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Thread ID: 64490	2005-12-16 19:30:00	Media Centre PC	The_End_Of_Reality (334)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
413271	2005-12-16 19:30:00	Hi Guys. I am looking to setup a media centre pc to record TV and watch the recorded programs and movies, and play dvds in 5.1 audio, but other than that there is nothing else, what do you guys think will be a good setup for a smallish price tag? Thanks	The_End_Of_Reality (334)
413272	2005-12-16 22:58:00	Hi Guys. I am looking to setup a media centre pc to record TV and watch the recorded programs and movies, and play dvds in 5.1 audio, but other than that there is nothing else, what do you guys think will be a good setup for a smallish price tag? Thanks How much is a smallish price? A media center licence will set you back about $200. A remote is about $60, tuners $150. You will want at least a 200GB hdd. Even a cheap home made one will get expensive once you get a taste for it. Eg you want 5.1 sourround sound, that will lead onto a dolby dts reciever once your tire of an analog 5.1 system..... I would suggest an intel system with intel chipset, ati graphics, any reputable soundcard (not sure if I'm ready to trust creative labs again yet after the bloody awful SB Live! thing they came out with) with spdif passthrough to a dts receiver, 2 honking harddrives, 100GB for OS, 200GB for recordings. As you can see it starts to mount up quickly. The alternative is a basic setup with something like the hauppauge PVR-150 with it's free included software, but non computer nerd types (eg wife, gf, misstress etc) are unlikely to want to use it.	BIFF (1)
413273	2005-12-17 00:30:00	A media center licence will set you back about $200. will I be able to use windows XP PRO instead? Even a cheap home made one will get expensive once you get a taste for it. thats ok its only cheap for now, I can upgrade later. I would suggest an intel system with intel chipset, ati graphics I would rather go AMD/Nvidia. :p do you think I could set up a 2 way A/V sender/reciever with remote extender (can you get those?) from the TV in my room to my soon to be getting computer in my study and have a TV Tuner in that and record and play like that? :confused: it will only be me using it so thats fine Thanks :D	The_End_Of_Reality (334)
413274	2005-12-17 09:42:00	I only suggest intel/intel due to the fact that you will not want to shut down the system ever, just use s3 suppend/resume. The nforce chipsets are fabulous performers but after a couple of weeks of suspending and resuming may play up. I won't even mention VIA as they are utter ****e. You could try something like media portal: http://mediaportal.sourceforge.net/ I gather it's a pig to set up but once configured will run well. When choosing a tuner I would shop from the MS media center compatibility list (even if not intending to run media center), as all the cards on there have hardware mpeg compression so wont thrash the CPU. The hauppauge pvr-150 I mentioned earlier comes with it's own remote if you don't buy the mce variety. A remote repeater can be purchased, don't know about buying in NZ though... a video sender setup should work ok I guess... If you built a MS media center you can however purchase a extender kit for an xbox, which allows you to stream the media center session over the network. I am thinking of doing this soon, as the release of the xbox360 is likely to drive the price of classic xboxes down.	BIFF (1)
413275	2005-12-17 19:33:00	I think Il use my computer instead of a MC PC. It will get shut down often, only when I want to record something, which won't be to often will it get stood by. the main reason is to watch movies from computer. Yeah I am so far unable to find any 2 way a/v senders, but I guess I could always run cables through the house. I was actually looking at the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-350	The_End_Of_Reality (334)
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