Build Your Own Media Center PC, Part 1
Pages: 1, 2, 3
Graphics Card
The graphics card was optional for me because the MSI 945GM2 motherboard already contains a built-in graphics card. However, I want my system to support dual monitors so I looked for an affordable graphics card that supports dual monitors. My hunt stopped at the Asus Extreme N6200TC TOP/TD/128M ($55; see Figure 20), which has a DVI and VGA output.
Figure 20. The Asus Extreme N6200TC TOP/TD/128M
The Asus Extreme N6200TC TOP/TD/128M has the following specifications:
| Graphics engine | NVIDIA GeForce 6200 with TurboCache |
| Video memory | 128M/64 bit DDR2 onboard |
| Effective memory size | 256MB |
| Engine clock | 400MHz |
| Memory clock | 700MHz(350MHz DDR) |
| RAMDAC | 400MHz |
| Bus standard | PCI Express 16X |
| Max resolution | 2048x1536 |
| VGA output | Standard 15-pin D-sub |
| Video output | Composite |
| DVI output | DVI-I |
| Second VGA output | Yes |
If you plan on putting your media center in the living room, you should equip it with a remote control. Until recently, Microsoft did not directly sell the Windows Media Center remote control to end users , they were only available to system vendors. Fortunately, you can now get one from a hardware retailer (see Figure 21).
Figure 21. The Microsoft Windows Media Center remote control
Of course, if your TV tuner comes with a remote control (like the Hauppauge's WinTV-PVR-500 MCE-Kit), then you don't need to buy the additional remote control.
A better option is to buy the Remote Keyboard for Windows XP Media Center Edition ($80; see Figure 22), which is a wireless keyboard/mouse. It has a stylish look and can be used in a 30-foot radius.
Figure 22. The remote keyboard for Windows XP Media Center Edition
Monitor/TV
If you already have an existing monitor, you can skip this section. However, if you have the budget to splurge on a new display, you have a couple of options. First, if the primary use for your media center is 80 percent work and 20 percent watching TV/DVD, I suggest you buy an LCD monitor. Figure 23 shows the Dell 2407WFP 24" UltraSharp wide-screen flat panel LCD monitor, which sells for about $750 (I think it's a pretty good buy).
Figure 23. The Dell 2407WFP 24" UltraSharp wide-screen flat panel LCD monitor
Alternatively, if you are mainly using the media center as your living room entertainment device, then I suggest you buy an LCD TV. In this case, the Samsung LN-S1951 (see Figure 24) is a good choice. The Samsung LN-S1951 is not only a TV, but is also PC-compatible (you can connect your PC to it via the D-Sub VGA connector). The 19" screen size supports maximum resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels, which is a good resolution even for computers.
Figure 24. The Samsung LN-S1951 19" TV with PC-support
A typical TV has the connectors shown in Figure 25.
Figure 25. Typical connectors found at the back of a TV
Note: Figure adapted from the LN-S1951W/ LN-S1952W Owner's Instruction Manual (PDF).
If your graphics card has DVI output, you can connect the PC to the TV using a DVI cable. Or you can connect via the D-Sub connector (labeled as PC IN).
Wireless and Sound Options
Depending on where your media center is located, you may need to buy an optional wireless adapter card (assuming you have a wireless network at home). If you have a spare PCI slot to spare, you can add a Linksys WMP54G Wireless-G PCI Adapter (see Figure 26).
Figure 26. Linksys WMP54G Wireless-G PCI Adapter
Alternatively, you can add a USB wireless adapter such as the Linksys Wireless-G USB Adapter WUSB54G (see Figure 27).
Figure 27. Linksys Wireless-G USB Adapter WUSB54G
For a speaker system, if you are connecting to a TV, you can use the sound system in your TV. However, if you have the budget, you can go for the ultimate--Creative GigaWorks S750. However, this is will set you back a whopping $500. In any case, you can always use your existing speaker system.
What's Next?
Now that you have all your hardware chosen, what do you do next? In my next article in the series, I'll show you how to build the system, and begin using it.
Wei-Meng Lee (Microsoft MVP) http://weimenglee.blogspot.com is a technologist and founder of Developer Learning Solutions http://www.developerlearningsolutions.com, a technology company specializing in hands-on training on the latest Microsoft technologies.
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Showing messages 1 through 6 of 6.
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Media Center PC/Movie Storage
2007-01-05 13:47:03 Ukukwi [Reply | View]
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Media Center PC/Movie Storage
2007-01-24 16:18:42 JakDRipper [Reply | View]
Hey Ukukwi, I just started doing exactly what you want to do. Here's how:
1. Download MCE Tweak
2. Download DVD Shrink (Use this to rip and compress the DVD. Save the output in a folder inside of your "My Videos" folder. Name the folder you create to reflect the name of the DVD. Download a picture of the DVD cover and save it in the folder along with the DVD file and name the picture "folder.jpg".
3. Install MCE Tweak. when you run Media Center, there will be a new addition to the menu list. It's called My DVDs. When you select it, you will see an image of the DVD you just ripped. When you click on it again, it will give you the option to "Watch". Select Watch and the DVD you just ripped will start playing in MCE.
I hope that was clear enough to follow. Mess around with it and you'll get it.
Also, if you have a lot of DVDs, you can get an External Harddrive Array. It's basically a box that holds multiplt harddrives and sets them up as 1 BIG drive. Move the target of My Documents to this new drive, and save all of your DVDs on the new drive in the My Video folder. You can get these arrays in 2 or 4 disks. The NspireGear NSP-E350W4U holds 4 HDDs with a total capacity of 3TB max. It's about $150.00 and connects via USB.
If you want to be able to access the movies from any PC on the network, get yourself a NAS. It's basically a HDD Array that attaches to your router.
Best of luck. -
Media Center PC/Movie Storage
2007-01-24 16:09:09 JakDRipper [Reply | View]
Hey Ukukwi, I just started doing exactly what you want to do. Here's how:
1. Download MCE Tweak
2. Download DVD Shrink (Use this to rip and compress the DVD. Save the output in a folder inside of your "My Videos" folder. Name the folder you create to reflect the name of the DVD. Download a picture of the DVD cover and save it in the folder along with the DVD file and name the picture "folder.jpg".
3. Install MCE Tweak. when you run Media Center, there will be a new addition to the menu list. It's called My DVDs. When you select it, you will see an image of the DVD you just ripped. When you click on it again, it will give you the option to "Watch". Select Watch and the DVD you just ripped will start playing in MCE.
I hope that was clear enough to follow. Mess around with it and you'll get it.
Also, if you have a lot of DVDs, you can get an External Harddrive Array. It's basically a box that holds multiplt harddrives and sets them up as 1 BIG drive. Move the target of My Documents to this new drive, and save all of your DVDs on the new drive in the My Video folder. You can get these arrays in 2 or 4 disks. The NspireGear NSP-E350W4U holds 4 HDDs with a total capacity of 3TB max. It's about $150.00.
Best of luck.
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OVER PRICED!!
2006-11-30 11:59:15 MadClown [Reply | View]
I think this whole system is way over priced.
You could build a similar or better system for half the price. I used one of my old 550mhz systems with just 380mb ram,Hauppauge 350 with remote and SageTV. SageTV downloads your cable tv schedule for the next 14 days. I don't think Windows Media Center does that. Plus if you are using a Hauppauge card that has its own encoder and decoder than you don't need a fast pc with a lot of ram. You can spend your money in better places like more hard drive space. Also if you really want to get cheap. SageTV runs on Linux now so you don't even have to buy an OS!
If anyone who is interested here are the links..
SageTV
http://www.sagetv.com
Hauppauge
http://www.hauppauge.com
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OVER PRICED!!
2006-11-30 11:59:00 MadClown [Reply | View]
I think this whole system is way over priced.
You could build a similar or better system for half the price. I used one of my old 550mhz systems with just 380mb ram,hauppauge 350 with remote and SageTV. SageTV downloads your cable tv schedule for the next 14 days. I don't think Windows Media Center does that. Plus if you are using a Hauppauge card that has its own encoder and decoder than you don't need a fast pc with a lot of ram. You can spend your money in better places like more hard drive space. Also if you really want to get cheap. SageTV runs on Linux now so you don't even have to buy an OS!
If anyone who is interested here are the links..
SageTV
http://www.sagetv.com
Hauppauge
http://www.hauppauge.com
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MCE machine
2006-11-29 08:40:48 gotrootdude [Reply | View]
Hopefully, this article will go into some of the better plugins for MCE.
These types of systems are better suited in the living room than the office. They are rarely used for more than recording/playback/timeshifting TV shows, so you really only need a 2ghz or better cpu.
Small form factor cases can be found for around the $30 mark. If you want a LCD or VFD display, you might be better off using a LIS 2 VFD, or wiring in a Hitachi 44780 compatable LCD to the generally unused parallel port and using frontview. The MCE software is availanble for around $105.
In anticipation of the Vista operating system, a lot of retailers are sweetening there low end machines by including MCE, I've seen a few for around $300 during Black Friday, and I'm sure there will be more before Xmas. Therefore, it may make sense to purchase one of the low end machines for the parts and OS, and replace them into a SFF case for your media center.
The MCE keyboard can be found for less than $60 online.
Here's a few tips to make your experience better:
1. An 80gb hard drive is ridiculus for a MCE media center. Get two drives, hold your OS, movies, videos, etc on one, and dedicate your other drive expressly for TV. The TV drive will stay fragmented after a short while, while you can keep the OS and storage drive defragmented easy. The larger the drives the better.
1. Plan for silence. Removing fans, routing airways, replacing fans, passive components, silent power supplies. Don't be surprised if you have to spend more for additional supplies to make it silent after you build it.
2. Keep the light out. LED's and lights don't add to the experience, they distract from it.
3. When building with a small form factor case, take into account the dimensions of the optical drives, as in some SFF cases the drive will block the power supply or heatsink.
2. Look for a motherboard with capacitors well away from the cpu, and as many USB ports as possible. Some silent heatsinks require a lot of free room around the CPU area, and the USB ports will get used up quick for expansion.
3. Get a dual tuner card instead of upgrading a single tuner later. Multiple single tuners have the habit of having different audio levels, making you have to turn the volume up and down when switching recordings from different tuners.
4. I disagree that the MCE keyboard is a better choice than the remote. The remote is smaller, and family members pick up on using it better. But, I highly recommend getting a long range wireless keyboard and mouse, and storing them close by. A Gyration suite is a good choice. Also, I recommend buying additional remotes, one for you, one for your spouse.
5. There are other brands of MCE remotes. The microsoft branded remote has a battery clip that's prone to breakage, it's pricier than some alternatives, and it's rather bland looking.
6. Consider getting a set of wireless gamepads if you plan on any gaming.
7. There's a open source Guitar Hero clone that can be a blast with a media center. Likewise, there are open sourced DDR clones on the net which can be played with a playstation dancemat converted with a USB adaptor. Both of these are great for when the relatives bring their kids, and your trying to enjoy the adults company elsewhere.
This would allow me to protect the original DVDs from my kid's fingerprints and scratches. Plus I think I could watch them from any room in the house that also had a media center PC over my wireless network.
Any thoughts? Am I way off base here?