might be moving to win media center... thoughts?

[scott]

Hi guys...

Following up on alot of hand ringing over system instabliltiy and a lot of issues that I never was able to really resolve, I'm thinking of trowing in the towel and going with a new box with win media center pre-installed... Tiger Direct is selling a remanufatured gateway media center machine with all the bells and wistles for $434 and I'm really temped to go that route...

Nothing against GBpvr - in fact I'm a "donatar" - and have had alot of fun with the software... but I've also been responsible for teaching my children a few new swear words along the waym -- AND also note, that I'm inclined to be thinking the faults were hardware related anyway...

But - now faced with having to get new hardware - and having the opportunity to get media center included - I believe that maybe it's time to get a system that will be working out of the box with microsoft confirming that everyhting will work together...

What are your thoughts? Without judging the software involved too much, will getting a box "designed" for media center, with media center, help get me a more stable system that is less of a toy for me and an appliance for the family?

[scott]

What - nobody's going to talk me out of it?

I was on tigerdirect and saw this: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/...1&NoMapp=0 It's the chaintech mobo w/ athlon for $99 on the site's home page. It has the nvideo chipset that you guys have recommended for stability with a hauppauge 150.

One reviewer complained that it was picky with memory - which puts me on the slippery slope of having to throw money at it to troublshoot... But all in all - it seems like a good board.

What do you guys think of this board as an option to try a new build w/ GB PVR compared to going with the gateway system above? Tiger Direct also sells a celeron D board and processor combo as well for less than $100. I couldn't find combos at NewEgg - but I have alot of respoect for NewEgg, so if someone whats to recommedn a board for GBpvr from that site, I'd be all ears.

Thanks guys... this mess is keeping me up at night! :o

[capone]

Get it and try it...this is software, not a plasma drip You're not going to hurt anything checking it out.

I've used it, and in many ways it was great, but I ran into the truth: when I hit things I couldn't live with/without, I had no options. It cemented that GB was the best fit for the flexible use I needed, bar none.

Think of it like marriage: it's best to date aroudn a little, so when you settle down, you know you picked a winner. If you don't try other programs, in a lot of ways you won't appreciate GB if it's the best fit for you.

[zed]

My system is an HP box that came with media center. It worked OK but it was not all that stable. At the time, there were no 'extender' boxes for it and the MVP doesn't play dvr-ms format files. I tried a couple other pvr packages but when I found GB-PVR I never looked back. I haven't run Media Center since. You might want to check out the media center related news groups, there are a few on Microsoft's public server, and some of the forums for Media Center. Lots of folks with lots of problems. That being said, there's no harm trying it. It's just XP with some added stuff. You can always install GB-PVR on the box when you get tired of MCE...

[LilY0da]

wow, $100 for the mobo and the processor?
that's tempting!!!

[Manoe]

From my experience I would run the opposite way from anything having to do with Gateway computers.

[bgowland]

...working out of the box with microsoft confirming that everyhting will work together...

ROFL. What day was it that MS could confirm anything of the sort???

Don't get me wrong - I make a living from supporting a network based exclusively on MS platforms so I'm not an MS basher. I never believe the hype though and I've looked at MCE in the past.

In my opinion, if you're going to invest in new hardware then dedicate the box totally to being a PVR (don't let anyone use it as a day to day machine) and stick with XP Pro for the time being. If MS are ever going to get their act together WRT media serving it probably won't be until Vista (or whatever they choose to call it) hits the market.

...will getting a box "designed" for media center, with media center, help get me a more stable system that is less of a toy for me and an appliance for the family?

I designed and built my box for GB-PVR. Stable? Yes - from a hardware/OS point of view. There are some glitches in my GB-PVR setup which need sorting out though. Then again, I like to push things to the limit - 7 capture sources (3 analogue, 4 DVB-T). All my cards are Hauppauge and their own software can't cope with that. MCE can't either.

GB-PVR can.

What - nobody's going to talk me out of it?

Done my best. Go whichever way you choose.

Cheers,
Brian

[limiter]

I actually came from a MythTV setup which took me at least two weeks to get running, and it wasn't even running perfect. After four months the commercial skip stopped working, and several other things broke. I didn't dare do linux, or MythTV updates for fear of breaking it more. This is how I fix linux computers: Reinstall the whole thing from scratch = Pain & suffering.

I was sick of doing that so I looked for something else. I was going to get Windows Media Center and build a new system, but then I stumbled across GBpvr and I thought it was nice. There were a lot of cool plugins and then I saw commercial skip and I was sold. Also having non-DRM video files is an added bonus.

Commercial skip is the greatest thing ever. I have no idea how I had the patience to watch TV without it. When it broke on my MythTV box, and then other things started degrading I knew I had to find something I could quickly fix, which meant either something like Windows MC or something that worked in Windows. GBpvr was the answer.

[scott]

Thanks guys very much for the input - i really appreciate it! Truth is that I did get caught up in the MS marketing hype... I think I'll pull together a computer, on a better system this time, I'll give gbpvr another try.

From a motherboard standpoint - is it still recommended to go with intel or nvidia chip sets for the best luck with a PVR-150? Anybody have a low cost recommendation - I'd be looking for a mobo/processor combo...

[Vlarian]

Alot of good mobo/cpu combos work great for cheap startup, here's my experiance... I built mine from a frys deal which was a 64 3000+ plus generic mobo, but had support for 6 drives and 2 sata ones .. wasn't even nvidia chipset. That was for 130.. I bout the chaintech xgi vid card for 15 from TD.. and stole 256meg of mem from my gaming PC. Wait for the many harddrive rebate deals to easily put a terrabyte into your box in no time at all (course start with one of the many 2gig /60bucks after rebates and build from there)...go for seagate rebates because you'll receive them promptly and their drives are quiet w/5 year warrentys. Thats the basics at a very cheap cost. the fans, case, powersupply can be budget or hand me downs... that said though, I'm at the point where I want to quiet it down as much as possible and the outlook doesn't look cheap for that convienance.. stick with the FREE solutions like GBPVR.

edit: oh btw.. pvr 150