Home Media Center Advice and Tips

[unoriginal1]

Hey everyone,

So I'm looking to build my own home media center to try to cut back on some of the monthly cable (tv) bills and to start making my own digital library of movies, series, etc. I've been doing some research into it and not 100% sure if what I want is plausible so I'm asking for advice from the experts.

What I have at home is a HP Compaq dx7500 with a Gtx 650 graphics card in it that my brother has used for his makeshift gaming machine. Going to be upgrading him to something better and I'd like to convert this into the media center. Have a few questions about the wants and needs here.

Wants:
Record live tv, movies etc.
Stream HD tv, movies.
Accessible to the internet. (preferably on all tv's if not possible can manage with one)
Able to stream to 2-3 Tv's throughout the house. (is it possible to watch separate channels?)

Questions: 1) What exactly are the benefits to a media center?
2) If I go this route will I be able to eliminate the cost of renting a box from comcast, and paying for dvr/hd services? Or are those feature still necessary?
3) Ive read online that some channels are non recordable. E.G. HBO, Showtime, Etc.. Is there any truth to this?
4) Will the GTX 650 be enough Umph to run what Im looking for?
5) All of the tuner cards ive seen run on PCI-E 1x, Am I correct in assuming this is all i'll need to upgrade? Besides maybe a couple more HDD's.
6) What type of software do you recommend? Window Media Center, XBMC, or other?

I think that's it.. If I'm missing anything obvious please point it out as I'm a rookie when it comes to this. Appreciate any and all advice/tips. Thanks!

 

[ronintexas]

1) Windows Media Center is the most stable digital cable platform - and it is easily configurable if you are familiar with Windows. You can also use the X-Box 360 or Ceton Echo (both about $180) to remotely stream HD video throughout the house.
2) I used to rent the "whole home DVR" solution from Time Warner Cable. Now I have a HTPC, running Windows Media Center, a SiliconDust HDHomerun Prime (3-tuner) and X-Box 360 (x2) to stream video. The only thing that doesn't work is "on demand" (they only give you a one-way cable card setup). I can watch/record up to 3 HD or SD channels at the same time plus watch a recorded show at the same time. I was paying $90 per month for the 3 boxes, now I pay $1.99 per month for the cable card.
3) You can watch/record all channels. Copy protected channels like HBO, Showtime, etc., can be viewed on the original recorded computer or an X-Box 360. You can't watch it on another PC.
4) Virtually any video card that supports HDMI/DVI should work.
5) Options for tuners are USB (2 or 4 tuner), Network (1000MB ethernet) or PCIe cards. The 2 tuner (Happauge) is about $100, 3 Tuner Silicon Dust HDHomeRun Prime is about $150, and the Ceton Echo (PCIe/USB - 4 tuner) is about $200. All require a cable card ($1.99 from Cable Co) and you may be required to get a switched digital video adapter (TiVo adapter). 1TB storage is plenty for me - You get about 8-9GB of space per hour, so a 1TB drive stores 100-120 hours of recording. WD Black drives are the best for this purpose - and having a separate recording drive is optimal (install OS on smaller drive, install a 2nd drive for recording).
6) Windows Media Center is what I use, but XBMC and others are good also. If you are going to use digital cable, WMC is the most stable from my experience.

Be sure to check out http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/ - there is a lot of good information there. I would also suggest surfing the forums of the tuner you select.

 

[unoriginal1]

Sweet! Thanks for the answer Ron makes much more sense now. So basically.. I get the tuner card like this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815706001 (let me know if you recommend something else, I'd like the option of 4 if possible). Then i get the CableCard from Comcast which the first one is Free (found it on their website!) Each CableCard after would only be $1.50.. So much nicer then the additional $10 for each box. I run the WMC software and use the video card as the output and just string HDMI cables to the tvs I want.

I guess that brings up one more question. In your set up how do you manage the whole changing channels business? I'm assuming the remote is connected to the tuner card / CableCard... Do you have it just centralized where you always have a signal? Or.. Do you have some sort of... lack of words here.. Signal thing for each room... Or am I making it to complicated and it's simple ran on the tv itself? Sorry for the dumb question lol ive never messed with the WMC software like this.

Thanks again!

 

[ronintexas]

I would recommend the USB version of the tuner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815706002

It is $10 cheaper - and it won't heat up your case (they do produce quite a bit of heat).

This remote will change the channels: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16880101009

It is an IR remote that has a small box you place near the TV and connects via USB to the computer.

I use an ethernet network (1000MB) connecting my tuner to the WMC box (and my other computers) to watch/record live TV. The XBox360's connect to the WMC box, and stream all the channels and recorded content. The Ceton Echo is new: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815706003 - it will stream to the TV's as well.

With that setup - you can watch/record up to 4 channels at once, and the Ceton Echo/XBox 360 will connect the other TV's to the WMC box.

You can do wireless if the signal allows, but I do have glitches when the Microwave is in use. HD is a bit more finicky, so I ran ethernet cable to the XBoxes, and now all is great. It works better than the TWC boxes.

Check with Comcast and see if you need a "TiVo Adapter" (tell them you are getting a TiVo box - or they won't know what you are talking about). It might take 3-4 calls to get the right person to activate the cable card (and switched video adapter if needed), but once it is up and running - you can return the cable boxes....

 

[unoriginal1]

Awesome! Much appreciated!