Before I begin, I should emphasize the fact that I'm not looking for a flame war. I am a fan of TECHNOLOGY, and I've used both Windows and Macs for years. I've loved and hated both of them. I've even dabbled a bit in Linux, but that is besides the point. What I would like to do is hear from you all, on what would suit me best. I currently own an older Mac (late 2006 model) and my fiancée has a Toshiba Satellite notebook. We are both college students, and so we refrain from having any sort of cable subscription (though I used to have ATT U-Verse, which I loved.)
I would like to have a DVR of some sort in my living room, but the only option for OTA it seems is called the DVR Pal, and it's received terrible reviews. So the better option would probably have to be some sort of computer (whether it be a Mac or PC) hooked up to my TV. Based on what I've seen my brother-in-law's Media Center PC do, I'm leaning more toward that side, but I have a few concerns.
-Will my ripped DVDs be supported? (My brother-in-law has a nice library set up, of all his DVDs, complete with a photo of the title, that are read on a folder from an external hard drive. He has the entire DVD ripped, whereas I would just want the .m4v file.)
-Would it be better to build a PC, or just buy a standard Dell or something? (I'm looking for about 1 TB's worth of a HDD, but I can always add on with external drives. I just don't know what specs are required.)
-How often do you restart the WMC PC?
-Before I buy a PC (or Mac Mini) I'm ripping all my DVDs and then uploading the files to an external hard drive. Will the hard drive read just fine on a PC (they are being ripped on/the hard drive will be read on a Mac)?
As you can tell from the questions, I use a Mac because I like to keep it simple. I'm the guy willing to pay to get the computer problem fixed, and you guys are probably the ones doing the fixing. So, please forgive me of my Apple sins, and lead me in the right direction. If it matters, here are some additional specs:
-2 more HDMI connections left on my Samsung 46" Series 600 HDTV
-one XBOX 360
-one Windows Vista-operating notebook in the house
-no external hard drive yet (any suggestions?)
-one ATT U-Verse remote (compatible?)
-three XBOX 360 remotes (are they compatible?)
-over 300 DVDs I want to rip, and then sell back to FYE
Here's one example on how it can be done.
http://www.krunker.com/2008/04/24/home-theater-pc-2008-turning-the-mac-mini-into-a-windows-vista-media-center-system/