Hya all,

Does anyone know witch hardware is needed to make full use of Windows XP Media Center Edition? What TV Tuner do I need, and what encoder cards are supported? Microsoft's nor HP's site reveal this little peace of vital information.

I have a good box, and I don't feel like buying an HP box just to please them :)

sorry buddy, but you are not going to be able to buy media center unless you get one of those pre-configured systems.

Buy? That was a metafor :)

The software is available, it just doesn't support my Miro / Pinnacle TVTuner card. And I need a encoder/decoder card, but I haven't got a clue witch one yet.
Í'm almost certain that HP doesn't produce those two components themselfs, so I'm wondering witch brands they use.

They use a Hauppauge Win/TV PVR 250 and also an Nvidia TV card I think. I'm looking for the best hardware too. For Audio I think I ran across the Creative Audigy. On the HP website there are some Adobe pdf files which describe the hardware somewhat. MS also has a public news forum for MCE where they answer a few questions.

well i figured that, but i thought... well you know. i wanted to do the same thing, then found out that all i needed was a tv tuner and didn't need media center to record tv shows and stuff since you can do it the tv tuner software.

but i didn't know what kind of tv tuner was a good one either (started thread in hardware).

OK, it's coming back now. The other TV card used on MCE was not Nvidia, it was an ATI card maybe the
ATI ALL IN WONDER RADEON 7500 AGP 64MB DDR W/REMOTE VIDEO CARD(RETAIL BOX) or an 8000 model. IF we use a remote TV card and a Creative remote sound card we will likely end up with two different remote controls but I think the HP's use only one remote. ???

Thanks all for the info so far. I'm getting an Hauppauge (don't ask me witch yet!) tomorrow, I'll post my findings as soon as I know more.

All I need to know now is witch encode/decode baord (if any) is being used . . .

Anyone :)

I came across this info some place...

Hmmm,

It now accepts my TV Tuner card (Hauppage WinTV-Radio model 662) but it warns that some file are damaged or missing. I guess you still can't use it without an encoder/decoder board.

Bummer . . .

has anyone tried one of those external usb tv tuners? wondering how they work.

i got a pci medialand supertv card (local computer shop carried it) for $40. will update when i get the cable hooked up to it.

...I haven't gotten used to the new format yet; some of the Forums seem to have disappeared...

Can you give a hint as to where the topic software may be purchased???

I have a Hauppauge WinTV card; an X10 transmitter/receiver; a Hitachi VHS player; a Toshiba 35" TV; and a RealMagic Hollywood+ DVD Decoder card...

They are all interconnected, so I can play/record from any in either direction...And view on TV...

All with Win98 on one HDD; and Win2000 on another (larger VOBs with no breaks)...

can't help you with what you need frogbait.

but to update you all on my tv tuner. the remote didn't work so i took it back. the max resoultion it could do was 800x600, but i enlarged it to 1024x768 and it didn't look too bad.

Was that played with the Media Center software, or software that came with the board?

Wondering because I thought the TV part could only be used with a supported encoder/decoder board.

Thanks for the info so far though!

i know i'm bringing this up from the dead, but i was looking for the thread to see what brand i had bought way back then. still thinking about trying another tv tuner.

cactus if you're still wondering, i used the software that came with the board.

Post withdrawn due to no replies. Thanks

listen,save yourself and us some time posting and replying triviqal ,my advice is to drop by any futureshop or compusmart and look for pcs with media edition and open its device manager and look what hardware in it ,if i have the time tommorow i ll pass by to get you what do they have.sorry for being mean.

Hi fares

I assume that your response was directed at me and, if so, then I don't think that your being mean and if I did, I'd tell you so, PDQ, but I don't ...... honest. :o)

BTW .... I don't really see how it saves you sometime posting (unless you count the one and only reply I got. I.e. yours. As for saving me time, I don't mind because it's to my advantage and, after all, that's what these boards are for. If you don't post and ask, you will never know and you will certainly never get.

The reason that I am after the WXPMCE is because I think I already have the compatible hardware installed and I think that it will work on my computer.

So, if you know where I can get the said software, please PM.

Regards

Brave01Heart

i have it,but still you have to activate.read your pm

Very simple.

Go dissect the Win XP MCE Program, look in the System folders (i386 or whatever), it should list all the drivers for what you need to create the Media Center box. Also, theres a copy of this month's (or last month's) Maximum PC mag talking about the HP's Media center and photos.. maybe u can get the ideas.


Wile' :P