http://msmvps.com/blogs/chrisl/archive/2007/12/07/1385290.aspx

You can be all in for about $1100 with one digital tuner. However, I would spend a few more dollars, add a second drive and have it setup in RAID array that stripes your data (music) across two drives. This should allow Vista to quickly pull your music up in Media Center.

http://www.hometoys.com/article.php4?displayid=980

i live in Manhattan (read: small space) and currently have a plasma/mce2k5-custom htpc case in my den, and plasma/xbox360/extender in my bedroom. i also have a normal PC/and laptop at my desk.

a few years ago i wanted a htpc that was easy to use (WAF), could record live tv, play mp3s, pictures, play downloaded divx, dvds, and didnt have a monthly EPG fee. MCE was the clear solution.

since then, because of the open SDK, mostly, many people (myself included) have written 3rd party apps, i use webguide to stream/schedule/record shows of the web, mymovies to manage movies/watch trailers online, play mame games with my xbox360 controller, stream torrent tvshows and movies to my xbox360, etc. to my- this is still the only device that can do all these things. and it does it well, imho.

in terms of HD, i remember reading TH’s post many years ago about the promise of Cablecard, but after reading the follow-ups, and seeing firsthand how buggy they are, i realized that might not happen. after owning a OTA Fusion HD card that didnt work well, i found HDHomeRun and have been using it for 90% of my HD viewing (tnt, 2-13). i never have to switch inputs on my main TV.
and- my lowly p4-3.2 can support record analog and hd and the same time (my wife and i have different tv tastes, it seems).

going fwd, i am, also, torn.

i recently decided to purchase an imac, and was considering
a) MAC -a macmini to replace my old/sometimes noisy htpc/dvine5 case.
b) MCE RETAIL – i now know i dont want to dish out $1500 for a cable-card mce that might or might now work – just to get espnHD recorded.
c) MCE DIY – build a custom HTPC with a new case (with bigger/silent fans), fast CPU, vista MCE, 4gb ram, etc.

based on all the reasons above, i still think #c works for me. i might also get a dual-analog tuner (and a matching one from TWCNYC), and a larger HDD than i have now.

my 2 cents.

CJ

At my home, I have a triple tuner machine (with OTA HD) that serves all the rooms in my house with recorded TV shows and music. I also have the Netgear ReadyNAS NV+ 2TB server for file sharing (such as music). In the shed, I can access all my music and shows, in the garage, I can access my music–through 802.11n or gigabit. In the kitchen, we have a unit that we can watch shows and review recipes.
It all works really well.

I really love Amazon Unbox and it works well with the Media Center, Vongo is OK… and I just ended my subscription due to lack of good and new content. In fact I am ready to end all my premium channels due to lack of good content, but that is another story…

Gaming and Media are bigger in our household than television. So it works well for us and I am hoping WebFives photo upload,storage and sync with Media Center in the future to help facilitate managing photos and sharing. Music works well with ripped media,Zune,a Sonos system, and streaming music from Sirius and XM.

PC gaming is nice on a Media Center with a DVD/CD changer and makes for a great experience.

Works great on the Slingbox for other room viewing or on the road. I also have a pair of networked Replay TVs as recording backups when my other Tuners are busy recording. The Xbox360 works well as a home extender/gaming device and may offer more capabilities with IPTV when it rolls out and you can already watch HD movies on it either with the external drive or via download.

You have a good back up with the TiVo, but its a sad state of affairs that the Direct TiVo doesn’t support Tivo 2 Go and PC sharing with out some hacking.

I would wait… till at least CES/Mac World time. I sense an update for the Mac Mini/Apple TV to meet HD demands with DVI/HDMI support and maybe even HD DVD and Blu Ray support too. Vista Media Center may have an affordable OCUR solution for the masses and QAM capabilities, heck it would be nice to see DVD streaming as well, but I am not holding my breath.

The best integrated system I have seen is this system which will be at CES 2008 by SE2 Labs called the ITC One and can be customized by the end user. Check out the options:

The following components can be included: Microsoft X-Box 360, X-Box 360 HD DVD Player, Nintendo Wii, DirecTV, High-Def TiVo, Dish Network DVR, national cable providers DVR, including Comcast, Time Warner, Cox Cable and many more, AMX Netlinx Control System, High-End Digital Surround Processor, Bryston Pre-Amp Processor with full digital outputs, IcePower High-End D-Class Amplifiers, High-End Video Processor, Front Touchpanel Screen, Apple Video iPod with Dock, proprietary Remote Control, Power Conditioning, Transparent Cabling and Cable Harness and an Anti-Noise and Vibration System – all integrated through a revolutionary design, working together from an elegant, compact box. It’s like a house full of electronics slimmed down to a small console – 18” wide x 21” h igh x 20” deep. The ITC One will be sold through custom installers starting at an MSRP of $24,995.

Or you could build your own cusomized solution for much cheaper…and be happy it fits all your needs.