Media Center PC - tv on your PC!
A media center PC is a home computer with audio and video input and output capabilities combined. It has entertainment related upgrades that make it a suitable centerpiece for a home theater system. Most media center PC's have progressive scan DVD playback, HDTV support, surround sound inputs and quieter operation (some use fanless cooling systems). In a single CPU unit, you have a range of functions that encompasses pretty much every aspect of digital media. With a media center PC connected to your TV and your speakers, you can access all of these functions by navigating through onscreen menus. The system is built to be controlled from across the room with a remote control, but you can also use a keyboard or mouse just like with a standard PC.
There are a couple of routes to a media center PC. You can do your own home theater related upgrades to a standard PC, or you can buy a prebuilt home theater PC. You may not achieve quite the same results as you would with a PC originally built for a home theater, but you're also going to be spending less cash. Creating your own media center PC doing your own media center upgrades typically costs less than buying a manufacturer built system. You can do a pretty decent upgrade for under $200. It's a fine way to go if you're just looking for a unit that gets the job done and has some nice home-theater features.
As far as hardware goes, you're not looking at major additions. If you already have a display and a nice set of speakers in your home theater system, you're really just looking at upgrading your PC sound card, video card and hard drives for storage capacity. Also the tuner card and PC memory are generally cheap upgrades too.
As far as software, media center software can range from a single application to a complete operating system. There are some complete upgrade kits out there that include all of the hardware, software and instructions you need to build your own Windows Media Center PC from the ground up. These kits come complete with a chassis, fanless cooling system, motherboard, processor and operating system, and it costs about as much as you would spend for one of the less expensive prebuilt systems. Even better the newer operating systems have media center included with better support and features than ever before.
Prebuilt media center PC's are built from the ground up to be part of your home theater system. You can sit on the couch in your den and send an e-mail to your friend, write up a proposal for work and set up a playlist of MP3s to blast through your surround sound system all using one display, one remote and one CPU. The benefit is the simplicity. The only thing you might need to buy in addition to the PC is a TV tuner and remote, although many systems come with those in the box. Setting it up is a matter of connecting your TV and your speakers. That's it. Some units come with enough connections that you can add on an external DVD or CD player if you want to, but these PCs are really intended to serve as your all-in-one media storage and playback device, your stereo, your DVD player, your home computer, your photo viewer, your 500-GB hard drive, your PC gaming system and your A/V receiver.
There are a couple of routes to a media center PC. You can do your own home theater related upgrades to a standard PC, or you can buy a prebuilt home theater PC. You may not achieve quite the same results as you would with a PC originally built for a home theater, but you're also going to be spending less cash. Creating your own media center PC doing your own media center upgrades typically costs less than buying a manufacturer built system. You can do a pretty decent upgrade for under $200. It's a fine way to go if you're just looking for a unit that gets the job done and has some nice home-theater features.
As far as hardware goes, you're not looking at major additions. If you already have a display and a nice set of speakers in your home theater system, you're really just looking at upgrading your PC sound card, video card and hard drives for storage capacity. Also the tuner card and PC memory are generally cheap upgrades too.
As far as software, media center software can range from a single application to a complete operating system. There are some complete upgrade kits out there that include all of the hardware, software and instructions you need to build your own Windows Media Center PC from the ground up. These kits come complete with a chassis, fanless cooling system, motherboard, processor and operating system, and it costs about as much as you would spend for one of the less expensive prebuilt systems. Even better the newer operating systems have media center included with better support and features than ever before.
Prebuilt media center PC's are built from the ground up to be part of your home theater system. You can sit on the couch in your den and send an e-mail to your friend, write up a proposal for work and set up a playlist of MP3s to blast through your surround sound system all using one display, one remote and one CPU. The benefit is the simplicity. The only thing you might need to buy in addition to the PC is a TV tuner and remote, although many systems come with those in the box. Setting it up is a matter of connecting your TV and your speakers. That's it. Some units come with enough connections that you can add on an external DVD or CD player if you want to, but these PCs are really intended to serve as your all-in-one media storage and playback device, your stereo, your DVD player, your home computer, your photo viewer, your 500-GB hard drive, your PC gaming system and your A/V receiver.
Media Center PC Upgrades
Graphics card - for smoother playback with better framerates and resolution to your tv. Things to consider here are multiple monitor support, Type of connections on card and number of connections available. Also consider whether your card supports HD audio for full HDMI signal output.
Sound card - should support whatever speakers you want to use -- stereo, digital surround or multichannel analog surround. If you're looking for home-theater-quality audio, a surround-sound system combined with a 24-bit card will provide excellent sound. If you'll be outputting to a receiver, look for a card with coaxial or optical digital outputs for the best results.
Hard Drive - the better the drive the better the playback of stored files, also the bigger the drive the more files you can store. For storage capacity, you'll probably want to be in the 400-to-500-gigabyte range. If you'll be recording HDTV, you might want more. If you're not an audio/video junkie and you're willing to use higher compression ratios, you may need less storage space.
Video Game Controllers - most PC's can use console controllers such as the Xbox 360 controllers for enhanced gaming and multimedia control
TV Tuner - preferably with DVR capability so you can record programs and skip commercials,you can buy a standalone TV tuner or else upgrade your video card to one that includes a tuner. Some Tuner cards will support multiple inputs and outputs as well.
AM/FM Radio Receiver - PC enabled radio tuner cards can vary in options but all will have basically the same inputs and outputs.
Remote Control Setup - including transmitter, receiver and, if you'll be using an external receiver for your speakers, a control cable to connect your PC to the receiver.
Media Center Software - out there with a variety of features. Overall, a piece of software like Meedio Pro, Sage TV, InterVideo Home Theater or Beyond TV with Beyond Media lets you connect home theater accessories to your computer and control it all through a single interface. You can stream music to other computers, transfer data to a portable device, and view your digital photos on your large-screen TV. Also, a lot of these software packages can put your regular computer monitor into a "theater view" mode that makes it visible from across the room. On the lower end a simple program like Media Monkey will support a large variety of media and playback functions offering a suitable playback experience. Add Hulu+ and Netflix streaming and you will have plenty of viewing choices on a daily basis.
Sound card - should support whatever speakers you want to use -- stereo, digital surround or multichannel analog surround. If you're looking for home-theater-quality audio, a surround-sound system combined with a 24-bit card will provide excellent sound. If you'll be outputting to a receiver, look for a card with coaxial or optical digital outputs for the best results.
Hard Drive - the better the drive the better the playback of stored files, also the bigger the drive the more files you can store. For storage capacity, you'll probably want to be in the 400-to-500-gigabyte range. If you'll be recording HDTV, you might want more. If you're not an audio/video junkie and you're willing to use higher compression ratios, you may need less storage space.
Video Game Controllers - most PC's can use console controllers such as the Xbox 360 controllers for enhanced gaming and multimedia control
TV Tuner - preferably with DVR capability so you can record programs and skip commercials,you can buy a standalone TV tuner or else upgrade your video card to one that includes a tuner. Some Tuner cards will support multiple inputs and outputs as well.
AM/FM Radio Receiver - PC enabled radio tuner cards can vary in options but all will have basically the same inputs and outputs.
Remote Control Setup - including transmitter, receiver and, if you'll be using an external receiver for your speakers, a control cable to connect your PC to the receiver.
Media Center Software - out there with a variety of features. Overall, a piece of software like Meedio Pro, Sage TV, InterVideo Home Theater or Beyond TV with Beyond Media lets you connect home theater accessories to your computer and control it all through a single interface. You can stream music to other computers, transfer data to a portable device, and view your digital photos on your large-screen TV. Also, a lot of these software packages can put your regular computer monitor into a "theater view" mode that makes it visible from across the room. On the lower end a simple program like Media Monkey will support a large variety of media and playback functions offering a suitable playback experience. Add Hulu+ and Netflix streaming and you will have plenty of viewing choices on a daily basis.
