Of any personal software or hardware project I have ever taken on, Project Mythbox has undoubtedly been the most successful. Since that day, the Mythbox has undergone several iterations:

Version 1: Original Configuration, as seen in the original post.

Version 2: Original Configuration, except with a Hauppauge MCE-500 Dual tuner (MCE05)

Version 3: AMD Athlon64 3000+, 2GB RAM, 256MB 6800 Ultra, Hauppauge MCE-500 Dual tuner (changed around 03/07) (MCE05, and Vista Media Center x32/x64)

Version 4: Intel E6550 Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 320MB 8800 GTS (changed 02/08) (Vista Media Center x64)

It was version 4 that I switched from S-Video (which was converted to Composite anyway) to Component and noticed a great difference in video quality. The unfortunate thing was text seemed to be blurred a little bit, but the color quality was much greater.

At any rate, I’ve got a powerful Media Center rig that, at this point, doesn’t have any way to really display it’s power. There’s antenna TV hooked up (but few channels come in clear at all), a DVD player, and then the music/applications. It does a great job of playing music, but I’d like it to do a bit more.

To give this Media Center some video options, I could do the following:

• Get cable, but not use the set top box so the Media Center does channel changing. A good idea, but I can write off digital cable and HDTV, as it just won’t happen (CableCARD’s specifications are outrageous, and absolutely nix any homebrew projects like this).
• Get cable, and use the set top box and the Media Center together. Less equipment is better. I’ve done that with satellite, I’d rather not do it again. There’s also that HDTV problem–it’s not going to happen. I don’t want to lose picture quality.
• Get satellite, and use their set top box with the Media center. Again, less equipment is better. There’s always the chance that something will go weird (and it usually did. A personal favorite of mine was if you navigated to a channel that you didn’t subscribe to, you couldn’t change away from it unless you had the satellite remote). The same for HDTV here as well–you can’t get HDTV to a computer then to a TV. It’s encrypted and protected to way too many levels, and it’s not worth the trouble (or the chance of it downscaling a resolution).
• Ask cable and both satellite companies if they’re ever going to do anything about this. Ah, here’s progress! After calling Time Warner Cable, I was told that the only way I’ll get CableCARD functionality is if it’s built into my TV. There is a CableCARD reader for Vista Media Center PC’s (ATI’s OCUR), but the rules and licensing behind it basically prohibit any way I’ll ever be able to use it. Cable is out.
  Next was checking with satellite. Previous knowledge suggested that I check DirecTV, as they seemed to have something more concrete. Dish Network said they were testing a HTPC (Home Theatre PC) card, but it was still in testing. With DirecTV, all I could find was the same thing–still in testing, unreleased, and unknown. Until I found a forum post where people were voting on the next satellite technology they wanted. Once of the options was a “htpc20.” One image search later and I found paydirt! The DirecTV HTPC20 Dual-tuner. It’s still unreleased, but if they’ve got advertising and a product name attached to it (and calling sales confirms that the product exists), that’s a very good sign. While it’s still an extra box outside of the media center, it let’s the media center do all of the controlling. The only way DirecTV can drop the ball on this one is say something like “we’ll only support OEM products.”

So, my research was somewhat successful. I found the product that I’ll likely go with. Now I just have to wait for them to release it. Once that’s done, I think I’ll be able to close the Mythbox Project until the next big thing in A/V happens.

~Jaker

[Update 03/30/08: Microsoft has issued closed beta invites to selected lucky bastards in the Media Center beta group (sadly, I'm part of the group but didn't get an invite). Looks like they're testing out the next release of Media Center, dubbed "Fuji." There's even a disclaimer on the page for a hardware agreement with DirecTV. This is good progress, but that sadly leaves the greater public out. I'm betting we won't see anything until September at the very earliest.]

[Pathetic Plea to the Media Center Team: If you read this, I know my survey initially said I didn't have an HDTV or DirecTV. As an avid fan of MCE, I'd love to get in on this. I'm already waiting for the device so I can subscribe to DirecTV, and a gracious invite to the beta would only make that happen sooner. Search your hearts--you know this geek would be ecstatic. You can find me at jakertberry-at-hotmail-dot-com.]