-6400 SDRAM, 1TB WD10EADS HD, LG GGC-H20L DVD-RW/HD-DVD/Blu-ray combo, 1GB nVidia GT220 (upgraded from a 256MB ATI x1300 because it could not handle playback at 1920x1080 while the system was recording). It does/did everything we need properly, except time delay, which tends to have artifacts, dropped frames or lags.

I'm trying to reduce the power consumption & space on the component rack by going to a notebook, instead of another desktop/htpc sized case. I considered a Zino, but even loaded with every option it seemed a bit weak for my needs, plus having the benefit of removing the notebook from the component rack to watch something in another room when others are watching TV makes a notebook an even better option, versus the congestion of streaming HD content through the network.