[davbren]

Hey all,
I recently got a new job so I have some cash burning a whole in my geeky trousers so I thought I build something. I have a few projects on teh go like an all in one system (imac stylee) but thats on hold til I can really afford it. So, for when I finally get my own place I want to have a media solution to make awesome and pretty. I thought xbmc would be an excellent place to start.

So from you guys, if you'd be so kind, I'd like a few pointers as to how to go about getting my components. I was toying with the idea of using it as a file server as well instead of pulling stuff from the file server to it. With that in mind I thought that I'd stick a couple of 2.5" hard drives in there.

As for graphics I thought that if I got a mobo with an nvidia graphics chipset it'd be cool for HD content but I'm not 100% sure on that. I have a DVB-T card that I can use but that won't receive HD tv so again I'm not sure whether I should replace it.

Obviously I'd want it to be as silent as possible.

Oh yh and a question about the media; Do the files have to conform to a particular naming convention?

Cheers.

[pkunk]

Well for starters.. would something like an Asrock Ion or Acer Revo work for you? They're pretty quiet, play HD content and look nice under or near the TV Not sure about the revo, but the Asrock is pretty customizable. And they're relatively cheap.

You can read about filename convention here

As for the file server.. In what way do you want to use it? You can access xbmc through sftp. Or you can setup your own system from the OS your using if you're not using xbmc live

[davbren]

Cheers for the links. Those devices seem pretty cool, but also sorta takes the fun outta it lol! Also they don't come with capture cards do they?

Well a file server to host all of my media files.

Also, is there EPG functionality in xbmc?

[davbren]

bit of an old one i know. But I'm moving into my first place soon so I was wondering whether it was better to keep the tv's functionality as it is or try and use xbmc with it. So I was wondering whether xbmc does tv or not?