Build It: A First-Class Gaming & Media PC for the Living Room. Get Gaming on an HTPC I don't want to watch cable TV. I don't want to use a controller. I just want to watch 3D Blu-rays and frag people with a mouse and keyboard, all on a box that fits on my entertainment center. Is that too much to ask? We’ve built our fair share of home theater PCs in the past, with all sorts of different use cases in mind. The Right Tools for the Job When building a PC for the living room, the first thing to consider is the chassis.
The videocard needs to be able to handle Blu-ray 3D and support HDMI 1.4a for true lossless HD audio. The GD06's front panel latches when not in use to prevent miscreants from waltzing off with your drives. We’re not crippling this rig with an Atom or Fusion board. I picked a speedy 6Gb/s SATA SSD for an OS drive, and a large-capacity drive for media storage. Ingredients. How to Pick the Perfect Laptop. I own 1 VIAO, 2 Dell, 1 HP laptops, and use 2 other HP laptops from work. You'd think with all those laptops (or notebooks, as I prefer to call them), you'd think I would have stumbled upon the perfect notebook. I haven't. I can't stand them. The keyboards are too small. The screens are too small. There is not enough memory. My housemate bought a new Dell, but I couldn't wait and rushed out to buy an HP notebook.
People buy a laptop/notebook so they can run without electricity, right? But, I will say one thing you should consider in a laptop, beyond all the extra features and goodies, and that is how well the ports are arranged on the machine. When I buy any piece of gear, I always look at the back of the device first.
Before you buy a Set Top Digital Video Recorder ( DVR ) - All about Digital Video Recorders ( DVR ) Update: The world of DVRs has changed pretty drastically since the debut of the TiVo. For a while there were some competitors, but only TiVo has remained standing as most of TiVo's competitors have gone out of business. And if you don't own a TiVo, you'll likely end up using one of the DVRs supplied by your cable company. If you are still interested in buying a DVR, we have some questions you should ask yourself before plunking down your hard-earned cash. Before you purchase a Set Top Digital Video Recorder (DVR) there are some decisions to make. What's your budget? What are your specific needs? Do you want to record just to a hard drive or to DVD as well? How much am I willing to spend? Set Top DVRs range in price from about $100 to upwards of $1000. What do I want to do with my DVR? Do you want to record lots of TV shows, watch them and then delete them?
Do you subscribe to Cable TV or Satellite? Do you prefer a certain manufacturer? Audio/Video Connections. Final thoughts. About. XBMC is an award-winning free and open source (GPL) software media player and entertainment hub that can be installed on Linux, OSX, Windows, iOS, and Android, featuring a 10-foot user interface for use with televisions and remote controls. It allows users to play and view most videos, music, podcasts, and other digital media files from local and network storage media and the internet. Our forums and Wiki are bursting with knowledge and help for the new user right up to the application developer. We also have helpful Facebook, Google+, Reddit, Twitter and Youtube pages. Music XBMC can play all your music including mp3, flac, wav and wma formats. It has cue sheet, tagging support and smart playlists for ultimate control of your music collection.
Movies XBMC can do Movies too! TVShows The TVShows library supports episode and season views with posters or banners, watched tags, show descriptions and actors. Pictures XBMC allows you to watch and record live TV all from the GUI interface. Add-Ons. Home theater PC. A home theater PC (HTPC) or media center computer is a convergence device that combines some or all the capabilities of a personal computer with a software application that supports video, photo, audio playback, and sometimes video recording functionality.
Although computers with some of these capabilities were available from the late 1980s, the "Home Theater PC" term first appeared in mainstream press in 1996. [citation needed] In recent years, other types of consumer electronics, including gaming systems and dedicated media devices have crossed over to manage video and music content. The term "media center" also refers to specialized application software designed to run on standard personal computers.[1] An HTPC and other convergence devices integrate components of a home theater into a unit co-located with a home entertainment system. History[edit] In 1996 Gateway Computer unveiled the Destination computer that included a tuner card and video card.
Original MythTV Home Screen c. 2002. Category:HOWTO.