Turning into a Media Center PC

[PuNkY]

Today I was given a Dell for free (Dells are worth less than free haha) and was thinking of turning into a Media Center PC, since it already has XP Media Edition installed.

The specs are:
Celeron D 2.53GHz
512 RAM
80GB HDD

I'm on a tight budget for a TV tuner and Video card (70$). Need some suggestions.

Right now I have these:
Video:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814139174
TV Tuner:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16815153002

Do you guys think these work work well? I never used Media Center Edition.

 

[~mr mixx~]

Turning it into a media center can be rewarding, there might be software out there that can use icons on the computer that remotely control the dvd
player, turn off and on lights, control the temperature in the home, as well as many other useful things.

I will see if i can find the software that does the above.

-edit-

here is what i was talking about, but it turns out that it can be kind of expensive..only because you have to but devises that work together in a network.

http://www.insteon.net/

 

[freestyler105]

Check out this page, it's got some good info on it:
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-9332_7-6381535-1.html

You might want to spend a bit more if you really want a decent quality picture.

 

[PuNkY]

Turning it into a media center can be rewarding, there might be software out there that can use icons on the computer that remotely control the dvd
player, turn off and on lights, control the temperature in the home, as well as many other useful things.

Yea I was actually looking into that but once I saw the prices I scratched out the idea lol.

Check out this page, it's got some good info on it:
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-9332_7-6381535-1.html

You might want to spend a bit more if you really want a decent quality picture.

Thanks for the info. I might get something with higher quality if I actually like the Media Center.