Re: How to Build my own Vista Media Extender?

Hi Dana -

OK, i'm going to speak like a Geek now, so stay with me :)

Ultimately I wanted to build my master media center PC connected to the
tuners and place it into a huge closet i have where all my network switches &
cable modem is that powers my entire house. This Media center PC will have a
RAID 5 probably about a 4TB size that will store all my DVD videos digitially.

Next, i want specific rooms in my house to run the Media Center Extenders. A
few rooms I wanted those extenders to have a blue ray player built into them
so that if i rent or buy movies from the store, i can just put them into the
extender and watch it in that room i'm currently in.

I was trying to avoid placing the big-ole' Media Center PC into my family
room as i'm trying to keep the components down to a visual minimum especially
knowing that i will have many Hard Drives in it to support RAID 5, etc...

See, this way i can view all my movies on my extender that I have digitized
and watch them as i please, not to mention as soon as DirecTV ever comes out
with those tuner cards I will upgrade the PC to use those so that I can even
watch Directv in any room in the house.

Everything I think is doable except for the directv access. I really wish
they released that HDPC-20 tuners. Ooh well.

Thanks!
Gabe

"Dana Cline" wrote:

Probably your best bet would be the following:

Build your new Vista box. Make sure you have a HDMI output from your video
card. Run a HDMI cable to your TV. Then, buy a Blu-Ray drive with software
for that PC. That'll give you your hi-def video.

Then, you link that PC over the network to your Media Center box, and play
those videos with Media Player. You could even use Orb to let you program
recordings or watch live TV.

If your video input feed comes to this room, why not just move the tuners to
the new PC, or just move the Media Center box and use it?

Dana Cline

"Gabriel" <Gabriel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:B3C34AB5-A688-4814-BE65-1EC3B0DFBAE9@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thanks everyone for the awsome feedback.

I have researched the "Linksys DMA2200", althought it sounded great, it
only
has an upscaling DVD player built into it, as i'm looking for a Blue-Ray
player built into the extender to that i can watch my Blue Ray movies.

The only one that i found during my research that came close was:
http://www.mavromatic.com/archives/000711.asp
but they want $2,999 for it. Which prompted me to start investigating on
what it would take for me to build my own extender.

"Sven" wrote:

I have the DMA2200, the one with a DVD player. An extended player doesn't
make a lot of sense since you would need to put the DVD in the host
machine.
As Dana says, what do you want this thing to do? Pretty much all media on
a
PC can be accessed from another another PC. Even other directories on an
MCE
machine can be accessed from a second machine running MCE. What you
wouldn't
get is the ability to schedule recordings or watch live TV from a second
Vista MCE with no tuner. You could listen to all the MP3s/WMAs, all the
videos, and you can even point the second machine's video playback
section
at the first machine's recorded TV folder. So you can play some tricks to
use a second Vista box to access media on the actual Media Center. There
is
even a web based interface, WebGuide (http://asciiexpress.com/webguide/)
that provides a remote interface that could be used on the second
machine.

So, the fact is there is no software based Media Center Extender, that
you
could install on a second box, but there are things you can do to access
the
media on the first box. You would miss out on some of the features of a
real
extender, and have to use some work-arounds, but it is possible to cobble
something together.

"Gabriel" <Gabriel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:2A8D499F-0640-499D-95F4-8C6CE5B20749@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi Dana -

Basically from all of the other extenders out there, they all have
wireless
antennas (which i don't need), most dont' have a blue-ray player,
others
based on their reviews from customers say's that the extenders are too
noisy,
experience lagg-times when navigating through the menus - while others
say
that configuring the extenders are somewhat challenging.

What i was hoping was to build my own extender with excellent
components
within it and to use Microsoft Vista as the O/S on it - so that i can
periodically download updates, etc... right from the company who build
the
Media Center.

Thanks for your reply!
Gabriel

"Dana Cline" wrote:

Question for you...what do you want this "extender" to do? If you just
want
playback of what your existing Media Center records, you could do that
with
any PC on your network. Assuming, of course, that there's no DRM on
the
video files.

Dana Cline

"Gabriel" <Gabriel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:F064EA87-7292-44D3-97AF-B3309BCD588D@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Wow Bill -

This is really disappointing to hear that we can't just install
another
copy
of Vista onto another computer OR a nice looking media center case
that
we
could use as an extender.

I feel like this just pigeon-holes us into having to buy from a
company
that
may not have the best reviews or performance for it's extenders.

Well, i'm glad i posted this question before i went off and bought
all
my
PC
parts for my custom extender. I guess I'll have to find a perfect
extender
that I will use in a "wired" network that performs well.

Any suggestions anyone (preferrably from someone that is actually
using
an
extender or knows someone using an extender in a wired environment)
?

Thanks again!
Gabriel


"Bill Davis" wrote:

It is possible the hardware/software/interface specifications exist
and
are
available from Microsoft. It just not practical.

B.D.

"Jaime" wrote:

That is not a possibility, you can only purchase a MC Extender
(or
an
xBox).
There is no software version of a MC Extender.
--
James
Orlando (Goofy says "Hey!"), FL

"Gabriel" <Gabriel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:0632B5D5-333C-44EE-9518-7AB62A300AB4@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I'm wanting to build my own media extender. The one's out there
i'm
not
too
impressed with their reviews nor prices. I have wired my entire
house
with
ethernet, so i know i want to use the extender as a "wired"
network,
and I
want my extender to have a Blue-Ray player built within it and
for
my
extender to have the Windows Vista O/S installed on it and not
some
3rdParty
software that looks like Vista software.

Basiclly i want to have complete control of my extender in case
i
want to
install specifc software onto it, such as the www.mymovies.dk
software
client, etc..

So, my question is, what components exactly need to be
installed
for
a
custom extender? Does it just need a good Video & Graphsics
card
and
that's
it? I'm going to want to connect the extender as an HDMI output
to
my
TV/Receiver. Any recommendations on the components needed?

Thank you!
Gabriel







.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: How to Build my own Vista Media Extender?
    ... Build your new Vista box. ... Make sure you have a HDMI output from your video card. ... Then, you link that PC over the network to your Media Center box, and play those videos with Media Player. ... player built into the extender to that i can watch my Blue Ray movies. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter)
  • Re: V2 Extenders and XP MCE2005
    ... Dana Cline - MCE MVP ... that currently it is sort of an Extender ... when it connects to Vista supposedly Vista will send the Xbox 360 new ... The Media Center Extender Platform Adaptation Kit enables partners to ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter)
  • Re: 360/Vista Media Center Crashing
    ... While your Extender is connected, open Task Manager on the PC and select ... it freezes but pressing the green button brings ... HP application that HP installs with Vista: ... are you then able to control the Media Center ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter)
  • Bad typo above
    ... It should read MC does NOT support playing DVD over extenders..... ... Yes, it is two components, but the two are probably smaller than one PC box (acting as an extender, if it could be done) sitting there. ... Ultimately I wanted to build my master media center PC connected to the ... That'll give you your hi-def video. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter)
  • RE: MPEG movies won’t play on MCE Extender
    ... If your analogue video is playing through the Extender, ... >> via the Media Center Extender but they will NOT Play on the Media Center PC ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter)
Loading