Media Center PC

S

SlyFly

Expert Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2007
Messages
2,172
Reaction score
1
So Ive got a okay'ish pc laying around and thought I'd fix it up to put it in the entertainment room and connect it to the LCD...

After searching around a bit Im a bit confused :P

I was thinking of using Windows Media Center 2005? But still cant figure out if you install this over an exsisting Windows XP installation or if its a standalone OS?

Basically I want to play music from it and movies... I was thinking of putting in a wireless card later to connect via the router to the other pcs to watch stuff on it?

Also I have a TV card which isnt great (VideoMate X50) but Im not to bothered because Im probably not going to run my DSTV through the PC to the LCD... Unless you think I should?

So info tips on getting started? What software to use, etc. etc.
 
Windows Media Center 2005 is a standalone OS of it's own. It doesn't install over XP.

If you don't want to set that up, as it obviously costs, MythBuntu is an Ubuntu derivative that works really well as a media centre machine. It can even use the Media Centre remotes. Plug in your TV Card, and see if it detects. It has a reasonably large range of cards that it can work with. Then plug in a decent size HDD. You now have an entertainment centre. Add the WiFi card, and MythBuntu has it's own browser for getting stuff off the Net. It plays music, plays movies, and allows you to watch TV. It also turns into a PVR. Recording those movies is easier now than before, (Unless you already had DSTV PVR)

Otherwise, MS Media Center Edition has a lot of the stuff you need, out the box. Just costs more to setup
 
Is there a loca download for MythBuntu?

Thanks for the help, I see the TV card isnt supported, but I do have a DSTV PVR so not really needed, just want to play music and movies through the pc with a nice interface (Is mythbuntu a good option for this?)

Thanks
 
Also does the Radeon X550 support audio via HDMI cable?

Thanks for all the help so far...
 
Last edited:
with regards to the Radeon X300 HDMI support, best place to look would be on the ATI site. I'm guessing not, as X300 was released before HDMI started becoming standard practice.

Local Mirror:

looking at the moment.
 
Mmm that media portal looks interesting?

So basically you just install it in Windows?

Thanks for all the help so far.
 
Last edited:
It's best to install Ubuntu and add MythTV later I found, you can diagnose problems much easier but if you want to use your remote to launch mythTV etc. don't install 8.10 because it does not have a working version of irKick, irKick allows you to setup a remote to control your Linux PC. So use 8.04 for your media center PC for now.
 
Yes its a normal windows app. I've been using it for about a year now.

Their latest version is a client server type setup, where you run a TV service and one or more clients can connect to it, sharing tv and the media libraries.
Though it sounds nice it was very buggy the last time I tried it.

It also works with the windows MCE remote.
 
Yeah, I used Media Portal on XP but gave up after it being unbearably unstable, if you want a Media Center for windows upgrade to Vista Home Premium its Media center is not bad and I like it but I use mythTV because the XMLTV listings are free and easy to add also much less resource usage.
 
Okay Im going to give Media Portal a shot... Busy formating the PC and installing Windows, if that doesnt work I'll try MythUbuntu...

Im just thinking that from all the options Media Portal will probably be the one that would support my TV card...
 
graviti said:
Windows Media Center 2005 is a standalone OS of it's own. It doesn't install over XP.
Click to expand...

Um - yes it does. Its an application. You can even get it from dodgy sources and install it on a normal xp box.
 
Look around on the interwebz, its not legal though, so you might as well be downloading a MCE 2005 disk...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X