Media Center Help

Sinny · 6 Jul 2007 at 21:10

Hey,

well recently i popped into my dads head an idea that he quite likes, having a media centre pc.

currently he has a 27" widescreen CRT (JVC) telly and i told him with the right components he can have a cheap media centre to record TV off.

i currently have a Pentium 4 3ghz (s478) 800mhz fsb and some ddr ram, hard drive, powersupply, agp 5200.

except for the motherboard, im wanting to fit this all into a Shuttle case for the lowest possible cash, i also intend on getting a TV card, now how should i go about doing this.

is this all i need, with a TV card, i may need to find a way to connect it via SCART cable or s-video.

Growlingfish · 6 Jul 2007 at 21:29

If you are set on Shuttle you'll need to look for second-hand Shuttles that take AGP, DDR, etc.

For the TV card: if you are using MCE just pick any card from this site that handles analogue and/or digital (depending on what you need); if you are not using MCE you'll want to get people's opinions on which card comes with the best software/what PVR software is good.

Also be aware that you will not get a high resolution over SVideo/SCART to the CRT. Fine if you are just using the PC for video, but not if you intend to do anything else.

Edit: Are you unsure how to get the video to the TV? You'll need a graphics card with video out; you'll have to tell me whether yours does or doesn't

Sinny · 6 Jul 2007 at 21:40

well i have an agp version of the 5200 here which has a analogue/digital/s-video output.

i have a legal copy of xp home which should suffice with some Media centre software.

he wants to be able to record TV shows and play them back, Tape is really getting out of date now and cant be arsed looking through about 200 tapes to find the thing he wants.

also i think a desktop will do or a shuttle, just not a tower.

squiffy · 6 Jul 2007 at 21:42

If you already have a ATX 478 mobo why not just build a MC system in a ATX case?

You'll have to stick to S-Video.

gEd · 6 Jul 2007 at 22:04

How noisy do you reacon this pc will be and has your dad considered noise or is he expecting it to be silent like a vcr? The P4's run hot and the fan on the 5200 could be noisy.

I have been using free/donate-ware from www.gbpvr.com for about 3 years and currently use a hauppauge nova-t 500 dual freeview tuner and a nova-t usb2 tuner. Both are fully supported and come with a remote control.

A new version was just launched today.

Sinny · 6 Jul 2007 at 22:39

gEd said:
How noisy do you reacon this pc will be and has your dad considered noise or is he expecting it to be silent like a vcr? The P4's run hot and the fan on the 5200 could be noisy.

I have been using free/donate-ware from www.gbpvr.com for about 3 years and currently use a hauppauge nova-t 500 dual freeview tuner and a nova-t usb2 tuner. Both are fully supported and come with a remote control.

A new version was just launched today.

5200 is passive and im going to get a fan control for the front of it, i dont expect it to overheat because its only encoding videos, im considering making a wind tunnel to create a better air flow, i just need the case.

also its really for me to get my hands dirty. i want something to do after watercooling