I am about ready to take the DVR plunge. I am on the road too much to take advantage of this high (|) cable bill most of the time and would like to record my favorite shows and movies. Was considering getting DVR, but figured with the new Media Center included with Vista and the self built DVRs there are more options available.

What is everyone using and what are your thoughts?

http://lifehacker.com/software/dvr/hack-attack-build-your-own-dvr-165963.php
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/...ils/mediacenter.mspx
http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/hp-pavilion-m8120n-med....html?tag=prod.txt.1
http://reviews.cnet.com/portable-video-players-pvps/iom...2627317.html?tag=sub
http://lifehacker.com/software/media-center/8-killer-wi...r-plugins-212345.php

This message has been edited. Last edited by: FAMU CLIFF,

I am thinking about getting a refurbished machine like this from Tiger Direct and adding an external HD to store more content (maybe 500 gb) to manage and hold the DVR function, plus the music and DVD collection. Would still like to use for home computing to take some wear and tear off the laptop, so I would only want to use the external drive for multmedia functionality. I know the computer I have on the link is low on RAM, but Vista has a great function that allows you to use a thumb drive for a RAM boost. I use my 2 gig thumb on the laptop to boost the RAM when I am doing a lot of stuff. The only other thing I see myself adding is a HD/BluRay DVD player to the computer.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ite...9457&Sku=G153-GT5404

Personally. I use Netflix.