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Confused over software choices

267 Views 2 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  IVB, 
T
I am building an HTPC to rip and watch DVDs from the HD. That is all I want to do.


I am a little confused over what software is required. Do I really need MCE as the OS?


I wanted to use a program like xlobby or DVDlobby coupled with Theatertek. So is MCE required? Can i run these apps just from XP Home or Pro?


My mobo has the 6150 chipset on it and I plan on using the onboard graphics initially to feed a MITS DLP with HDMI in.


Sorry for the noob-type question.
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M
I use MCE because I like the front end that Microsoft supplies, I want to record television, etc...


If you're using all 3rd party apps, there's probably no reason to use MCE.


If you're buying the license from scratch, it might be worth buying MCE just so you have the option to use it if you want - the cost is not much higher than XP Home.
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I
Ditto - if you buy MCE and it meets your needs, you can stop right there. If not, the other apps can easily sit on top of MCE.


If you don't like MCE, you can look at free front ends: check out xLobby, Media Portal, and [email protected]


Finally, you can check out the commercial front-ends. You have a variety of options available to you there, including SageTV, *Lobby, CQC, etc. Search on "front-end" for some threads that discuss the pro's & con's of each of those.
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