Building A Windows Htpc

Building a Windows Home Theatre PC is We Got Served's definitive guide to planning, building, installing and using a Windows-based home theatre PC. If you're serious about streaming and managing your music and movies collection, then a Home Theatre PC (HTPC) puts you firmly in control. Sure, you can stream media on Connected TVs, Blu-ray players and other receivers but you have limited opportunities to customise and tailor those offerings to your needs, your family’s needs and the needs of your home. Depending on your choice, you get these services, miss out on those services and are reliant on a benevolent manufacturer to continue adding new apps and maintaining existing apps. But a HTPC with a small footprint - powerful and silent hardware running slick, easy to manage media center software is not a dream. It’s available for you today. Right now. You can build the hardware you want, install the services you prefer and play the media you love. In this 513 page guide, we walk you step by through creating a first-class, small and mighty HTPC - you'll plan the specifications, components and form factor you need, select the hardware and learn how to assemble a barebones kit (such as our reference build, an Intel NUC HTPC) or build a PC from scratch. From there, we deep dive into maximising performance of your HTPC through tweaking motherboard settings and installing Intel's Rapid Start and Smart Connect management applications. We'll install the latest release of Windows and configure the operating system for HTPC use, tailoring settings to support DTS and Dolby Digital audio, then enhancing video support for Blu-ray disc. With support for Blu-ray on board, you'll be guided through advanced topics like region unlocking and DVD/Blu-ray ripping to a choice of formats, including MKV, BDMV and ISO for streaming in your favourite media center software. We install USB and Network TV Tuners for configuring Live and Recorded TV and use DVBLink to integrate our channels and EPG into a variety of popular media applications. If you think we're done, then hold on! The guide takes a detailed look at configuring a universal remote control (the Logitech Harmony Hub) for use with our HTPC and look at various ways to download and manage music, video and TV metadata for our media collection. You'll learn the basics of popular file downloaders SABnzbd and uTorrent and we wrap up with a comprehensive review of leading media center packages Plex Media Server and XBMC. Building a Windows Home Theatre PC is packed with tips, tricks and tutorials to help you build a kick-ass home theatre PC that will last you for years to come! Chapters Chapter 1: Consider the Environment Chapter 2: Selecting Your HTPC Hardware Chapter 3: Assemble a Barebones HTPC Chapter 4: Build Your HTPC From Scratch Chapter 5: Configure Your UEFI Motherboard Chapter 6: Maximise Responsiveness With Intel Rapid Start and Smart Connect Chapter 7: Install Windows 8.1 Chapter 8: Configure Windows Audio for DTS and Dolby Digital Surround Sound Support Chapter 9: Enhancing Windows Video and Blu-ray Support Chapter 10: Rip Your DVDs and Blu-rays for Viewing Any Time Chapter 11: View Live and Recorded TV on Your HTPC Chapter 12: Configure a Logitech Harmony Remote to Control Your HTPC Chapter 13: Manage Your Music Metadata Chapter 14: Automatically Collate and Manage Movie & TV Metadata Chapter 15: Flex Your Media Muscles With Plex Chapter 16: Download Files on Your HTPC With SABnzbd Chapter 17: Install a BitTorrent Client Chapter 18: Using XBMC Step by Step

Home theater enthusiasts with basic technical PC skills are shown how to set up an HTPC entertainment center.

Overwhelmed with big screen TV and home theater audio options? What do you need to build the perfect home theater experience? Home Theater For Dummies, 3rd Edition shows you how to plan a home theater system and choose components that fit your budget and your room. Beginning with the most basic information, this guide helps you choose what you need and put it all together. It explains DLP, 3LCD, HDMI, DTV, and HDTV so you can talk intelligently with salespeople at the electronics store. You’ll find out about Blu-ray, explore HD and satellite radio options, and see how to incorporate a Wii, Xbox, or Playstation 3 into your set-up. Learn to: Choose among plasma, LCD, and projection TVs Know the difference between digital TV and HDTV Assess and choose an LCD TV, a new 3D TV, or an HD radio Set up your audio system and TV for maximum performance Use a Media Center or Home Theater PC Fine-tune your system and add cool touches such as accessing home theater content from your cell phone Explore HD and satellite radio options, CD players, DVD-Audio disks, and options for old cassettes and vinyl Set up your system with the proper cables for each component, or learn what it takes to go wireless Calibrate your video with a calibration disk, an optical comparator, or a DVD containing THX Optimizer Get the perfect home theater experience by following the expert tips and techniques presented in Home Theater For Dummies, 3rd Edition. You’ll be watching movies and listening to audio in no time!

"If I had this book 10 years ago, the FBI would never have found me!" -- Kevin Mitnick This book has something for everyone---from the beginner hobbyist with no electronics or coding experience to the self-proclaimed "gadget geek." Take an ordinary piece of equipment and turn it into a personal work of art. Build upon an existing idea to create something better. Have fun while voiding your warranty! Some of the hardware hacks in this book include: * Don't toss your iPod away when the battery dies! Don't pay Apple the $99 to replace it! Install a new iPod battery yourself without Apple's "help" * An Apple a day! Modify a standard Apple USB Mouse into a glowing UFO Mouse or build a FireWire terabyte hard drive and custom case * Have you played Atari today? Create an arcade-style Atari 5200 paddle controller for your favorite retro videogames or transform the Atari 2600 joystick into one that can be used by left-handed players * Modern game systems, too! Hack your PlayStation 2 to boot code from the memory card or modify your PlayStation 2 for homebrew game development * Videophiles unite! Design, build, and configure your own Windows- or Linux-based Home Theater PC * Ride the airwaves! Modify a wireless PCMCIA NIC to include an external antenna connector or load Linux onto your Access Point * Stick it to The Man! Remove the proprietary barcode encoding from your CueCat and turn it into a regular barcode reader * Hack your Palm! Upgrade the available RAM on your Palm m505 from 8MB to 16MB · Includes hacks of today's most popular gaming systems like Xbox and PS/2. · Teaches readers to unlock the full entertainment potential of their desktop PC. · Frees iMac owners to enhance the features they love and get rid of the ones they hate.

Building a Windows 8 Home Server - Step by Step is We Got Served's essential guide to Microsoft's "re-imagined" Windows operating system... with a twist! Whether you're new to the world of home servers, thinking about upgrading from Windows Home Server or swapping your Network Attached Storage device for a real computer, this 360 page eBook will help you build, install and configure Windows 8 for home server use. Written by Microsoft Windows Home Server MVP and We Got Served Editor Terry Walsh, Building a Windows 8 Home Server - Step by Step walks you step by step through your Windows 8 home server setup, illustrated with hundreds of detailed, full-colour screenshots. From selecting hardware components, building your own home server PC, through installation, set-up and usage, Building a Windows 8 Home Server - Step by Step brings to life the most relevant new features of Windows 8, helping you build your home network around a Windows 8 PC. Detailed walkthroughs include a deep dive into Microsoft's all-new Storage Spaces feature, (the successor to Windows Home Server Drive Extender), File History and data backup options, configuring user accounts, homegroups and shared folders, navigating the brand new (and more than a little quirky) Windows 8 Start Screen and Apps, configuring Remote Access and in-home/mobile media streaming and much more. Finally for Windows Home Server enthusiasts, there's a bonus chapter on converging Windows Home Server 2011 client backup and remote access with Windows 8 - bringing together the best of both worlds! Building a Windows 8 Home Server - Step by Step chapters include: Introduction Windows 8 Home Server Hardware Building Your Windows 8 Home Server Configuring Your UEFI Motherboard Installing Windows 8 A Lap Around the Windows 8 Desktop. Erm, Desktops Windows 8 Storage and Storage Spaces Managing User Accounts and Family Safety Homegroups and Shared Folders File History, Backup and Data Recovery Windows 8 Media Streaming and Play To Remote Access, Remote Media Streaming and the SkyDrive Cloud Running Windows Home Server as a Virtual Machine in Windows 8

Presents step-by-step instructions for a variety of projects to create ia high-tech home, including a pet monitor, a security system, a keyless entry, and a Linux-based home theater.

The best of both worlds-now THIS is entertainment You love tinkering with technology. The digital lifestyle is your lifestyle. So building your own Home Theater PC just might be as entertaining as using it. In these pages, a couple of fellow tinkerers explain the components and subsystems of a Home Theater PC and help you choose and pur- chase parts, assemble and test the PC, install Windows(r) Media Center Edition, and get the whole thing up and running. Then, invite your friends over and watch 'em turn green. All you need to know Clear, step-by-step instructions, complete with parts lists, pictures, and diagrams * What makes it an HTPC * Choosing the CPU and memory * Graphics, video, and HTPC audio * Monitors and displays * Networking your HTPC * Remotes-and how many you can lose * Installing MCE 2005 * Your choice-P4, Pentium M, or Athlon 64 * Maximizing your multimedia experience * . . . and more!

A guide to building a custom PC provides information on planning the project, choosing the components, and constructing five different systems, including a mainstream PC and a home theater PC