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Thermopyle posted:My hypothesis: The easiest DVR-capable HTPC to set up is to set up Sickbeard + usenet and to hell with tuners and poo poo. This gives you a ton of flexibility with regards to front ends and hardware choices. Personally, I want to pay the legitimate owners for their content, so I keep a Dish Network (with all the premium channels and whatnot) and Netflix subscription so peeps be gettin' paid, but I don't use them at all. It's mostly for a trial run that would share live TV across the network and if it works well, I'm going to set one up for my parents since they're adamant TV viewers. And provided that it does work, my only real complaint would be that the tuners are still pretty damned expensive. But yeah Sickbeard is pretty great. I wanted to try to stream from usenet while using Sickbeard to search for stuff but I've gotten lazy before I could get started. Thanks BattleHork for the link!
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Jul 26, 2011 01:41
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Footy posted:Case: Silverstone Grandia GD04 Not really the right place to ask this so I'll point you elsewhere. SHSC parts picking thread w/ htpc http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3371605 AVS Forum http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=19553212#post19553212
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Jul 26, 2011 07:33
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ShinAli posted:But yeah Sickbeard is pretty great. I wanted to try to stream from usenet while using Sickbeard to search for stuff but I've gotten lazy before I could get started. Wait, you can do this? Is there a way to integrate this with XBMC, Boxee, or WMC?
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Jul 26, 2011 14:48
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Crossposting from partspicking thread: http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...owleadtime=True Is there any reason I shouldn't buy this? All I really want to do is use the internet, watch HD (some bluray rips) movies, and play some basic games. Network wireless streaming is big too. This is the TV i'd be using: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Bravia-KDL-40S3000-40-Inch-720p/dp/B000P6R6D8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311785027&sr=8-1
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Jul 27, 2011 19:43
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Avian Pneumonia posted:Crossposting from partspicking thread: They make a good little HTPC, I believe there's a thread about them on AVSForums. I would really recommend a new mac mini as an almost perfect HTPC but for 200 bucks cheaper that Zino will work just fine.
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Jul 28, 2011 05:46
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skipdogg posted:They make a good little HTPC, I believe there's a thread about them on AVSForums. I would really recommend a new mac mini as an almost perfect HTPC but for 200 bucks cheaper that Zino will work just fine. Hm, I'll check out that thread. I always forget about avsforums. I wouldn't consider a computer without an optical drive to be an 'almost perfect htpc'.
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Jul 28, 2011 17:06
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Avian Pneumonia posted:Hm, I'll check out that thread. I always forget about avsforums. The new Mac Mini + USB Superdrive is still $20 cheaper than last year's model. Also, try going diskless. I have and haven't looked back since.
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Jul 28, 2011 19:01
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I have no interest in apple hardware or software. Are there any other alternatives I should be looking at? I probably wouldn't be able to get too much for cheaper would I?
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Jul 29, 2011 03:11
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Avian Pneumonia posted:I have no interest in apple hardware or software. You can roll your own Zacate or ION box and probably save a few dollars, but it'll be hard to touch the 399 price of the Zino as a put together box. Another popular option is the Acer Revo http://www.amazon.com/Acer-AspireRevo-AR3700-U3002-Compact-Desktop/dp/B00433SP6G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311954210&sr=8-1
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Jul 29, 2011 16:44
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Here is an ion powered nettop (like the Revos), small and stylish, and the price is right (189). It's barebones, so you add your own HDD and OS I believe. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856176002&Tpk=N82E16856176002
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Jul 29, 2011 17:14
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Has anyone tried using a Mac mini (previous generation with the optical drive) as a stand-in for a set top DVD player? I kind of need an HTPC box anyway for a movie library, and as long as I keep an Apple Remote and Bluetooth keyboard near the sofa, can anyone see any problems using its drive and DVD Player.app instead of a Philips player?
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Jul 29, 2011 18:30
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Man I really want a Linux HTPC (got some cool media server stuff I've coded + PHP/YouTube API things), but right now it seems like Blu-Ray and Netflix and Hulu are all really buggy. Should I just go for a Windows one? 
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Jul 31, 2011 18:14
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I'm an Apple person through and through and ironically enough, I won a $100 gift card to Dell. I saw the Zino and it got me thinking about getting into HTPCs. I don't won't to own a PC for normal computer stuff but I wouldn't mind it for a HTPC. Then again, maybe I'll just get a mac mini. I haven't really messed with an HTPC since I modded my Xbox 1, it seems like a things have come a long way. Does everything "just work" now a days? I know I'd have to spend time setting things up, do you guys find yourselves having to do a lot of tinkering every now and then? If I have to babysit things all the time I'm not sure if I want to get into this. What do you have to do to get your HTPC to record cable? I have a Tivo right now, which I love, but if I go the HTPC route, I'd like ditch it. How does the current software compare to something like a Tivo and what additional hardware would I have to buy? I'm more interested in Netflix, renting/prime streaming off Amazon, watching my downloaded videos, hulu, boxee etc... but the girlfriend wants cable still (I'm assuming all that stuff works fine). What do you guys use for remotes? I heard you can use your iPhone for some stuff but I'd like to have something that's there at all times. Finally, does anyone Skype with their HTPCs? I always though that'd be killer to Skype from the couch.
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Aug 1, 2011 00:04
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I'm looking to do an HTPC in my new place, and I'm looking at TV tuners. I've noted that Comcast is started to do encrypted QAM for even run-of-the-mill channels, which would kill my plans to record and watch later unless I get a CableCard tuner, but these seem scarce. The Ceton 4-tuner card is 3 more tuners than I need and also stupidly expensive. Are there any recommendations? Should I just try to find an ATI one on eBay? Something else? And anyone happen to know a resource to find out which channels are plain old QAM on Comcast? The market is Boston, if that's important.
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Aug 1, 2011 06:40
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Factory Factory posted:
Try SiliconDust's website: http://www.silicondust.com/support/channels/
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Aug 1, 2011 23:17
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BattleHork posted:Try SiliconDust's website: http://www.silicondust.com/support/channels/ Ah ha ha, those assholes. Even loving broadcast channels are QAM256 encrypted. Thanks. CableCard ahoy...
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Aug 2, 2011 04:16
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Factory Factory posted:Ah ha ha, those assholes. Even loving broadcast channels are QAM256 encrypted. I'm in literally the exact same boat. Is there any dvr software that automatically removes commercials and encodes to a reasonable size? Or in general is WMC the best dvr I'm going to find?
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Aug 2, 2011 04:25
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Factory Factory posted:Ah ha ha, those assholes. Even loving broadcast channels are QAM256 encrypted. QAM256 is just the modulation type. If channels show up on that site then they're UNencrypted. Of course, you still need a CableCard to get anything beyond those.
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Aug 2, 2011 13:24
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BattleHork posted:QAM256 is just the modulation type. If channels show up on that site then they're UNencrypted. Of course, you still need a CableCard to get anything beyond those. Oy. Well, on a second viewing, channels I definitely want to record are not listed, and so are encrypted. Again, any problem with getting one of those ATI tuners off of eBay? Prices seem wildly inconsistent, and I'm worried about getting a dud, but at the same time, they seem perfect.
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Aug 3, 2011 06:38
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I'm looking for some Windows-software, that'll automatically copy files from a watched folder on my workstation to my HTPC and delete it afterwards. Sort of like Dropbox, but with the ability to delete the files from the original location after syncing. Does anyone know of anything that'll work?
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Aug 3, 2011 10:15
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Factory Factory posted:Ah ha ha, those assholes. Even loving broadcast channels are QAM256 encrypted. Also consider checking out http://tvfool.com/ to see what channels you can pick out of the air in HD
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Aug 3, 2011 19:50
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Footy posted:I'm looking for some Windows-software, that'll automatically copy files from a watched folder on my workstation to my HTPC and delete it afterwards. Sort of like Dropbox, but with the ability to delete the files from the original location after syncing. You could write a little batch file that will move everything in the folder to another folder somewhere else. What I did was, on my torrent box, I have folders where each show gets downloaded, and I mirrored that folder layout on my NAS. Like this: Torrents |- True Blood |- Tosh.0 |-The Daily Show I then wrote a little batch file that moves all the files in those folders to a network share into the same folder layout. I did this using this: cd \folder-where-my-files-are for /D %%l in (*.*) do move “%%l\*.*” “\\network-storage\sub-folder\%%l” You'll get some errors saying stuff couldn't be moved if the folders are empty, but otherwise it will just move the files into the appropriate directory and they will be deleted from the source. Hope that helps.
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Aug 4, 2011 17:27
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I'm looking to get an HTPC just to run downloaded movies/tv, netflix, and to play music with so I don't really need a whole lot and I'm trying to keep it as cheap as possible. I'll be running it through my 32" led tv via hdmi. My two options I'm looking at right now are either the Acer Aspire Revo for $350 from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Acer-AspireRevo-AR3700-U3002-Compact-Desktop/dp/B00433SP6G/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top or getting the Giada Cube N3 with a WD 320 GB hard drive from Newegg and 4gb of corsair DDR2 from Amazon: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856176008 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136197 http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-DDR3-Laptop-Memory-CMSO4GX3M1A1333C9/dp/B002YU83YO/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1312733881&sr=8-14 along with a wireless mouse/keyboard. It looks like I'd be coming out to about $300 with the Giada after I buy everything which isn't a huge price difference, is there anything I'm overlooking as to which one I should go for? The Giada gets me more hard drive space and ram so I'm leaning towards it just because of that, and I've already got a copy of Windows 7 laying around I can throw on it.
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Aug 7, 2011 17:38
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Update on my search for a CableCard tuner, I'm taking a chance on an ATI Digital TV Tuner from eBay, specifically an external that was ripped open for the PCIe card within. I'll let everyone know how it goes - I can't test it fully until September, but I can tell you if it installs. Supposedly it was pulled working from a functional HTPC for an upgrade. For all of $40, hey, why not? Externals are also available for $120-$150, if you want to check them out.
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Aug 8, 2011 20:09
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After reading through this and doing lots of research, I'm feeling more conflicted than ever... I want to do Netflix streaming movies and stuff, and according to some things I've read devices like PS3's, Blu-Ray players, etc. get priority on the streaming queue, so I'm almost thinking about getting a net-enabled blu-ray player with expandable e-Sata storage. On the other hand, I've got tons of music and other files that make so much sense for an XMBC-type HTPC box -- but that's a lot more expensive and takes a while to build and come up with specific components. I think I'll go with the HTPC then. Is this configuration powerful enough for media browsing, blu-ray playing and trans-coding?
# Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive # G.SKILL NS 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-4GBNS # ASUS M4A88T-M LE AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard # ASUS EAH6570/DI/1GD3(LP) Radeon HD 6570 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card # Thermaltake A4022 92mm CPU Cooler Edit: If I got the AspireRevo, how could I do BluRay playback? Are external drives too slow for good playback on something like this? OwlBot 2000 fucked around with this message at 06:29 on Aug 9, 2011 |
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Aug 9, 2011 06:24
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I've decided to go with an AMD Llano A8-3850 setup.
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Aug 11, 2011 21:07
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OwlBot 2000 posted:I've decided to go with an AMD Llano A8-3850 setup. I just did one of these and was not disappointed. Did not have luck with the cheap RAM I purchased at 1600mhz - would reboot randomly. Works great at 1333 however.
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Aug 12, 2011 17:15
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roadhead posted:I just did one of these and was not disappointed. If it's not too much trouble, could you post your configuration and tell me about the performance on Bluray playback, Netflix, etc? I'm trying to keep my costs under 450$ or so..
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Aug 12, 2011 19:55
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I've got a problem that hopefully some one can help me with. I have this tuner card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116037 I could not get windows media center to let me have the 2 tuners set up to watch live TV and have my FM tuner at the same time. It would let me have the Tv or the FM but not both. In other words if I set up for TV when I go to listen to FM it would say that i needed to set up the FM tuner. If I set up the FM and went to watch TV it would say that the TV is not set up. I'm probably missing something but I'll be damned if I can figure it out. This is windows vista home premium if it makes a difference.
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Aug 14, 2011 19:44
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OwlBot 2000 posted:If it's not too much trouble, could you post your configuration and tell me about the performance on Bluray playback, Netflix, etc? I'm trying to keep my costs under 450$ or so.. http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=24097808 Obviously you can skimp on the boot disk, and as of right now there is no optical drive in mine. For actual bluray playback I still use the PS3.
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Aug 15, 2011 14:58
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I just built a HTPC recently came out to about 400. Used Newegg combo deals to build it. Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811204035 MB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130308 Proc: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808 Powersupply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035 Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277 Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148697 You can also throw a drive in if you need to I had and extra from a previous computer that was just fine for throwing in the Win 7 disc. Pics:  Starting out  installing  starting wire managment  After but still was not my final managment I didn't take a pic of the final bit  And finished up
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Aug 15, 2011 18:42
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I've got my computer plugged into my TV with a DVI>HDMI converter. Problem is, certain programs don't playback video. WMP and Media Center won't display video, but Media Player Classic will. Youtube videos will display until I hit full screen. The video keeps playing, but the screen just goes black. The playback controls are all there and sound comes through, but no video, and only in certain programs. What might the issue be?
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Aug 15, 2011 19:30
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Pope Mobile posted:I've got my computer plugged into my TV with a DVI>HDMI converter. Problem is, certain programs don't playback video. WMP and Media Center won't display video, but Media Player Classic will. Youtube videos will display until I hit full screen. The video keeps playing, but the screen just goes black. I have the same Cable on one of my old HTPC's and I never had this issue. But if it is working in some players but not others it leads me to believe it is driver or codec based. I used the CCCP for my codecs. http://www.cccp-project.net/ I also use XBMC for playing stuff because I like the look or I used MPC or VLC Player. Its all preference I guess.
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Aug 15, 2011 20:22
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Hmm, CCCP is the pack I use. I've been thinking of switching to XBMC anyway. Maybe I'll download it and see if it works.
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Aug 15, 2011 20:27
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roadhead posted:http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=24097808 Awesome! Have you tried XBMC or anything similar with it?
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Aug 15, 2011 21:11
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Is the ability to serve as a receiver/whatever to run a surround sound audio system pretty typical for an HTPC or is there some extra hardware I should be making sure to include?
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Aug 16, 2011 14:29
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Torael_7 posted:Is the ability to serve as a receiver/whatever to run a surround sound audio system pretty typical for an HTPC or is there some extra hardware I should be making sure to include? Personaly have my HTPC pluged into a 7.1 Reciever that I have all of my gaming systems and cable box plugged into was well and a Logitec Harmony one to control everything and a blue tooth keyboard and mouse for controling the HTPC. Though if anyone has something better for a mouse and keyboard I am trying to get something better (longer distance)
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Aug 16, 2011 18:39
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Torael_7 posted:Is the ability to serve as a receiver/whatever to run a surround sound audio system pretty typical for an HTPC or is there some extra hardware I should be making sure to include? HTPCs don't really act as a receiver for other devices (like a PS3, 360, or any other media device). You'll need an actual receiver if you want to drive a surround system from multiple devices.
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Aug 17, 2011 16:59
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OwlBot 2000 posted:Awesome! Have you tried XBMC or anything similar with it? Have tried XBMC and Boxee - Boxee had to re-identify my SMB mounted collection every time I opened the software so despite a slicker Netflix interface I am no longer using it. XBMC runs great of course and I even have a somewhat satisfactory profile for it on my Logitech Harmony using the Chinavision USB IR receiver. XBMC 10.1 does default some kind of frame-rate/monitor refresh syncing on that makes the performance awful until you disable it. But only when you are only seeing video full-screen. With the menu/nav overlay on top it was just fine 
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Aug 17, 2011 17:02
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EC posted:HTPCs don't really act as a receiver for other devices (like a PS3, 360, or any other media device). You'll need an actual receiver if you want to drive a surround system from multiple devices. It would just be hooked up to my TV and speakers, so I guess I'm okay then. 
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Aug 20, 2011 02:34
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