Introduction

Here I hope to show How to Make a Media Center just work for you. I plan on features that are easy and simple to use. I love my Media Center.







Media Center PC Specs
Motherboard: Asus P5K SE
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @2.4Ghz
4 GB of Ram
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT (256 RAM)
Seagate SATA 3.5" BARRACUDA (1.5 TB )

LG Blueray/DVD Burner (lightscribe capable)
XBOX 360 HD-DVD
Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit (Yes, Windows sees my full 4 GB of Ram, look into chipset)
PNY PCTV 800i



Media Center Extender Hardware
Currently I use the XBOX 360 as an extender in the Living Room. My XBOX 360 (well actually it is my wifes) is set to start into the Media Center at start up. We use the white $20 remote made for the 360. At times we also use a controller to set go thru the menus.

This is a great deal to use your existing Console as a Media Center. The only complaint I have of the 360 is that it is a bit loud especially if you use the DVD Drive (mainly when it starts up). I have this connected to a regular non HD TV flat screen (not a LCD, PLASMA, or other HD Capable Screen).

I also use a Linksys (Cisco) DMA2100 in our Master Bedroom as our extender.

You can find the specs for this beast at Linksys by Cisco Media Center Extender DMA2100
Note that the Linksys DMA 2200 comes with a DVD Drive
This product is great. It allows me to stream using wired (in my case) or wirelessly using the 802.11 N (I only have 2 802.11 G Routers). I have this media center extender plugged directly into our VISIO 22" HD TV via a HDMI cable.


TV Signal
I have tested my set up with the DTV and Comcast Basic Cable Plus. It appears that on Comcast, I am at the end of a long strand. My Media Center PC was losing the signal regualrly (My TV would not, so I did not want to call Comcast). I set up a booster right before plugging into my Media Center PC and I have never lost my signal Since.



I record TV and can watch, resume, pause and even continue in another room. Here is a screenshot from Microsoft of their Windows Media Center.


Next time I hope to go into the Add-Ons I use. Mainly the My Movies Add-On, the best add-on I have found thus far.