*Does anyone here have

woooo! an easier way to make sbs nudity mix tapes!

I'm glad you asked.

Not because I have any information, but because I am interested.

Would you not possibly be better served getting a Hard Drive DVD recorder or the like, for a coupl eof hundred bucks?

I know this isn't technically what you asked for, but if you're happy with just playback, and can do without the recording features, you can set up an old Xbox for (Probably) under $150. Stream movies, music etc straight to tv without much hassle. Newer versions can stream youtube to your tv too. Fun.

indeed I do.

I've got a Macmini sitting under my TV in the lougeroom with a USB connected digital tuner so I can watch TV and record and shit.

You get a weeks worth of programming that you can browse through and hit record if you like the look of something.

Its useful if you like to chill out watching TV and shit.

Its not useful when the stations fuck up their scheduling so you get half way through Drawn Together and it cuts out. Or you realse you've just blown a $1000+ and you don't even watch that much TV anyway.

..but, at least you get to tape the shit you actually want to watch.

oh yeh, I have it connected to my other computer so I can play my entire mp3 library on my big speakers and it looks sweet on the TV when I do.

I'm waiting for Micheal Horses contribution here, because he uses a MythTV setup (built on linux) and apparently that is a sweet option.. I would love to do it but its a cunt to setup.

While you're at it, get a universal remote control, as those are sweet too.

did I just say I dont watch that much TV anyway? but trust me, its sweet having the satisfaction that you are only using one remote. even though, after all the time you've put into it Charles, you're still using more than one remote anyway DICKHEAD.

I've got a modded Xbox, it doesn't do PVR stuff but I don't watch any TV shows that I don't download so that doesn't bother me.

It's got a 320GB hdd in it on which I keep all the movies and games, and I stream all the telly shows from a PC in another room. Oh and it can play mp3s and display photos stored on my PC too.

It's the best thing ever.

Yeah wonky, that's what i have. Damn good. And cheap!

what is the mod?

I was planning to buy a second hand xBox this week, but wanted to investigate if it was cost effective to get a Media Centre PC instead. My dad has a DVD recorder/vcr that has some very good features. Combined with an xBox it might do the same job, or close to, for cheaper than a Media Centre.

Definitely worth considering devil. Especially if you already have a PC with storage space.

What about setting up an existing PC as a media server and just investing in streaming devices?

just make sure your solution is connectible to the net. adds awesome layer.

Check out these guys

Pretty sweet resource on all thing Media Centre that I've been using to plan my system. The Web site is shit to use but the forum has loads of useful articles on what to do and what not to do as well as info on build it yourself vs off the shelf.

eBay is also a pretty good place if you want a pre built one cheap-ish.

I almost all cases it's cheaper to build yourself if you have the knowhow and patience.

What about setting up an existing PC as a media server and just investing in streaming devices?

All you need is a network and a tvtuner card

cic: mac mini ftw.

what does mac mini ftw mean?

this is so confusing. in the end i just brought a dvd recorder. it's not the best option, but it was a price effective option.

ultimately the best would be like what LG has now, large screen with harddrive and high def tuner built in. sweetness! if it can connect to your home wireless network it'll be perfection. what more could you ask for?

"what more could you ask for?"

open-source free upgradeable software, support for all media formats... that kind of thing maybe?

looks pretty good, was on special on friday for $97

You could by an apple tv 2, jailbreak it and put xbmc on there for around $100.

details here

how would an XBMC'd apple tv go for streaming FLACs off my imac?

@puretokyo, I can't see a problem with FLAC files. It's more the wireless streaming of high def video that would be the issue. But you should ask the nerds on whirlpool or xbmc before you lay down $100.

the apple tv only has hdmi sockets, limits you to hd tvs only.

looks pretty good, was on special on friday for $97

Hey Godzilla, that's the 'mini' it doesn't support an internal drive. I think I prefer the idea of a self contained unit.. less chance of hard drives getting knocked around, cables pulled etc..

thanks, i hadn't picked up on that difference. I'll keep it in mind when I finally decide to get something.

yeah I have moved from boxee to XBMC on my apple tv 1. have a 1tb media drive connected to the airport extreme and stream everything.

So with the AC Ryan Full HD, I guess once you put a 2TB (WD Green SATA2) drive in it for another $101... I'd also want the wireless network option (not included).. prolly looking at close to $300.

and.. the latest version is about to be released.. so I might wait and see what happens with pricing.

gabbo mentioned the WDTV, but has anyone tried the new-ish WDTV Live Hub?

And is there a reason why you went cold on the LaCinema Classic HD, knomadix?

Hi Devil, I still wasn't totally sold on the user interface. I also want something that goes and hunts down all the artwork and synopsis info from imdb.

Would you believe I still haven't bought something. If anyone has any recommendations..fire away

I'm still running the chipped xBox original I bought off JoseJones at the top of this thread four years ago, so I wouldn't be too worried, knomadix.

In other news, I've heard good things about running Plex on a Mac Mini, but that's a comparatively expensive option to the ones mentioned above.

So I bit the bullet and ordered one of the ACRYAN Playon HD2! with 2TB drive plus wifi dongle for $255.69. Will report in when it arrives

i also finally got around to getting a squeezebox. haven't had much of a play with it yet, but suspect that more music tagging + more loungeroom organising + oncoming spring and summer should give me a good chance to come to grips with it.

okay, got the box..it's not easy at all. It's like cracking open a bloody android phone.
It really shouldn't be this hard. It for whatever reason won't let me copy to it while in it.. I have to hook it to my computer to copy to or through the network.

Seems if you want something even slightly approaching a decent user interface you need to install one then map it to your network then run it to index everything..which seems to crash every time.

not impressed at all so far.

okay.. sorted the copy thing. The buttons on the remote are laid out weird and I was pressing the wrong one :D Have got it playing over the wireless network fine and the menu once you get used to it is not to bad. Still haven't got the movie jukebox up and running though (gives you all the imdb info, poster art etc)

xbmc is sweet.

I had an old acer notebook (1.7 celeron, 1.5G ram, windows xp) that I tried running with media-portal but it really didn't cope. Then I put xbmc on it to handle the playback and left media-portal for recording and epg duties only. It still wasn't satisfactory.

I swapped the xp for win7 and tried out windows media centre. The under powered acer handles it well. I added mcebuddy and now the notebook wakes up at 7 each morning copies the huge wtv files it recorded the night before to smaller mp4s and removed the ads while its at it.
The computer also now turns on and off just using the remote.

man, you guys take nerdcore to a whole new level.

Pretty happy with the PlayonHD2 now.. still haven't got the Jukebox thing working but I found out it has a file limit of only a few hundred..so maybe I was killing it.

It has played every single file I've thrown at it so far. Streams across the network A-ok, subtitle support is perfect.