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The Media Center PC

By Mike Kaltschnee

 

The timing of the Novembermeeting was perfect. I was ready to buy a Windows XP Media Center 2005 PC, and I was able to get my final questions answered by the Microsoft representative.

It was time to get a new computer, and rather than get a “normal” PC, I wanted to get something that could help my wife and I organize and share our 11,500 (and growing) personal photos, digitize hours of video tape (by now you’ve guessed that I have two small children), and even “rip” our music CD collection. One feature that we wanted was to be able to view our photos on the family room television, without having to put a computer in the room. The final goal was to be able to record and watch television on our schedule.

I thought about getting a cheap Dell and a TiVo, but this was my first new computer purchase in several years and I wanted something powerful that would last. The TiVo, if purchased with the lifetime subscription, was $350, and I could only watch the recorded programs on the one TV (unless I bought another TiVo). I was leaning more and more towards the Media Center.

When I started pricing computers, I was surprised to learn that there isn’t a huge premium for getting a Media Center PC. I bought a HP 1170N Media Center PC for around $1,150 at Circuit City. It features:

Pentium 4 3.0GHz hyper-threaded processor

512MB RAM PC 3200 RAM

200GB Serial ATA hard drive

Radeon 3100 PCI-E video card with 128MB DDR RAM

6 USB 2.0 and 2 Firewire ports

While the computer only has one tuner, if I find I need to record television on one channel while I’m watching another, I can always pick up another tuner card and pop it into the computer.

I originally wanted to get a Dell, but the Media Center computers they offered were priced higher than my $1,000 budget. Gateway has a Media Center PC, but they only sell it through Best Buy (and it was pricey as well). HP has several models that are widely available, and since I didn’t want the hassle of ordering the computer and having it shipped to me, and I could buy it locally. I have several HP products, including a scanner, digital camera, iPaq, and even a few old Pavillions around the house. I’m very happy with the quality of the devices, so I wasn’t worried about buying from HP. I’ve also had good experiences with HP support, so if I do have to contact them, I’m sure they’ll work out any problems I might have.

If you’ve been reading my DACS columns for a while, you’re wondering why I didn’t go with a Macintosh. Don’t fret — I haven’t sold my Powerbook. I still keep copies of my photos on the Mac, but Apple doesn’t offer a solution that will enable us to watch our photos or record television from our living room computer. The “wish list” I created when shopping for a PC led me to purchase a Media Center, since so much of our life is being recorded digitally. I still use the Powerbook as my main computer.

Another goal I had was to be able to watch recorded television on the train (I commute to New York City about 15 hours per week). I have a HP iPaq 2215, which is capable of playing movies. While I haven’t set this up yet, you can have the Media Center record a show, compress it for viewing on the iPaq, and it will even put it on the iPaq automatically. So when I pick up my iPaq in the morning, I can take E.R., CSI: Miami, or even the Simpsons on the train with me.

Since I blew the budget on the computer, I have to wait a few months to buy an extender. I’m sure the prices will go down since they are around $300 at this time. The extenders are not “real” computers, they only show the Media Center interface for viewing recorded television, your photos, and more. You can’t surf the Internet on an extender, so if that is your goal, I would recommend getting a computer for your family room.

Microsoft has a lot more information online at www.Microsoft.com/Media Center, including links to companies that sell the PC’s and extenders, software, and links to additional information.

I’m so enamored with the Media Center that I’ve even started a blog to document my discoveries and adventures with it: www.HackingTheMediaCenter.com.


Mike is a computer geek who hates programming his VCR.

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