Re: Anyone got a MCE2004 box?

["yhkeppy" <keith@xxxxxxx>]

Adam,

I've also got an MSDN MCE 2004 running...

One point for you - i'm not certain all of the functionality the=20
PVR350 offers is compatible. I believe the decoding is still done in=20
software in MCE 2004, even tho' the 350 offers on-board decoding.=20
BTW PCWorld are currently selling the PVR 250 for under =A380!! Might=20
be worth changing the Dabs order?

For everyone else, check out http://www.thegreenbutton.com. A
great=20
resource for all to do with MCE 2004.

Regards,

Keith


--- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, "Adam Stevens" <adam@z...> wrote:
>=20
>=20
> > "Paul Gale" <groups@s...> wrote in message
> news:<EBF6E5C1E4B58845BBCE68FE34972CBA04FCC0@h...>...
> > Was the install simple or were there any pitfalls to look out=20
for?
>=20
> MCE 2004 (aka MCE 1.5) comes as a small-ish upgrade to MCE=20
1.0/1.1 - It's
> about a 140Mb download from the MSDN site, so it's around the same=20
sort of
> size as a service pack.
>=20
> I had played (briefly) with MCE before, but the lack of UK support=20
make it
> pretty much unusable, so I didn't have it installed on any=20
machines at the
> time.  I just wiped a spare Athlon 1.2Ghz, installed MCE 1.0, and=20
then
> immediately installed the 2004 upgrade.  All worked fine.
>=20
> However, that said, I'm not really running it on the correct=20
hardware ATM.
> My machine doesn't currently have a tuner card in it (I've since=20
ordered a
> WinTV 350, so am just waiting on delivery), and the graphics card=20
probably
> isn't up to the OEM standards. Generally though, it all just=20
worked out of
> the box (baring in mind this was a totally clean install).
>=20
> For what it's worth, if you want a home built MCE machine (and can=20
get hold
> of the software), then you're looking at a WinTV PVR 250 or 350=20
(2004
> supports the radio in the 350, so it's probably worth the few=20
extra quid), a
> 128Mb NVIDIA FX5200, and a MCE remote.  The remote is the hardest=20
thing to
> find in the UK.  I ended up finding one on eBay US.  Also, the=20
minimum spec
> for MCE is a 2.4Ghz P4, although I expect this is more because=20
it's only
> available with new PC's, and you probably can't get a new PC of=20
less that
> 2.4Ghz these days.  It does appear to run okay one my old Athlon.
>=20
> The thing which is stopping me from using it "Full time", is
that=20
it's quite
> a lot of hardware to have tied up in a machine which basically is a
> glorified Tivo.  My Tivo works, and works well, and I can play=20
MP3s from the
> network via a Slimp3, so MCE doesn't *really* give me much extra=20
(with the
> possible exception of being able to access a video library).
>=20
> The biggest draw back is you really need a PC monitor attached to=20
the box to
> be able to use it in "PC mode".  TV resolution just isn't
good=20
enough in
> anything more than 640 by 480.  The ideal solution would be to use=20
a Smart
> Display to connect to the machine via Terminal Services, however=20
XP Pro
> (which is basically what MCE is) doesn't support concurrent users,=20
so if you
> connect via TS, you'll log out the user on the console, and hence=20
loose TV.
> For me, that is the *big* downfall.  The rumours are that there'll=20
soon be a
> version on XP Pro which will support two concurrent users in a=20
2k/2003
> Server manner (possibly even with XP SP2).  When this arrives,=20
I'll be happy
> :-)
>=20
> Adam.
>=20
>=20
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Adam Stevens [mailto:adam@z...]=20
> Sent: 08 October 2003 15:42
> To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [ukha_d] Anyone got a MCE2004 box?
>=20
> > Indeed, thats the one. Postcode bt27 4ns has rte1 and 2 on NTL=20
Digital.
> >=20
> > Sky digital doesn't have RTE in the UK, but they do transmit
it=20
for Irish
> > Sky customers.
> >=20
> > If you could try that postcode, and see how you get on I would=20
appreciate
> > it.
>=20
> No problem.  I'll give it a go this evening and get back to you=20
(assuming I
> can figure out how to change the postcode! :-).
>=20
> A.
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