One HTPC two monitors two TVs

[tom10167]

What's it going to take? Obviously the computers are going to have to be networked.

The goal is one central PC/server with a ton of storage with all my movies ripped to it. I'd like to be able to view these movies from every screen in my house.

So what's it going to take to get this done? All TVs and computers are going to have cable or digital television too.

Thanks guys.

[jimmsch]

Easiest way is to build a fileserver with alot of HDD space. It doesn'tneed too much processing power or RAM, basically any P4 or similar will do.

Then I would build a HTPC for each room. This will get expensive as they will need good GPUs for HD viewing. I ond a good HTPC will run about $700 U.S. They will all have to be on the same network as the fileserver. A simple Ethernet switch will connect them all. I got an 8 port switch with gigabit speeds for approx. $50.00.

This is my setup, but I only have one HTPC atm. I will build another next year, when I upgrade my main PC to i7, and put it in the bedroom.

Another way is to build just one HTPC and run HDMI cables all through the house and connect them to the single HTPC via HDMI bus or port or switch. I don't recommend this method because you will not be able to control the HTPC from other rooms with cordless mouse or remote, unless you have very thin walls. You will also have trouble watching one film in the living room and another in the bedroom. I think it would be best to have multiple HTPCs.

[tom10167]

So just running HDMIs is the best way to go?

Basically here's what we're going to have.

Me: one computer
living room one TV with HTPC
Roommate, one computer one TV.

I think the confusing part is hooking up all the TVs.

[smokie mcpott]

hooking up tvs isnt confusing
its what do you want to do with them?
do you want to control each one independently? or play the same thing on all the tvs at once?

once you figure that out, then its just a matter of having the hardware to do it

[tom10167]

all different. I want to be able to surf the web with a windowed BD playing of Crank playing while Drew is watching HBO in the living room and 6th Sense is playing in his bedroom while he's watching the Lakers on his monitor.

[smokie mcpott]

then you will need, as already suggested, a separate HTPC(computer) for each tv...

[Mr.Guvernment]

the one problem with that is you would need to see on each TV what is playing, so someone would have to control the movie, move X player to that TV, X movie playing to Joe;'s TV and then hope that when someone else is actually using the computer for omething else you dont minimize or move someone's movie they are watching

you can build a decent htpc for less then $700 easily these days, ati new 4350 card fort like $100 can do HD fine, heck 8800GT's can do HD fine, my 7600GT paird with an e4400 @3ghz can do 180HD fine.

[Mr. Roboto]

Do you have an xbox 360? You can use them, out of the box, as a media center extender.

[doublejack]

What you need is several Happauge MediaMVP's. http://hauppauge.com/site/products/data_mediamvp.html

I have two of these. They connect via a regular network connection to a switch, which your HTPC / media storage server would connect to. You can then watch whatever is on your HTPC in every room with a MediaMVP. It is very much like the xbox 360 suggestion, only cheaper. The only caveats are:

1. If you'll be watching live TV through the MediaMVP then you'll need a tuner in your HTPC. Simultaneous live TV viewing requires multiple tuners.

2. the MediaMVP does not support high-def. I believe an upgraded version is planned that will.

You'll also need HTPC/PVR software to power all of this, but there are free options such as GBPVR that support the MediaMVP.