GUIDE: Build Your Own Windows Media Center PC

[TechZ]

Excerpt:

Our the last effort to build a home theater PC was about a year ago, so it's time to revisit the topic. In the past year, a number of interesting, pre-configured "media PCs" have arrived on the scene. The boutique PC makers, such as VoodooPC with its Voodoo Vibe and Alienware's DHS series, offer examples of the craft. But even mainstream PC manufacturers have jumped on the bandwagon—Sony with its VAIO RA-810G and HP with its Digital Entertainment Center.

All of them are certainly fine products in their own right, but it seemed to us that we could build something equivalent, or maybe even a little better. At the top of our list was the ability to seamlessly integrate this rig into our home-theater system. Secondarily, it had to look like it belonged in a rack with A/V components. Finally, the system had to support HDTV viewing and recording.

Full story: ExtremeTEch

[gtiseb]

With the execption of tv recording, this can all be done with a modded xbox and XBMC. Plus the Xbox will play xbox games and do VOIP.

[rgharper]

With the execption of tv recording, this can all be done with a modded xbox and XBMC. Plus the Xbox will play xbox games and do VOIP.

Can the XBOX access the new Media Center extender hardware? Can the XBOX do wireless networking?

[scutterboy]

it can do wireless networkiing.