Do it yourself, do it all Media PC for $600

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If you are going to "Cut the Cord" you are definitely going to miss the ability to record, pause TV and skip commercials.  Building a Media PC is the perfect solution to make the process painless and you will wonder why you never did it before.

So, what can this box do?

• Play and Stream most disc based media: Bluray, DVD, CD, etc
• Record, Pause, Playback High Definition Free Broadcast TV (no subscription needed!)
• Plenty of storage capacity (1.5TB = 100s of hours of TV)
• Place-shift live TV and locally recorded media (watch it anywhere)
• Play Internet content Hulu, Netflix, Boxee, YouTube, etc.
• Play (all formats of) videos stored on flash drives or usb sticks
• Streams Videos, Pictures, etc. from other computers on your network
• Surf the web with Firefox or your favorite browser with long range wireless keyboard
• Fully functional TV-style remote controls 95% of Media-PCs functions
• Stream music directly to your receiver without having your TV on
• Play PC or web-based games (power gamers will want to upgrade the graphics)
• Display 3-D media and play 3-D games
• Plenty of graphics and cpu horsepower for almost any media or server application
• Stays in standby mode when not in use (uses less than 2 watts! - measured here)
• Quiet (fans barely audible)

The list really goes on as this is a fully functional Windows Media PC and there is no limit to what you can do with this it  With Windows Media Center and some properly setup software, you can do almost anything you could imagine with ease in a family friendly package.

Note:  A Media PC is also sometimes called a Home Theater PC (or HTPC).  I prefer the term Media PC since it is a more general term that better describes it's capability and use.

Why do it yourself?

There are an endless list of stand-alone media/set top/DVR boxes you can buy (or rent), but in my opinion they are all flawed in one way or another.  Most of the problems with other boxes are:

1. Cable, Satellite, or IPTV DVRs have limited functionality and tie you to expensive monthly fees
2. Media streaming boxes can be limited to specific services and often will only play limited video formats.
3. Few devices will let you record broadcast TV (and usually come with monthly fees)
4. Few devices will let you surf the web (or if they do, come with crippled browsers)

There really is only one type of box that will have few compatibility issues and nearly unlimited functionality and that that is a Media PC.

Cut the Cord: a survival guide (episode 6)

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Welcome back to "No-Pay-TV" Island and to another episode of Cut the Cord Survivor!  If you have just arrived, you can start at Episode 1 here.  Our challenge for today:

Episode #6 - Miss your DVR yet?  Choosing the best "box" for cutting the cord!

Like many of you, I've become addicted to the features of my Digital Video Recorder (DVR).  I first got one of these beauties years ago back when Tivo was first getting popular.  At the time I was a Direct TV subscriber and loved the fact that I could record two programs at once.  Later, when HD arrived, I switched over to Cable for a variety of reasons.  I appreciated that they "gave" me (rented is more like it) a similar DVR which could record in HD.  The years passed and I became more and more frustrated that the features in my Cable DVR never improved (and yet the prices increased).  This story should sound familiar to many of you!

Nevertheless, if cutting the cord meant living without a DVR it would be a tough sell indeed.   Fortunately, that isn't the case.  Also, the point I like to make is that cutting the cord is about taking advantage of both free broadcast TV (if you can) and Internet video.   The two services combined really do make a compelling alternative to Pay TV.  To fully enjoy either service (and more), you will need much more than a simple DVR.

Not everyone's requirements or needs are the same, so let's go over some of the features that you might look for in a "box" that would help you cut the cord!

Got 3-D? A Media PC does that too!

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This post started out life as a quick project to setup 3-D on my Media PC, but I quickly realized that there is a lot to explore and some real interesting background to this technology.  As many of you are aware 3-D television isn't very new at all.  What is new is the entertainment industry is making another run at trying to hook people into 3-D technology.  If they succeed, you can be sure it will drive another wave of upgrades for the consumer, (obviously) higher theater ticket prices, and even another lock-in for pay TV.  Naturally, my goal is quite the opposite.  How can we have fun with 3-D without the high cost?  If you like your cake, and want to eat it too, read on!

Since a Media PC can be the do-it-all center for driving entertainment in your living room, it makes sense to wonder what it would take to get it to display 3-D as well.   Well, the good news is that it can, but there are few things to talk about first.

This first post will cover what you need to get ready for 3-D on your Media PC.  I'll do several more posts each covering related topics:

• (Non-BluRay) 3-D movies 
• 3-D games
• BluRay 3-D movies
• Broadcast 3-D
• 2-D to 3-D movie conversion

Now, ready for some 3-D fun?

What is your favorite media player on your Media PC?

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When it comes to building a Media PC, one of the choices you will need to make is what software you use to play back your video files.  One nice thing about Windows 7 is that there are a number of excellent ones available.  However, you should be aware that there are lots of differences between players.  More importantly, there are very good reasons why you might select one particular player over another.  Some of these include:

• Format compatibility (ability to play BluRay, handle high-definition audio, or provide ISO support)
• Integration with your Media PC software (e.g. Windows Media Center)
• Compatibility with your IR remote (making playback couch friendly)
• Ability to switch TV modes (so videos look good full screen)
• Flawless play back (no dropped frames, or stuttering audio)
• Special playback features (e.g. subtitles, easy menu navigation, etc)
• Video enhancements (upscaling, deinterlacing, etc.)
• Cost

If you want to dive into the technical details of video players (e.g. formats, codecs, post-processing and hardware acceleration) this is an area of literally endless tweaking and experimentation.  There are great resources on the web that can help you (avsforum, guru3d, etc), but this is a tough road to travel.  If you have time to kill, you've found the right hobby.

However, for most of us, all we want to do is play our videos!.   If this is you, I'll share my secrets to getting things to work with a minimum of fuss.

Easily backup your Media PC (part 2 of 2)

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Part 1 of the backing up your Media PC covered the system drive, programs and configuration of your computer.   That was actually the hard part even though it doesn't represent much space.  This second (and much simpler) part covers everything else you want backed up (e.g. your Music, Videos, Photos, etc).

As I mentioned in the previous article, the cheapest and simplest approach to backup is just to buy a large external disk.  Another option that is becoming popular is using a home NAS box (i.e. an external disk that attaches to your network v.s. your computer).  They cost more than an external disk, but offer many cool and convenient features.  I'll talk about home NAS options in a future post.  For most of us, an external disk is the way to go.

Also, unlike backing up your system, there is nothing complex about backing up your Media files.  Simply making a copy is all you need to do.  If you are really worried, you could keep additional copies if you like.

To get started, just drag and drop (copy) your Media folders to your external disk.  This works great the first time you make a backup, but what happens if you add some files?  Or, what if you do a bit of housecleaning and reorganize a few folders?  Or, what if you fix the music tags on some of the files?

You can quickly see that it gets really hard to keep track of what files need to be copied to the backup.  Of course, you could just delete your backup and re-copy everything (potentially disastrous and a waste of time).  A smarter approach would be to use backup software, but in my opinion there is a simpler and more appropriate way to get the job done.  Instead, all you need is file synchronization software that will only copy the files that have changed.

Add multiple TV tuners to your Media PC

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I first built my Media PC with a single tuner even though I knew I probably would want to add more later.  With my cable DVR I had grown accustomed to having two tuners, so it was hard going back to only one.  Fortunately, with Windows Media Center, adding tuners is easy (and cheap).

Why two tuners?  Even though I rarely record two programs at once, it is nice to know you can.  Even more likely is that I'll want to watch a program while another is recording.  Of course, you can also record two programs and watch any pre-recorded content you like (or any web-content for that matter).  You can even go crazy and add up to 4 digital tuners (that should be enough for most people!).

So, what is the cheapest way to add more tuners?  Turns out that a company called AverMedia makes a dual digital TV tuner for about $60!  If this dual tuner won't work for you (see below), there are alternatives at about twice the price (still not bad).

So, go ahead and supersize your Media PC with multiple tuners!  Here is how I did it.

Easily backup your Media PC (part 1 of 2)

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After you have spent some time getting your Media PC setup to do everything you want, it is definitely a good idea to make a backup.   If something were to happen to your Media PC's hard disk or you had some other foul up, it would be nice to know how to quickly recover it.

Backing up a Media PC has a couple of extra challenges, but with a little preparation this is an easy task.  Even better, you don't need to buy any software as long as you are using Windows 7.  Even if you are on some other platform, you might find some of these tips useful (or hopefully interesting).

My main goals in setting up a system for backing up my computers are as follows:

• Simple, reliable and fast
• Same process for multiple systems
• Low cost

Media PCs have the additional challenge that you really have two different types of data you want backed up.  The first is the PC configuration itself.  This is relatively small (measured in GBs), but important as it represents significant time and effort on your part.

The second type of data you want backed up is all of your media (this could be your TV recordings, Movies, CDs, Photos, etc).   Unlike the first, the space required could be quite large (1 TB or more!)  I treat these two problems quite differently and recommend different tools.

This first article will cover backing up and recovering the PC itself.  The second part is here.

Media PC - Setting up place-shifting and remote access

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I just got back from a vacation, and one of the things that I should have done before leaving is write this article.  Had I done so, I would have had full access to my Media PC while we were out of town.  Nevertheless, we did still enjoy Netflix (as long as we were in the US).   Now that I'm back, I'll share with you how you can enable place-shifting and remote access for your Windows 7 based Media PC.

While a DVR allows you to time-shift, place-shifting is the term coined for enjoying your recording programs (or live TV) in another location.   You might want this ability if your Media PC is in one room and want to watch it's content somewhere else (like in another room or even across the Internet).  Also, you probably want to be able to change your recording schedule from a remote location as well.

I used to have a Slingbox for our Cable DVR that allowed us to watch and control it when away from home (or even from another room).  This came in handy for vacations or watching TV in bedrooms.  Now that I've cut the cord, I want that functionality back.   Unfortunately, this isn't included in Windows Media Center, so I needed some add on programs.

I've been playing with Remote Potato (for remote access), and Orb (for place-shifting and Live TV streaming) and really like them.  There are also other ways you can do this (like remote desktop that I'll cover briefly).  I'll also touch on what you can do if your Media PC happens to be sleeping when you need to access it.

Media PC - Demo videos: Can your cable DVR do this?

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While pictures help in telling a story they don't really show you how something works in practice (or in your home).

The demo videos (below) of my do-it-all Media PC show some key features (in use) that I think display some of it's potential.  You can also see some still image shots here.

My other goal is to demonstrate that a Media PC really isn't that intimidating as many people might think and definitely makes cutting the cord worthwhile.  Of course, it is more complicated (especially compared to a simple set-top-box or single purpose DVR).  However, I think most people will find them surprisingly living room friendly and will appreciate the fact that one box can do the work of many.

I hope you enjoy these short clips and let me know what you think.

Media PC - More eye candy!

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Some have asked for screen shots of my do it yourself Media PC (and TV) in action, so here you go.  This should give you just a taste of what a full featured Media computer can do.

Above you see a favorite movie of mine "Bottle Shock", streaming in HD from Netflix inside of Windows Media Center.

Lots more here, sit back and enjoy my "Brag book" of pictures...