MCE 2005

[JohnBullard]

If I bought the refurb'd Gateway listed in Hot Deals, and either BeyondTV or SageTV then I should be good to go with a HTPC?

I really didn't see anything that great about the Windows MCE2005, over the 2004 version. It seems like getting the hardware box with MCE2004 and either of the above programs for the pausing of live TV should work fine.

Or did I miss something important?

(If I analyse something too long, I tend to loose interest and give up. If I feel I've at least tried to make an informed decision, then I'm ready to spend money!)

 

[electron]

MCE 2005 supports multiple tuners, HDTV, better conflict resolution etc, but you are still better off buying that PC probably and get the OEM version of 2005. You really don't need SageTV or BeyondTV as MCE does all that already.

 

[JohnBullard]

Does MCE 2004/2005 support local network streaming, similar to BeyondTV Link or SageTV Client? I read back over the MCE stuff, and didn't recongize a reference to this capability.

 

[electron]

not sure what you mean, I play files recorded/stored on the dvr in my bedroom on my tv in the livingroom all the time, all I did was setup a share and a shortcut, and it looks like the files are part of the video library on all MCE systems, is that what you are looking for? MCE extenders (check the front page) can do the same thing, allowing you to view your MCE 2005 content wherever you have such a device.

 

[JohnBullard]

lol. sometimes I'm not sure what I mean either


But I think you answered my question. Thanks

 

[TimmyB]

Just found Cocoon and figured I would chime in on MCE and DVD libraries. There is a third party MCE plugin available at My DVD Collection. It integrates perfectly with MCE. It allows you to make a catalog of your DVD movies, whether you keep them on DVD, rip to ISO, rip to ts_video or even encode to DivX/XviD or WMV. The catalog downloads information from IMDB and other sources and downloads cover art, actor/director phots, and links to trailers. The newest RC version integrates with the MCE parental control, which is great for folks with kids. I have 120 DVDs stored on my harddrive and can load them up without getting up off of my couch. I have been using this plugin for months and just love it!


Some screenies:

 

[electron]

looks pretty impressive, is this the same software that used to be called "DVD Jukebox" or something like that, or is this another plugin?

 

[TimmyB]

looks pretty impressive, is this the same software that used to be called "DVD Jukebox" or something like that, or is this another plugin?

Completely different plugin.

 

[JohnBullard]

Thanks for the link and information TimmyB.

May I ask what format (MPEG2, DivX. etc) you store your DVD's in?

May I also ask what size hard drive you're using for 120 DVDs?

I'm new to this and trying to get a feel for what takes up how much room (does that make any sense?)

 

[TimmyB]

I have a pair of WD SATA 250 GB hard drives with a 4 port SATA raid controller card. I store the movies in DivX format with no compression. Each movie takes up 2-4 Gig depending on length, about 2 Gig per hour. You could get this size down quite a bit, most peole feel that 80% compression quality is fine. I didn't want to lose any video quality so am using more HD space. I ripped the DVDs using DVDDecrpyter and encoded them to DivX using AutoGK.

Tim

 

[electron]

this works great, I just started ripping my DVD's as ISO's, the wife loves it, and this plugin is much easier to use than the previous one I tested.

 

[electron]

screenshot of my 'trial', this really is a great plugin, and very easy to use!


click to zoom in