I am using MediaPortal as the Media Center / front end and to play video I’m using the highly configurable ZoomPlayer. It does take a lot of configuring to get DirectShow filtes to work with all the various formats out there (MKVs are such a huge PITA, it’s the encoders fault really, most don’t tell you what codecs they use!). I have been able to get all surround formats to output true multi-channel sound (my receiver decodes WMAPRO 9 so it’s just a pass through).
It’s nice using my TV as a monitor for reading the news / RSS feeds, watching watching the latest (HD) Apple trailers with surround sound and full screen video, browsing the low-fi youtube videos or *testing* N64 emulation. Eventually I’d like to build some kind of lap or tabletop friendly set of modular arcade controls to further enhance MAME *testing*!
Looks like it’s time to retire the old Snazzi Netcinema HD, though it did a great job This computer can do far more.
Looks cool! You got an HD capture-card in there yet?
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No I didn’t because I have the HD-DVR from Dish Network… but if they piss me off and I cancel them then a Capture card or two would be the next devices I put in the case.
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Remind me to pick your brain sometime about the difficulty of setting up video-output. When I was considering make an htpc it was the video output that made me decide to go an easier route. I read about people tweaking their output res and refresh rates etc, and it seemed like way too much work.
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I’ve been wanting to an HTPC for quite a while but I doubt it will happen until I get a place of my own and can put together the display and sound system to compliment it.
And I’ve been wanting to make smaller arcade controllers too ever since Nathan and I built the Lunacade. If you ever get serious about making them I’d be down and we could collaborate.
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