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<blockquote data-quote="poppabk" data-source="post: 371288" data-attributes="member: 54649">I think MP has come on leaps and bounds since I first started using it back with 0.2.3.&nbsp; The current automation of the installation makes it easier than ever to get MP up and running, and if you read the documentation, have the right hardware, and the right level of technical competency, getting the basic MP experience up and running should be no more than a couple of hours work.&nbsp; I started out with no experience of using HTPC software and managed to get 0.2.3 working on an old HP desktop pretty easily (2GHz celeron, 256Mb, GeForce FX5300 PCI, PVR-150, ATI RF remote, S-Video to SDTV).&nbsp; There were issues, the hardware always struggled, and I went through several different methods of getting a TV guide, as this was around the time that Zap2it closed and I was trying to avoid spending any money.&nbsp; I eventually caved and subscribed to Schedules Direct which has worked flawlessly.&nbsp; Having bought a new LCD TV, I have built a dedicated HTPC (my first ground up build of a PC), which is providing DVR services for both SD and HD content with very few issues.&nbsp; The initial installation of MP 1.0 was very easy (especially considering I switched to Vista for the first time) and SD content was working as soon as I tuned in the channels.&nbsp; HD content proved a little trickier, but my problems (major stuttering of HD content including in windows media player) were solved by hooking up the HTPC through HDMI.&nbsp; I have very few problems left to fix but none of them make the HTPC unusable, just a few niggling issues that I would like to solve.&nbsp; The bottom line is that I came in a novice with sub standard hardware, prior to the recent stability and usability improvements that MP has seen, and MP worked well enough to be my family's dedicated solution and to make it worthwhile for me to invest in improving my hardware to handle HD content.&nbsp; MP usability, simplicity and stability has improved significantly in less than a year.&nbsp; It still requires a certain level of technical proficiency - but it definitely does work, and offers some amazing features - comskip being my personal favorite.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="poppabk, post: 371288, member: 54649"] I think MP has come on leaps and bounds since I first started using it back with 0.2.3. The current automation of the installation makes it easier than ever to get MP up and running, and if you read the documentation, have the right hardware, and the right level of technical competency, getting the basic MP experience up and running should be no more than a couple of hours work. I started out with no experience of using HTPC software and managed to get 0.2.3 working on an old HP desktop pretty easily (2GHz celeron, 256Mb, GeForce FX5300 PCI, PVR-150, ATI RF remote, S-Video to SDTV). There were issues, the hardware always struggled, and I went through several different methods of getting a TV guide, as this was around the time that Zap2it closed and I was trying to avoid spending any money. I eventually caved and subscribed to Schedules Direct which has worked flawlessly. Having bought a new LCD TV, I have built a dedicated HTPC (my first ground up build of a PC), which is providing DVR services for both SD and HD content with very few issues. The initial installation of MP 1.0 was very easy (especially considering I switched to Vista for the first time) and SD content was working as soon as I tuned in the channels. HD content proved a little trickier, but my problems (major stuttering of HD content including in windows media player) were solved by hooking up the HTPC through HDMI. I have very few problems left to fix but none of them make the HTPC unusable, just a few niggling issues that I would like to solve. The bottom line is that I came in a novice with sub standard hardware, prior to the recent stability and usability improvements that MP has seen, and MP worked well enough to be my family's dedicated solution and to make it worthwhile for me to invest in improving my hardware to handle HD content. MP usability, simplicity and stability has improved significantly in less than a year. It still requires a certain level of technical proficiency - but it definitely does work, and offers some amazing features - comskip being my personal favorite. [/QUOTE]

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