robweber Wrote:As far as hardware is concerned you're going to get a lot of different answers. It's like asking "what is the best flavor of ice cream" - everyone has their favorite. Lately i see a lot of good reviews for Acer Aspire Revos, Asrock ION 330s, and the Zotac Zbox. Really a matter of preference - do a little research and see what you find.
As far as your second question, what do you mean "the PC plugged into the computer?". Unless I'm mistaken, the PC is the computer. I'm going to go out on a limb and just say navigate the software with a wireless keyboard or remote.
Fernando Wrote:Hi Rob.
it was a mistake when i wrote computer, it was supposed to day pc to the tv.
So i can just buy any computer, a pc that has how much ram you think and what processor you think is best. Also how would i load the DVD's onto the system? Would the pc need to have a DVD burner to load the dvd on the hard drive? If I am always adding mass amounts of dvds how would you deal with storage issues.
fshagan Wrote:Check the hardware discussion forum here for more on the hardware people are using. You have to assess your needs. If your TV has HDMI input, then that is a good thing to have as an output on a PC. Older TVs have component or S-Video inputs, and you can grab a video card to support that.
There are some "ready to buy" systems out there that work that you might be able to pick up used. An Acer Aspire AX1300 would work; small form factor, HDMI, digital audio, etc., and you can sometimes find them on eBay for $100 to $200.
My concern was noise and power usage, so I'm building a low powered Atom processor HTPC to stream movies, music and pictures from my Windows Home Server to my TV downstairs. For "TV stuff" (movies and pictures), I needed HDMI output, and for music, I want digital audio (coax or SPDIF). Because I'm streaming from my WHS upstairs, I don't need a lot of storage space; right now I'm testing with a 4GB USB thumb drive with XBMC-Live on it. It works fine. But I have a 80 GB 2.5" laptop drive on the way that will fit nicely in my mini-case and not heat the thing up (so far, my HTPC is running fine without any loud fans).
If noise and power usage aren't a concern, nearly any computer you have will do (you may have to upgrade the video card to get something you can plug into your TV). Standard definition you create by ripping DVDs will play fine on most anything Pentium 4 and above (one poster in the Hardware forum was using an old Pentium III machine).
outleradam Wrote:you can run it from a cd or install it to the system.
Personally, I bought a $300 computer at walmart, deleted windows 7, installed from CD and plugged in my remote. Blam, done.
I like my snapstream remote. Most people like windows media center remotes. Theres a way to get any remote to work. Windows media center remotes are plug-n-play.
You do not need external hard drives if your internal is big enough. You can add hard disks as needed though.
There are plugins for XBMC which handle copying and burning DVDs.
Fernando Wrote:Ok,
So please correct me if i am wrong.
1. Get any computer, something speedy, some sort of dell small desktop or so. If it's running windows 7 or windows xp, do I just boot the computer, download this xbmc software and install the software? Will windows boot up or will the software boot up for now on after the install?
I want to primarily use this to store as many dvds as possible.
So I would need also a dvd burner to burn the dvd than what place it on the hard drive? If i want it to run smoothly, should I get 2 external harddrives?
If i am using a regular computer, what hardware can i use for the remote.
natethomas Wrote:1. It depends on which version you use. If you use XBMC Live, it won't use Windows at all, but rather its own operating system. If you use XBMC for Windows, it'll boot into Windows and you'll have to open it yourself.
Edit: Installing XBMC for Windows is just like installing any other program. It'll run exactly the same as VLC player or anything else, just prettier and full screen. Installing XBMC Live is a very different ordeal. Then you either lose your install of Windows altogether, or you have to dual boot, or you have to somehow run XBMC on another disc. You COULD always run it on the XBMC Live cd, but it'd run slow and that would be stupid.
2. You actually just need a dvd reader and a software program that can rip dvds to your harddrive. Due to various copyright laws, we probably shouldn't be linking to any of those, but they are very easy to find. DVDFab, DVD Decrypter, and Handbrake are all popular examples. If you start collecting movies on harddrives, it's always good to get more disc space, but putting your movies on external harddrives wouldn't necessarily speed them up or slow them down. DVDs will easily run fast enough in XBMC regardless of location.
3. Just a standard Windows MCE remote control should do the job. You'll find lots of guides on how to make your remote work, depending on if you use Windows, XBMC Live, Ubuntu, or whatever.
Fernando Wrote:Great info,
Which is better xbmc for windows or xbmc live?
Is the install easy?
Fernando Wrote:I just used a ripping software, ripped a dvd. Then when i open xbmc, all i see when i got to video is the titles for previews for the apple media or something. How and where do i place a dvd that i ripped so that when i click on video the ripped Dvd shows up for me to watch the full thing.
