Saving Money

[piasabird]

I have been looking for ways to save money building a new HTPC. One roadblock is purchasing the Operating System. Is there a way to save money when purchasing windows 7? For instance is it possible to download it instead of ordering it on media and save money?

If you are going to suggest it I dont think purchasing win 8 is a good idea. I tried the preview download and I had trouble playing flash video on my computer which is basically one of the main things I wanted to do. Maybe Microsoft will improve it at a later date. I am not a windows 8 hater, I just expected flash to work properly.

I have thought that maybe it was just my Intel DG35EC Motherboard also. I thought about trying it again later with a slightly newer motherboard.

 

[vshah]

you could just use an xbmc live installation, bypass the need for windows altogether. it's free.

 

[lakedude]

Do you actually need Windows? XMBC is available in a bootable live CD.

My buddy has a wonderful diskless "HTPC" that boots XBMC right off the network. There is no hard drive in the machine, no Windows, yet it works just fine for streaming video from his server.

What do you need your HTPC to do? Does it need a tuner? Storage? What is the source of your video?

 

[cybrsage]

If you want to use a cablecard tuner, you must go Windows 7.

 

[pauldun170]

http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=XBMCbuntu

 

[kalrith]

I think you can get Win7 for cheap with a .edu email address. If you need Win7 on more than one PC, then sometimes the family pack (up to 3 PCs) goes on sale for a reasonable amount.

But, as already mentioned, if you can get by with xbmc for free, then that'll obviously be the least expensive choice. I personally use my HTPC for several other uses that need Win7. I got it for $50 in the pre-sale years ago.

 

[cganesh75]

if you want to play blu-ray from the drive, you need win7.. can we do it in linux without running through some serious loops?

how about netflix?

 

[assassin24]

Bluray from the disc is not supported by Win7. Unfortunately you need an expensive software player for playback.

For this reason I recommend a stand alone player for disc playback. With that said I haven't played back from a disc in years.

 

[pauldun170]

HOW-TO playback Blu-ray Disc in XBMC for Linux with MakeMKV
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=67420

 

[assassin24]

That's not near the same thIng. Often grabs the wrong track.

 

[pauldun170]

That's not near the same thIng. Often grabs the wrong track.

I haven't used it that much since I prefer to rip it locally but I don't recall having an issue on a win7\xbmc box the few times I've played from BR directly.

Is it specific to the linux setup or just a nuisance with makemkv+xbmc overall?

I agree with going the stand alone player route.

 

[assassin24]

I haven't used it that much since I prefer to rip it locally but I don't recall having an issue on a win7\xbmc box the few times I've played from BR directly.

Is it specific to the linux setup or just a nuisance with makemkv+xbmc overall?

I agree with going the stand alone player route.

Part of the problem is that Hollywood and the disc production companies are getting smarter.

 

[pauldun170]

Part of the problem is that Hollywood and the disc production companies are getting smarter.

Gotcha

 

[zon2020]

Win DVD Pro 11 $49.99 on the Corel website (sometimes $39.99) works well playing disks in an HTPC.

 

[piasabird]

So if you use XBMC do you have to use UBUNTU or install a Linux distro first? The last time I used Linux it was SUSE. Is there a flash player for HULU?

 

[cybrsage]

Win DVD Pro 11 $49.99 on the Corel website (sometimes $39.99) works well playing disks in an HTPC.

I like Arcsoft's Total Media Theater 5.

 

[zon2020]

I like Arcsoft's Total Media Theater 5.

Except it's twice the price, and while TMT is better for playing rips and other files, Win DVD seems to be the least troublesome in my experience for playing disks. I don't use it for anything else, but for disks, it's my favorite.`

 

[cybrsage]

Depends, they have a lot of sales and you can always use the 404 code for 20% off:

http://www.arcsoft.com/public/404page.asp?404URL

We're Sorry

Well, this is a bit awkward and we apologize for our mistake. The page you are looking for has moved or no longer exists. To make it up to you, please use coupon code: ARC404P20 during checkout to receive 20% off.

Arcsoft also actively listens to what the HTPC community has to say and has an active engineer (though it is done in his personal time) on avsforum.

 

[zon2020]

Depends, they have a lot of sales and you can always use the 404 code for 20% off:

http://www.arcsoft.com/public/404page.asp?404URL



Arcsoft also actively listens to what the HTPC community has to say and has an active engineer (though it is done in his personal time) on avsforum.

Still makes it $80, and considering that Corel regularly (indeed as recently as last week) sells Win DVD for $39.99, it's still twice the price.