HTPC newbie....

[dharmy]

Hi all

I am a newbie to the whole HTPC scene, but like the concept and am keen to build something, though have a limited budget. I have some questions for the pro's out there....

(1) If I have DSTV, can I still record stuff to my HTPC. What cables/software do I need for this ?

(2) Is a system like MVIX/IPTime an option at all ? Surely a custom built system will cost more ?

(3) Which of the software options allows you to get thumbnails from IMDB?

(4) Most cost effective way of building one ? (I have the HDD already)


Thanks in advance for any advice.. Merry Xmas to all

Cheers
Dharmy

 

[milomak]

1. You will be able to record to your HTPC. What decoder do you have?

2. If you have a spare PC lying about the cost of your own custom built one could be very low. The cost also depends on how snazzy you want to make it.

3. Software options include amongst others - MS Media Center, Meedio, MythTV. You can search those to find out if they pull thumbnails from IMDB

4. Again depends how snazzy and complicated you want to go. For instance if you use mythtv, a P4 Celeron, 512MB RAM, Hauppage TV card and nVidia FX5200 (with DVI output) is enough for the basics.

 

[Bjorn]

Give Media Portal a google, it gets thumbnails and various other things from the IMDB.
I use it on my HTPC, very easy to set up and nice layout.
Myth tv is great aswell