I got myself an HP ProLiant Microserver, costs around R1300. insert cheap GT520, so it can handle 1080p Content.
You can squeeze up to 6 2TB Hard Drives in there (giving you 12TB of storage)
Install OpenElec - a free OS, that only takes around 40mb of hard drive space and ram, that runs XBMC Media Centre, and starts up in around 30 secs from a cold boot.
Proceed to add your media. even with only 2 x 2TB hard drives you can add plenty of series, nevermind 12TB.
Scrape Media.
Install the "PseudoTV" Plugin for XBMC. this plugin basically takes your media and creates a VERY TV-Like Experience. you wont even be able to tell the difference....
Create channels. this is done very easily, because if you have shows that were aired on CBS, it will add CBS as a channel option. you can pick what channel you would like where.
So then you will end up with channels like BBC, Discovery, Comedy Central, CBS, Spike TV, SyFy, FOX, FX, HBO, Showtime, Cartoon Network, Boomerang and so on and so on.
Then you proceed to add your movie channels - like, tell it to show only 2011 Movies - call the channel "Cinemax"
Set up channel rules for another, like 2011 movies, but that have a resolution of 720p or higher. call the channel "Star Movies HD"
Make a horror Channel, that only plays horrors, a comedy movie channel, Sci-Fi channel - or even two of them, with one playing new scifi movies, and the other one with sci fi movies older than 2009.
I've even gone so far to create my own Marvel channel, showing all the Marvel Movies like Spiderman, Thor, X-Men, etc.
I re-create "Real" channels like Cinemax and "Star movies HD", because those channels actually exist in America, on DirecTV (satellite), and they have inserts (they call them Bumpers) with the channels Logo.
(For example, between my movies, I get this cool Logo saying "You're watching Star Movies")
Also, its good to create "real" channels, because then you can see the TV-Stations Logo (Shown on all channels)
Then you can proceed to make up your own channels, like an Imax channel if you have plenty of Imax videos, or a fitness channel if you have those, etc, etc. I have a GTtv channel, which shows game trailers, Interviews, E3 Coverage, Jace Hall and other stuff 24/7.
it's very easy to set up the channel logo for channels like these - just download a GTtv/IMAX logo, and save it in a folder. point pseudoTV to this folder, where all your logos are stored.
(you get a pack on some xbmc thread with like 3000 channel logos zipped up for you)
I also downloaded like 50 Funny Adverts from youtube - even the 720p version are like only 10mb per file.
Stuff like White Castle Adverts, Budweiser, Red Bull, Burger King, and I can't even remember what else...
Set PseudoTv up to play these after your channel Logo Bumpers (The Breaks between shows)
What you end up with is like 70 cool channels playing Shows you like, some in HD, some DStv dont even have yet, with loads of movie channels, all with PVR ability, with or without ads, with an awesome GUI.
You can even have a Porn channel if you want, though i'm not sure what the SO might say heh....
It's like having your own broadcasting station really, with channels YOU want, showing shows YOU want, WHEN you want.
good god im glad i dont watch tv.
that sounds awesome but like a lot of work! also prob need a decent internet connection and news hosts i assume?
