Gearing up for serious HTPC use?

[Pierre3400]

Hey guys,

Lately i have been getting all excited about Apple TV.

I dont own it, and it looks like i wont need to own it anyway.

Heres how things are. I have a PC that i made for HTPC use, but, i never actually got around to setting it up for HTPC use, since i needed to get a TV tuner for my cable to run on it.

So i just used it for movies (windows media player) and browsing internet on my tv and friends used it at a normal pc, with keyboard and mouse when they are over.

This has got to stop now! I finally got around to learning about all this stuff, and found that i really like XBMC. So im going to run that on my htpc, buy a damn tuner and get all my channels setup on it.

This brings questions?

1. Which tuner? I know it needs to have DVB-C since i run cable, but it has to be a digital one to get the HD channels on the cable i would presume? (If any danish people are lurking, its for Yousee Cable use)

2. How hard is it to get a Logitech Harmony remote to work with this? Dont want to buy one until i know for sure?

3. I am rambling on about XBMC, but is there a better one? If yes, which and why should i change my mind since i do like XBMC.

Thanks

 

[PanteraGSTK]

XBMC doesn't have any video recording capability. You can't watch live tv with XBMC alone. You will either need a PVR build or use alternate software. Mediaportal, Windows Media Center, and GBPVR (NextPVR) are a few you can try. It also all depends on what you are trying to record from (cable, FIOS, Satellite).

 

[Pierre3400]

XBMC doesn't have any video recording capability. You can't watch live tv with XBMC alone. You will either need a PVR build or use alternate software. Mediaportal, Windows Media Center, and GBPVR (NextPVR) are a few you can try. It also all depends on what you are trying to record from (cable, FIOS, Satellite).

Okay.

Well, what i want to do is, watch regular TV, and also tv over the internet. XBMC has most of what im looking for, but i can its not the complete solution.

I want to run linux on the rig, and just have boot straight into media software.

I know that one of my neighbours uses windows media center, but i would really to be able to add online viewing places like, Veetle and flashsportstream.

I have alot of thinking and testing to do i think.

 

[PanteraGSTK]

Okay.

Well, what i want to do is, watch regular TV, and also tv over the internet. XBMC has most of what im looking for, but i can its not the complete solution.

I want to run linux on the rig, and just have boot straight into media software.

I know that one of my neighbours uses windows media center, but i would really to be able to add online viewing places like, Veetle and flashsportstream.

I have alot of thinking and testing to do i think.

If you want to run linux and record tv then MythTV will be your best bet. XBMC doesn't record TV, but uses a backend software that does record TV and get a PVR build of XBMC. I tried one for windows and it was ok, but not all that great.