Recon

Im thinking id like to build my own tivo/media center PC....

I know the sound card would be no issue...just need optical out to get to my reciever.

But what kind of Vid card takes in coax?

and what programs allow TIVO like capabilities.

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Low Roller

There's a ton of good stuff out there. I've used an HTPC for years. It really depends on what your looking to do....there's plenty to keep you busy.

I haven't used WMCE myself, but it will work well. I've also heard good things about MythTV.

Are you asking what kind of capture card can take coax video in? I use a Hauppauge capture card myself, along with my HiPix HDTV card, but if I were starting out building a box from scratch, I'd just get an ATI AIW card.

proxops-pete

The TV tuner kind... stay with brands like ATI and Hauppauge for TV tuners... I like Hauppauge better as their encoders are hardware level so the CPU toll is less, meaning you don't need as much crunching power to setup a HTPC.
And most of these come with their own version of TiVO-like softwares. I think ideally Hauppauge PVR-250 would be the best choice... but a bit pricy.

jester22c

I second the suggestion for a Hauppauge. If you're going to be giving this HTPC steady use you can capture with the card and have your cpu cycles going towards encoding/etc.

I have read up on MythTV a bit but never tried it out for myself. I've heard good things though, it's probably worth looking into.

www.mythtv.org

Recon

cool im just sick of paying either comcast or tivo 12 bucks a month for a freaking menu......

Im thinking 2-300 gig HD should be fine...maybe sata in raid

maybe a 2500 amd proc on a abit NF7s board

can i get away with 512 ram or do i need a gig?

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proxops-pete

I think you can get away with 512 MB. Oh, and I just checked and PVR-150 (instead of more expensive PVR-250) should fit the bill just fine as well.