Newbie needs advice

[kboss]

I just ordered a Dell e310 scratch and dent from their outlet to use as a media gateway.It it has a 2.8ghz p4 processor,160gig hd,dvd burner,and just the dell integrated audio and graphics cards. I have dishnetwork 211 hd receiver with a sony 52 in. rear proj. t.v. and home theater system. I would like to have pvr capabilities,be able to stream my music and photos from my main computer through my wireless router and surf the net on my tv. The computer is coming with MCE installed.I really need advice on tuner/video cards also will I need a better sound card?

Any help would be greatly appreciated,Thanx

[pBS]

get a pvr 150 regular model [with remote and ir-blaster built-in]
cheapest route tho not as extensible a remote, but works great with GBPVR
i got mine for 59$ on sale but can be had for around US$79 normally..
if you want the MCE functions too, get a 150MCE kit...[MCE150 with MCE remote and blaster]
has all you need and now the drivers are stable..

make sure you get a nice mpeg2 decoder too...i recommend the Nvidia PureVideo one as it looks best and offers full DXVA acceleration...
[tho it does cost..]
free alternative is the Dscaler5 one and GPL mpeg2 decoder..[do search]
assuming it has tv out as it's an MCE box..

[zehd]

get a pvr 150 regular model [with remote and ir-blaster built-in]
cheapest route tho not as extensible a remote, but works great with GBPVR
i got mine for 59$ on sale but can be had for around US$79 normally..
if you want the MCE functions too, get a 150MCE kit...[MCE150 with MCE remote and blaster]
has all you need and now the drivers are stable..

The PVR150 regular is cheap and good and the Hauppauge 150MCE Kit w/remote is better, but I ended up having a much easier time connecting the IR blasters to the Set Top Box using a Microsoft MCE remote/blaster.

I ended up getting the PVR150MCE (OEM) and a Microsoft MCE Remote for not much more than the Hauppauge 150 MCE kit

I've had them all, and IMHO, the few extra bucks are worth it

[kboss]

Thanks for the replies. The computer has no T.V. outs so I assume I'll need a video card with tv outputs? Or should I opt for the pvr 350mce? Also the sound card says 2.1, so will I need a new one for my surround system? And one more question; will the windows desktop and internet look o.k. on my t.v. screen?

Thanks in advance for any info.

[kboss]

I placed an order for the pvr350 yesterday but have just cancelled it after reading through this and a couple of other forums as to the fact that I won't be able to see the mce desktop through it. The Dell e310 I just got only has a 230 watt power supply and most of the higher end fan cooled video cards require 250 watt minimum. Since this computer will only be in my home theater system will this be a problem? If not I will definately go with the 150pvr and a new video card. Any video card recommendations would surely be welcome-have to be PCI.

Thanks-KBoss

[Fatman_do]

I just added a free to me PCI Nvidia 128MB MX4000

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6814130186

I like it better than the AGP ATI Radeon 7000 I was using. It is passively cooled so it is quiet.

I don't use the computer for anything else and seldom use the CD drive. I still have a standalone DVD player for DVD playback.