HD Extender Recommendation

[malbec]

Please help.

I have so far been avoiding HD with all of the DRM issues, extra fees, and other things. The whole situation just out right ticks me off and my response has been to refuse to play.

But now my wife, being a wife, has pushed me to the point of finally adopting it.

I have been waiting ... hoping ... praying ... for an announcement for an HD extender as that would solve 99% of what ticks me off about HD. I have now given up on that. Soooo, can someone point me to/make a recommendation on the parts for a relatively inexpensive (but must be quiet - no fans - will gladly pay for this) HD client?

Case recommendation?
Video Card?
Motherboard?
Power Supply?
And all the rest.

Thanks!

EDIT:
Oh yeah, to make it more fun, my TV is an older style "HD Ready" TV in the sense that I only have component inputs.

[ybrew]

Great thread, good timing.

I'm on the fence.

Do I build a client PC for me media room (should be opening in about a month) for HD, or should I temporarily use the cable company's HD DVR in this room until an HD Extender is available?

If I build a client PC, I want it quiet. I won't say no fans, but still very quiet. And I'd like the PC to look like it belongs in the media room.

But I also want it relatively inexpensive.
And I'd likely need to buy all the parts for it (well, I probably have a DVD Rom drive I could reuse, but that's it).

The media room will either have a 120 or 106 inch screen driven by either a panasonic AX-100U or Sanyo Z5 Projector, both with HDMI inputs.

I'm OK going with the CableCo's HD-DVR, but if this isn't too expensive, I could be persuaded to build a client PC.

Other rooms will be relagated to SD until an HD Extender is available.

[Crashless]

My current build-out plans include a full computer as a client system. I've been eyeing the Mac-minis as they have the horsepower to do it, and are slick looking and relatively quiet.

Also, it includes little to no building on my part.

Building a small computer using core 2 duo parts is still very expensive to do part by part. There are a couple of 3rd party vendors that sell linux boxes that are little though, if you're not into the whole apple thing.

I would not hold my breath looking for a 'thin' hd extender. It just isn't financially sound and there aren't any fully supported devices for SageTV anyways.

[bcjenkins]

Originally Posted by malbec

Please help.

I have so far been avoiding HD with all of the DRM issues, extra fees, and other things. The whole situation just out right ticks me off and my response has been to refuse to play.

But now my wife, being a wife, has pushed me to the point of finally adopting it.

I have been waiting ... hoping ... praying ... for an announcement for an HD extender as that would solve 99% of what ticks me off about HD. I have now given up on that. Soooo, can someone point me to/make a recommendation on the parts for a relatively inexpensive (but must be quiet - no fans - will gladly pay for this) HD client?

Case recommendation?
Video Card?
Motherboard?
Power Supply?
And all the rest.

Thanks!

EDIT:
Oh yeah, to make it more fun, my TV is an older style "HD Ready" TV in the sense that I only have component inputs.

No cheap, but definitely quiet.. A-Tech Fabrication has a new thin case all passively cooled.

b