These days, buying a decent plasma is often a lot more expensive than building your own media center. If you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, a media center is basically a PC that’s focused solely on media playback. Check out our PDF guide on how to set up your own media center, written by Stefan Neagu.
For the past year or so, I’ve been using Windows 7 on my media center. It’s quick, smooth, and the new Windows Media Center makes it an incredible improvement over Vista. It also supports most PCI TV tuners. Lately, I came to realize the stupidity of all it. Television shows haven’t been accounting to much lately, and the Windows 7 price tag isn’t worth it if you’re only using it for music and movies.
Enna
Although Boxee seemed the more obvious choice, it loses the high ground if you lack a decent internet connection. Just when I was about to give up hope, I heard about Enna – an incredible open source Linux media center, developed by the GeeXboX team, and ready for its first public release.
Enna can be installed on top of your Linux distro (e.g. Ubuntu) as a standalone app. But if you don’t want to make “the switch”, you can just use the GeeXboX live CD. You can boot Enna straight from the disk, without installing any alternative operating systems. If you want, you can even keep your default Windows installation running underneath.
Movies and Music
Keep in mind that the Enna Linux media center is a very standard app. It packs the very basic features in a most enticing and graphical user interface. If you’re looking for a surplus of widgets and online connectivity, you’re probably looking for Boxee.
That said, if you’re a standard media freak, Enna should sate your initial hunger, especially for a first public release.
Enna is great for browsing media files on your hard disk – both video and audio. You can also use Enna to pop an old-fashioned DVD. Sadly, this first release does not yet support audio CDs. This feature is promised to be included in one of the other upcoming releases, together with podcast support and VDB TV tuner functionality.
Photographs and Books
Apart from video and music, you can also use the Enna Linux media center software for photo slideshows. Next time your mother-in-law celebrates another wrinkle, surprise her and the rest of the family with a stunning slideshow. I’m not much of a picture-person myself, but I love to use slideshows to decorate a room, and create a pleasant ambience.
This last feature came as a surprise to me. In the bookstore, you can grab your favorite books and comics from the web, and read them from the couch. Enna currently supports GoComics and OneManga for content synchronisation.
Obviously, you want be able to read Shakespeare on your media center, but you can flick through a few (web)comics when you’re bored. As the names suggest, you can access both western comic panels and Japanese manga. Download Enna Media Center here.
What do you think of Enna? Or do you prefer another media center? Tell us which and why in the comments section below!
Elgato has untroduced the EyeTV One to the US market, its lowest-priced TV tuner for DTV antennas for Mac solution for $119.95 (or $101 at Amazon).
EyeTV One delivers digital TV and HDTV channels straight to a Mac or PC, enabling users to watch and record the huge variety of TV shows that are broadcast over-the-air for free - it’s an HDVR for the Mac (or PC).
The product ships with Elgato’s EyeTV 3, which enables users to watch, pause, and rewind live TV on a Mac, as well as record shows, subscribe to a favorite TV series, and create Smart Playlists. EyeTV 3 has a built-in editor to remove unwanted content and can automatically send recordings to iTunes to sync with an iPhone, iPod, or Apple TV. Recordings can be shared over a local network with other Macs. Elgato also offers optional apps to stream live TV and manage recording schedules on an iPhone while away from home.
Users who have a Windows PC as well as a Mac can use EyeTV One with either computer. EyeTV One is compatible with Windows 7 and works with Windows Media Center.
Will televisions sets become a thing of the past now that we can watch our favorite shows on our laptops? Probably not - we'll always have a use for both options. There's nothing quite like relaxing in front of the tube with friends or family on the couch, but being able to watch television while you're out and about can make traveling, commuting and other activities that call you away from home that much more enjoyable.
How to Watch TV on Your Laptop No. 1: Slingbox
Sling Media has a few Slingbox products that you can choose from to watch television on your laptop. I recommend Slingbox Pro, which runs around $129. Slingbox Pro will let you watch and control up to four video sources when you use HD connect from anywhere in the world. When you use Slingbox, you virtually take your home theater with you. You can control your digital cable, DVR, satellite receiver and DVD player, even if you're on the other side of the United States. Slingbox Pro even has a built-in TV tuner so that you can have access to your basic cable line up without changing your set up on your television at home. There is no monthly fee to use your Slingbox software.
How to Watch TV on Your Laptop No. 2: MobiTV
Currently, you can get MobiTV through AT&T Broadband TV. This allows you to watch television on any PC. This service is only available in the U.S. System requirements are a computer system with Windows XP, Internet Explorer 6+, Flash 8+ and Windows Media Player 9+. They advertise it as live television without the TV, plus you don't have to buy any hardware to work with your existing laptop. You simply watch live television through AT&T and get your choice of more than 30 channels. With MobiTV, there is a monthly fee but you can get a 14-day free trial to see if it's the right fit for your lifestyle. The only downside is that not all channels may be available to you during your free trial. Package prices start at $9.99 and go up.
How to Watch TV on Your Laptop No. 3: Beyond TV 4.7
Beyond TV 4.7 offers the option to watch and record television with your PC. With Beyond TV 47 you can skip commercials or parts of a show you don't want to watch. There is never a subscription fee. If you get the additional DVD Burning and H.264 Plug-In, you can burn your favorite television shows. The cost to get Beyond TV 47 is high (around $180) but since you'll never have to pay a subscription fee like MobiTV, it might be well worth the one time price.
How to Watch TV on your Laptop No. 4: Sony's LocationFree TV
With Sony's LocationFree TV, you can connect wirelessly to your own home network and watch television on your laptop. Watching television away from home is super easy. You are able to log in and instantly watch live TV, change channels and more. There is an onscreen remote that is easy to use. The LocationFree Wireless Base Station from Sony runs for around $200 with no monthly fees.
How to Watch TV on Your Laptop No. 5: TivoToGo
TivoToGo is accessible if you have a series two or later TiVo video recorder with home networking. After you've downloaded the TivoToGo software on your laptop, you can access shows that you've recorded on your TiVo box. The only monthly fee is what you already pay for your Tivo, although you may need to buy other hardware if you don't have the series two video recorder.
In my opinion, Slingbox is the best deal. You get better selection since it's through your own cable service and you only have to pay the one time fee to get the hardware. So if you want to watch television on your laptop, consider Slingbox first and weigh the pros and cons of each service to see which one will truly fit your lifestyle.
Tags: pctvtuner
Melvin Roach