valkyrie

[valkyrie]

[quote=”Chasseur”]Are there any advantages of getting the 250GB if I use it only as an extender?[/quote]

If your only use is as a Media Center Extender, then there are no benefits to getting the 250GB.  The 250GB HDD will make more noise, generate more heat and use more power.  I have an XBox360 Arcade that I use as an extender and it has only a 2GB flash drive plugged in the back.  As an extender only, that is more than enough.  The 4GB is more than you need, and should you ever change your mind, it’s easy to add a USB flash drive or HDD later.  Go for the 4GB. 

-Valkyrie-MT

[valkyrie]

[quote=”Chasseur”]Are there any advantages of getting the 250GB if I use it only as an extender?[/quote]

If your only use is as a Media Center Extender, then there are no benefits to getting the 250GB.  The 250GB HDD will make more noise, generate more heat and use more power.  I have an XBox360 Arcade that I use as an extender and it has only a 2GB flash drive plugged in the back.  As an extender only, that is more than enough.  The 4GB is more than you need, and should you ever change your mind, it’s easy to add a USB flash drive or HDD later.  Go for the 4GB. 

-Valkyrie-MT

[valkyrie]

[quote=”babgvant”]
When I was looking the cheapest slim-line BD drive I could find was ~$200 (even now the cheapest/only one on Newegg is $153).[/quote]
Just search e-bay for “bc-5600s” and you’ll find some great options for $100 or less.  And don’t be afraid to take an external drive and crack it open.  You’ll also need a SATA adapter like [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812270183]this one on newegg[/url]

[quote=”babgvant”]What ITX board did you get?  Some of the H57 boards don’t support the quads (i.e. I think the DH57JG is only rated to 87W).[/quote]
I have the Intel DH57JG and there is a Quad Core i5 that uses less than 87W.  The Core i5-750S uses 82W, but again it does not have video.  The irony is that with the old architecture of the video being integrated into the chipset, it was much easier to get a Quad-Core with integrated Video.  Now, it’s actually impossible and incredibly confusing.  I can only imagine how many people get a quad core i5 with a mobo that has video ports and think this should work.  Again… thanks Intel!  What a Boneheaded design…

[valkyrie]

[quote=”babgvant”]
When I was looking the cheapest slim-line BD drive I could find was ~$200 (even now the cheapest/only one on Newegg is $153).[/quote]
Just search e-bay for “bc-5600s” and you’ll find some great options for $100 or less.  And don’t be afraid to take an external drive and crack it open.  You’ll also need a SATA adapter like [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812270183]this one on newegg[/url]

[quote=”babgvant”]What ITX board did you get?  Some of the H57 boards don’t support the quads (i.e. I think the DH57JG is only rated to 87W).[/quote]
I have the Intel DH57JG and there is a Quad Core i5 that uses less than 87W.  The Core i5-750S uses 82W, but again it does not have video.  The irony is that with the old architecture of the video being integrated into the chipset, it was much easier to get a Quad-Core with integrated Video.  Now, it’s actually impossible and incredibly confusing.  I can only imagine how many people get a quad core i5 with a mobo that has video ports and think this should work.  Again… thanks Intel!  What a Boneheaded design…

[valkyrie]

Wow, I think I caused more confusion than anything else.  Mikinho is right.  But, I do want to emphasize that the Dish Network guide data can work just fine with all the expected annotations for HD and all the rest.  The only thing that is not working with the native Hauppauge service is the proper assignment of the Microsoft provided guide data with the new HD-PVR based channels.  So after the initial installation, you are left with all of your channels working and listed in the MCE guide, but all the HD-PVR-based satellite channels say “no data available”.  To populate the guide data, you have to use a third party tool called GuideTool that can assign the MS provided guide information with your new Hauppauge channel numbers in the MCE guide.  It’s really a simple work around and requires Zero maintenance to keep it working properly.  Hopefully that makes things clear. 

Here is what the guide looked like when I was assigning the guide data with GuideTool:
[url=http://img10.imageshack.us/i/usingguidetooltofixhaup.jpg/][img width=150 height=85]http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5541/usingguidetooltofixhaup.th.jpg[/img][/url]

-Valkyrie-MT

[valkyrie]

Wow, I think I caused more confusion than anything else.  Mikinho is right.  But, I do want to emphasize that the Dish Network guide data can work just fine with all the expected annotations for HD and all the rest.  The only thing that is not working with the native Hauppauge service is the proper assignment of the Microsoft provided guide data with the new HD-PVR based channels.  So after the initial installation, you are left with all of your channels working and listed in the MCE guide, but all the HD-PVR-based satellite channels say “no data available”.  To populate the guide data, you have to use a third party tool called GuideTool that can assign the MS provided guide information with your new Hauppauge channel numbers in the MCE guide.  It’s really a simple work around and requires Zero maintenance to keep it working properly.  Hopefully that makes things clear. 

Here is what the guide looked like when I was assigning the guide data with GuideTool:
[url=http://img10.imageshack.us/i/usingguidetooltofixhaup.jpg/][img width=150 height=85]http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5541/usingguidetooltofixhaup.th.jpg[/img][/url]

-Valkyrie-MT

[valkyrie]

I just wanted to be clear that Dish works fine with the HD-PVR despite the Hauppauge user guide stating otherwise.  The MCE channel guide just has to be set up using GuideTool after installation to get the guide data to populate.  It only has to be done once at time of setup.  I have been using these Native drivers now for months and it is perfect with respect to working with Dish.  My only two problems are the “weak signal” and slow channel change, which according to Mikinho, may have been addressed.   

-Valkyrie-MT

[valkyrie]

I just wanted to be clear that Dish works fine with the HD-PVR despite the Hauppauge user guide stating otherwise.  The MCE channel guide just has to be set up using GuideTool after installation to get the guide data to populate.  It only has to be done once at time of setup.  I have been using these Native drivers now for months and it is perfect with respect to working with Dish.  My only two problems are the “weak signal” and slow channel change, which according to Mikinho, may have been addressed.   

-Valkyrie-MT

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