Help building a Media Center PC

jmacavali

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I'm just dipping my toes into the Media Center PC waters...just testing them out. Not sure I want to jump in or not.

I'm not even really sure where to start. I don't know what is implied when you say 'Media Center PC' so I'm going to lay out what I want.


-Store/Play videos on my TV

-Store/Play music through my TV -- No surround sound at my house.

-Record TV -- ideally I'd be able to record things that are on a specific channel at a specific time when I'm not home - like TiVo. And maybe even record shows on different channels while I'm watching something else.

-Watch TV -- having my Cable run through the computer into the TV.


What else can I do with a Media Center PC?

Build/Budget:
I have several computers around that I might use, as well as HDD. Do I need to have XP Media Center or can I use just XP Pro? I'm not too concered right now about having a 'media center' case because it will be tucked inside an enertainment center that i can close. What kind of video card will I need? Any software I'll need. I'd like to do this for as cheap as possible. I'm willing to trade performace for price at this point, just so i can experience it and decide if it is something i want to fully persue.
 
Win7 basic has media center...just use that?

AFAIK only xp media center edition has media center.


Does your budget include the OS?
 
I guess when I said I have a computer, I meant that I have: OS, keyboard/mouse, HDD, DVD-RW drive, RAM, CPU.

Need: Tuner & Possibly a Vid Card.
 
No PCI-e x1 Slot. Not too worried about HD. If there isn't a big price difference then sure otherwise no.

The GPU I have now is a PowerColor HD 3450. I don't know if that is powerful enough or not. I'm not looking for anything high end.
 
3450 will be perfect for SD video.

Since you don't have a PCI-e x1 slot, then you will have to get a SD PCI tuner. I recommend hauppage (or however is spelled) and the ASUS ones.

Do not get HD because PCI cannot provide the bandwidth you need, and the picture quality will be poor.
 
Use windows XP media center edition or vista/7 which have media center. This way, you can control it with a remote, and have everything in one place. If you don't have a copy of any of those, the software it comes with works, its just not great.
 
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