Media centre pc's

[Deathjam]

Anyone built a media centre pc recently, i have an old original modded xbox with xbmc, but its getting abit long in the tooth and it can't handle hd, so thinking about getting something newer.

Options i'm considering:

Acer aspire Revo R3610 and getting a external blu-ray reader to sit beside it.

or

Build my own all in one, probably using an atom 330 ion motherboard and internal blu-ray drive, doesn't really need a big drive as i''ll be streaming content from my file server over a gigabit lan

The atom 330 ion boards supposedly handle hd content, but if anyone has any other ideas? must find i nice case too.

 

[Melkor]

*Blinks*

Uh...

Perhaps whichever one has the most buttons?

I'm sorry DeathJam, but with the exception of NAI and a few select others, do you really expect anyone to be able to give you an educated opinion on this matter?

 

[kita]

How do you stream content?

I have a computer using a plasma tv as a monitor, but its not the computer I use so I transfer things to a portable drive and walk them over. Streaming would be nice, if it is easy to do.

 

[Deathjam]

umm i'm just using network shares, via gigabit powerline network

 

[NeverAmI]

That ion 330 has a pretty impressive review at Toms Hardware. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-ion-atom,2153-9.html

I haven't been keeping up on the latest gadgetry, I don't want to spend any more money than I have to.

I have been using my ancient Q4400 with a GeForce 8800 GT and 8GB DDR2 RAM for all my needs.

I have had a lot of luck using MPC for playing HD with the right codecs, others swear by Cyberlink software. Using the wrong codecs make or break HD playback.

 

[NeverAmI]

How do you stream content?

I have a computer using a plasma tv as a monitor, but its not the computer I use so I transfer things to a portable drive and walk them over. Streaming would be nice, if it is easy to do.

You need a home network.

If your computer you use to store your files is a long ways away from the other computer then you could potentially use wireless although wired is generally the best route to go for streaming media.

Once you have the computers networked together it is just a matter of accessing the other through network shares.

If you give us more details about whether you could run wires between the two or not, we can offer more insight.

DJ, is that the networking that runs through pre-existing electrical wiring? How is that working for you? What equipment are you using?

 

[Deathjam]

yep, its these(well the uk plug version anyway)

http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=495008

and a 5 port netgear gigabit switch

 

[kita]

If you give us more details about whether you could run wires between the two or not, we can offer more insight.

When you say run wires between the two, do you mean each wired to a router? I could do that.

 

[NeverAmI]

When you say run wires between the two, do you mean each wired to a router? I could do that.

Technically router isn't the proper term, but if the router has an integrated switch (usually 5 ports) then yes, you can plug each into that to have them on the same network.

What operating systems are you using on both machines?

 

[kita]

What is the proper term? The computers use Windows XP and Windows 7.

 

[NeverAmI]

Ok, so after you get your computers connected to each other through the network you can start with a tutorial for sharing network drives between windows XP and windows 7. Something like this:

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-7/share-files-and-printers-between-windows-7-and-xp/

Then ask questions you have as you go along.