htpc set up
So I’ve got enough left over bits now to build a HTPC, really need some advice.
What I have Hardware wise
Asus MB p5-nd.
e8400 3.2 cpu
4gig ddr2 ram
40 gig hd
2tb hd
ati 5450 GPU
Hauppauge hvr 4400 HD tv card
mega fugly ugly case with 300watt psu. Will replace in the future
Shitty old dvd player. Will replace in the future
windows 7 ulitmate. 32bit
hooked up to a 42 in plasma, no sound system yet.
I want this system to hold all the kids movies. play and record tv
What software do i need for this to work as a do all HTPC. Needs to be super simple to operate as my wife will throw it out the door if its not.
Have been looking at Boxee with maybe a myth tv plug in ( not sure if this plugin even xsists ). The Hauppauge comes with wintv 7.0, the interface looks fugly though.
Any tips and suggestions would be appreciated.
Comments
Use XMBC
In my short look into HTPC, XBMC is the way to go :-)
Also, get a wireless keyboard and mouse, never know when you might need it.
Also
The 300W PSU will suck a lot of power from the wall :-P
~
You think a smaller PSU? I thought 300w might not be enough. Haven’t even looked at XBMC yet , will tonight. Boxee i believe was built off it.
Yep wireless keyboard is on the list to buy, trying to find a good keyboard mouse combo.
XBMC is awesome...
But is a little bit DIY when it comes to TV recording especially.
I use XBMC, and then use TVHeadEnd (http://www.lonelycoder.com/hts/tvheadend_overview.html) to do the recording of TV. TVHeadEnd is controlled from a nice web interface, and I’ve set it up so when it finishes a recording XBMC picks it up and adds it to a collection.
As much as I hate to say it, Windows Media Center may be the easiest way, given you already have Win 7 Ultimate — it should do all you need.
playing
with windows media center I can’t get it to pick up album art and sort my library like boxee does. I’ll look into XBMC.
edit
liking XBMC, seems easy and nice looking, does that tvheadend work in windows. What tv card are you using?
Can XBMC bring up avi files with a dvd cover as the option to choose from rather than the default, list, open file, choose avi file, play?
Is there much or any diff to the HDMI cables out there?. pricing seems to vary from $29 to $299. Anything I should look for in a cable spec?
Media Portal FREE s0ftware
c0uld g0 0n f0rever ab0ut Media Portal but in 2 steps
Step 1 – Install Media Portal
Step 2 – Install StreamedMP Skin
All the best Plugins come complete in StreamedMP they even include a free TV Guide and even Australian TV Channel Logo’s :P
I have been messing ar0und with Media Portal f0r nearly a Year n0w and yep it is better than XBMC…..
And yes y0ur Tv Turner is supp0rted 0ut 0f the b0x :P
Give it a whirl it’s gr0use….
HDMI cable g0 with the cheap XBOX HDMI Cable V1.4 I think it was cheapeast way t0 buy 1….
n0mad
thank you guys
I’m going to try these out on my 10 year old son and see which one he can navigate tthe easiest.
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