HDTV is a way of transmitting television signals that provides a much higher-quality picture than a regular television signal.
You can build a computer which can pick up HDTV signals and display them on your TV (this is called an HTPC, or home theatre PC). You can also use your computer to record the HDTV signal to a hard drive, so you can watch your saved programs at any time.
A fast HDTV computer will require a modern processor (CPU), and large amount of memory (RAM), in order to decode the HDTV signal and display it on your television set.
Instructions
Source parts for your computer
1. Visit online computer parts retailers, such as www.newegg.com or www.tigerdirect.com, to get prices for the parts of your HDTV computer.
2. Make sure that your motherboard and CPU are compatible (e.g. an Intel motherboard and an Intel CPU, or an AMD motherboard and an AMD CPU).
3. Look for a motherboard which lists 'on-board graphics for viewing HD" and has an 'HDMI-out' port.
4. Check the size of your motherboard against the case to make sure the case is big enough to fit. Motherboards are classed in different sizes (ATX, mini-ATX) so check that the case is compatible with the size of motherboard you want.
5. Buy at least 2GB of RAM compatible with your motherboard. 4GB of RAM is preferable if you are running Windows Vista or Windows 7.
6. Look for a dual-tuner TV tuner card that is capable of decoding HDTV signals. A dual-tuner card will allow you to watch one TV channel while recording another one at the same time.
Assemble your computer
7. If you're not confident about assembling your computer, ask a technical person for help, or go in to your local computer shop.
The computer parts will come with instructions that are easy to follow.
8. Apply the thermal glue to the CPU and insert it into the motherboard. Install the CPU fan over the top of the CPU and screw it into place.
9. Install the motherboard and power supply in the case using the screws provided.
10. Install your hard drives and DVD drive, connecting them to their appropriate ports on the motherboard.
11. Turn on the computer and make sure that the hard drives and fans spin up.
12. Connect a monitor and check that the computer boots to the BIOS screen. Check the internal temperature in the BIOS to make sure that it is stable and the fans are running.
Install operating system
13. Put the disc of your chosen operating system into the DVD drive, and boot your computer.
14. Follow the text prompts to install the operating system on the smaller of your two hard drives.
15. Run the Update function on the computer to get the latest hardware and software updates.
16. Connect your TV aerial to the 'TV-in' port on your tuner card.
17.Open the media center software that comes with your operating system. The media center software should automatically detect your TV tuner and scan for channels.
Tags: your computer, operating system, hard drives, sure that, your motherboard, center software