Media Center Computer

[DonkeyShoes]

Anyone here have a computer hooked up as a media center for their TV?

I finally got my wife's old desktop out of the closet and decided to hook it up to the living room TV. I wasn't planning on going media center with it, just had it there to use the internet, but have looked around online and found some pretty interesting ideas for it.

At first I wanted to use it for MythTV (free linux version of Tivo), but I don't think it would work well with this old of a computer. Plus, since it's a slimline, the PSU (160W) is too small to upgrade to anything that would power a good graphics card and a Tuner/PVR card as far as I can tell.

Then I found Boxee (free), which I've installed and looks pretty cool so far. I can't get videos to play well on the old desktop yet (need to upgrade the graphics card and memory first), but I used it on my laptop and I like it. Basically the program scours your computer and the web for free video, like TV shows on NBC, Hulu, History Channel, etc. and lists them all in one place and you can watch them through Boxee. You can make a list in your queue of shows you want to watch (you sign in so it will remember even if you are on a different computer).

I am also going to try turning one of my Wii remotes into a remote for the computer and see how that works, apparently all you need is a Bluetooth connection with the computer and some software.


Here are some of the specs on the computer:

Gateway 300SE Slimline Workstation
Windows XP SP3 (may move to Ubuntu if necessary)
Pentium 4 2.0 ghz CPU
256 Mb RAM (upgrading to 1Gb in a couple days)
Shitty integrated graphics (Installing GeForce FX 5200 in a couple days)
160W Power supply


Let me know if anyone has tried any of these things, I'll post my progress with this.

[Evan!]

Let us know how it all works out...sounds like a plan anyway. I've got nothing to really add, except that my new iMac works as a wireless media server for my ps3, so I've been watching DL'd torrents on my TV that way.

[DonkeyShoes]

I probably would have done something similar if I had an Xbox or PS3. I think boxee will play torrents as well. Does Netflix too. I might be able to catch some pics or vids of it in action once it's all up and running.

It is available on Mac and Linux as well and is free, in case you have any desire to check it out. Simple install, can uninstall if it doesn't work out. That's the only reason I tried it.

Boxee is just my free answer to Tivo, since I don't want to pay for the subscription fees. Still has commercials during the shows since it is free online. There are some people who have completely cancelled cable after using it (still need the intertubes connection though). I doubt I'll be getting rid of cable.

[DonkeyShoes]

Well I've got everything pretty much up and running. Boxee works great, really a cool program for free. It was a pain in the ass getting the video card working though, since this was such an old computer.

-Installed extra 1 GB of RAM, now have 1.2 GB RAM.

-Installed the graphics card, but couldn't get higher than 640x480 to display. Tried everything I could find, ended up fucking up Windows to the point where it wouldn't start up anymore. Formatted drive and did fresh install of Linux (Ubuntu 9.10) which I like better anyway. After a couple days searching around, got the video card working at full resolution.

-Got a $4 (shipped) bluetooth dongle to get the wii remote working. It's possible to use as a infra-red pointer if you have a wireless sensor bar, which I don't. I just have the wii controller setup so I can use it in Boxee.

Next step will be to get an external hard drive and rip all our DVDs to it, and these can be played through Boxee too.

If anyone else is interested in trying this and has questions, post them here, and I'll answer the best I can. It probably sounds more difficult than it really is, just because I have an old shitty computer. With most newer computers (like my laptop), you can just download Boxee and start it up within a couple of minutes.

[Evan!]

I've heard that when the wiimote switches to bluetooth mode, it's a battery hog...fyi, you might want to make sure you have plenty of rechargeable AA's around.

Let us know how it ends up!

[zoebisch01]

I rebuilt my system into a nice Silverstone case. We don't have cable and I dropped the Direct TV nonsense. Now it's great. I watch Hulu on my 46". Sound runs through the receiver (although true 5.1 is something I have to tackle because most cards and on-board sound do not support true 5.1 encoding). It blends in nice.

I am running a 8800 GTS (320 Mb) card and can get just about any resolution but had to tweak it to make it look proper on the TV. I am not running the native resolution, it didn't look right. Had to use a PCI to HDMI converter though. The newer cards have HDMI out. I also had to increase the icon and font size up really big so I can see them from across the room. Fallout3 is sick on it. I bought an inexpensive Rosewill wireless kb/mouse from newegg for about $20 and it works great. Only issue with that is it isn't recognized until windows is booted.

[cheesefood]

Xbox 360
DNS 323
64 bit PC running TVersity Pro

/thread

[BlindLemonLars]

For those with an iPhone or iPod Touch, there is a Boxee remote app that works over WiFi, no bluetooth needed.

[zoebisch01]

I have been inspired to use some older hardware to set up a DNS box running freenas. I'll let you know how it turns out. I could start chucking my Anime on there.

[cheesefood]

Seriously d00dz..TVersity is free and kicks a lot of arse.