TSGL: Digital Video Recorder Advice? (Long)

[Geoff Glave]

Hi Everyone,

Just curious if anyone on the list has built a PC-based personal digital 
video recorder / media centre?  I'm interested in moving into the 21st 
century and retiring my VCRs for good.  Plus, I figure I should get on board 
and get something built before the broadcast flag rears its head again.

There's limited Tivo service here in Canada and it seems easiest to just 
build my own digital recorder.  In no particular order, the requirements 
would be:

- Build-it-myself (save some $$$)
- Windows, not Linux or Mac (more wife-friendly, and, in the case of the 
Mac, presumably cheaper)
- Two or three tuners (seems like many of the shows I want to 'record' are 
on the at the same time, i.e. The Simpsons and The Amazing Race are on at 
the same time in September)
- Relatively quiet: I don't want to hear a loud whirling power supply fan 
the whole time I'm watching The Simpsons
- "Audio/Video Component" form factor would be nice, i.e. it would be nice 
to stack it on top  of (or under)  my surround-sound amplifier (but this is 
a nice-to-have)
- Wireless keyboard, mouse & remote control
- Wireless LAN - No CAT 5 in the living room of my old house right now!
- DVD burner for obvious reasons
- Ability to record off of the tuners onto the hard drive while watching 
another program off the hard drive

I've got sixty-channel analog cable.  I probably won't be going to HDTV, 
digital cable or a dish service any time soon, so tuners don't have to be 
that sophisticated.

Things I'm wondering about:

- Software: What do people like?

- Machine specs: What processor / RAM / Audio / Video / Hard Disk should 
this beast have?  Particularly with the requirement to 'watch and record' at 
the same time?

- Digital audio out for surround sound: Should I consider this or just keep 
playing DVDs on the DVD player?

- Component Video out for DVDs...? See above

- Sending the signal elsewhere: Right now, if we have something 'taped' that 
we want to watch before bedtime the wife and I will just pop the tape into 
the VCR in the bedroom.  If everything's on a hard drive on another floor of 
the house this gets more complicated.  How do others get around this and 
'watch' the PVR in another room?  Burn a DVD?  Rebroadcast the signal 
elsewhere in the house?  (And if you do rebroadcast how do you control the 
PVR?)

...what else have I missed?

Thanks in advance for any tips.

Cheers,
Geoff Glave
Vancouver, Canada