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media center pc's

#1
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What do you guys think about ASILI Media Center PC's if you've ever had one? I know I could build my own media center pc but I don't feel like it. I've been looking around and they seem expensive though.
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#2
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Re: media center pc's

What do you want to use it for? Playing DVDs? Pictures? Showing non-copyrighted movies that you have downloaded? Playing non DRM music? How will you control it?

The reason I'm asking is that a media center PC wouldn't work in my house. My wife wants to pick up one remote and have an intuitive interface that she can follow. She doesn't want to wait for something to boot up. The PC would be going out with the trash if it crashed or locked up. But I still want to show electronic media. That's why I am looked at stand alone players like the Popcorn Hour Media Tank or one of the dozen other players.

-Robert
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#3
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Re: media center pc's

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert_J
What do you want to use it for? Playing DVDs? Pictures? Showing non-copyrighted movies that you have downloaded? Playing non DRM music? How will you control it?

The reason I'm asking is that a media center PC wouldn't work in my house. My wife wants to pick up one remote and have an intuitive interface that she can follow. She doesn't want to wait for something to boot up. The PC would be going out with the trash if it crashed or locked up. But I still want to show electronic media. That's why I am looked at stand alone players like the Popcorn Hour Media Tank or one of the dozen other players.

-Robert
Well I already have an ordinary pc, and it has windows media center which I think is a pretty good interface. My thing is, I don't like the look of a pc tower in my living room. That media center pc almost looks like a DVR, and would fit well.

I looked at the specifications and everything, and with that type of hardware I don't think it will crash much if at all either.
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#4
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Re: media center pc's

Oh and I want to use it for all of what you said, to record dvds and tv shows, to watch online youtube videos, and to look at picture slide shows and home videos with the family on my tv instead of having everybody crowd around my computer screen.
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#5
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Re: media center pc's

The media players do the same in a much smaller form factor and add features such as HDMI 1.3.

Welcome To Popcorn Hour
MvixUSA : Revolutionizing Portable Entertainment
DSM-320 Wireless Media Player - Stream Audio/Video on TV by D-Link
Linksys.com - Products/Wireless/Basic Networking/Entertainment/Music, Picture, and Video Links/WMA11B

That's just a few. I had a link that had dozens of imported players for under $100. I'm still looking for it.

-Robert
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#6
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Re: media center pc's

I forgot to mention that I want to be able to check e-mail, myspace, etc. Basically be able to surf the web. Me and my friends frequently gather around and show each other stuff we found on the internet. However, I did check out some of the items you mentioned(and noticed they couldn't do this). They also don't have a DVR function, nor can they burn DVD's or anything. That's why I was considering a media center pc such as the ASILI, because for everything I want I'm basically asking for a computer.
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