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Is it worth building you asked, my answer is a big capital YES. A good HTPC will change your TV experience forever.

1). The quality of the TV picture is depending on the quality of your video card. My HTPC gives me a good quality picture, which has passed the wife and kids test.

2). Not familiar with this card. What ever you do, make sure it is a hardware MPEG 2 encoder card, not software (the cheaper cards are using software encoders). If you are going tu use Media Portal then look for a card that is supported by Media Portal. [http://nolanparty.com/mediaportal.sourceforge.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3501]

3). I think it was well worth the investment, see below.

Currently I’m running a PC with 3 analog tuners (digital reception is very poor in the area where I live), connected to a 55" rear projection TV and to a 42" plasma (using a D-Link DSM-320). Every evening we record all the TV programs we want to see and the watch them the next day skipping all the commercials. On an average evening MP is recording two programs while we watch recorded TV using MP and the kids are watching their recorded TV using the D-Link DSM-320 in the other room, all at the same time. All of this only loads my PC by about 25 to 30%.

Pro:
Time shifting, recording on harddrive, being able to edit recorded programs, making your ownd DVD's with the recorded programs, EPG recording, and heaps more.

Con:
Finding/making a PC that passes the noise test. PC's can be a bit noisy, and it can be a bit tricky to get the noise down and still keeping the PC/processor cool.

<blockquote data-quote="guytpetj" data-source="post: 14662" data-attributes="member: 12087">Is it worth building you asked, my answer is a big capital YES. A good HTPC will change your TV experience forever.1). The quality of the TV picture is depending on the quality of your video card. My HTPC gives me a good quality picture, which has passed the wife and kids test.2). Not familiar with this card. What ever you do, make sure it is a hardware MPEG 2 encoder card, not software (the cheaper cards are using software encoders). If you are going tu use Media Portal then look for a card that is supported by Media Portal. [<a href="http://nolanparty.com/mediaportal.sourceforge.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3501]" target="_blank">http://nolanparty.com/mediaportal.sourceforge.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3501]</a>3). I think it was well worth the investment, see below.Currently I’m running a PC with 3 analog tuners (digital reception is very poor in the area where I live), connected to a 55&quot; rear projection TV and to a 42&quot; plasma (using a D-Link DSM-320). Every evening we record all the TV programs we want to see and the watch them the next day skipping all the commercials. On an average evening MP is recording two programs while we watch recorded TV using MP and the kids are watching their recorded TV using the D-Link DSM-320 in the other room, all at the same time. All of this only loads my PC by about 25 to 30%. Pro:Time shifting, recording on harddrive, being able to edit recorded programs, making your ownd DVD's with the recorded programs, EPG recording, and heaps more.Con: Finding/making a PC that passes the noise test. PC's can be a bit noisy, and it can be a bit tricky to get the noise down and still keeping the PC/processor cool.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="guytpetj, post: 14662, member: 12087"] Is it worth building you asked, my answer is a big capital YES. A good HTPC will change your TV experience forever. 1). The quality of the TV picture is depending on the quality of your video card. My HTPC gives me a good quality picture, which has passed the wife and kids test. 2). Not familiar with this card. What ever you do, make sure it is a hardware MPEG 2 encoder card, not software (the cheaper cards are using software encoders). If you are going tu use Media Portal then look for a card that is supported by Media Portal. [[url]http://nolanparty.com/mediaportal.sourceforge.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3501][/url] 3). I think it was well worth the investment, see below. Currently I’m running a PC with 3 analog tuners (digital reception is very poor in the area where I live), connected to a 55" rear projection TV and to a 42" plasma (using a D-Link DSM-320). Every evening we record all the TV programs we want to see and the watch them the next day skipping all the commercials. On an average evening MP is recording two programs while we watch recorded TV using MP and the kids are watching their recorded TV using the D-Link DSM-320 in the other room, all at the same time. All of this only loads my PC by about 25 to 30%. Pro: Time shifting, recording on harddrive, being able to edit recorded programs, making your ownd DVD's with the recorded programs, EPG recording, and heaps more. Con: Finding/making a PC that passes the noise test. PC's can be a bit noisy, and it can be a bit tricky to get the noise down and still keeping the PC/processor cool. [/QUOTE]