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Is it time to take Windows XP Media Center Seriously? (as a HTPC OS/frontend)

rbV5

rbV5

Lifer
Now that Windows media Center will be available to anyone soon, I'm seriously considering building a rig around it. The unavailability of the OS kept me from considering it previously, but why not use it now?

I see it has dual tuner support as well now. It looks to be going for something around $130 Link. Not such a bad deal for WinXP SP2 alone. Here's an overview (I know its been posted here prior) Link
Looks like maybe an HTPC interface the whole family could use easily, which is one of the issues with my current setups, the rest of the family has a little trouble with even the basic stuff. This looks to be a bit more polished as well.




 
Originally posted by: drag
If you want something easier to use, just buy a Tivo. You'll be better off.
Click to expand...

I already have certified hardware for MCE, and I want to use my HTPC, so TIVO isn't an option with me.

 
No thanks. Windows on the desk is enough for me.

Consumer electronics are so simple. Same for Tivo. And game consoles. Everybody can operate a VCR until they get to the clock. I really an not interested in all the BS that goes into keepiing a Windows box running cutting into Simpsons time.

Instead of trying to take over the living rooms of the world maybe they could fix some of the glaring flaws in their current products and lower their ridiculous profit margins so those w/o can afford since most of us have already bought in.

Norton Antivirus 2007 - Living Room & Den Edition!
 
I changed my title to reflect that I want the discussion thread to be about MCE as a HTPC front end. Its not a discussion of the merits of HTPC vs gaming consoles and TIVO's. Please keep the discussion to XP MCE vs other software/OS HTPC front ends/ Interfaces.
 
What else is there?

Nothing else for Windows is full featured like MCE is, that I am aware of.
You have MythTV, which I use. It's very easy to use (anybody can do it with about 30 seconds of explaining it), but a pain to setup. It's for Linux, so I doubt that you'd want it.
 
MCE 2005 looks to be a very good. At some point I'll probably get myself one.

I dont know how much I can comment about it since I havent read a lot of the public releases but one of the coolest features is going to be the extenders. Network devices that can connect up to a TV and your main MCE PC via a wired/wireless LAN and watch TV/videos/play music using the remote interface over the network. I've seen a couple of demos of this and it looks to be pretty cool.
 
winmyth

It's a front end for Mythtv that runs on Windows. Just something to play around with if you care. 😉
(it's also written in .Net)
 
Originally posted by: drag
What else is there?

Nothing else for Windows is full featured like MCE is, that I am aware of.
You have MythTV, which I use. It's very easy to use (anybody can do it with about 30 seconds of explaining it), but a pain to setup. It's for Linux, so I doubt that you'd want it.
Click to expand...

Actually I wouldn't mind checking out MythTV.

For Windows, there is commercial software like Meedio, SageTV, and BeyondTv (I use SageTV myself and EAZYLOOK (for ATI remote wonder and MMC))

and projects like Got All Media and Media Portal and some others I've tried.

All of them have things they do well, but none has put everthing together in a great all around package from my experience.
 
Well if your curious here is a comprehensive howto for fedora core2 users

But I was looking at your system rigs in your sig. and they don't look to Linux-friendly. The newer all-in-wonder ATI cards won't work, The nvidia card should work, though.

You also have some high definition stuff. I don't know much about how that works. The only thing I know that works for certian would be the PCHDTV. It's made specificly for linux, I don't think they have Windows drivers for it yet. The older version sold out quickly, but the PCHDTV 3000 should be out soon. The old model was pretty reasonably priced at around 130 dollars or so.

I don't know how well your hdtv cards will work, no idea at all.

This stuff is mostly for Linux geeks though. Can be difficult to deal with if you have little prior linux experiance. (although plenty non-linux people have successfully used Mythtv and enjoyed the experiance)
 
This stuff is mostly for Linux geeks though. Can be difficult to deal with if you have little prior linux experiance. (although plenty non-linux people have successfully used Mythtv and enjoyed the experiance)
Click to expand...

Unfortunately my eHome Wonder cards are not supported in MythTV. Perhaps someday they will be, they would make a nice low-cost alternative to Hauppage cards, and they are half height which is nice for a low profile or SSF system. I do have a little Linux exposure, probably enough to get me through configuring for a specific task like a PVR. HTPC's are by their nature a ah heck to configure anyway🙂
 
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