Media Center PC General Questions

[mhubbard24]

I am finally ready at looking at adding this to my entertainment center and think I have a good pc to fit the bill. I recently got a good deal from a friend on a small form factor Dell Optiplex GX620, 3.0 GHZ 2GB RAM, 256 ATI Radeon X600SE Video w/ S-Video connector, DVD dual layer recorder. The rig is the size of a vcr, super quiet, and is very speedy. I think it will work just fine.

I need to pick up a TV tuner card for sure. Just will have to find one that will fit in this case. Other than that I cannot think of anything else. I just wanted to see what some of you have done and see if I might have missed something. Any ideas on type/brand of tuner card I should look at?

Also I would rather not try to fish a net cable over there so I was thinking of just buying a usb wireless G adapter and get internet through that. Will wireless speed be an issue you think?

Thanks for the help. I think this will be very positive for my home theater.

[NooNoo]

Since most wireless adapters have more mbs than a domestic internet connection, no speed won't be an issue. Copying large files within your own network will be slower though.

hauppage are a good bet for your tuner. Not only will it have to fit in your case, it will have to be Media Center compatibile too.

[slgrieb]

Actually, there are good USB external tuners that you can use. Hauppauge is a very good brand. They make models with or without FM tuners. AverMedia makes fine tuners as well, but they may be a bit harder to find. Personally, I think their PC/Video products are the best.

[BOB IROC]

I think your options in the GX620 are going to be limited as I think the PCI slots only fit Half Height/Low Profile cards. I would check that and you may have to go the USB route for your wireless card and TV-Tuner.

I have a Hauppauge TV Tuner in my MCE computer and it works wonderfully.

[mhubbard24]

I think your options in the GX620 are going to be limited as I think the PCI slots only fit Half Height/Low Profile cards. I would check that and you may have to go the USB route for your wireless card and TV-Tuner.

I have a Hauppauge TV Tuner in my MCE computer and it works wonderfully.

Thanks. Yes I agree as I mentioned I would have to find one to fit. The other kicker is the pci slot is snug up against the case side so the actual tuner portion of the card can't be on that side of the board.

As far as the external models, I have no problem much with going this route but I figured the performance was no where near an internal card.

Also, if I get a digital tuner card, will this mean I can get all of my digital cable channels (the ones I purchase of course)? Currently I have only one digital box with DVR built in. The other TV's only get the regular cable channels.

Thanks!

[Kenteth420]

This looks like a good option for a low profile card is the low profile version of the card I have been using. My card however will not do the higher digital cable channels. I am not sure if there are other cards out there that do support that or if it is a limitation with the card. I have been using Windows Media Center since the first version in 2003 and I really like it a lot. I'm sure if you do your research you can find a usb version tv tuner that will beat the specs of this card, but I thought I would share that I know this one has worked very well for me.