I finally…finally have my Media Center up and running. Tonight I snagged myself a Linksys Media Extender (with an Ethernet cable, it connects my TV to my computer).

On the 534th day of construction, I now pronounce: It is Cool.

What is a Media Center? Well, it’s something that Brian has had for about three years. And it’s something that in another three years, most people will have — and it’ll be much easier to do than what I went through.

Basically, the ole Media Center is a central storage unit for all my media (MP3s, TV, photos). My newest component (Linksys Media Extender) is the gateway between my computer and my home theatre system. So I can listen to all my music on my stereo, watch TV (and pause(!) live TV) on my actual television set, record television (no longer need a VCR), watch slide shows (much more entertaining than it sounds).

These are the components of my system:

Gateway 4016 Desktop Computer – $399
: All systems now come with a ridiculous amount of RAM, CPU power and the other tech stuff. The most important aspect of this computer is the Hard Drive. 200GBs. Nice.


Dual Tv Tuner Card – $179
: Once installed in the desktop, this little device can decode TV signals (not the right word, but I don’t care). It’s a dual tuner so I can watch one station and record another.

Linksys Media Extender – $79 Snagged this tonight for about 1/4 of what they go for. I could’ve used an X-Box or X-Box 360 to do the same thing. Because of this, I don’t have to worry about more computer stuff like audio or video.


Microsoft Remote Control – $42.00
I realize now that I don’t really need this. It’s just a standard remote control — but with a green button that will start the Media Center. My logitech remote will be able to handle these duties — and then I’ll put this remote up on Ebay.

So for $699, I have a Media Center, a computer (because my old one kept crashing). I didn’t need the remote as my current Logitech remote can handle those duties.