I am going to build my first media center pc and I have everything pretty much picked out expect the main key things to get this this going and wanted to get some feedback/advice from any who have done this before.

1. I read a lot that people recommend getting two tv cards but what to get? All the reviews I have read seems to be less then impressive, most find they to be kind of crappy. Also do I need a video card for the sys or is the onbaord vid card enough?

2. Do I need a sound card?


3. I also find that the reviews about micro cases all are kind of crappy as well so its like picking which one is less crappy I guess?


4. Software? Anybody use thing like LinuxMCE etc...? Does it matter what I use software wise?


Any advice would be heartily welcomed.


Cheers

Well I have one Media Center PC, I would recommend to keep these in mind:

1) A lot of Hard Drive Space

2) I would get a video card with TV output, most video cards will output s-video or composite so if you have a HDTV you need one that outputs HDMI for true HD.

3) I believe when they were talking about getting two Tuners, I think one was a TV Tuner and the other a Over-the-Air HD Tuner, but Only a Guess. I'm guessing you have a PCI-E 1x Slot so maybe you can look this over: Newegg.com - AVerMedia MTVCBPCIW PCI-Express x1 Interface Video Device (White Box) - Retail

4) As a case I'm using a Thermaltake Bach, and I wouldn't recommend it. Everything is very tight and cramped in it. So good luck finding a case.

5) Towards the sound card, I would recommend you to one that supports Dolby 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 . But it isn't required.


Deere

Quote: Originally Posted by Rjupiter I am going to build my first media center pc and I have everything pretty much picked out expect the main key things to get this this going and wanted to get some feedback/advice from any who have done this before. 1. I read a lot that people recommend getting two tv cards but what to get? All the reviews I have read seems to be less then impressive, most find they to be kind of crappy. Also do I need a video card for the sys or is the onbaord vid card enough? 2. Do I need a sound card? 3. I also find that the reviews about micro cases all are kind of crappy as well so its like picking which one is less crappy I guess? 4. Software? Anybody use thing like LinuxMCE etc...? Does it matter what I use software wise? Any advice would be heartily welcomed. Cheers

1. People reccomend getting multiple tuner cards because it allows you to watch and record seperate shows at the same time. I would definatly go with 2 cards if I could--probably 1 HDTV capable and one Analog. For an HD card I believe the FusionTek card got a good review here. There's also ATI's 650 series which supports HDTV. As for an anolog tuner ATI's 550 series offered the best image quality the last time I looked. However keep in mind that everything depends on your source---for HDTV you're going to be relegated to an Antenna unless you have a cable box with a video out.
With regards to a video card it depends on what kind of processor you have and whether or not you plan on gaming. The main point of a graphics card in a Media Center PC is to decode HD video; but if you have a Core 2 Duo or a high powered X2 then a graphics card is less neccesary.

2. Having a sound card is a personal choice. If you have a good quality audio system and care to tell the difference then by all means get one. But if you don't really care or if you're speakers arn't that great then integrated sound is fine.

3. Picking a case is really a matter of personal choice--mine would be the Antec Fusion. Drop dead gorgeous and plenty of space.

4. Software wise I stick with Windows Media Center. It's simple, it does everything a Media Center PC should, and looks excellent. Plus pretty much all hardware will be compatabile with it. Most people prefer Windows XP MCE as opposed to Windows Vista MCE. It's really up to your personal preference.

Hope that helps you

Quote: Originally Posted by deere Well I have one Media Center PC, I would recommend to keep these in mind: 1) A lot of Hard Drive Space 2) I would get a video card with TV output, most video cards will output s-video or composite so if you have a HDTV you need one that outputs HDMI for true HD. 3) I believe when they were talking about getting two Tuners, I think one was a TV Tuner and the other a Over-the-Air HD Tuner, but Only a Guess. I'm guessing you have a PCI-E 1x Slot so maybe you can look this over: Newegg.com - AVerMedia MTVCBPCIW PCI-Express x1 Interface Video Device (White Box) - Retail 4) As a case I'm using a Thermaltake Bach, and I wouldn't recommend it. Everything is very tight and cramped in it. So good luck finding a case. 5) Towards the sound card, I would recommend you to one that supports Dolby 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 . But it isn't required. Deere

Thanks for the info. The only prob I see is that my board has a PCI-E x16 and a x4 no x1, so I can't use that card? And I can't seem to find one that runs a x4.

Regarding a case, you could check out this review by our very own AntiM:

PCApex.com - Cooler Master CM Media 280-281 Case

Quote: Originally Posted by eascarface 1. People reccomend getting multiple tuner cards because it allows you to watch and record seperate shows at the same time. I would definatly go with 2 cards if I could--probably 1 HDTV capable and one Analog. For an HD card I believe the FusionTek card got a good review here. There's also ATI's 650 series which supports HDTV. As for an anolog tuner ATI's 550 series offered the best image quality the last time I looked. However keep in mind that everything depends on your source---for HDTV you're going to be relegated to an Antenna unless you have a cable box with a video out. With regards to a video card it depends on what kind of processor you have and whether or not you plan on gaming. The main point of a graphics card in a Media Center PC is to decode HD video; but if you have a Core 2 Duo or a high powered X2 then a graphics card is less neccesary. 2. Having a sound card is a personal choice. If you have a good quality audio system and care to tell the difference then by all means get one. But if you don't really care or if you're speakers arn't that great then integrated sound is fine. 3. Picking a case is really a matter of personal choice--mine would be the Antec Fusion. Drop dead gorgeous and plenty of space. 4. Software wise I stick with Windows Media Center. It's simple, it does everything a Media Center PC should, and looks excellent. Plus pretty much all hardware will be compatabile with it. Most people prefer Windows XP MCE as opposed to Windows Vista MCE. It's really up to your personal preference. Hope that helps you

Maybe I should have stated (if it will make a diff) that I have direct tv.

I love the case recommendation and I was looking at it earlier so will more then likely be going with that.

I did pick a Duo for the system so was thinking along those lines as well.

Also I wonder about MCE is if it will play region 2 DVD's? I have quite a few and that is an issue for me as right now I have a nice but cheap DVD player attached to my tv that I hacked to make region free, so that might be hard to give up/overcome with this system.


But if it might help this is a list of what I have picked so far for the sys.
Antec Veris Fusion V2

GIGABYTE GA-G33M-DS2R LGA 775 Intel G33 Micro ATX

Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 Allendale 2.0GHz



G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800

Seagate Barracuda 7200 320GB SATA 3.0Gb/s

2 DVD Drives (one burner one player)

Quote: Originally Posted by Rjupiter Maybe I should have stated (if it will make a diff) that I have direct tv. I love the case recommendation and I was looking at it earlier so will more then likely be going with that. I did pick a Duo for the system so was thinking along those lines as well. Also I wonder about MCE is if it will play region 2 DVD's? I have quite a few and that is an issue for me as right now I have a nice but cheap DVD player attached to my tv that I hacked to make region free, so that might be hard to give up/overcome with this system. But if it might help this is a list of what I have picked so far for the sys. Antec Veris Fusion V2 GIGABYTE GA-G33M-DS2R LGA 775 Intel G33 Micro ATX Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 Allendale 2.0GHz G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 Seagate Barracuda 7200 320GB SATA 3.0Gb/s 2 DVD Drives (one burner one player)

Yes you can hook your direct tv up to your tv but at that point you lose some of the functionality of a media center pc. Ideally you would have a tv tuner that would accept the composite in from the cable box. MCE would setup a guide for it, you would attach an IR reciever to the cable box so that you could use a Media Center Remote to change channels. You would also install a Region free codec which would allow your dvds to play without any trouble.

Otherwise the system looks good except for the hard drives. HD takes up a whole lot of space, and you'll likely have lots of other media files. You can pick up a 500GB hard drive from Fry's for $99 ussually.

Also I would recomend going with this motherboard since it's got a built in HDMI port which makes cabling a heck of a lot easier.

One other question; Do you have a receiver? Or are you using computer speakers with this?

The best card for HDTV is currently the pcHDTV series. The HDTV Wonder and ATSC-110/115 are good, cheap HDTV cards. (I recommend the HDTV Wonder since it includes an antenna.)

A sound card will be needed on the client if you want sound. It is not required on the server if you have a separate server.

Not too sure about the case. Just make sure it is built well and has good cooling.

MythTV is the best software I have ever used. It can be configured to split the server and client over a normal LAN. It doesn't work very well with EtherChannel but a single 100Mbps link works even for 1080i, although a little slow when seeking. Haven't tried IEEE1394 yet. Make sure you have a compatible HDTV card and a video card with XvMC support.

Quote: Originally Posted by eascarface Yes you can hook your direct tv up to your tv but at that point you lose some of the functionality of a media center pc. Ideally you would have a tv tuner that would accept the composite in from the cable box. MCE would setup a guide for it, you would attach an IR reciever to the cable box so that you could use a Media Center Remote to change channels. You would also install a Region free codec which would allow your dvds to play without any trouble. Otherwise the system looks good except for the hard drives. HD takes up a whole lot of space, and you'll likely have lots of other media files. You can pick up a 500GB hard drive from Fry's for $99 ussually. Also I would recomend going with this motherboard since it's got a built in HDMI port which makes cabling a heck of a lot easier. One other question; Do you have a receiver? Or are you using computer speakers with this?

Having it hooked to my tv, my direct tv, is how I have it now and I realize that will have to change. I get the wiring aspect of it but I was not sure about the codec, that is good to hear.

I did not think about that with the HD and space, will look for a bigger drive.

I was thinking of just using computer speakers with it, why would a receiver be better?

Sorry it's taken me so long to respond I've been moving houses the past few days.

You'll definatly want a bigger hard drive. Even without recording tv hard drives fill up incredibly fast. You might also try looking at Western Digital's new 750GB SE16. It's nearly as fast as a raptor, but manages to be fairly quiet and cool which is important in a MPC.

As for sound I'm not sure whether a recevier or computer would be better. It depends on how much you want to spend, and what kind of sound you want.

If you go with computer speakers then definatly go with the Logitecch Z-5500's. No other computer speakers come close (except the Klipsch's but they have lots of reliability problems).

If you go with a receiver you'll be paying considerably more (the logitechs are $250 ussually), and you'll need the extra space. I would only go with a receiver if you want really high quality sound and will be able to appreciate it.



Also how will this be cooled? I assume you'll want it to be very quiet so I assume you'll be passivly cooling it?