As my collection of MP3s, DVDs, and Mpegs has grown I often thought to myself, Why cant my Tivo help me with all this media? Then I started searching the Internet to see what was out there that I could use as a PC based alternative. I found numerous software packages that would fit the bill. Some of the programs I found were Showshifter, Meedio (formally HTPC), SageTV, and ByondTV. You really get the most out of these programs if you have a TV tuner card however my media library already existed.
I settled on Meedio after downloading the trial version and roaming around its support forums for a while. While all the software packages I mentioned above have their pluses and minuses, you have to choose the one that fits your needs. That is what I think Meedio does for me. While searching through the forums I came across many plug-ins or add-on modules that I would like to incorporate into my media server. Continued research lead me to a particular Meedio users set-up. In my opinion it was what I hoped to see in mine. (Check out Gazs set-up here.)
So, welcome to my journey into building my Meedio box. I look forward to sharing my trials and tribulations with you as well as an occasional picture. Please feel free to send me your comments about this project. (e-mail me)
Thanks to Gaz for sharing his server build.
See you in Part 2.