XP CD Keys

[Tilda]

Prizes and rep for the person who finds me the cheapest XP Home cd key.

Or someone who tells me whether a pc with media centre is shite, and whether media centre would do to stick on a pc to go behind the tv to stream movies through.

 

[Clown]

Prizes and rep for the person who finds me the cheapest XP Home cd key.

Ask MKJ.

 

[Jonty]

Prizes and rep for the person who finds me the cheapest XP Home cd key.

Hi Tilda

For an OEM copy of Windows XP Home you'll probably pay around £55 or so online. OEM copies are only meant for new PCs, and don't include telephone technical support or the likes, but many enthusiasts are not bothered by this. For a retail version the cost will be higher, but you won't be breaking the licence agreement if you install it on an existing PC. Of course there are illegal ways to get CD keys, and you may be able to find a bargain on eBay (but obviously be careful).

Or someone who tells me whether a pc with media centre is shite, and whether media centre would do to stick on a pc to go behind the tv to stream movies through.

I've only used Vista's Media Centre, but it is a nice application. Whether it's worth paying the extra for is up to you and your budget (Windows XP Media Centre 2005 OEM costs around £70), but it may also be worth searching the net for similar applications. The main advantage of Media Centre is that it easily and seemlessly connects with the Xbox 360 and other Windows computers, and it has been generally well-received in terms of its functionality.

Just one more thing, if all you want to do is stream media then you may wish to consider a standalone box, such as those produced by Netgear and many other companies (I'm not recommending the Netgear solution, it's just the first example I happened across). This obviously means no PC functionality, which can be good or bad depending on what you want, but it would be simple, quiet and unobtrusive.

Kind regards

 

[JBP|]

Vista works well at streaming to the xbox 360 (if you have one) but it would need to be connected via a cable if you want to stream HD content.

 

[Jonty]

Hi guys

Just to confirm, you apparently can stream 720p HD content wirelessly over an 802.11g network with no problems (obviously it depends on the signal strength and if you're using the wireless connection for other demanding things etc.). As for the 1080i/p content, I haven't heard anything, but I believe it's mostly just a question of bandwidth and processing power. Anyway, as JBP| rightly says, a cable would helped to eliminate the bandwidth issues, but it all depends on what you specifically want to do.

Kind regards

 

[Alan]

Got me one of these two weeks ago :-
Philips EasyLife LX2000 Specification

Although a little overpriced for what it is, its an amazing box. Its able to play any movie file (if you install the codec, as its a windows box) either from its local disk or streamed from a network share on another PC/NAS

I havent got around to trying the other vista media centre toys yet, but its great having a fully fledged PC in the living room that's smaller than my old DvD recorder.