What is Digg?Sponsored by newegg
Ever want to really be MacGyver? The time is now! view!
newegg.com - Skullcandy gets you started! Thanks newegg!
87 Comments
- bobroberts1953, on 11/07/2009, -1/+35 So the gist of this HOWTO was, burn cd, boot pc. WOW, that was usefull.
- kevnaca, on 11/07/2009, -1/+24No HD with that. There is no HD output and the processor is too slow.
- ldbjr, on 11/07/2009, -0/+19Been using one for years, but it's limited in it's inability to stream HD video.
- g33b33, on 11/07/2009, -0/+12What?
Have you not heard of 720p+ sources? - nonapp, on 11/07/2009, -0/+12open-source ftw
- alex7575, on 11/07/2009, -3/+15"Even though PC noise & boot times will be issues"
I have Boxee + XBMC running on my HTPC connected to my TV in the living room.
I setup my machine to sleep at 12AM and wake up at 7AM, and it goes to sleep after 15 mins of inactivity, when going from sleeping to "awake" it takes about 5 seconds from "waking up" to usable desktop (never longer than 10-15 secs).
For the noise, just replace all your fans for 120mm fans and set them to run on 5-7volts, they'll be virtually silent. Also ditch the stock cpu fan and get one that works on a 120mm fan and also run them under 1,000 rpm (I did some temp benches and they all passed with flying colors). Do the same for the video card (if you have one).
I also use my HTPC as an "XBOX360", with 2 wireless 360 controllers connected to my PC, it runs almost all games that are available for the 360 but with better graphics. - KSUdesigner, on 11/07/2009, -1/+13They do if you download HD quality torrents, but you can't do HD on an xbox.
- Testies, on 11/07/2009, -10/+20Step 1. Buy an orignal XBOX on Craigslist or local pawn shop for about $60.
Step 2. Softmod if not already modded.
Step 3. Install XBMC on it and hook it up to your TV and your LAN.
Now you can stream music/movies/live tv from your pc to your tv.
Ta da!! - Rfriaz, on 11/07/2009, -0/+9This sounds amazing and also like something I'll never do.
Closest I'll come is hooking up netbook to TV and declaring 'MEDIA CENTER.' - CocodaMonkey, on 11/07/2009, -3/+11Actually it's not a typo, that's the original (British/Canadian) spelling of the word. It's only in the states that it's spelt center.
- ducttape36, on 11/07/2009, -0/+6i have one fan in my computer. it cools the power supply. everything else has giant heat sinks. i have a scyth ninja mini heat sink on my core 2 quad that dynamicly overclocks from 2.5 to 3.02 ghz and a radeon hd2600xt that also has one of those giant het sincs on it. no fans what-so-ever except the power supply one, which is pretty silent as it is. no noise, and for normal operation (i.e. websurfing, watch a recorded program or dvd) it idles at about 41C. although if play a video game like left 4 dead on it, that temperature tops out at about 61C. still not bad for no fans and a nice roomy case.
tl;dr: dont underestimate heat sinks without fans. - alex7575, on 11/07/2009, -1/+7The only thing that sucks is the lack of HDMI, but it's a pretty good solution.
- alex7575, on 11/07/2009, -0/+6Here's a few pictures of my setup, the picture of the side of the cabinet was supposed to show the power button I put there, and I installed an ANTEC Veris for the remote functionality, and also to be able to turn on my computer with the remote.
http://picasaweb.google.com/alex7575/XBMC?feat=dir ... - alex7575, on 11/07/2009, -0/+6I play the PC version of the 360 games, there's no difference, once you connect a controller, as long as the game is a "For Windows" game, the game will support (most newer games do) the 360 controller and work just like the 360 version.
- vuke69, on 11/07/2009, -1/+6You have to admit that looks a bit ghetto.
But dugg anyways for enthusiasm, and the DIY spirit. - g33b33, on 11/07/2009, -1/+6I work for a living and bought a Popcorn Hour and Onkyo AV receiver. :-)
Bluray playback, Dolby TrueHD, HDMI, all streamed from my QNAP NAS, so low power consumption, no noise. Plug and play.
The QNAP is fed by sabnzbd which grabs my nzb's automatically based on rss feeds.
Shame working means I dont have time to watch anything :-( - inactive, on 11/07/2009, -4/+9XBMC is a nice application. Thanks for the heads up.
- bash1979, on 11/07/2009, -1/+5No MediaPortal fans out there? Been using that for a few years and it has served me well.
- Antialias, on 11/07/2009, -1/+5PC's have these slots where you can insert new stuff. Believe me, I was BLOWN away the first time I heard too.
- dagr8tim, on 11/07/2009, -0/+4I spent like $60 on a TV tuner card, and about $100 for a 1.5 tb hard drive, and threw it into an old PC that had a 400 gig drive and an older ATI vid card with 256 megs of ram. It's hooked up to my LCD TV, and I've got a wireless keyboard/mouse I had laying around on it. I can watch TV from the computer, play WoW, or record and stream TV to other PC's in the house.
It's not rocket science. - Zeratul256, on 11/08/2009, -0/+3http://tinyurl.com/yeyox57
- coadyj, on 11/07/2009, -0/+3The best part about it is that it can playback from rared content. No more unzipping :)
- alpha88, on 11/07/2009, -0/+3Bro I have a ton of 1080p movies. You can't tell the difference between them and the original Bluray.
- TylerDuhrdan, on 11/07/2009, -2/+5No tv tuner to record OTA
- coadyj, on 11/07/2009, -1/+4Your right, why not just submit xbmc.org to digg. Stupid article.
- Lollerskater, on 11/07/2009, -0/+3XBMC actually supports VDPAU on Linux for GeForce 8-series and up (few particular exceptions, like my 8800GTX :( ). Properly encoded HD has been running quite fine on XBMC for a while now. Same with Boxee, for those who are wondering.
But I can see how Linux as a requirement can be a bit daunting at first. But progress is being made by Team XBMC and contributors on other platforms as well. Check the XBMC forums for up-to-date information.
I'd say if you want accelerated HD playback right now: take the plunge and go for Linux, you won't notice much difference once the HTPC is all up and running anyway (except for the HD). There's a Live CD to make it even easier. If you can't be swayed from Windows or Mac for this (e.g. hardware restrictions), please wait a bit longer. They're working on it! :) - techdever, on 11/07/2009, -1/+3Um, because people use media centers coupled with a larger lcd / tv + a remote? It's far more convenient than getting a mouse and trying to spot where the tiny cursor is.
- cherwilco, on 11/07/2009, -1/+3xbmc runs in linux, win, and mac os! it plays hd content on the ion/atom platform and is in the early stages of running on the $150 beaglebord!
sorry dude boxee isnt better due to platform freedom at all - wtfbatman, on 11/07/2009, -0/+2That's not the point. If someone's computer isn't anywhere near the xbox streaming via shared network over the router isn't the best option.
This is for people who have an old, useless computer, and just want to have a computer right next to their tv, boot, bam, movies. - guyincognitoo, on 11/08/2009, -0/+2Add a Logitech universal remote and a cheap IR receiver and you can do it all with the remote.
- Stemp, on 11/07/2009, -1/+3depend on the colour I guess
- inactive, on 11/07/2009, -3/+5I love XBMC. Its the reason I still keep my Xbox 1 plugged in. Really makes a fantastic media center when coupled with a bigger HD.
- Zera, on 11/07/2009, -2/+4Boxee is better, and it's based on XBMC. In addition it RUNS in the OS of your choice, meaning you aren't limited at all.
- Squirgle, on 11/08/2009, -0/+2Why do I care if your dad has cancer? I'd still tell him that XBMC is easier to use for getting digital media onto your TV compared to a regular computer.
- Flyfox, on 11/07/2009, -0/+2There are many skins out there for XBMC -- http://xbmc.org/wiki/?title=List_of_working_skins
An example being MC360: http://i36.tinypic.com/2612ijb.png - IrvineKinneas50, on 11/07/2009, -0/+2That's much better, carry on then.
- kkthxbye, on 11/07/2009, -1/+3XBMC has no support for DXVA (GeForce 8xxx and up, all of the ATI HD Series) or CUDA (GeForce 8600 and up), which is essential to have if you want to play HD content on a semi-old computer.
- sanderton, on 11/10/2009, -0/+2Or get an Acer Aspire of similar for half the price.
- chockster, on 11/07/2009, -0/+2Check out the MediaStream skin. Ugly it is not.
- Swillys, on 11/07/2009, -0/+2How do you play xbox360 games on PC?
- deviantsteve, on 11/07/2009, -0/+2I used to use xbmc then switched to Boxee. I like the features better. Lots more streaming content options.
- Zeratul256, on 11/08/2009, -0/+1Why would it matter how close a PC is to your Xbox if it's on a network? It's on a network.
- kkthxbye, on 11/07/2009, -0/+1Thanks for the information - thought Linux was far behind regarding hardware acceleration of HD video. I'll give it a try sometime, I'm just not very strong at Linux.
I have had a VPS with CentOS, but everytime I ran into a problem, it would take me way to long fixing it, looking for help on Google and forums.
But hey, I guess I have to learn it someway. - Yage2006, on 11/08/2009, -0/+1I prefer 7mc + Media browser.
OR media portal both I find better then xbmc.
But they owe much to XBMC. - chockster, on 11/07/2009, -1/+2I used to think of that as a disadvantage, but with Hulu and other on demand stuff out there it really isn't such a big issue any more. I've got a Dell Studio Hybrid with XBMC and Hulu Desktop. Covers all I need!
- shininia, on 11/07/2009, -0/+1I use my ps3 along with ps3 media server, the only problem is that wireless g can't handle 1080 content.
- chockster, on 11/07/2009, -0/+1You don't have to run it on Linux, though. Through Windows it's fine.
- Kate1240, on 11/07/2009, -0/+1I am still trying to figure out how to get avi movies on my apple tv..?
- RedhookESB, on 11/07/2009, -1/+2I jammed the power button and plugged it into a wireless outlet switch I can control with a small remote taped to the back of the controller. Ghetto modded, sure, but it has worked for years!
-
Show 51 - 90 of 90 discussions
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is 