TV Tuners: To watch live TV on your new HTPC you will need TV Tuners. Depending on what you want to do there are different types. First is ATSC, which is FREE over the air, this will be your local channels plus a few others, I get about 20 channels. Next is Clear QAM, which is what you receiver from your cable provider (except for premium channels). Last is Cable Card which is everything! I recommend at least 2 tuners, this will allow you to record and watch TV at the same time on different channels, or record 2 channels at the same time. Windows Media Center can handle up to 4 tuners of each type. Since most ION HTPCs have no PCI slots since they are so tiny, you will need to buy USB TV Tuners, here is what I recommend.
- ATI TV Wonder HD 600
: (ATSC) I own 2 of these, and paid about $20 each
- KWORLD ATSC TV Stick UB435-Q
: (ATSC & Clear QAM(QAM might not work in WMC)) I own 1 of these, and paid $30
- ATI Theater HD 750 USB TV Tuner
: An upgrade from the ATI 600 USB Tuner, as the 750 supports ATSC/NTSC/QAM and QAM seems to work inside of Media Center just fine.
- Hauppauge PCTV HD Pro Stick
: (ATSC & Clear QAM)
- ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner
: (Cable Card) you will have to search for this one, as USB Cable Card Tuners are rare and hard to find.
You could also go another route which is a network attached tuner. One of the best out there is the HDHomerun
Hard Drives: Most ION HTPCs have a 160GB of disk space is hardly enough for a HTPC. Most feature at least one eSATA which allows blazing fast speeds from an external. I own 2 external drives, one is USB which I use to store movies, music, pictures, and videos. The second is a custom made eSATA drive which is dedicated to Live TV and storing recorded TV. Depending on how many movies and videos you have you might not need a USB external. I would recommend 750GB-1TB for your Live TV drive and that it be 7200 RPM for faster read/write times.
- Western Digital External USB Drives 1TB+
- Rosewill External Hard Drive Enclosure with Fan (USB & eSATA): I own this and it is excellent.
- Seagate 750GB 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
- Samsung 1TB 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
IR Remote/Harmony Remote: An essential part to the HTPC is having a remote to use so you don’t have to use a mouse and keyboard all of the time. If you are lucky enough to have a Logitech Harmony remote you can simply buy an IR Receiver to use your Harmony Remote with. I suggest purchasing an official media center remote so you get all of the proper IR Commands with the receiver. If you don’t have a Harmony Remote then look into buying one. Harmony remotes are an all in one universal remote which will control your TV, surround sound system, video game consoles, media center, and anything else with an IR Receiver. They are wonderful and as I would call them mom and girlfriend friendly. No more having 4 or 5 remotes sitting around, all you need is one. I have the Logitech Harmony for Xbox 360
If you have a harmony, or just want a dedicated media center remote then I highly suggest the
AVS Gear GP-IR01BK Infrared Windows MCE Remote Control or the . It works perfect for media center and even has a dedicated On/Off (Sleep) button for the Revo. I have tried the generic “Computer IR remotes”, however they do not have all of the media center buttons that you will need.
Wireless Keyboard/Mouse: Depending on the model you get you might need a keyboard and mouse and I recommend a Wireless one since you will most likely be sitting on the couch. It isn’t completely necessary but is nice to have and clears up cord clutter. If you really want to go all out then go with a keyboard with a built in touchpad which will really complete your HTPC setup.
- Wireless keyboards with touchpad
- i-Rock Wireless keyboard and mouse
- Wireless keyboards and mouse on Amazon.com
USB Hub: Most HTPCs include 5 or 6 USB ports, which is nice however I would recommend a nice USB hub since we will be using a lot of USB devices. A powered USB hub will ensure that all of your UBS devices work flawelessly. I highly recommend the
Rosewill RHB-320W 7 Ports USB 2.0 Hub with Power Adapter.
HDTV antenna: If you are going to go with ATSC Free over the air HD then you will need an antenna. Most of the USB tuners that you purchase will come with a antenna, however if you aren’t picking up a lot of channels or need something you can mount indoors or outdoors I suggest the Monoprice HDTV Indoor/Outdoor powered antenna. I own this antenna and it works great and is one of the highest reviewed antennas out there.
Cables: The last thing that you will need is cables for your setup. Do not purchase them from your local store as they are overprice every type of cable out there. I highly recommend Monoprice.com I have ordered so many different types of cables from them and have saved so much money it isn’t even funny.
