I have my MSS up and running as smooth as glass....

All functions working very nicely and for the first time in my life----my entire Home video collection and all my photographs are organized and in one place.

And I'd like to be able to just turn on my home TV (standard 32 Inch Sony Analog Picture Tube TV)

and play those videos or show those pictures to friends and family at the click of a button.

Do you folks have suggestions for hardware that I could hook to the TV which will allow me to do that....????

Don't want to spend a fortune as I'm saving for a new Widescreen HD LCD TV. Maybe $400 max....

If you don't care about having a Media Center Extender, just a media streamer, I would look at Popcorn Hour http://www.popcornhour.com or ISTARHD http://www.istarhd.com . I have actually just ordered my ISTARHD because the Popcorn hour is hard to get. Benefits of these two systems is they can play almost ANYTHING you throw at them, plus they can do 1080p. I'll let you know how the ISTARHD works when I get mine next week.

Thanks for the reply!!!

Don't care if it uses Media Center...

Or has it's own software interface....

Just want to be able to sit down in front of my TV and call up any of my home movies or photos with a few clicks....

And it get that stuff directly from my MSS if possible.....

I would also be amenable to some sort of stand alone player with maybe a USB or eSATA hard drive that I could just take upstaris every so once in a while and synch with all the video and files on my MSS.

Also----I have a standard Sony Analog tube TV 4:3 letterbox, with Component video hookups----great picture.....for Standard Def

I want it to work with what I have NOW-----with the capability of moving up to 16:9 and HD

a bit of an overkill, however xbox360 or PS3 ??

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EX470

So you are saying use an Xbox 360 as a Media Center Extender

Then run the content off of the MSS

Wouldn't you have to load WMP on the MSS???

Is that supported on the MSS?

I bought the Xbox 360 just to stream vids to the TV. Works like a charm. Had trouble doing it wirelessly but after running a cat5 cable I am able to stream to the TV with nary a hitch. Had to rename all my divx to avi for the xbox to see them, but it all works great with out adding any additional programs to the server.

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neil

Seems like a decent solution for now.....

What about the futue and High Def----

Can an xbox 360 me made into a HD player???

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WHS 2011 with 12 TB storage, 5 connected PCs: 1-Win 7 Ultimate 32 Bit, 2-Win 7 Ultimate 64 Bit, 2-Win 7 Home Premium 32 Bit, DLink DIR-655 Wireless N Gigabit Router, HP MediaSmart TV, Roku Media Player, Apple TV2, iPhone 4, iPad2 3G

The best Media Extender on the market right now is the TVIX M-4100SH which allows you to stream from your MSS all the way up to 1080p and is also the only network player that plays .MKV H.264 HD videos.

I have a Samsung 46" and it plays 1080p movies from the MSS. Can't ask for more.

http://www.tvix.co.kr/Eng/products/4100sh.aspx

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EX470 + Athlon LE-1620 CPU & 2GB Kingston RAM Upgrades

I don't believe the TVIX is the ONLY network player that plays .MKV H.264 HD Videos. Both Popcorn Hour and ISTAR HD do as well. I believe both the Pop Corn Hour and ISTAR HD use a newer version of the Sigma Designs chipset. I almost went with the TVIX system, but decided to try out the ISTAR HD.

The reason I stayed away from just using my 360 is it doesn't play all the HD formats right now with 5.1 sound. Even though I love the 360, it just isn't as flexible as the TVIX, Popcorn Hour, and ISTAR to me.

Thanks to both of you----I'll take a look at that TViX as well----Price?? I'm assuming around $300

I'm glad you both have found a setup that works.....

Manufacturer's claims are usually sooooo far from reality....

Streaming just makes so much sense----especially with the MSS----it's going to happen-----in a big way....

Looks like there is a bunch of stuff that is right around the corner....or just beginning to be fleshed out

Apple TV Take2
HP MediaSmart TVs
HP MediaSmart Receiver (for an existing TV)

And HP is supposedly releasing an upgrade in Feb which ties in some PacketVideo technology and easier ways to stream off the MSS

What to do-----what to do....

On a side note----I see in your sig that you replaced the cpu in your MSS...

Do you think it a worthwhile upgrade?? See any differences???? Any BIOS issues???

I build gaming computers and changing out a CPU is no big deal for me----so I'm interested.

John

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WHS 2011 with 12 TB storage, 5 connected PCs: 1-Win 7 Ultimate 32 Bit, 2-Win 7 Ultimate 64 Bit, 2-Win 7 Home Premium 32 Bit, DLink DIR-655 Wireless N Gigabit Router, HP MediaSmart TV, Roku Media Player, Apple TV2, iPhone 4, iPad2 3G

Oups, I didn't realize that other players also had MKV support. Must be recent. I agree on the 360. I would NEVER use that to stream to my tv. It just makes too much noise and it doesn't support all the formats I need.

I love my TVIX!

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EX470 + Athlon LE-1620 CPU & 2GB Kingston RAM Upgrades

Hi John,

If you get a good network player like the ones we mention it will allow you to stream almost anything off your MSS as long as you use a network connection (wired) for maximum performance.

Yeah, I upgraded the CPU and RAM and it runs great. no problems and now the MSS has room to spare. A box can never have enough power. I would rather have a box which doesn't use more than 50-70% of power than having a box that stays at 100% usage. I highly recommend it.
cheers

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EX470 + Athlon LE-1620 CPU & 2GB Kingston RAM Upgrades

I agree with you totally...

Just like back in the Army when you could never have enough grenades...

You can never have a box that is powerful enough....

I already flipped out my RAM....

Any issues when you flipped out the CPU???

BIOS??

Thermal Grease??

Tips???

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WHS 2011 with 12 TB storage, 5 connected PCs: 1-Win 7 Ultimate 32 Bit, 2-Win 7 Ultimate 64 Bit, 2-Win 7 Home Premium 32 Bit, DLink DIR-655 Wireless N Gigabit Router, HP MediaSmart TV, Roku Media Player, Apple TV2, iPhone 4, iPad2 3G

Hi John,

I just swapped the CPU, added new artic silver thermal paste and put the box back together. that's it.

cheers

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EX470 + Athlon LE-1620 CPU & 2GB Kingston RAM Upgrades

Perfect!!!

Another "project" on my agenda...

And looks totally easy....

And the price is right $46 from Newegg...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103198&Tpk=athaalon%2ble-1620

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WHS 2011 with 12 TB storage, 5 connected PCs: 1-Win 7 Ultimate 32 Bit, 2-Win 7 Ultimate 64 Bit, 2-Win 7 Home Premium 32 Bit, DLink DIR-655 Wireless N Gigabit Router, HP MediaSmart TV, Roku Media Player, Apple TV2, iPhone 4, iPad2 3G