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media center machine?


smokin5s

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so I was talking to a buddy today and we were discussing ditching cable for just media center machines or something similar... I don't want to have to download shows through torrents or newsgroups... is there anything that runs over the internet that can act as a cable box?

 

What does everyone do?

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netflix instant streaming, there are several methods of delivering the signal to the TV.

 

ie. xbox, wii, stand alone device.

 

 

but, there isn't a lot of new stuff in the instant watch for netflix.

 

if you want new stuff torrents and news groups are the way to go....

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Amazon.com just started a thing where if you purchase a prime membership you get movie streaming through them. and they actually have new movies to stream. that is 80 a year, and you get free 2 day shipping on all purchases.

 

Edit. Beat me to the amazon thing... hah

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we have netflix streaming on our wii, xbox, ps3 and roku but didn't think they had normal shows that are out now... we watch alot of shows like house, 2 1/2 men (I know it just got canceled) I love big bang theory, etc... as well as her typical chick flicks like teen mom, cut off, etc...

 

does netflix stream shows like that?

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i use my main computer for all my media, i have a HDMI cable going to my TV from my video card and use it as a 3rd monitor. Anytime I wanna watch something I drag and drop it to that screen. then i have one of these to control things...

 

http://www.amazon.com/Portable-Wireless-Keyboard-Rechargeable-Notebooks/dp/B003UE52ME/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1298661013&sr=8-1

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My main desktop doubles as a media center. I use netflix, Hulu Desktop (probably the closest thing to a set top box experience you can get), and I also go to each of the network's sites and watch stuff after it airs. Control stuff from my bed using HippoRemote for iPhone.
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we plan on building a dedicated computer for our media center....not sure what we are going to use yet, but i'm tired of having to hook up the laptop to the tv

 

This is what I have been using.

http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=590&pictureid=4850

I hardly use it anymore though. I was thinking about selling it, but didn't want to take a huge loss on it since the case alone was $300.

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http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=26

 

We are going to ditch cable soon. After the winter ends and I have some more time I'm building a computer. Then once I get it working well we will pull the plug. We should be able to get 90%+ of what we currently watch through iTunes, Hulu (maybe get Hulu plus), NetFlix, broadcasters websites, Amazon. I won't miss anything in particular.

 

You don't even have to ditch cable, 'live' TV unless that's your goal.

Analog cable + Over The Air digital (ATSC) http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/prods_hvr_internal.html

Quad digital cable tuner (using a cable card) http://www.cetoncorp.com/

I'll probably throw an OTA card in mine

 

I was going to throw the Ceton in there and keep cable, but we recently decided to just ditch cable all together. I will probably throw an OTA card in there for ease of watching some TV (via live or recorded). About half of what we watch is on regular broadcast channels anyways.

 

I'm also going to rip my movies to it so my library is on there and we won't have to use DVD's unless we get a new movie or rent something.

 

I probably won't bother with torrents or any downloads. I don't need to watch anything that badly.

 

I'd say build a PC and see how it goes before you pull the plug. That way you get it setup how you want before you shut cable off 100%. At least that is what I plan to do. If you just want something to watch stuff online that works out of the box and that's it, just get something prebuilt. I don't like the restriction of Boxee, or really any box like that. For example Hulu and Netflix are fighting with these box makers and can/have shut of the service access to them. The Dell Zino looks good for that. http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-zino-hd-410/pd?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn

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