set up possible? (1 Viewer)

[butterflies]

Hello,
My wish is to view avi and other videofiles from an external harddisk on TV, sitting on the sofa with a remote in my hand. I have been surfing a lot to find out the possibilities, but it is not easy to find out my needs, not even through the forums. I was considering to buy a media player like Dvico tvix 4100 or something like that, but I am not even sure yet that I will be able to do what I wish with such a machine. But now I see that there could be alternatives like Soundgraph iMON HDV or Mediaportal.

I have a FujitsuSiemens Amilo notebook wit 1Gb memory, XP Home. I don't know what is the videocard, for it is not in the manual or on the computer. But first I want to find out if this is something for me. Can I realise my wish with Mediaportal? I would put the notebook next to the television, the external harddisk will be in a neighbouring room 10 meters away from the television (long USB cable?). How would I have to set up things in order to work with a remote?

Thanks for any advise!

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

Just point to the Movie folder on the external hard drive in MP config\Movies\Movie Folder and make sure it is ticked, which makes that folder the default one on entering the movie\video section when running MP.

That does not stop you from adding more drives\folders when you need to.

What remote are you thinking of using.

 

[butterflies]

I do not know. I don't know what are the possibilities. I would like to be able to control (Mediaportal on) the notebook from a distance (from the sofa). What kind of extra equipment do I need then? Is it possible at all?

 

[Darre]

You need a IR receiver to your PC.. its pretty cheap and comes bundled with (amongst others) the microsoft MCE remote. You just plug it in a USB slot and you are pretty much good to go.

I myself are using a Harmony remote to control everything in my living room, but to start with its easier with just a MCE remote

 

[butterflies]

You need a IR receiver to your PC.. its pretty cheap and comes bundled with (amongst others) the microsoft MCE remote. You just plug it in a USB slot and you are pretty much good to go.

I myself are using a Harmony remote to control everything in my living room, but to start with its easier with just a MCE remote

Thanks for the info. I was just reading that those will not work with Windows XP Home edition. What other possibilities are there without having to built in a card (I use a notebook), just through the usb port?

You mentioned Harmony. I would be interested in a good remote to control everything, which is not much: Marantz receiver and dvd player, Philips satellite receiver, Samsung lcd and a notebook. Is it so difficult to set up?