Hello everyone, this is my very first post on these forums...and hopefully the first of many. I have been creeping on here a few hours this morning and a few last night but everything I am reading is way over my head. I used the forum search tool and typed in "beginner" but it really didn't narrow it down all that much at all. I was kind of hoping for a basic beginners FAQ sticky forum or something of likeness (perhaps I missed it somehow).
Anyways, I will try to keep this as brief as possible for ease of reading and answering. Basically, I have a very capable computer and for about the last week I have been heavily researching torrents and taking every needed precaution to keep my computer as safe and as far from prying eyes as possible (by downloading extra anti-virus, scanners, peer blockers, ip routers etc) and it is safe to say that I am secure and have really been enjoying what I have downloaded on my uTorrent so far. Ive kept downloads to a minimal mainly because I am currently downloading/running my movies etc from uTorrent off my harddrive. What I ultimately want to do is: download torrents normally, but on an external hard drive, and stream these torrents onto my tv. So...what is the easiest way to do this?
1. Should I buy an external hard drive for my torrents and route all downloads to this? Once I have the torrents on the EHD (external hard drive) how can I stream them on my HDTV most easily?
2. Previously, I used to run an HD cable from my computer tower directly to my TV. This enabled me to watch from my TV, whatever my computer monitor was showing (Im sure this is basic to all of you). Problem is...I now run dual monitors and I only have 2 HD jacks coming out of my graphics card and they are both used (one by each monitor). So, I am no longer able to simply run an HD cable from the PC tower to the TV to enable streaming movies etc from computer to TV...unless there is a way? For instance...is there some sort of 2 to 1 adapter I can buy that plugs into 1 of the 2 graphics cards jacks in the back of my tower that will allow me to plug in both a monitor (for dual monitor usage) as well as a cable to allow computer to tower viewing? It seems the best thing to do would be to run a cable from tower to tv to watch torrents but I dont want to sacrifice dual monitor usage.
3. Once I get the above figured out (Downloading numerous torrents onto an EHD and getting them to play on my tv)....how can I take advantage of XBMC? What exactly are the benefits...its totally free correct? Do I utilize it from the computer or the TV or both? I have an Xbox ... but it is a giant paperweight only used for playing DvDs at the moment. I dont currently have, nor do I want to purchase XBox Live..unless needed.
This is a lot to ask I know...but I figured no better place to turn than to the XBMC forum community itself! I appreciate any help in advanced guys and I hope to hear back soon.
Edit: I have looked over the wiki for windows (I assume XBMC requires some type of active internet connection) and I currently have Windows XP...is it required to get Windows 7 if I really want the full benefits?
Anyways, I will try to keep this as brief as possible for ease of reading and answering. Basically, I have a very capable computer and for about the last week I have been heavily researching torrents and taking every needed precaution to keep my computer as safe and as far from prying eyes as possible (by downloading extra anti-virus, scanners, peer blockers, ip routers etc) and it is safe to say that I am secure and have really been enjoying what I have downloaded on my uTorrent so far. Ive kept downloads to a minimal mainly because I am currently downloading/running my movies etc from uTorrent off my harddrive. What I ultimately want to do is: download torrents normally, but on an external hard drive, and stream these torrents onto my tv. So...what is the easiest way to do this?
1. Should I buy an external hard drive for my torrents and route all downloads to this? Once I have the torrents on the EHD (external hard drive) how can I stream them on my HDTV most easily?
2. Previously, I used to run an HD cable from my computer tower directly to my TV. This enabled me to watch from my TV, whatever my computer monitor was showing (Im sure this is basic to all of you). Problem is...I now run dual monitors and I only have 2 HD jacks coming out of my graphics card and they are both used (one by each monitor). So, I am no longer able to simply run an HD cable from the PC tower to the TV to enable streaming movies etc from computer to TV...unless there is a way? For instance...is there some sort of 2 to 1 adapter I can buy that plugs into 1 of the 2 graphics cards jacks in the back of my tower that will allow me to plug in both a monitor (for dual monitor usage) as well as a cable to allow computer to tower viewing? It seems the best thing to do would be to run a cable from tower to tv to watch torrents but I dont want to sacrifice dual monitor usage.
3. Once I get the above figured out (Downloading numerous torrents onto an EHD and getting them to play on my tv)....how can I take advantage of XBMC? What exactly are the benefits...its totally free correct? Do I utilize it from the computer or the TV or both? I have an Xbox ... but it is a giant paperweight only used for playing DvDs at the moment. I dont currently have, nor do I want to purchase XBox Live..unless needed.
This is a lot to ask I know...but I figured no better place to turn than to the XBMC forum community itself! I appreciate any help in advanced guys and I hope to hear back soon.
Edit: I have looked over the wiki for windows (I assume XBMC requires some type of active internet connection) and I currently have Windows XP...is it required to get Windows 7 if I really want the full benefits?
