Home Built Media Center PC
-
I know that Microsoft has not released a retail version of Windows XP Media Center edition, but we enlightened ones get a development copy with our MSDN subscription. That being said, what kind of hardware is supported by this version of windows? It seems to me that if Microsoft is only releasing this to system builders and developers then there must be a pretty short list of supported hardware. I know that the HP media center PC's have a GForce 420MX 64MB video card, and a SB Audigy Sound card, you can pick these up at any computer store. They also come with a DVD+R/+RW drive and a PVR Video Capture card. I wonder what kind of PVR card that is, WinTV, RADEON, or other. I also wonder if the Media Center software would support an over the counter, more compatible, DVD-R/-RW. I would be interrested in building one of these specialized PC's to play with, but I want to make sure I don't waste the money on hardware that is not supported by the OS. If any of you have built one of these systems from parts, or if you have an OEM Media Center PC and can tell me what kind of hardware (Brand/Model Number) came in it, or if you know of some web resources that may help me in my quest for knowledge, I would really appreciate it. Thanks, Scott
-
I know that Microsoft has not released a retail version of Windows XP Media Center edition, but we enlightened ones get a development copy with our MSDN subscription. That being said, what kind of hardware is supported by this version of windows? It seems to me that if Microsoft is only releasing this to system builders and developers then there must be a pretty short list of supported hardware. I know that the HP media center PC's have a GForce 420MX 64MB video card, and a SB Audigy Sound card, you can pick these up at any computer store. They also come with a DVD+R/+RW drive and a PVR Video Capture card. I wonder what kind of PVR card that is, WinTV, RADEON, or other. I also wonder if the Media Center software would support an over the counter, more compatible, DVD-R/-RW. I would be interrested in building one of these specialized PC's to play with, but I want to make sure I don't waste the money on hardware that is not supported by the OS. If any of you have built one of these systems from parts, or if you have an OEM Media Center PC and can tell me what kind of hardware (Brand/Model Number) came in it, or if you know of some web resources that may help me in my quest for knowledge, I would really appreciate it. Thanks, Scott
I have seen many nice solutions with Mini ITX systems. I read a nice review about the VIA platform a while back. Problem with most of these systems are CPU power, but I think we shall see some nice power onboard all in one mini motherboards in the next year or two. Most TV cards have builtin MPEG2 encoders nowadays and some cheapies even have dual tuners (Picture in Picture and "time shifting"). The other big problem is with a resulution of a normal TV. Anything above 640 x 480 and it barely readable on any sized tube TV. If you have money for a nice HDTV or a plasma, that doesnt really matter so much anymore. But then you would not be building one ;P