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Is a media center the right idea?

F

FerraraZ

Senior member
Just thought for the holiday I'd treat myself by building another PC

Already have a nice gaming desktop and XBOX 360.

Do you guys think its pointless in building another SFF media center PC? If so maybe there are some other suggestions u guys have.

I haven't done much research into Media Center PC's, when I mention a media center PC I just think of a PC connected to a TV hah.
 
Sound like you are bored. Have you thought about doing some mods? Do you have any needs? If no needs, do you have any wants for what this new PC will do?
I think it'd be cool to have the PC out of sight some how such as building it into your furniture. Or if you really want another media PC, get a nice HTPC case like the dh-101.
 
Heh you nailed it! I was looking at the HTPC cases and it intrigued me. Thing is I dont know too much about Windows Media Center and what exactly I could do. I have a 42 inch samsong near a wireless network I could put it next too.
 
For the last year or two, Comcast advertised that when the digital switch comes, I don't have to do a thing to continue watching all of my favorite TV shows.

Two weeks ago, Comcast confirmed that this wasn't entirely true...OK, actually, it wasn't true at all. I would have to throw all of my remotes into a drawer, and pay them more money to rent boxes in order to view channels above 29 (and we never watch channels 14 thru 29).

Their only official statement about MCE is that they are working with MS. Small comfort: the switch in our area is supposedly going to happen Jan 14. BSG starts Jan 16. And I DVR just about everything I ever actually want to watch, what with having a toddler and all. Plus, most of December is BlackOut at MS.

And I fear if MS does work it out with the cable companies, they pull another Halo2 fiasco, and only support Vista MCE (I use 2K5).

So maybe wait a couple of weeks...since the satellites have never supported MCE, this could be the death knell.
 
I wanted a project and built myself a HTPC with some parts I had and some I added new. The goal was to rip my massive DVD collection to my HD and then have all the TV shows I had downloaded etc., and have them all in one location hooked up to my 42" LCD TV in a nice HTPC case that fit in with my receiver and I could control all with my remote. Well it works... kinda. It has issues at times... codecs mainly or problems with the damn thing going to sleep mode when not used etc but honestly it is quite a nice project.

I have a PS3 I tried to use as my movie watching console but was never happy with it. Not sure about your Xbox... maybe it can do that if you are willing to convert movies to whatever extension Xbox supports. I don't use my HTPC to watch TV as I have Rogers Digital here in Canada... thus... this is only to watch movies. There are gadgets like the WD HDMI player which you add a hardrive to it and it apparently plays whatever you have on that Hardrive to your HD TV via up to HDMI and it even plays MKV files. NOt looked into it yet.. too late heck I already built the bloody HTPC.
 
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