Best computer set up for streaming internet video

[beano]

I subscribe to a couple of web sites that allow me to watch live streamed sport on my PC (Mediazone.com and Setanta.com). I currently have an old PC connected to the internet through a wireless network connection and connected to a 42” plasma screen and home theatre system to play back the sound through. The system works well but has neither the best video nor audio quality.

I want to have a computer built to optimise the quality of internet sourced sound and video on my main home theater system (50” Pioneer Plasma screen plus high end home theater amplifier and speakers). Not bothered about tv reception/ recording etc. as that is already taken care of through a PVR. Can anyone recommend an optimal configuration to achieve the best possible quality of video and sound on the plasma screen/ audio system – software, disk, memory, audio/video card, wireless internet access etc.? Ideally I'd like to use a horizontally mounted case like the Antec overture 2 media case and I'd also like to be able to play video games on the system but this is a secondary requirement
Thanks for reading!

[David Harrison]

If it's being streamed over the internet then it's not going to be the highest audio and video quality. Even 2Mbps MPEG-2 files aren't very good quality, if you've got a streaming WMV file at a couple of hundred Kbps then it's never going to be good.

[NogDog]

If it's just to handle streaming video, I wouldn't spend too much on the hardware due the reasons David mentioned: that kind of content being so compressed in order to achieve real-time delivery across the internet. That being said, you can optimize what is there by using digital outputs: a DVI video output on the video card if your TV accepts it, and a coax or optical digital audio interconnect to your audio preamp/receiver. This will minimize the audio processing done on the PC card and let your expensive audio equipment do the work.