Aaron Ledger
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swoon
Can it even ping itself using the name?
If you try it, let us know how it works. I haven’t actually used it.
There’s also this tool.
That’s a nice deal. Too bad I don’t need it 🙁 . On the other hand, I do need SSDs :).
Nope. Buying an OCZ Vertex 2 120GB with promo code resulting in $20.70 off total + $30 rebate = not too shabby.
Based on your requirements, you will probably want to use a Windows 7 machine as the server and Xbox 360s as extenders. This will allow you to have a shared guide, keep all storage on the server and utilize the InfiniTV with the least amount of hassle.
While it is true that you could house the InfiniTV in WHS2011 or Server 2008 R2, you will then using network bridging to share the tuners to other Win 7 client PCs. You will not have a shared guide/storage in this scenario and if recording CopyOnce, you will not be able to play the content on other clients beyond that which recorded it. There are many reasons why these limitations may not hinder some applications, but for your needs, the extender scenario described above seems like exactly what you are looking for.
One downside to using the extenders is you will need to pony up $50 (or is it $60 now…) to MS for Gold membership and use the dashboard for the UI which is highly unfortunate.
Perhaps you can place the InfiniTV in a native PCIe slot (presuming one is on your board) and use the other card in this adapter.
Ok, I’ll try to address some items.
- You can move both those tiles in MCS. Netflix is called “Promo (Movies1)”. You can also install Mikinho’s Media Center Valve utility which will expose Netflix and Internet TV as entry points a little more directly in MCS.
- TMT5: The TMT5 disc selection screen can be helpful for multi-disc HTPC configuration (e.g. physical and virtual).
- WHS2011 + MyMovies: Can’t you rip to a location until it fills up and then configure an additional location?
- AVR: I’m not following exactly what must happen with this item. Can’t you just select a new mode on your remote for the AVR or are you wanting this to occur with no user intervention? You could use a Harmony remote and configure a Music activity as well as a Movies activity or simply use it to change the mode.
An SSD is no different than any other drive when thinking about how WMC handles CopyOnce content. You certainly can move those programs around to different drives. The license for those files is retained in the OS that recorded the file which prevents the content from being played back by other PCs. It is generally not recommended to use an SSD as a recording drive. The SSD is best at retaining OS and programs.
[quote=Taylordown]
[quote=swoon]
Do you want HD Audio (DTS-HD MA, Dolby TrueHD, multi-channel LPCM) soundtracks found on Blu-ray to be played back on an Xbox 360?
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In and ideal world I would, but the Xbox would be the extender to a livingroom tv and not the hometheater with the 5.1, so not a necessitty.
Is the i5-2500k overkill for this build if the most taxing thing would be scanning for commercials? Or will an i3 suffice?
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Just keep in mind, you’ll have to jump through hoops if you are planning to play back BD-based material on the Xbox at all.
Check out some of our reviews with ShowAnalyzer benchmarks to help you decide:
We don’t know yet. Have you even found one for sale? I see NewEgg has some Sapphire cards. You might want to wait for selection to get better and a review!
I’m surprised you had issues with the GT 430. I used it briefly and even with the early drivers, it performed pretty well for HTPC duty. There certainly were no stuttering issues experienced.
Do you want HD Audio (DTS-HD MA, Dolby TrueHD, multi-channel LPCM) soundtracks found on Blu-ray to be played back on an Xbox 360?
Have you considered spoiling yourself with an SSD for your OS drive?
Xbox extenders are also limiting in many scenarios. To name a few, there is no HD Audio support, no Blu-ray drive, limited file format support, Gold required for Netflix/Hulu, limitations on third-party software, etc.
It depends how much you value that extra speed. It sounds like the application you could benefit most from is video encoding. Will it matter to you if your job gets finished a little bit faster? If you’re doing it a lot, then it probably is worth it. This is all of course if you are not using Quick Sync to perform the transcode.
Your gaming may also benefit a bit depending on the game and whether it is CPU bound.
It sounds like you are pretty satisfied with the Q6600 performance so in that case, save the $100.
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