Building a Windows Media Center
Windows Media Center is starting to become a common sight in most home theater setups. Most heavy use home theater users don't even want to change dvd's or cd's anymore. With Media center you can store all your dvd's and cd's on one hard drive for easy access.
When starting to look for hardware for your new media center system try not to go on the cheap. Remember when watching tv and movies you will want reliability. For my personal system i went with intel 8500 chip and a asus P5N mainboard and ATI 4850. You might want to get a good video card with some extra juice since you can use the same system for gaming. You can get a nice little microsoft wireless adaptor at your local best buy to use a xbox 360 controller on your pc.
The last thing you will need will be a case to put all your new hardware in. Thermaltake makes some really nice looking ones like the DH 101, DH 102, Mozart Sx and the Mozart IP. I went with the Mozart Sx for mine in black. It looks great and has a receiver look to it. It just looks like another high-tech amp and not a computer system. Just remember to make sure you don't block the computers exhaust fans.
Some other Cool Must Have Media Center Accessories
1. Media Center Remote
You have alot of choice with this one. I went with the microsoft one. It works great and is only 40 dollars. It comes with the Microsoft Model # 1040 IR receiver. This IR receiver can also send commands, so if you are using a program like girder you can have it send a command to turn on your tv, projector, bell, dishnet, dtv boxes on. When using the media center extender it can even change channels on your bell/dishnet receivers so everything is all linked into your 1 system.
2. Tuner Card
To record all your shows to hard disk you will need a good tuner card. When looking at tuner cards try to get one with dual cable inputs. This will allow you to record you tv shows while watching another one.
3. DVB-S satellite card
Most DVB-S cards are not supported but now TwinHan has released a MCE DVB-S support package for the TwinHan DVB-S PCI card series.
Must have Addons and Software
1.MCE Buddy
If your tight on space you can get a program called MCE Buddy that will encode them to DIVX / XVID after the show is done recording.You can also set MCE Buddy to strip out the commercials. This works almost perfect for most shows. I have mine set to record Prison Break, Heroes, House, One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, Boston Legal, Family Guy, NCIS, Fringe, Smallville, Grey's Anatomy, Southpark and it works great for all of them. Its nice to not even have to think about anything and it just works. MCE Buddy runs as a service so you don't even need to keep a eye on things. If you were wondering about the commercial skiping and how it works. I was told it looks at various aspects of the video such as brightness and sound level then puts the graph data in a timeline then strips out the commercials by analyzing the changes in the graph.
2. MyMceSat
This plugin can be used to link the DVB-S software MyTheater with Media Center.
3. Media Center Communicator
(MCC) is software, designed specifically for Windows Vista Media Center, that allows users to simply speak to access the content they desire using voice recognition. MCC requires No Voice Training and No Programming so it is ready to use right out of the box. If your dream was having voice activated music then this is your chance. Media Center Communicator works with iTunes and Windows Media Player.
What can you do with MCC?
Voice Activated TV and Movies
Instantly access your recorded shows and movie collection using only your voice.
Voice-Activated Skype
Works with Skype to place calls anywhere in the world.
Voice-Activated Email
Works with most popular email providers.
3. DVD Gallery Reg Hack
To enable the DVD Gallery first exit Windows Media Center if it is running. Now Click Start and type regedit in the Start Search box, and then click regedit in the Programs list. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.
Now Locate and then click the following registry subkey: ( HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\DvdSettings ) Now In the results pane, right-click ShowGallery, and then click Modify. Delete the current contents that appear in the Value data box, type Gallery in the Value data box, and then click OK and your all set. Now boot up Media Center and have a look.
If you have any suggestions for cool Media Center software leave a comment and we will add it!
