Hi all,
I am looking to get my parents a HTPC for xmas. It would be used to play Blu-Rays, dvds, playing music and viewing photos etc. on their HD tv.
I have never tried to spec a HTPC so I do not know what is needed, and with various things going on, I cant find the time to research it much until a few days before xmas, when it will be too late.
Initially I was thinking of the http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-218-OK&groupid=43&catid=1446&subcat= as it would play Blu-rays etc. and wouldnt require a build.
My concern, is that since this is ITX, there is pretty much no room for expansion, so that got me thinking about building a mATX instead. The reason for this, is that with a mATX I was under the impression I could add in some tv cards to record tv from our digital box rather than using the HDD DVD recorder we have. This way there could be Blu-ray and dvd availible with the option of upgrading the HDD as time goes on rather than having to use something else to record tv.
Is it actually possible to record from a digital box to a HDD via a tv card? or do you need something special? And if it is, is there anyone that can help me spec something that would fit my needs with a budget of about £600, which would pretty much include anything that is needed for a good quality silent HTPC!
Thanks.
I am looking to get my parents a HTPC for xmas. It would be used to play Blu-Rays, dvds, playing music and viewing photos etc. on their HD tv.
I have never tried to spec a HTPC so I do not know what is needed, and with various things going on, I cant find the time to research it much until a few days before xmas, when it will be too late.
Initially I was thinking of the http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-218-OK&groupid=43&catid=1446&subcat= as it would play Blu-rays etc. and wouldnt require a build.
My concern, is that since this is ITX, there is pretty much no room for expansion, so that got me thinking about building a mATX instead. The reason for this, is that with a mATX I was under the impression I could add in some tv cards to record tv from our digital box rather than using the HDD DVD recorder we have. This way there could be Blu-ray and dvd availible with the option of upgrading the HDD as time goes on rather than having to use something else to record tv.
Is it actually possible to record from a digital box to a HDD via a tv card? or do you need something special? And if it is, is there anyone that can help me spec something that would fit my needs with a budget of about £600, which would pretty much include anything that is needed for a good quality silent HTPC!
Thanks.
