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  • My HTPC

    Well someone has to be first...

    Here's the HTPC I built for my parents last year. The case is the HFX micro, it acts as a huge heatsink (note the fins) which the CPU and GPU are connected to via heat pipes. This makes it completely silent. Only when I put my ear to the case can I hear the hard drive, which itself is in a rubber sleeve.

    The prominent VCR underneath is the main reason I built it for them. My Mum had dozens of videos under the TV with the show names written on the back of the boxes. With Media Center, she of course no longer has to shuffle through all the boxes. Also, as most of the TV watching was time-shifted, using the VCR meant nothing was recorded digitally, which seemed a pity. (Not that she minded, she also can't tell the difference between SD and HD). In 2012 when the analogue signal is switched off (in the UK) the VCR would no longer work, so I had considered buying a PVR for them, but none of them looked that good. I tried Media Center, and wasn't disappointed.

    Recently, my parents Hi-Fi broke and my Dad was considering buying a new one. I showed him the Music library feature of Media Center in case he liked it, he did of course and now is happily riping his CD collection. I set up Windows Media Player on the desktop PC to rip and transfer the music to the HTPC over the network automatically (via homeplugs). The HTPC is connected directly to 2.1 speakers so that the TV can be turned off and music will continue to play.

    I installed the excellent (free) LogMeIn remote access software to use when things go wrong, (I live a few hours away on the train) but this has been rare. To begin with my parents would try to use the old TV remote rather than the Media Center remote, so I had to hide it. They have become accustomed to Media Center really well, despite the fact that my Mum refuses to use the normal PC.

    Love the show, keep up the great work,
    Greg
    York, UK

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