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Help Me setup a netwoked HT system..

post #1 of 3
11/11/09 at 5:21pm
Thread Starter 
Hi All - seems like the best place to ask questions for what I would like to do - no idea where to start...

I have a limited budget - < 1k or so... (I have server and plenty of PC's around :) )

I am very technically savvy and understand once I am pointed in the right direction...

I would like to connect my TV (HD if possible) to my home media server..  I use power-dvd on my laptop for movies...

I would like to be able to share movies between all tv's in my house

I would like to keep all my dvd's on my SAN locally - backup in case of media failure...

I would like to play any of these DVD's on any TV in the house...

I would like to connect to the web on the main system to pandora or last.fm or netflix to my audio/ video system...

Same for any web enabled movies...

I have a wireless network - but can wire for 10/100 ethernet if I have to...  I guess even 1gb is possible if required...

So - is this a dream still or realistic????
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post #2 of 3
11/12/09 at 5:34am
If you read the rules of the forum, we can't discuss the method of getting a DVD to a hard drive.  You have to break the digital security to do that and we just don't discuss it.

For playing non-copy righted, personal video (let's use that term) from your network to all of the TV's, you need to look at networked media players.  There are hundreds of options from the Apple Airport, the Popcorn Hour Media Tank, to ones from D Link, Western Digital to a bunch of imported models.  Each has different features ranging from  network capabilities to its own storage to media car readers.  Newegg has a bunch and that would be a good starting point.

Connecting your TV to a media server required the proper video card outputs.  You don't mention the connections available on your TV so I assume it is at least HDMI.  Get a video card with HDMI output. 
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post #3 of 3
11/12/09 at 9:57am
Look into the new WDTV LIve.  It's relatively inexpensive ($119 on sale), will stream 1080p HD, can use media servers like Playon and TVersity for Hulu, CBS, Netflix and Amazon streaming to your TV.  It includes Pandora support.  It needs no server for local content, just an SMB share volume (i.e. plain vanilla NAS drive).  It's ethernet only, but it has a USB so you can add a Wireless 'N' dongle (Wireless 'G' would be useless).  I've been playing with one for a couple weeks and though it is fairly new firmware-wise, it does the job of boxes costing 100's more.
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