home media pc

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

anyone experience of using a pc with their tv on a regular basis.

likely using a modern lcd/plasma tv which makes a good monitor.

seen a sony, ok there are others too, media pc designed to be
permantley with the tv. features large 500gb hard drive, tv card
with twin digital tuners dvd - rw drive decent graphics card.

potentially takes place of a domestic hard drive tv recorder and
of course dvd player/writer. comes with vista premium but wonder
how it would compare with free standing non pc equivalent units.

seems with pc part could link to your wifi/internet, perhaps pull
media form other networked pcs.

guess comes down to what vista prem is like as an interface.

oh reckon could run some decent games on big tv too. and
see nfmoc from sofa...

 

[clivvy]

yes, I work for a computer company.

what is it you need to know?

Vista Premium will be fine, its got Media centre built in, but windows 7 is due out, so i would wait for that if you can.

one thing to consider when you buy yoru media pc is its size, and noise levels. A lot of media pcs can be noisy (fans) and as they are on a long time, they can heat up badly, so also consider its size/cooling. Loads to choose from, but I would chosoe a good brand such as Sony if you can, the technology is superb hardware wise.

TV's well, my company is also a leading Tv shop, big online, and we regularly have tvs hooked up. you just need one thats supports a decent resolution, HD of course (most modern media centre pcs will be HD) and that should do it, sound form the tv probably wont be much cop so hook up a cinema audio system. To be honest, the majority of modern LCD's and Plasmas are superb for media centre pcs (display wise) so you cant go far wrong really, just keep in mind the media centre pcs spec graphics wise and what the tv can handle.

good luck.

 

[makeitfit]

Ah ha a man in thre trade:thumb2
I'm trying to find a decent streaming media router so I can use the music and films on my pc on the tv and hi fi wirelessly pref. but not essential.
The PC is downstairs and decent spec.

 

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

well first point is potentially pc needs to be on all day or all evening or viewing session
longer maybe if doing some late recording so will it stand being on 24/7 or close to?

secondly reckon premium be int vista or win7 is built on xp media centre(center)! and
unit will have a remote keyboard, likely hand held remote too so will operating the
tuner/hdd/dvd functions be as easy as a dedicated free standing equivalent? imagine
that atleast thanks to windows it will be similair regardless of function so not have to
learn totally different menus from different manufacturers.

and third semi unrelated issue, what sort of spec what sort of spec pc would it take
to say emulate a playstation2 to make it an even more allrounder. would expect it
to cope with say wii/ps3/or xb360 put psx/2 would be fun and cut down on clutter
under telly.

 

[iceman]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002LZUHMI/ref=nosim/?tag=hotukdeals-21

is this what you looking for.

the WD TV Live HD Media Player from Western Digital has everything you need to play your HD media collection and the fun stuff you find on the web in brilliant HD 1080p on your big screen HDTV.

Because it supports a wide variety of file types, you can instantly enjoy all your home digital media, regardless of the file format. Plus you get direct access to a huge selection of video, photos, and music from popular internet sites like YouTube, Flickr, Live 365, and Pandora (U.S. only) right from the beautifully easy WDTV navigation screen.

The WD TV Live HD media player is exceptionally easy to use so anyone in the family can do it and, because it's networked, you can easily access media from any PC in the home.

Features
Play Full HD 1080p video, music and photos on your HD TV
DTS Downmix - Convert your DTS Audio to play as normal stereo
Supports widest variety of file formats and devices
Network capable for easy access to the newest content from PCs, network drives, internet favorites

In the Box
Media Player
Compact remote with batteries
Composite AV cable
Component AV cable
AC adapter
CD with sample media
Quick Install Guide

Compatibility
HDMI, Full HD (1080p), AAC, MP3, JPEG, USB 2.0, H.264, SimplayHD, Energy Star®, Dolby Digital, DTS, DLNA, Bonjour, AVCHD, Windows Vista