Watch and learn

Posted on 16 Jan 2009 at 15:42

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Gallery

If your PC doesn't pass the test (and even some quite recent chips won't), HD playback won't work or won't look smooth. Upgrading the PC's main processor is a relatively tricky job, and may not be cost effective, but if it isn't completely useless you can give it a helping hand by upgrading the graphics card instead. Look for a replacement card with 'H.264 acceleration', meaning that the graphics processor (GPU) will take the strain from the main processor (CPU) when playing back HD movies that are encoded in the H.264 format.

The other reason you may need a new graphics card is if yours doesn't have a digital monitor output. The basic analogue VGA interface that connects a graphics card to a monitor won't do justice to a high definition image; you might as well stick with DVD. The modern interfaces to look for are DVI and HDMI (DisplayPort is a new alternative that's just beginning to catch on). Your graphics card and monitor must support the same interface. Most flat screen monitors have DVI or HDMI, but budget models may only have VGA.

When playing Blu-ray movies, there's also the issue of digital copy protection. The system used on all commercial Blu-ray discs is HDCP, which is supported by all HDMI connections and most, but not all, DVI interfaces. This is required by movie companies to prevent people making digital quality copies of their films, and without it, movies will only play in standard definition.

ATI's Radeon HD 4550 is a graphics card that costs under £50 and provides all you need for HD playback, given a suitable monitor.

As seen on TV

Showing and recording broadcast TV isn't a standard PC feature, but there's no shortage of affordable add-ons for the job. This is one upgrade that you may as well do externally, because USB TV tuners are compact as well as easy to install, and you can easily swap one between several PCs as necessary. Since your PC already has a processor and hard disk, the software supplied with the TV tuner is all you'll need to create a complete high-end programmable recording system, comparable to Sky+ or Virgin's V+ box. You get abilities such as pausing live TV, viewing an electronic programme guide (EPG) to the Freeview channels you can receive through your rooftop aerial, and opting with a couple of clicks to record every episode of a series.

Unless you live in the small part of the UK where the analogue TV signal has already been switched off, you currently have a choice of receiving analogue or digital broadcasts; analogue limits you to the five terrestrial channels, while digital opens up the whole Freeview spectrum, but won't work in the few areas that don't yet have digital broadcasting. 'Hybrid' tuners support both and don't cost much extra, giving you the benefits of digital with the option to receive analogue if, for example, you take your laptop somewhere remote or don't have access to a decent aerial (digital requires good reception).

Most PC TV tuners come with table-top aerials, but you're unlikely to get much joy with digital unless you use a proper outdoor aerial. A simple aerial splitter from a store such as Maplin will let you take a feed off the aerial for your PC while also using it for a TV set. USB TV tuners are available from manufacturers such as Hauppauge and AVerMedia (Elgato is popular with Mac users), and hybrid units start from under £50.