Media PC

my 2 cents:

i'd go w/ a small form factor barebones combo (shuttle is kicking out some beauties). definetley an intel mobo/proc, although i love amd, because noise will be a problem for a home theater setup. intel chipsets have acceptable onboard audio, so that eliminates a sound card…

for video, i really really want a radeon all-in-wonder (the new remote is chez cool), and the 9600 is actually in my price range…but i've heard the video capture ain't all that. the hauppauge pvr line seems to be the favorite personal video recorder for the buck among the a/v nerds.

although dvd-r's are cheap at ~$100, i'd wait for the high-density writing drives to come out.


my os would be win2k,if you wanna get fancy toss in a *nix file server w/ samba and a wireless router and yer the coolest kid on the block. if you got the time and the know-how, you can save a bundle by diy. fuck sony, apple or any of the other overpriced package manufacturers. pricewatch is your friend.

the shuttle looks like a good starting point for a media pc…

<img src="http://sys.us.shuttle.com/Images/Buy/Full/Zoom_ST61G4.jpg" alt=" - " />

Originally posted by chaz:
Wow Vansmack..I'm curious…is this what you do for a living and if not what do you do if you don't mind me asking? Also, whats in your A/V rack in your main viewing/listening station at home?

I posted a diagram of my A/V unit some time back, but I have changed it immensely since then. I currently run a Pioneer Tuner with a Sony 5-Disc CD/DVD changer, a TiVo with DirecTV and a TiVo Series 2 with the Home Media Option (I used to only own the Series 2, then when I got DirecTV, they offer the two tuner DVR which is a must if you have DirecTV), an X-Box w/ wireless live, a 32 inch Sony WEGA and wireless network with two laptops (one old just as an internet machine, one "newer" with a DVD burner) and a old server with a 60 Gig USB HD attached for music and photos.

The Home Media Option on TiVo runs over the wireless network and takes all of the music/photos off the USB HD and plays them through my A/V system. If it weren't for the HMO, I would have switched to a Win XPMC some time ago, but until I get a 40 inch plasma or LCD screen, I can't see switching over when I can do video editing on the laptop and my current screen isn't large enough for multiple Windows. The TiVo handles my digital music brilliantly.

Oh, and I'm a lawyer for a University. I've always been a tech head, which my last job took full advantage of, splitting my time, but now I'm 100% lawyer. When I moved back west, I consulted for a few months until I figured out what I wanted to do. One of my first clients was a law firm where I designed a network and a media room. When I finished that, two of the attorneys hired me to do their homes and word got around. I decided I wasn't ready to give up on my law degree yet so I stopped consulting, took a "real" job and do odds and ends jobs here and there. I still beta test for TiVo and Microsoft (I was Mac based until 1994, now I am Win based).