I never bothered to update this forum with what I did. It's been quite a legnthy process, and fortunately my wife has been quite patient. I had gotten a Sony Vaio PC from a brother who didn't ne...
when you have time can you list all of the hardware you need, or is that it?
well, what are the specs of the PC you have? Will it be solely dedicated to this project (media server)? Does it have DVI out? XP or Vista? Large Hard drive (over 200GB)? And do you have an HDTV? (If not, you need much less stuff).
If you have an HDTV, you would essentially need one package that includes dual HD tuners, remote control, and software. Link is below. It's $200 but pays for itself after 20 months. or, it pays itself off instantly if you don't tell your wife how much it cost. It works by connecting to your PC via crossover cable, so there's no internal components heating up your PC so it'll be cooler and quieter than with a hardware encoded internal card.