You may already have all the PC or Mac you need, but the lure of a Media Center PC always draws you in.  What to do?  Use some free software and some slight hardware changes to transform practically any machine into a full-functioning Media Center.  It may be easier than you think.

If you’re already running Vista Ultimate or Vista Home Premium, the software is obviously already installed- the only thing you may need is some hardware changes.  If you’re running XP, or a Mac OS, you can use a variety of free applications that should give the same appearance and functionality of Windows Media Center.  In some cases, the free software provides an even better experience, according to PC World.

MediaPortal, for example, is a free WMC look-a-like that provides the exact same features, but can run on XP as well.  It can time-shift and record TV, play videos and music, run slide shows, tune in radio stations (both FM and Internet), and even play games like Tetris.  It also provides a nice user interface that’s easily viewable from a couch or from a distance. 

If you want to go above and beyond the free stuff and opt for the best, you can get the $80 Sage TV Media Center for Windows that gives you extras such as Google Video feeds, commercial skip functions, and the option to stream all your content to any broadband-connected PC with the "TV PlaceShifter" add-on. 

Mac users also have options, as they can get the freely available CenterStage, or even the OS-X bundled Front Row.  While a bit more limited than its Windows brethren, it should still get the job done. 

On the hardware end of things, the tuner is obviously the most important piece of the puzzle.  The best option is a travel-friendly USB-based tuner that can be used on the road via your notebook, or at home on your PC.  A good example is AVerMedia’s AVerTV Hybrid Volar Max that supports analog, OTA, and QAM sources, and is about the size of a flash drive.

While there’s many other options to turn your plain-old PC or Mac into a full-functioning Media Center, the key point is that it doesn’t have to cost a lot.  In fact, I’d opt for the basic Vista without WMC and do it myself using the free software.  It looks to me like the added features that are lacking in WMC are worth it.  Especially if my PC or notebook already has a TV tuner built in, which many do these days.  Why pay more for a machine with Vista Ultimate when you can do it better yourself, for less money.

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Entry was posted on Sunday, August 10th, 2008 at 9:57 pm under Free Software, Hardware, Microsoft, Vista, xp.  Print This Post

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