media centre...

Pirax · 13-09-2008, 16:38

Ok so i found 5k in an old bank account i thought i closed so going to kit out my new house so need some advice.

I have my main PC which is fine anyway, got my 2 screens for Max, Maya and Premiere. i have my server PC Which is fine (although if you could recommend a decent software KVM it would be appreciated) I have a NAS box for downloads. i have all my network drives sorted so happy with this setup. So what im looking for is:

Decent TV

Media Centre PC. (fast boot, small in size, able to access network storage) i dont really want to have a KB + Mouse attached to it so maybe windows xp media centre edition with the remote (although again ive never used this before) or a software KVM. (i dont want to use a hardware KVM due to having two monitors)

Ive never set up a media centre PC before. guessing the video goes through the HDMI ports to the TV but what about the sound? can u transfer sound through HDMI?

I was looking at connecting it via a scart lead but dont know about signal quality with that. Also can u connect a PC to a sky+ box to drag and drop files? i looked on google for a bit but couldnt find a definitive answer.

I havnt had time to do much research on the subject as weve removed our two servers at work and transfering everything over to a single domain and server (may be another post about this later involving domain trees if anyone knows anything about that?)

anyway if anybody could help it would be appreciated, i know its long winded and unorganised but i have no time for breaks and everything needs to be running by monday! argh. People think 4 days is reasonable to demote 2 servers and domains into one and have everything running perfectly pfft

Puratech · 13-09-2008, 17:11

HDMI sends video and sound, im not sure but i think its upto 7.1 audio max, so would be fine.

Im pretty much out of date with prices/hardware at the moment, but from reading your post the idea of a solid state drive crossed my mind. Im not sure how fast they are - or appropriate, but im fairly sure theyre not that expensive if you just want to run an OS off it. They should be fairly fast and quieter than a normal hdd. Also depends if youre going to have the data library on the media pc or stream it over the network.

Probably the main thing you want is for it to be quiet, the lower end new graphics cards support HDTV pretty well, but because theyre shit for gaming they dont require fans etc. Combine with a cpu you can passively cool. Or just put the whole thing in a different room, but thats not ideal.

Havent done this myself so cant really say anymore, should be as simple as making a quiet pc with media centre/remote control.

Cintaria · 13-09-2008, 20:01

From what I know, Sky+ saves files as they come from the satellite, which is encrypted. You still need your card to decode the files. As for connecting it to a pc and dragging-n-dropping; no idea. But if you can, it'll be pretty pointless if you can't decode them on your pc

teflon · 15-09-2008, 04:28

Well Sky+ has a USB plug on the back, maybe that's just for some kind of ****** Sky keyboard.
I think it might be better to get a satellite TV card for the computer and run a S-video lead to that from your Sky box.

Pirax · 18-09-2008, 17:42

Thanks for the replies, sorry took so long to respond.

I noticed the USB ports on the front and back on my sky box so just thought it was a way to connect to the hard drive which would of been easier as now i have to record everything from sky to my dvd recorder in real time......would just be quicker to download them.

Just had 20 smartboards installed this week aswell and ive come into possesion of 18 of the projectors there replacing so might bang that into my room now instead of getting a TV as i have pretty much an infinate supply of bulbs now.

Thanks for the advice pura, i was looking at a low cost card with no GFX fan, found an old shuttle PC in the storage room at work aswell that used to be used for digital signage so i might just use that as it has 2 HDMI ports.

And i never knew HDMI sent sound, thats pretty handy shame my projector only has VGA ports and not HDMI.

I was thinking about that Teflon but i dont have a spare PCI port at the mo so would have to be an external one which i think are more expensive.

Also i found a decent software KVM called Kavoom if anyone is intrested, no loss of quality or jerkyness, im pretty impressed with it. My servers finally all up and running so i get time to chill and sort everything out. Shame my exchange server had melted over the weekend =/